MLBbro webmaster extraordinaire Mookie Betts won the Rawlings National League Gold Glove Award in right field for the sixth time in his illustrious career. This is Betts’ second Gold Glove award in his three seasons with the Dodgers, becoming the fourth outfielder in franchise history to win multiple Gold Gloves, joining Willie Davis (3), Raul Mondesi (2) and Matt Kemp (2).
Mookie See, Mookie Do
After an injury-riddled 2021 broke Betts’ streak of consecutive Gold Glove Awards at five, the former MVP returned with an athletic vengeance in 2022. Betts committed just two errors over 1,154 1/3 innings in right field.
Per Baseball Savant, Betts led all NL right fielders with five Outs Above Average. Per FanGraphs, Betts also graded out as the best right fielder, leading the Majors with 15 Defensive Runs Saved.
This accomplishment is par for the course for a player of Mookie’s stature and he’s sure to have a bunch more before he’s done. Betts’ glove is so versatile that he could win a Gold Glove on the infield. He’s already displayed his prowess at second base in 2021, when he was nursing injuries.
Trent Grisham’s Glove Keeps His Butt..Er…Bat On The Field
Trent Grisham has already won his second Gold Glove in four MLB season. His first came in the COVID-shortened 2020 season. The Gold Glove is determined by combining a vote of coaches and managers and metrics developed by the Society for American Baseball Research called the SABR Defensive Index.
As of Aug. 28, the last time the SDI was made public, Grisham ranked second behind Washington’s Victor Robles. Grisham led NL center fielders in outs above average (17) and was second with eight defensive runs saved. The 25-year-old, who batted below the Mendoza line this season, but showed power with 17 homers, has a bright future ahead of him in San Diego. It’s clear that his web work is still ahead of his bat, but Grisham has all the tools and a bit of time to bring it altogether.
J.P. Crawford Robbed Of Third Straight Gold Glove
The American League unfortunately didn’t have any MLBbro Gold Glove winners despite having supreme fielders and worthy candidates such as Michael A Taylor, Byron Buxton, Cedric Mullins and 2020 and 2021 Gold Glove winner JP Crawford. It’s got to be rough on Crawford to win back-to-back Gold Gloves, establish yourself as the premier defensive shortstop in the game and then get your title taken from you by a rookie. In fact, MLB didn’t even make the new jack earn his stripes as Peña becomes the first rookie shortstop in history to win a Gold Glove, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. This selection is even more surprising when you see that Pena had the third most errors in all of baseball. The 25-year-old is good, but we have to stop with the prisoner of the moment hype.
Marcus Semien Jerked On Second Consecutive Gold Glove
An argument can also be made for Marcus Semien at second base. The 2021 AL Gold Glove winner led the AL in assists with 441 this season. Definitely don’t see how anyone in the AL is better than the former shortstop at second base. Winner Brendan Rodgers is definitely a web master and had 10 more double plays turned than Semien, but also had double digit errors (10) good for third-highest among second baseman. Semien had just seven errors in 148 games at second base. He also started 13 games at shortstop, showing his versatility as a fielder.
Myles Straw over 2021 Gold Glove Winner Cedric “CM Storm” Mullins seems like a bit of a stretch as well.
The San Diego Padres’ season came to an end on Sunday as the Philadelphia Phillies won 4-3 to punch its ticket to the World Series. San Diego only won one game during the series, but the team did not go down without a fight. And two of our MLBbros did their best to contribute to a World Series run. The franchise is definitely closing the gap on the Los Angeles Dodgers and next season’s NL West race should go down to the wire. The return of Fernando Tatis will figure prominently in what happens out West in 2023.
Josh Bell: Where Will His Roller Coaster Ride End Up?
Josh Bell had a productive NLCS and had some timely and key hits at the plate. But unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to help his team get over that hump. In the five games against the Phillies, Bell recorded a hit in four of them. The former Washington Nationals slugger finished the series going 6-for-17 with a home run and three RBI.
He had a big performance in Game 2 as he finished with a three-hit performance as the Padres got the only win of the series that game.
During the postseason, Bell finished with a .250 batting average with two home runs and five RBI. Bell’s future in San Diego is still cloudy as he will become a free agent this summer and return to the market after signing a one-year $10M deal with the Nats last offseason before being traded in the blockbuster Juan Soto deal. The Padres could retain him, but reports say they will probably look in another direction, which is a shame because he is a great fit out there. There will be more than a couple of teams searching for a first baseman with major pop and playoff experience.
Bell’s season was a tale of two cities. The 40-year-old played at an All-Star level with the Nationals, with a strong stat line of .311/.390/.504 with 13 home runs and 52 RBI. After he was traded to the Padres, though, Bell’s production plummeted to .192/.316/.271 with three home runs and 14 RBI in 53 games, but he did help the team get into the playoffs.
There are rumors that the Houston Astros would be a perfect fit for Bell who would thrive in that lineup as a younger replacement for 38-year-old declining free agent Yuli Gurriel.
On the other hand, Bell’s teammate, Trent Grisham started the postseason with a bang, but slowed down a bit as the postseason progressed.
In the series against Philadelphia, Grisham went hitless in all five games. Definitely not the performance his team and fans wanted to see. After starting the postseason with a four-game hitting streak, Grisham went a disastrous 0-for-18 with nine strikeouts in the LCS against the Phillies. He finished the postseason hitting .200 with three home runs and 15 strikeouts. His regular season performance was less than expected and the Padres will give this talented outfielder at least one more season to prove himself as an everyday player. The club does have him under control for three more seasons. The 2020 Gold Glove winner hit 17 homers but batted just .184 with 150Ks.
It would have been exciting to see both of these MLBbros compete in the World Series and potentially win their first title. But it was good to see them make it as far as they did, laying the groundwork for an even better 2023.
On Tuesday, the San Diego Padres and Philadelphia Phillies battled it out in Game 1 of the NLCS. The winner of this series will advance to the World Series. Philadelphia was able to steal Game 1 in San Diego, winning 2-0 on a one-hitter. San Diego has two of our MLBbros looking to play in their first World Series. Josh Bell and Trent Grisham both have what it takes to give the team’s offense a boost, but in Game 1, their bats were nonexistent.
Bell went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts and Grisham went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts. This was Grisham’s second time going hitless in the postseason and for Bell he has not recorded a hit in his last three appearances.
This next game for the Padres is a crucial one and a must win. San Diego does not want to go down 0-2 to a team like the Phillies, who have been hot all postseason.
For Grisham, he’s going to need to lock in at the plate like he did in the series against the New York Mets and the LA Dodgers. With him at the bottom of the lineup, he can set the tone for his team as they work their way to the top of the lineup. He can also change the momentum of the game with one swing of the bat.
Bell has struggled at the plate recently. He only appeared in two games in the series against the Dodgers and did not record a hit. So he’s looking to find his rhythm back and if he can do that, he will be a problem for opposing pitchers. Like Grisham, Bell can certainly make an impact at the plate and he possesses a lot of power in that bat.
It only takes one big moment in the playoffs to turn your entire season around.
The San Diego Padres defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-3 in Game 4 of the NLDS to advance to the NLCS. Down three going into the bottom of the seventh, the Padres used a five run inning to help secure the win.
San Diego has been one of the most impressive teams throughout the postseason and the team has also had one of the most impressive players as well. Trent Grisham has had a postseason to remember. Our MLBbro has had one of the hottest bats of anyone in the playoffs.
In Game 4 against the Dodgers, Grisham went 1-for-3 with a run scored and a walk. He has appeared in all seven games this postseason for the Padres and out of those games he’s only gone hitless one time.
Let’s take a look at his numbers. He’s hitting .381 with three home runs and five RBI and has a .519 on-base percentage. Grisham is leading the team in home runs and on-base percentage. And check this out: he’s also tied for first in batting average, RBI, and hits.
This brother has impressed a lot of people during the postseason and we get to see more of him as the Padres take on the Philadelphia Phillies in the NLCS. Grisham has provided that spark that the Padres have needed at the bottom of the lineup and he’s been cool, calm, and collected all postseason long.
The Padres are one step closer to making the World Series for the first time since 1998 and Grisham is going to continue to do all that he can to help his team get there.
The NLDS is off to an exciting start so far. This could potentially go all five games. With the series tied at one a piece. The San Diego Padres will look to take control of the series as the team will play in front of its home crowd on Friday at Petco Park. Padres outfielder Trent Grisham has played a key role offensively for his team.
During the Wild Card Series against the New York Mets, he collected four hits with two home runs during the three-game series. In Game 1 of the NLDS against the Los Angeles Dodgers, he went 1–for-3 with an RBI as the Padres suffered a 5-3 loss. He did not collect a hit the following game as San Diego won 5-3.
Bob Melvin speaks about Trent Grisham and his playing time in this series against Urias/Kershaw: pic.twitter.com/CgqizPdkBB
If he can continue to have success at the plate like he did against the Mets, he will help give the Padres a good chance to advance in the postseason.
“Anytime you play well like that in that situation, it’s going to give you confidence going forward. But the main goal is just repeat, repeat, repeat,” Grisham told reporters in Los Angeles after the Mets series. “It was just a weekend. We’re looking to play for another three weeks to a month, so I’m worried about keeping it going.”
Game 3 is going to be a big one for both teams and it will be interesting to see how well Grisham plays from here on out.
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