Aramis Ramirez could win a home run title or an RBI title before he’s through playing, but the one thing he wants most is a Gold Glove.
“I hope I can get one before I retire,” Ramirez said. “I’ve always been able to hit the ball, and I’ve always been a good fielder, but sometimes I get a [bad] rap on my defense from when I was young.”
Ramirez committed 33 errors with Pittsburgh and the Cubs in 2003 but has improved dramatically as a fielder the last three years, though it has been overshadowed by his hitting. He led the National League in fielding percentage last year when he committed 13 errors in 157 games.
Still, the NL Gold Glove went to St. Louis third baseman Scott Rolen in ’06 for the seventh time in the last nine years.
The only other NL third basemen to have won the award in that span are Robin Ventura in 1999 with the New York Mets and Mike Lowell in 2005 with Florida.
Ramirez is off to another good start with one error in his first 27 games. But Rolen has played error-free in ’07, and he’s fourth among major-league third baseman in zone rating, an obscure statistic that measures a player’s range. Ramirez began Wednesday night’s game ranked 10th.
The Gold Glove voting is done by major-league managers and coaches, and no one can vote for someone on his own team. It’s not likely the electorate pores over statistics, meaning Rolen probably should win it again by reputation alone, even if Ramirez has better stats.
If that happens, Ramirez has no problem with the results.
“He’s pretty good,” Ramirez said. “If he gets it every year, he deserves it because he’s one of the best.”
Despite some momentary lapses, the Cubs’ defense has been one of the bright spots this spring. They began Wednesday ranked fourth in NL fielding percentage after finishing 11th in the league in ’06.
The return of Gold Glover Derrek Lee seems to be a big factor in the resurgence, and the outfield defense hasn’t been nearly as bad as expected.
