Ernie Clement was snubbed from his first Gold Glove Award

Ernie Clement has had a whirlwind of emotions over the last few days. During Game 7 of the World Series, he set postseason records for total number of hits and for consecutive games hit streak. Then, in the bottom of the ninth, he has a chance to win the game and bring the first World Series in 32 years back to Toronto, only to see Andy Pages make a running catch on the left-center warning track while colliding with Enrique Hernández.

We don’t all need another reminder of how that game ended. However, the pain gets worse for Clement as he gets snubbed from winning his first Gold Glove Award.

Ernie Clement was snubbed from his first Gold Glove Award

Clement played an integral role this season for the Toronto Blue Jays. A season in which the team suffered injuries to key players, Clement had to utilize his defensive versatility to play all over the diamond.

He logged innings at all four infield positions this season. His performance earned him the right to win his first Gold Glove Award. However, he was snubbed for two positions: utility player and third base.  

Mauricio Dubón, of the Houston Astros, won his second Gold Glove Award in the utility position. He logged 960.2 innings combined over seven positions. Overall, he logged a .983 fielding percentage, 14 defensive runs saved, and 20 outs above average. His fielding percentage is heavily skewed by a .930 percentage at left field over 175.1 innings.

Clement was most deserving of the utility player over third base. Clement trailed Dubón in fielding percentage with a .979, but his lowest at any position was a .972 percentage at shortstop. The Blue Jay also slightly trailed in outs above average (15). The most significant difference and compelling case for Clement is defensive runs saved, where he had 22.

His 22 runs saved also tied Steven Kwan for the most in all of MLB. Leading all of MLB should be quite the feat for someone to be considered a Gold Glove winner; however, it seems the league decided to award Dubón for playing three additional positions.

Maikel Garcia, of the Kansas City Royals, won the Gold Glove Award for third base, his first award. This instance marked the first time in 12 years that both players on the left side of the infield for the same team won the award (Bobby Witt Jr. won for shortstop). The previous duo was Manny Machado and J.J. Hardy with the Baltimore Orioles. Garcia logged 1,144.2 innings at the hot corner, posting a .980 fielding percentage, 13 defensive runs scored, and 17 outs above average.

Clement's case isn't as strong as it is for the utility player position. He logged 603 innings at third base with a .979 fielding percentage, narrowly trailed with 11 defensive runs saved, and had seven outs above average. The number of innings and outs above average are the likely reasons why Garcia beat out Clement.

Clement's best case for his first Gold Glove Award was for the utility position. The Blue Jays were one of the best defensive teams all season long; however, Ty France was the only player to win the award. Multiple players were nominated, so it's surprising to see only one winner.