On Wednesday Luis Robert Jr. was named a Rawlings Gold Glove Award finalist for his work in center field. Robert was the White Sox lone nominee and is looking to take home his second Gold Glove since earning one during his 2020 rookie season.
He will be up against Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Kevin Kiermaier, and Seattle Mariners outfielder Julio Rodriguez, making centerfield one of the most tightly contested Gold Glove races in the American League. Kiermaier is already a three-time Gold Glove winner while Rodriguez is one of the most exciting young stars in baseball.
While both are deserving candidates Robert stands above the rest.
Robert was tied with Kiermaier for the highest center field Outs Above Average in the American League at +13. That also placed Robert in the MLB’s top 98th percentile.
Taking an efficient route to the ball was one of the keys to Robert’s success. He recorded 370 putouts, which was the most by any outfielder in the MLB. His 2.81 Range Factor Per/9 innings, which measures the number of putouts and assists per inning played, was also the highest in the MLB.
Robert also recorded the most double plays from center field in the league and ranked in the top five in fielding percentage, Range Factor Per Game, and defensive games played in center field.
Not only did Robert excel on the stat sheet, he passed the eye test as well. Robert turned in a full reel of highly worthy plays throughout the season which included multiple home run robberies. One such play included a catch at the wall where Robert had to cover 102 feet of ground in 5.3 seconds to secure an out on a ball with a 5% catch probability.
Robert believes he is an even better defender now than he was during his 2020 Gold Glove campaign.
“I think this year I’ve been better than my previous years, even better than 2020,” Robert told the Chicago Tribune in August. “I’ve been doing a better job reading the ball and it has been a big difference.”
The difference was noticeable. Watching Robert flash the leather on a nightly basis turned out to be one of the only reasons to watch an abysmal White Sox team down the stretch.
