Sean Murphy, the defending American League Gold Glove catcher and one of few bright spots on a rebuilding A’s team this season, is in the running for a repeat defensive award after MLB announced the finalists at each position Thursday.
Murphy is joined in the AL catchers’ race by Cal Raleigh of the division-rival Seattle Mariners and Jose Trevino of the Yankees.
The A’s catcher logged 1,004 innings over 116 games behind the plate, both up from last year’s Glove-winning campaign. He ranked fifth in the AL in both pitch framing and strike rate, per MLB’s Baseball Savant, but was second in MLB in pitches caught at 3,269, showing just how much the A’s relied on him. His caught-stealing percentage (31.15) ranked ninth in MLB.
Murphy is the only A’s player nominated as a finalist for a Gold Glove. No Giants players made the cut.
Three former A’s are finalists: Braves first baseman Matt Olson, Blue Jays third baseman Matt Chapman and Rangers second baseman Marcus Semien.
Three other players with Bay Area ties also were named finalists: Washington High (Fremont) graduate Steven Kwan of the Guardians among AL left fielders, Stanford product Tommy Edman of the Cardinals at both second base and utility in the NL, and Saint Mary’s product Corbin Burnes among NL pitchers.
Winners will be announced Nov. 1.
Murphy, who just completed his fourth season in the majors, also was a significant factor for the A’s at the plate, even as they recorded some franchise lows in batting. He led the team with a batting average (.250), on-base percentage (.332) and OPS (.759).
The winners of the Gold Glove Awards are determined by a combination of votes from managers and coaches around the league in addition to the SABR Defensive Index, which measures a player’s runs saved against the average defensive player at his position.
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