kepdawg
11-06-2008, 04:27 PM
Texas Rangers shortstop Michael Young wins Gold Glove
03:08 PM CST on Thursday, November 6, 2008
By EVAN GRANT / The Dallas Morning News
egrant@dallasnews.com
DANA POINT, Calif. – When he moved from second base, Michael Young did it with the simple goal of becoming the best fielding shortstop he could be.
Thursday, five years after he first made the move, Young was awarded the Gold Glove award as the American League's best fielding shortstop and made a bit of history in the process. In the previous 51 years of the award, no player in either league won the award at shortstop after having started his major league career by playing another position full time.
"This really means everything to me," said Young, who along with Alex Rodriguez (2002 and 2003) are the only Rangers shortstops to win the award. "I knew when I moved over there, the only way for me to get better was through hard work. I knew I had the arm strength and the ability to play short, but it was about the work The thing is, this makes me more motivated to work even harder to improve for 2009."
It's the second major award for Young in the last two weeks. He was also named the Marvin Miller Man of the Year by the Major League Baseball Players Association.
The announcement of Young's Gold Glove came as the uneventful general managers' meetings came to an end. Rangers GM Jon Daniels had more to say about Young than trade talks. The Rangers met with several clubs during the week to better clarify trade positions on catchers but left feeling there was nothing significant in the way of talks. Among those teams with whom the Rangers have most regularly connected about a trade of catching for pitching are Boston, Florida and Detroit.
"It's a tremendous honor," Daniels said of Young. "Statistically, this may not have been his best year at the plate, but to win the Miller award and the Gold Glove speaks very highly of his commitment and his work ethic on and off the field. To see the work he put in day in and day out, to play with two broken fingers, and to win this award makes this one his more impressive seasons to me."
Young led the AL in fielding percentage at shortstop at .984 and participated in the most double plays of any major league shortstop (113). Young also ranked first among AL shortstops in Revised Zone Rating, a stat created by Fielding Bible author John Dewan to measure defensive efficiency.
Young unseated Chicago's Orlando Cabrera as the AL's Gold Glove shortstop and became the first infielder to win a Gold Glove for a team with the major's lowest fielding percentage.
The award comes at an interesting moment in Young's career. The Rangers' top position player prospect is 20-year-old shortstop Elvis Andrus. Andrus is expected to begin next season at Triple-A Oklahoma, but his ascent could, at some point, force the Rangers to consider asking Young to move positions again.
Daniels indicated the Rangers won't be making any such requests this winter. On the season's last day, he said, "Michael is our shortstop." On Thursday, Daniels said that feeling hadn't changed.
"Elvis is very mature for his age," Daniels said. "He's got a bright future. But he's still got work to do, too."
Michael Young can testify that there are rewards for that work.
03:08 PM CST on Thursday, November 6, 2008
By EVAN GRANT / The Dallas Morning News
egrant@dallasnews.com
DANA POINT, Calif. – When he moved from second base, Michael Young did it with the simple goal of becoming the best fielding shortstop he could be.
Thursday, five years after he first made the move, Young was awarded the Gold Glove award as the American League's best fielding shortstop and made a bit of history in the process. In the previous 51 years of the award, no player in either league won the award at shortstop after having started his major league career by playing another position full time.
"This really means everything to me," said Young, who along with Alex Rodriguez (2002 and 2003) are the only Rangers shortstops to win the award. "I knew when I moved over there, the only way for me to get better was through hard work. I knew I had the arm strength and the ability to play short, but it was about the work The thing is, this makes me more motivated to work even harder to improve for 2009."
It's the second major award for Young in the last two weeks. He was also named the Marvin Miller Man of the Year by the Major League Baseball Players Association.
The announcement of Young's Gold Glove came as the uneventful general managers' meetings came to an end. Rangers GM Jon Daniels had more to say about Young than trade talks. The Rangers met with several clubs during the week to better clarify trade positions on catchers but left feeling there was nothing significant in the way of talks. Among those teams with whom the Rangers have most regularly connected about a trade of catching for pitching are Boston, Florida and Detroit.
"It's a tremendous honor," Daniels said of Young. "Statistically, this may not have been his best year at the plate, but to win the Miller award and the Gold Glove speaks very highly of his commitment and his work ethic on and off the field. To see the work he put in day in and day out, to play with two broken fingers, and to win this award makes this one his more impressive seasons to me."
Young led the AL in fielding percentage at shortstop at .984 and participated in the most double plays of any major league shortstop (113). Young also ranked first among AL shortstops in Revised Zone Rating, a stat created by Fielding Bible author John Dewan to measure defensive efficiency.
Young unseated Chicago's Orlando Cabrera as the AL's Gold Glove shortstop and became the first infielder to win a Gold Glove for a team with the major's lowest fielding percentage.
The award comes at an interesting moment in Young's career. The Rangers' top position player prospect is 20-year-old shortstop Elvis Andrus. Andrus is expected to begin next season at Triple-A Oklahoma, but his ascent could, at some point, force the Rangers to consider asking Young to move positions again.
Daniels indicated the Rangers won't be making any such requests this winter. On the season's last day, he said, "Michael is our shortstop." On Thursday, Daniels said that feeling hadn't changed.
"Elvis is very mature for his age," Daniels said. "He's got a bright future. But he's still got work to do, too."
Michael Young can testify that there are rewards for that work.