Volpe becomes 1st Yankees rookie to win Gold Glove

NEW YORK -- As the Yankees crossed their remaining games off the calendar, beginning a lengthy internal evaluation, Aaron Boone pointed to his shortstop as one of the season’s bright spots. On several occasions, the manager voiced his belief that Anthony Volpe “has a real chance of winning a Gold Glove.”

“To do that at a premium position like that, it’s huge,” Boone said in early October.

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Boone’s prediction came true on Sunday, with Volpe announced as the American League’s Rawlings Gold Glove Award winner at shortstop. Volpe is the first Yankees rookie to win a Gold Glove; just 15 rookies have won a Gold Glove before this year.

At 22 years and 156 days old on the final day of the regular season, Volpe also became the youngest shortstop to win the honor, surpassing Alan Trammell in 1980 (22 years, 228 days).

Volpe outshone a pair of veteran finalists in the voting, taking home the hardware over Carlos Correa of the Twins and Corey Seager of the Rangers. Volpe is the first Yankees shortstop to win a Gold Glove since Derek Jeter in 2010.

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In 157 games (150 starts) in the field, Volpe played 1,346 2/3 innings at shortstop, handling 560 total chances while committing 17 errors for a .970 fielding percentage. Volpe tallied 186 putouts, 357 assists and completed 63 double plays.

Compared to Correa and Seager, Volpe benefited from a volume edge; Correa had 166 putouts and 278 assists in 1,144 1/3 innings, while Seager had 139 putouts and 276 assists in 951 2/3 innings. However, Correa and Seager edged Volpe in errors and fielding percentage.

Volpe’s advantage over his competition was also illustrated by advanced metrics, especially Defensive Runs Saved.

With 15 DRS, Volpe ranked second among AL shortstops, behind only the Rays’ Wander Franco (16); Seager had 5 DRS, and Correa had minus-2 DRS. Volpe’s 4.4 Range Runs Above Average led the AL, according to FanGraphs, while his 2.9 Ultimate Zone Rating ranked fourth in the AL.

FanGraphs credited Volpe with one Out Above Average (OAA); Correa was minus-1 and Seager was minus-2.

At the plate, Volpe also notched some history, becoming the first Yankee to hit at least 20 home runs and steal at least 20 bases as a rookie. Overall, Volpe posted a slash line of .209/.283/.383 (81 OPS+) with 21 homers, 60 RBIs and 24 stolen bases.

“I never really had goals or anything like that going into the season, numbers-wise, but when you can put yourself in Yankees history, that’s pretty crazy,” Volpe said during the season.

The Yankees’ Anthony Rizzo was also named a Gold Glove finalist at first base.

To determine the winners at the nine standard positions, the 30 MLB managers and up to six coaches from each team vote from a pool of players in their league, excluding players from their own team. These votes comprise 75% of the selection total, with the SABR Defensive Index counting for the other 25%.

For the utility position, Rawlings collaborated with SABR to create a specialized defensive formula separate from the traditional selection process.

Boone said he believes Volpe’s opening act will provide a baseline for continued growth, citing the rookie’s “aptitude, smarts and work ethic.”

“For a 22-year-old shortstop of the New York Yankees that won a job in Spring Training, essentially barely playing over Double-A, I think on balance it’s been a really strong debut,” Boone said. “There’s no doubt that he’s going to be one of the cornerstone guys for us moving forward in the future.”