SF Giants Gold Glove winner falls short in Platinum Glove Award voting

On Friday night, The Platinum Glove Award was announced. SF Giants backstop Patrick Bailey fell short of the award, as Fernando Tatis Jr. of the San Diego Padres was the NL recipient.

SF Giants Gold Glove winner falls short in Platinum Glove Award voting

There is one recipient in each league. Bobby Witt Jr. of the Kansas City Royals was selected as the AL recipient. It is done by a fan vote of all the Gold Glove winners, so there is an inherent flaw in the process.

The Giants had two candidates up for the Platinum Glove Award. Bailey, along with Logan Webb. Bailey took home his second Gold Glove Award, whereas Webb earned his first.

Bailey and Webb became the first battery mates to win the award since Yadier Molina and Adam Wainwright of the St. Louis Cardinals in 2013. The Cardinals duo also achieved this in 2009.

While Webb was a candidate for the Platinum Glove Award, pitchers do not typically merit serious consideration. It is just the nature of the position. Catchers, shortstops, and center fielders often receive the most votes.

In 2025, the fan vote went with a right fielder in Fernando Tatis Jr. Tatis Jr. had an excellent defensive season, and was recognized with his second Gold Glove Award.

However, he was nowhere near the best defensive player in the NL. Based on objective stats, Bailey was the superior defender in 2025.

Bailey tied Ke'Bryan Hayes with19 Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) to lead all NL position players and comfortably led all MLB position players with 31 Fielding Run Value (FRV). Alejandro Kirk of the Toronto Blue Jays was second in that category, with 22 FRV. For reference, Tatis Jr. put up 9 FRV in 2025.

Bailey also led all position players with a 17.4 SABR Defensive Index. What does that mean exactly? I am not sure. However, it is an objective component that accounts for about 25 percent of the selection process for the Gold Glove Award.

The Giants backstop is elite an all facets of catching, inlcuding pitch framing, throwing, and blocking. It bears mentioning that his blocking has improved since he debuted in 2023.

If Bailey did not take home the award, then there is a pretty strong case for Pete Crow-Armstrong of the Chicago Cubs. Based on the objective metrics, Tatis Jr. was not all that close to being the best defender in the NL.

However, there is a subjective, fan component to this voting. It is flawed, and many fans are not all that aware of the advanced defensive metrics, and that is okay. Tatis Jr.'s fans were more motivated to vote than any other fan base, so he gets the edge in that category. For the Platinum Glove Award, that is what counts more than anything else.