J.T. Realmuto: Making the Case for a Gold Glove

J.T. Realmuto was nominated for his second Gold Glove on Oct. 28. Which statistics back his case to win the award?

© Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports

J.T. Realmuto came to the Phillies in 2019 as an unfinished product. Prior to his arrival in Philadelphia, Realmuto had one Silver Slugger and one All-Star nomination to his name, both earned in 2018. 

Since then, he’s been selected to two All-Star Games, received a second Silver Slugger and a Gold Glove. Now, Realmuto has the opportunity to add another award to his trophy case.

On Oct. 28, Realmuto was selected as a National League Gold Glove finalist, alongside Yadier Molina of the St. Louis Cardinals and Jacob Stallings of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Stallings, who had never played a full season before 2021, has never so much as been nominated for an award, but Molina has 26, 13 of which are Gold or Platinum gloves.

With the advent of framing statistics, understanding fielding among catchers has become far more accessible. Yet, there is no accepted method to calculating framing runs, each bureau uses different formulas, the most accepted of which are Baseball Savant’s and Baseball Prospectus'.

Among the three Gold Glove finalists, only Realmuto is in Baseball Savant’s National League top 5. According to Savant, Realmuto saved four runs through framing in 2021, Stallings saved two, and Molina actually lost the Cardinals three runs.

Baseball Prospectus however, tells a different story. Their measurement gives Realmuto 13.8 runs saved, Stallings 5.3 and Molina a paltry -1.2. Unlike Savant, Prospectus also gives catcher measurements the entirety of their FRAA (fielding runs above average).

For the wholesale FRAA statistic, Realmuto leads by a wide margin, 14.9 FRAA to Stallings’ 7.1 and Molina’s -2.0. Realmuto also leads the group in blocking runs with 0.7 and ties Stallings for the lead in throwing runs with 0.2.

While Realmuto’s throwing statistics may not be as flashy as some of his other numbers, his reputation alone kept the Philadelphia catcher from padding his statistics. In 2019, runners stole 49 bases on Realmuto, yet he caught 43 stealing. By 2021, runners had learned their lesson, only 38 steals were attempted, of which Realmuto threw out 10.

His presence behind the dish prevented none but the fleetest of base stealers from attempting to steal, an intangible provable through statistics.

While Molina seems to have only received his 2021 Gold Glove nomination through name recognition alone, Realmuto and Stallings both put up brilliant defensive seasons, but it seems obvious that the Phillies catcher has the clear edge.

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