Twice Wrong! Texas Rangers All-Star Third Baseman Josh Jung Snubbed By Award Voters

Not only should Josh Jung have been a Gold Glove finalist at third base, but he should have been a finalist for AL Rookie of the Year.

ARLINGTON — Josh Jung was the leading candidate for American League Rookie of the Year at the All-Star break.

After all, he was a first-time All-Star at third base in his first full season with the Texas Rangers. Then, in early August, Jung was injured when a 110 mph line drive fractured his left thumb. Jung had surgery but missed only six weeks, returning to the lineup on Sept. 18 for the final 13 games of the regular season.

Jung, however, is not one of three finalists for AL Rookie of the Year.

True, Jung struggled to return to his pre-injury form, hitting .196 with a home run and three RBI in the final 13 games. Postseason performance is not considered for the award, and for Jung, that's a shame. He found his stroke in the playoffs, hitting .308 with three homers, four doubles, a triple, and eight RBI.

You could make a solid argument that Jung, at least, deserved to be one of the finalists.

Instead, Guardians pitcher Tanner Bibee, Red Sox first baseman Triston Casas, and Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson are the finalists. The winner is announced Nov. 13.

We'll leave Bibee out of the argument since he's a pitcher.

Jung hit better than Henderson (.266 to .255). Jung had just five fewer homers and four fewer doubles despite playing in 28 fewer games. 

Jung also hit better than Casas (.266 to .263). And Jung had more doubles (25 to 21), more hits (127 to 113), and more RBI (70-65) despite playing in 10 fewer games than Casas. But I digress.

Even more egregious for Jung, however, was being snubbed by Gold Glove voters. The three finalists at third base are the Astros' Alex Bregman, the Blue Jays' Matt Chapman, and the Guardians' José Ramírez.

Jung was left out, despite committing only four errors in 122 games.

Bregman: 15 errors. Ramirez: 14 errors. Chapman: 12 errors.

Yes, they played in more games than Jung because of his injury but Jung was still among the top six in the AL with 121 games played a third.

In fact, among the most games played at third base in the majors in 2023 (27 players), no one had a higher fielding percentage than Jung's .988. 

Of course, Jung isn't going to complain. He's probably still celebrating the Rangers' first World Series championship. Especially winning it all in his first full season in the big leagues.

"Yeah, I definitely can't complain about it. Even Corey kept reminding me it's not this easy," Jung said. "To celebrate it with all of our fans, the first one in the history of our organization. People waited for a long time for this and for us to get it done means the world to us."

Seager: Jung 'Snubbed' for Gold Glove

You can follow Stefan Stevenson on Twitter @StefanVersusTex.

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