Red Sox's Lone Gold Glove Finalist Among Most Unlikely Candidates Entering 2022

Not many saw this award coming for this member of Boston's core

Scott Neville | Oct 20, 2022

Red Sox's Lone Gold Glove Finalist Among Most Unlikely Candidates Entering 2022 /

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Boston Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox's finalist for a 2022 Gold Glove Award came from a highly unlikely source, especially when you consider how the season began.

Xander Bogaerts was named as one of three finalists for the American League Gold Glove at shortstop, alongside Houston Astros rookie standout Jeremy Peña and Minnesota Twins' Carlos Correa.

Bogey recorded four defensive runs saved this season, the highest mark of his career. Despite being named a Gold Glove finalist once before in 2015, this is the first time the 30-year-old has finished with a positive tally.

He recorded 0 DRS in 2013 and racked up -55 DRS from his Major League Baseball debut up until the 2022 season began.

The recognition shows just how far Bogaerts has come, even if he does not win the award -- he probably won't given Peña's 15 DRS, though that certainly is not the only metric weighed in the voting. Bogaerts did narrowly beat out Correa, who notched three DRS.

Entering the year, many thought it would be a matter of time before second baseman Trevor Story would take over the shortstop position, and rumors of a position switch started long before Story signed with Boston.

To go from being a below-replacement-level defender to Gold Glove caliber in one season is truly remarkable, especially during his age-29 season.

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Published Oct 20, 2022

SCOTT NEVILLE

Scott Neville covers the Boston Red Sox for Sports Illustrated's new page "Inside The Red Sox." Before starting "Inside The Red Sox", Neville attended Merrimack College, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media with a minor in Marketing. Neville spent all four years with Merrimack's radio station WMCK, where he grew as a radio/podcast host and producer. His propensity for being in front of a microphone eventually expanded to film, where he produced multiple short films alongside his then-roommate and current co-worker Stephen Mottram. On a journey that began as a way to receive easy credits via film classes, he received a call from "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" star Charlie Day. Day advised him to make a feature-length film, which he completed his senior year. While writing the film, Neville completed an internship for United Way as part of their NFL Partnership Program. Neville ran the blog for a team of interns and hosted an internet show called "United Way's NFL Partnership Series" where he interviewed NFL alumni. After college Neville wrote for SB Nation's "Over The Monster," a Red Sox sister site of the flagship brand. His work would eventually lead him to a job as a content producer with NESN, where he would cover all sports. After developing as a writer with the top regional network in the world, he was given the opportunity to join the Sports Illustrated Media Group in his current endeavor as the publisher of "Inside The Red Sox." The successful launch and quick rise of "Inside The Red Sox" led to Neville joining the Baseball Essential ownership group, a national baseball site under SIMG. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottNeville46 Email: nevilles@merrimack.edu