Inside The Pinstripes

Aaron Boone Says Isiah Kiner-Falefa Should've Been Considered For Gold Glove Award

Boone argued that "a case can be made" for Kiner-Falefa to be a finalist for the Gold Glove Award at shortstop.

Max Goodman

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Finalists for this year's Gold Glove Awards were announced on Thursday and as always, the baseball world took to social media to critique which players made the cut.

For the Yankees, despite nominations at five different positions, there were two glaring omissions. 

Third baseman Josh Donaldson, who did his best to make up for a down year on offense with a spectacular defensive season, was not among the three finalists at his position. Metrics suggest that Donaldson was arguably the best defender at third base in 2022. 

Similarly, many view Aaron Judge as a snub in the outfield. The slugger continues to pass the eye test each year with highlight-reel plays and jaw-dropping throws, but he still hasn't been recognized in the Gold Glove department.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone weighed in on the announced finalists on Thursday afternoon. He told reporters, like Bryan Hoch of MLB.com, that "it's a joke" Donaldson wasn't a Gold Glove finalist, pointing out that Judge splitting time in right field and center field hurt his chances in 2022. 

Boone continued, making a controversial (and slightly confusing) comment about his shortstop. The skipper said that a case can be made for Isiah Kiner-Falefa to be a finalist for a Gold Glove Award at shortstop this year.

This isn't the first time Boone has been complimentary to Kiner-Falefa and his defense. Back in July, Boone said "IKF" has been "one of the game's best defenders at shortstop."

And yet, Boone and the Yankees benched Kiner-Falefa for his defense at the end of the American League Division Series, moving Oswaldo Cabrera to shortstop for Games 4 and 5. 

Kiner-Falefa started Game 1 of the American League Championship Game in Houston, but watched from the sidelines as top prospect Oswald Peraza made a few sparkling plays at shortstop in Game 2.

Some metrics are more kind to Kiner-Falefa than others. He was fourth in the American League among qualifying shortstops in defensive runs saved (plus-10), but tied for 11th in outs above average (minus-2). Kiner-Falefa committed 15 errors this season, sixth-most in the AL. 

Starting pitcher Jameson Taillon, catcher Jose Trevino, first baseman Anthony Rizzo, left fielder Andrew Benintendi and utility man DJ LeMahieu were the other five Yankees listed as finalists. 

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Max Goodman
MAX GOODMAN

Max Goodman covers the New York Yankees for Sports Illustrated and FanNation. Goodman has been on the Yankees beat for three seasons. He is also the publisher of Sports Illustrated and FanNation's Jets site, Jets Country. Before starting Inside The Pinstripes, Goodman attended Northwestern University and the Medill School of Journalism. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Broadcast Journalism and Master’s Degree in Sports Media, graduating in 2019. At school, Goodman was an anchor and reporter with NNN SportsNight and played on the club baseball team. While at Northwestern, Goodman interned with MLB.com as an associate reporter covering the Miami Marlins. He also interned with ESPN, working as an associate reporter on Mike Greenberg's Get Up. Goodman is from New York City. He grew up in Hell's Kitchen. Follow Goodman on Twitter @MaxTGoodman. You can connect with him via email by reaching out at maxgoodmansports@gmail.com.

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