J.P. Ricciardi needs to make it a priority this off-season to reward shortstop John McDonald for his superb defensive play.
Relegated to a backup role, yet again, after the team brought Royce Clayton in to shore up a position that has been their weakest since J.P. Ricciardi took over general manager duties in November of 2001, McDonald has been the Blue Jays best and most spectacular defender this season, the prime reason that Clayton was ultimately released after his deteriorating skills and questionable work ethic was exposed as the season went along. "Johnny Mac" has been making the type of plays that we haven't seen in these parts since Tony Fernandez was winning Gold Gloves in the mid to late 80's. And while Fernandez made some of the most spectacular catches and throws from deep in the hole at short, no one makes the impossible plays like the Prime Minister, John "Eh" McDonald.
And because of this it's time to start the 'John-McDonald-for-Gold-Glove' campaign. Now, I'm going to be honest with you, the odds of McDonald winning the award, which is voted on by managers and coaches, are long. Unfortunately, reputation and a player's offensive skills come into the equation even though, by definition, it should be all about defense. If that's the case, then McDonald is the unquestionable choice.
I realize that my view, and those of all Jays' fans, is jaded by the fact that we see McDonald play on an everyday basis. And we also see his spectacular "web gems" showed to us over and over again on the morning highlight shows. But I can say that I've seen all the shortstops at some point this season and no one even comes close to the "superior individual fielding performance", the very definition with which the voters are given when casting their ballots.
I'm sure that the likes of Orlando Cabrera or Derek Jeter will get the nod this year based on reputation and the fact that they play in a major market, thus more likely to be seen on a national scale. But neither of those shortstops is tracking down foul balls deep behind third or turning force plays into double plays with the regularity of McDonald. And neither Cabrera nor Jeter are playing on the same side of infield with Troy Glaus who, do to age and injury, has seen his range at third diminished to basically the length and width of his shadow.
While I realize that unlike winning a batting or ERA title involves pure stats, the Gold Glove is basically a "perception" award. But I'm going to statistically show that McDonald is the most "superior fielder" at his position. Errors made: McDonald (5), Cabrera (9), Jeter (16). But more importantly, total chances per 9 innings, which shows how many balls a shortstop handles during a game: McDonald (5.22), Cabrera (4.47), Jeter (4.25). I rest my case.
Now, I also realize that Johnny Mac isn't the most complete shortstop in the game. Offensively, he's a 9th place hitter with a career .240 stick in an era where offense is considered a premium. But the great Ozzie Smith, another shortstop who made the spectacular seem routine, won 13th straight Gold Gloves between 1980 and 1992 with a career average of just .262. And Baltimore's Mark Belanger, an 8-time winner in the 70's, hit just .228 over his 18-season career, so clearly hitting hasn't be a factor in the past. And nor should it this season.
In his first two winters as GM, Ricciardi, as he was forced to shed payroll, traded away quality shortstops Alex Gonzalez, Cesar Izturis and Felipe Lopez because, as he said to then-manager Buck Martinez, "shortstops are a dime-a-dozen." Since then, a lot of dimes have been spent with a grand total of 15 different players to manning that position, with no one settling in to be the everyday guy.
In this season where, despite their recent hot streak, it looks like the Blue Jays will fall short of their playoff aspirations for the 14th straight season, it says here that the play of McDonald should be recognized as one of the highlights of the 2007 season. Then this off-season, Ricciardi will need to ink McDonald to a new deal as he will be a free agent. We're not talking big money here, just overdue recognition for a job well done. With no shortstops rocketing through the system in the near future, this seems like an off-season priority.
But before that, let's hope the Blue Jays next "everyday" shortstop gets some recognition form the rest of baseball for some of the most spectacular defense we've seen in these parts for a long, long time.
