Wed Mar 17, 2021 5:21 pm
Correa was one of three finalists for the gold glove. That is done 75% by votes from managers and coaches. I am gonna bet that is influenced to some extent by what managers and coaches hear from scouts (and of course managers and coaches are not completely clueness about what fielders stand out, anyway). 25% is from sabermetrics. As noted, he led the American league in defensive runs saved. Other metrics he did not do as well.
As far as the eye test, he's a big guy true. So you wonder how much side-to-side dexterity he has or how fast he can come in on a ball. But he has a 95 mph plus arm, so he can play deeper and that allows him to get to more balls. You can disagree with the rating, but it's not like this is completely crazy, either. I dont get the greatest infielder talk, either. Strat defensive ratings dont allow for tiers with the 1 rating, though there are obviously are some. The rating does not indicate he is the best infielder ever. As for error rating he had one error in 56 games. Cant do much about that. Now should they have adjusted the imagined set to reflect his making more errors? Probably but I believe he was a 2e7 last year. I think if Strat had him as a 3 in 2019 they would have been hesitant to jump him up to a 1. But jumping him from a 2 to 1 when he gets nominated for a gold glove and leads the league in defensive runs saved? It's not crazy. Disputable but not crazy. Your main evidence provided so far that it is a terrible ranking is the eye test. You could have said the same about Cal Ripken. A huge arm is a major part of the defensive ability of a shortstop.