Polanco earns TYIB defensive award

2/19/2007 11:45 AM ET

Polanco earns TYIB defensive award
Fans vote Tigers second sacker top glove in game


By Jason Beck / MLB.com

Realistically, a perfect season for Tigers second baseman Placido Polanco would've involved a return to the World Series. Statistically, however, 2007 was still perfect for him.

In a facet of the game where highlight-reel plays are normally balanced against miscues, Polanco's defensive calling card includes not making a glaring mistake. He had his share of highlights as well, but with a Major League-record errorless streak for second basemen that encompassed the entire 2007 season, Polanco's defense has earned him a list of end-of-season honors that now includes an MLB.com This Year in Baseball Award for Defensive Player of the Year.

In voting from MLB.com readers, Polanco beat out perennial Gold Glove winners such as Seattle's Ichiro Suzuki, new Angels center fielder Torii Hunter and Arizona's Orlando Hudson. All of them had notably low error totals in 2007, but none of them had the goose egg that Polanco could boast.

Polanco, too, now owns a Gold Glove after being so honored last month. Polanco's first career Gold Glove is the first by a Tigers second baseman since Lou Whitaker in 1985. But while voting by managers and coaches decides the Gold Glove Awards, Polanco's latest honor was a recognition from the fans that the body of work he put together over the entire season topped any one highlight play the others put up.

Polanco hasn't been charged with an error since July 1, 2006, compiling 181 consecutive games and 888 total chances converted since. By comparison, no other second baseman with at least 100 starts this past season committed fewer than five miscues. The streak has obliterated Luis Castillo's previous records for errorless games and chances, and with a dozen more errorless games to start next season, Polanco would reach former Dodgers and Padres first baseman Steve Garvey's Major League record for all infielders.

"He's obviously a very sure-handed guy," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said of Polanco during the season. "I can't say it any better than what I've said: He's a true baseball player in every sense of the word. Some guys are athletes. Some guys are baseball players. Sometimes you've got a combination of both."

There was a brief point in the season when Polanco did have an error. When first baseman Marcus Thames took his foot off the bag to field a throw from Polanco during a game against the Yankees on Aug. 24, the play was initially ruled as a Polanco error. After reviewing the play the next day and receiving input from first-base umpire Hunter Wendelstedt, the official scorer decided that Thames did not need to take his foot off of the bag to field the throw. The error was removed, reviving the streak.

Polanco's contributions, however, went beyond simple statistical flawlessness. His 294 putouts ranked sixth among Major League second basemen, while his 389 assists and 101 double plays ranked ninth. His 5.08 range factor and .828 zone rating placed him eighth.

Though Polanco is not blessed with outstanding pure speed, the range he displays on ground balls reflects both an ability to position himself for the most likely play according to the hitter and the quickness to read the ball off the bat. Many of his highlight-reel plays involved either a slide to smother a ground ball behind first base or his trademark quick-release throw after running down a ball up the middle.

"When you come to the park, you take grounders right at you, some to the left, some to the right," Polanco said upon setting the errorless mark in August. "You try to make the plays in practice. You take 40, 50 every day. It's a lot."

With Polanco's former Cardinals teammate, Edgar Renteria, now set to work alongside him at shortstop and ex-shortstop Carlos Guillen moving to first base, Polanco will have some quality fielders around him in 2008. But none of them, or anyone else in the league, could match what Polanco pulled off in 2007. It was just about perfect.

Congratulations, Placido!!

The individual honors keep coming in for our TIGERS, setting the stage for a huge TEAM honor in 2008!!

Verlander and Maggs both came in 2nd in their catagories.

No more 2nd place finishes for our TIGERS!!

Where would we be without Poli? Not only the fielding, but some really good, clutch hitting in 2007. We love you!!!!!!!!!!

YAY POLY!!

gogetemtigers wrote:

Verlander and Maggs both came in 2nd in their catagories.

the Red Sox! Verlander's no-hitter was better! His game score was higher!!!

The only performance that might have been better would be Bedard's CG-SHO with 2 hits and 15 K's. The game score was higher. Then again, 99% of pitchers would prefer game A:

A) WIN: 9 IP, CG-SHO, 0 hits, 9 walks. 0 K.
B) WIN: 9 IP, CG-SHO, 1 hit, 0 walks, 19 K.

Sure, the guy in B pitched a hell of a lot better, but a few months later nobody will care. The guy in game A will be a hero for the rest of his life - especially if he's a Met (or possibly Padre).

Video footage of the catagory and Polanco win!

http://mlb.mlb.com/media/video.jsp?video=200712192333021

Hooray for Polanco

Polanco will have an even BETTER 2008!!