Vladimir Guerrero Jr. fulfils defensive potential by winning Gold Glove at first base

TORONTO – Luis Rivera immediately recognized the potential when Vladimir Guerrero Jr. moved across the diamond in 2020 and made a point of telling the young slugger how good he could be at first base if he put in the work.

“I told him, ‘This is not BSing you, this is honest – I watched you play third base and if you play first base close to that, you're going to win a Gold Glove,’” recalls the Toronto Blue Jays third base and infield coach. “‘I've watched you take ground balls. I've watched you throw. You're very accurate, and you're very athletic, even though you're a big guy. I've seen the first basemen around the league. You can win a Gold Glove if you work hard at it.’”

Guerrero made the commitment then and Tuesday, after only his second full season at the position, was named the American League Gold Glove winner at first base, beating out finalists Anthony Rizzo of the Yankees and Luis Arráez of the Twins.

The award caps a remarkably quick transition for the 23-year-old, who hurriedly made the switch coming out of the pandemic shutdown in the summer of 2020. He posted a defensive runs saved, or DRS, of minus-4 in a mere 299 innings during that shortened season but made rapid progress since, delivering a plus-3 over 1,119 innings this year.

Guerrero also ranked fifth among AL first basemen in the SABR Defensive Index, or SDI, which aggregates metrics based on batted-ball location data and others derived from play-by-play accounts, including Statcast. The SDI ratings are weighted at roughly 25 per cent of the Gold Glove selection total, with voting by managers and coaches accounting for the remaining 75 per cent.

Matt Chapman, one of four other Blue Jays finalists, bizarrely scored especially low in the SDI, finishing seventh among AL third basemen, well back of Gold Glove winner Ramon Urias of the Orioles.

While Rivera struggled to understand how Chapman didn’t win, a more pleasant surprise was that Guerrero’s progress was rewarded “sooner than later.”

“We felt like (the switch to first base) was the right move at the time and to already win a Gold Glove, that's amazing,” said Rivera. “That's a lot of credit to him. We felt like he had great ability at third base but it wasn't his position to field for 162 games. We felt like for 162, playing him at first, he was going to be a lot better. …

“This year, he told me, ‘I'm going to win a Gold Glove,’ and I said, 'Well, let's see how far you can go,'” Rivera continued. “He did it. And even though he won this year, I think he's got an even better chance next year because I know he's going to be even better next year.”

The year-to-year growth in the field is what gives Rivera confidence that Guerrero will keep growing.

Along with infield co-ordinator Danny Solano and major league field co-ordinator Gil Kim, he’s been there hitting grounders to Guerrero, fielding throws and teaching him the intricacies of the position, and he’s seen the gains across the board.

“Recognizing how far he can to go to his right,” is how Rivera begins a description of Guerrero’s key gains since 2020. “If you go too far that way, it's going to be really tough for you to make a throw to first base to the pitcher covering. So figure out how far you can go to your right. To his left, I always feel like we've got a good third baseman playing first. That's a plus. He did a great job this year picking balls in the dirt, staying on the bag on the high throw, recognizing sometimes you have to jump, sometimes you don't. Reading the hops on the dirt and the balls in the dirt – his hands have always been good. His flipping the ball back to the pitcher in way to make life easier for the pitcher. Also, his ability to move his feet to create a good angle to throw to second base, he's good at that, too. He's a big boy, but with quick legs.”

And now, a Gold Glove, too.