Wil Myers is a Gold Glove Finalist
After one of his best seasons thus far, San Diego Padres first baseman Wil Myers was recognized as one of the 54 finalist for the 2016 Rawlings Gold Glove Award. The nomination of the award came Thursday by Major League Baseball.
The award has recognized players for their defensive techniques since 1957 and is annually given to the players who “have exhibited superior individual fielding performances at each fielding position.” They are voted on by managers and coaches around the league, although they are not allowed to vote for their own players. However, they do account for 75 percent of the selection process, and the other 25 percent is among other voters.
There are three finalists for each position in both the National League and the American League and one winner is announced for each position in each league. The winner of the award will be announced at 8 p.m. ET November 8 on ESPN.
Among his category at first, Myers is up against Paul Goldschmidt of the Arizona Diamondbacks and Anthony Rizzo of the Chicago Cubs. Goldschmidt won the award for the N.L. first baseman in 2015 and Rizzo placed second in 2013.
There are many big names in the running for the Gold Glove Award in all positions. The Chicago Cubs and Detroit Tigers each have four finalists, the most of any in the majors, and most are seeking their first career award.
The last Padres player to win the Gold Glove was in 2012, by Chase Headley at third base, who is currently with the New York Yankees. Prior to that was Adrian Gonzalez in 2009 at first base.
Although Myers played in center field in the 2015 season and was ultimately moved to first this season, he has shown that it was a good decision, and has made his time worthy at first.
In his 2016 season, Myers had a .259 batting average, hitting 28 home runs and 94 RBI. He also broke the Petco Park record in hits, tallying 91, home runs with 18, RBI with 56, runs scored with 58, and extra base hits with 41, for a Padres player in a single season.
He also became the first Padre to join the 25/25/25 club in home runs, doubles, and stolen bases.
It goes without saying that the Padres organization has themselves a gem of a player with Wil Myers, and keeping him around for seasons to come would be valuable. There has not been much talk about contract extensions behind all the talk of the Cubs-Indians World Series. However, it would be smart of the organization to keep him around, and with the rebuilding process in full speed, the Padres will be swinging toward bigger goals next season.
Jolene Nacapuy is currently the media operations director of Proud Digital Media. She graduated in 2016 from the University of La Verne with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism. She is a small town Hawaii native with high-energy and motivation, with experience in writing hard and breaking news, features, commentary’s and sports articles. She has written articles and taken photos for the Campus Times and La Verne Magazine. She has served as an assistant sports editor, sports editor and editor in chief of the Campus Times and also written for HerCampus La Verne. She has also contributed for Lakers Nation and Dodgers Nation. Jolene is a big sports fan and when she’s not working on her next story, she’s at a sports event.