There’s Gold in the White Sox infield

Not a lot of news here you may not have already heard, but the Chicago White Sox did place two players among the 2019 Gold Glove Award finalists.

Yeah, Gold Gloves, so what, it’s a popularity contest, unduly influenced by a fielder’s bat (?) in the past (Derek Jeter?). But it’s nonetheless pretty cool to see both Lucas Giolito and Yolmer Sánchez among the finalists.

Each position has three finalists, and it seems the South Siders are a good bet to avoid finishing third in both.

José Berríos of the Minnesota Twins may have the inside track at the award, given a propensity for spectacular fielding. Giolito’s other rival for the award, Mike Leake, didn’t even play the entire season in the American League. Prediction: runner-up for Giolito.

At second base, it’s a bit of a hilarious mix. José Altuve is the most popular name, and won a Gold Glove in 2015, but hasn’t had a good year fielding. DJ LeMahieu may be the best fielder of the bunch and has won the award four times in the NL, but played relatively little at second base this season. Prediction: Sánchez with the improbable win!

How are winners determined? From the Rawlings release:

Each manager and up to six coaches on his staff vote from a pool of qualified players in their league and cannot vote for players from their own team. In 2013, Rawlings added a sabermetric component to the Rawlings Gold Glove Award selection process, as part of its collaboration with the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR). The SABR Defensive Index comprises approximately 25% of the overall selection total, with the managers and coaches’ vote continuing to carry the majority.

The winners will be announced on November 3, during a live, one-hour ESPN broadcast beginning at 6 p.m. Central.

And there’s a new twist: Once the Gold Glovers are named, fans can cast ballots at Rawlings to name a Platinum Glove winner, announced on Friday.