2019 Wilson Defensive Player of the Year Award winners announced - MLB

On Tuesday, the winners of the 2019 Wilson Defensive Player of the Year Awards were announced on MLB Network. Gold Gloves were handed out on Sunday, but Wilson has their own line of defensive awards. The differences between the two are that the Wilson awards are not as widely hailed and there’s only one winner at each position as opposed to the one from each league (two total) for the Gold Glove. The winners are determined by a formula that takes into account scouting information, basic fielding stats, and more advanced (Sabermetric) stats.

Your winners:

First base: Freddie Freeman, Braves

Second base: Kolten Wong, Cardinals

Shortstop: Andrelton Simmons, Angels

Third base: Matt Chapman, Athletics

Left field: David Peralta, Diamondbacks

Center field: Lorenzo Cain, Brewers

Right field: Aaron Judge, Yankees

Catcher: Roberto Pérez, Indians

Pitcher: Zack Greinke, Astros

These awards and the Gold Gloves disagreed on Freeman, Simmons, and Judge as each did not win Gold Glove Awards but won hardware tonight.

The Astros were named the best overall defensive team. Given that defensive stats, even Sabermetric ones, are notoriously unreliable in one-year samples, it’s difficult to definitively argue for one team over another. That being said, the Athletics and Diamondbacks seemed like better candidates for the award from this writer’s point of view.

Pérez was named the overall defensive player of the year. Baseball Reference credited him with being 18 runs above average defensively, contributing heavily to his 3.9 WAR. He threw out runners at an American League-high 41 percent clip (29-for-49).

In case you haven’t had your fill of defensive awards yet, the Platinum Gloves will be announced on Friday night. You can help vote on them here.

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TAMPA, Fla. — Anthony Volpe grew up watching Derek Jeter star at shortstop for the New York Yankees.

Now, the 21-year-old is getting the chance to be the Yankees’ Opening Day shortstop against the San Francisco Giants.

The team announced after a 6-2 win over Toronto in spring training that Volpe had won the spot. New York manager Aaron Boone called the kid into his office to deliver the news.

“My heart was beating pretty hard,” said Volpe, rated one of baseball’s best prospects. “Incredible. I’m just so excited. It’s hard for me to even put into words.”

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman, hitting coach Dillon Lawson and bench coach Carlos Mendoza were also present.

Volpe was able to share the news with his parents and other family members near the Yankees’ dugout and said it is something he will never forget.

“It was pretty emotional,” Volpe said. “It was just an unbelievable moment to share with them.”

Volpe, who grew up a Yankees fan, lived in Manhattan as a child before moving to New Jersey. Jeter was his favorite player.

“It’s very surreal,” Volpe said. “I’ve only ever been to games at Yankee Stadium and for the most part only watched him play there.”

Volpe is hitting .314 with three homers, five RBIs and a .417 on-base percentage in 17 Grapefruit League games. He has just 22 games of experience at Triple-A.

Spring training started with Volpe, Oswald Peraza and holdover Isiah Kiner-Falefa competing for the everyday shortstop job. Kiner-Falefa was shifted into a utility role midway through camp, and Peraza was optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

“While certainly the performance was there, he killed it between the lines,” Boone said of Volpe. “All the other things that we’ve been hearing about showed up. There’s an energy he plays the game with, and an instinct that he has that is evident. He really checked every box that we could have had for him. Absolutely kicked the door in and earned his opportunity.”

Volpe arrived in Florida in December to work out at the Yankees’ minor league complex.

“He’s earned the right to take that spot, and we’re excited for him and excited for us,” Cashman said. “He just dominated all sides of the ball during February and March, and that bodes well obviously for him as we move forward.”

Volpe was selected out of high school with the 30th overall pick in the 2019 draft from Delbarton School in New Jersey. He passed up a college commitment to Vanderbilt to sign with the Yankees.

“It was a once-in-a-lifetime chance to get into the organization,” Volpe said. “This day, this feeling, this moment was kind of what I’ve worked my whole life for when I made that big decision.”

“Right now it’s crazy,” he added. “I don’t even know what lies ahead but Thursday I just want to go out and play, and have fun.”