Cleveland Indians: Reviewing the Tribe’s three Gold Glove finalists

Cesar Hernandez, Second Base

Other Finalists: Nicky Lopez (KC), Danny Mendick (CWS), Jonathan Schoop (DET)

Another position with all finalists being from the American League Central, Cesar Hernandez will have the stiffest competition of the three Cleveland Indians that are finalists.

During the 2020 season, Hernandez played second base in 58 games for the Tribe, starting 57 of them and finishing 54. Playing 503.2 innings at the position, Hernandez had 210 chances in the field over the course of the season. Of those chances, four resulted in an error, giving Hernandez a .981 fielding percentage. The other 206 opportunities resulted in 67 putouts and 139 assists while turning 33 double plays.

Being at a stacked group of finalists, we first look at Kansas City’s Nicky Lopez who played 53 games at second base in 2020. Totaling 424 innings at the position, Lopez committed just two errors for a fielding percentage of .991. Being a part of 34 double plays, Lopez tallied 74 putouts and 135 assists.

Next on the list is Chicago White Sox’s second baseman, Danny Mendick, who logged 28 games at second this year. Playing just 226 innings at the position, Mendick had a single error for the same fielding percentage as Lopez at .991. Turning 15 double plays, Mendick had 39 putouts and 66 assists.

The fourth and final finalist at second base is Detroit’s Jonathan Schoop. Schoop was able to appear in 44 games at second base during the 2020 season, having just one error that resulted in a .994 fielding percentage. Over 355.2 innings at second, Schoop was able to help turn 25 double plays while registering 60 putouts and 113 assists.

While Hernandez will have the hardest road to the award given the other finalists, he still has a very strong case that should receive consideration during the process that could result in another Gold Glove Award for the Cleveland Indians.