Despite his stellar and sometimes acrobatic efforts in center field, the Gold Glove Award continues to elude Jackie Bradley Jr.
FORT MYERS, Fla. — Flashy web gems in the outfield are sometimes the most exciting plays in baseball.
Have enough of those highlight reel plays, throw a few runners out and you’re looking at a Gold Glove Award winner. One Red Sox outfielder is the back-to-back reigning Gold Glove right fielder, Mookie Betts. But when you think of the Red Sox’ outfield defense, Betts isn’t the first player who comes to mind, even though he’s one of the best in baseball in defensive runs saved.
It’s Jackie Bradley Jr. Yet somehow the award for best defensive center fielder has eluded him throughout his career. Considering Bradley covers the most ground, has the best arm of the trio (the third being Andrew Benintendi), it seems odd that the most important piece of an outfield that gets such high praise from its pitching staff doesn’t have any hardware for his efforts.
Bradley even concedes he wouldn’t mind the recognition.
“It’s something I work for every offseason,” Bradley said. “I worked even harder this offseason. I feel like I have the ability and the talent to be in the conversation. And I’m excited for the day when I do get one.”
Whether or not it frustrates the 2016 American League All-Star is another story entirely.
"You can’t let 'em see you sweat,” Bradley said. “Even if it did (bother me), I wouldn’t let you know.”
While the advanced metrics are taken into account in the Gold Glove selection process, the big-time plays help players receive greater recognition (i.e. Tampa Bay’s Kevin Kiermaier). Not that Bradley doesn’t make diving plays or make catches in the triangle that leave you scratching your head, but often times he’s able to camp under fly balls with ease.
As much as it might hurt him when it comes to the award, his quick reads certainly help him patrol the outfield effectively.
“It’s just what I’ve always done, it’s what I’m used to doing,” Bradley said. “It’s a combination of things. (Takes) a lot of practice. When I was younger, and I guess still in pro ball, as well, a lot of people termed it or coined it as ‘power shagging.’ I would play (batting practice) like it was literally like the real game. So I would run from gap-to-gap, full speed, trying to catch anything and everything I possibly could.
“After a while I had to slow down a little bit because the seasons got a little longer. But it’s one of those things where I worked at it. I worked at it and I have fun with it. I think that’s what makes it so easy.”
That work gave Bradley a better feel for what balls he can track down and which ones he should ease up on and cut off to limit a runners' advance. It makes it even easier when he knows where the balls are headed once the hitter makes contact.
“Immediately, almost immediately; as soon as I see the trajectory of the hit, I pretty much know whether I can catch it or not,” he said. “And everybody always, ‘Well were you surprised you got to that ball?’ There’s been close ones where I would have to make last-minute decisions because of maybe the way the ball is spinning or the wind is blowing that was able to make me catch it or not able to make me catch it. But those are kind of few and far between. I kind of have a general idea of the balls that I can get to.”
Though this makes life easier for Bradley, and in turn his pitchers, there are still two other highly capable outfielders he has to work with. That’s certainly not a negative, but it does require some work other outfields aren’t concerned with.
“Honestly, I think one of the most difficult things that is very underrated, not even talking about playing conditions, is communication,” Bradley said. “Communication can be difficult for a lot of people. When you have athletic outfielders beside you, everybody feels like they can get the ball. So it’s those in-between (hits) where communication is key or somebody’s going to end up making contact with the other player. Or you get that indecisive feeling like, ‘I know he can get it,’ so it might end up dropping. It’s just those small things where communication is the most important.”
Which is why Bradley says, “I got it,” every time. Not “ball” or “me” like some coaches may preach, trying to reinvent the wheel. If things go as planned for Bradley, he’ll be saying, “I got it,” at the end of the season when he takes home the hardware he’s worked for.