Boston Red Sox: Jackie Bradley Jr. snubbed from Gold Glove finalist list
By Ben Porter
Boston Red Sox center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. was not named by Rawlings as one of the three finalists for the 2017 Gold Glove Awards.
What a historic snub. In my personal opinion, the Boston Red Sox have the best defensive outfielder in the MLB in Jackie Bradley Jr. I feel like White Goodman when Chuck Norris votes to let the Average Joes play: “That is pure poppycock!”
The three finalists are Lorenzo Cain, Kevin Pillar, and Byron Buxton. Make no mistake about it, these guys are amazing.
I don’t want to take anything away from any of them, but JBJ deserves to be on this list. End of story.
#Rawlings #GoldGlove Award Finalists – AL CF – @Royals Lorenzo Cain, @BlueJays @KPILLAR4, @Twins @OfficialBuck103 pic.twitter.com/XFUMrXvN6j
— Rawlings Baseball (@RawlingsSports) October 26, 2017
Am I biased? Yes, yes I am. But I am also a rational thinker and a baseball enthusiast. I know talent when I see it, and Jackie Bradley Jr. is as good as they come.
The human highlight reel did it all for the Red Sox in 2017. He made diving catches. He robbed home runs (looking at you Aaron Judge). He threw out runners ballsy enough to test the rocket launcher he calls his right arm. Seriously, it’s amazing he gets through airport security with that thing.
I’ve seen Jackie Bradley Jr. do things that mortal human beings are not supposed to do. Catch balls that normal people are not supposed to catch. Throw the ball to the plate with a higher velocity than it was hit with. Talking triple digits here, folks.
And on the 7th day God created Jackie Bradley Jr.'s arm pic.twitter.com/bwlKHaYv7X
— Ben Porter (@Ben13Porter) September 6, 2017
It is a crime against humanity and even more importantly, baseball, that JBJ is not at least a finalist for the Gold Glove award.
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I could live with JBJ being a finalist and Byron Buxton ultimately winning the award, but not having him be a finalist is unacceptable. And that’s not just because I have his jersey hanging in my closet. A vintage No. 25 Jackie Bradley Jr. jersey, I might add.
My next question is: what more could Jackie Bradley Jr. have done to earn himself Gold Glove finalist honors? If the highlight reel isn’t enough, what is? Maybe the committee has a huge grudge against JBJ. Your guess is as good as mine.
Now that the Red Sox are no longer playing, things like this sting a little bit more. It just feels like a cruel joke like the one the hockey coach made in Happy Gilmore. “Bradley, Bradley I called your number didn’t I? Oh, well, better luck next year!”
Unfortunately, JBJ getting snubbed is just a reality I’ll have to live with for the next year or so. I’m right there with you, Red Sox nation. It’s important that we stick together during these trying, Red Sox-less times.
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Maybe one of the other four Sox finalists will let JBJ borrow their Gold Glove when they inevitably win one.