Dustin Pedroia, Shane Victorino Win AL Gold Glove Awards

One Red Sox win away from a World Series championship in 2013, the season of accolades is just beginning. Last night, the American and National League Gold Glove Award winners were announced and the Red Sox had two representatives. Second baseman Dustin Pedroia and right fielder Shane Victorino were recognized as the best fielders in the American League at their respective positions.

Oct 28, 2013; St. Louis, MO, USA; Boston Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia (15) throws out St. Louis Cardinals outfielder

(not pictured) in the first inning during game five of the MLB baseball World Series at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Eileen Blass-USA TODAY Sports

The Gold Gloves have (rightly) gone under some scrutiny in recent years with players with unspectacular or even bad defensive metrics taking home the award. However, corrections have been made and this year’s selections were generally deserving. At least Pedroia and Victorino certainly were. According to UZR, a defensive metric measuring the number of runs saved by a defensive player, Pedroia saved 10.9 runs (best among American League second basemen) and Victorino saved 25.0 runs (best among American League right fielders by nearly 10 runs).

Though it’s cliche, the Red Sox have been a team that has been fundamentally sound and done the little things right. That’s why it’s great to see scrappy players like Pedroia and Victorino getting recognized instead of stars like Robinson Cano or Torii Hunter with lackluster defensive statistics. Hopefully this is just the beginning of a very Boston-oriented award season.