Mariners third baseman Kyle Seager wins first Gold Glove Award

Mariners third baseman Kyle Seager is no longer an under the-radar-player. The mid-season All-Star nod has been followed up at the end of the year with his first Gold Glove Award.

Seager bested fellow finalists Josh Donaldson of Oakland and four-time Gold Glove winner Adrian Beltre of the Rangers to take the award, which is based 25 percent on defensive metrics and 75 percent on voting by coaches and managers in the league.

“It is an honor to just be up for the award with all the great third basemen, let alone win the Gold Glove,” Seager said. “I really owe a lot to my coaches, especially Chris Woodward. He helped me tremendously.”

Seager works constantly to improve all aspects of his game and has done so rapidly at third, which didn’t become his every-day position until 2012. Despite spending the majority of his career at shortstop or second, he made the transition to the corner seamlessly.

While solid at third the last two years, he took great strides this year as reflected by his 18-run swing in defensive runs saved. Footwork and positioning coupled with his always accurate throws to first – The Fielding Bible showed he led all MLB third basemen with a 96.6 percent “good throw” rate – have taken his game from good to Gold Glove. The automatic plays are automatic and the spectacular are becoming more a part of his repertoire.

Robinson Cano and Felix Hernandez were also finalists for Gold Glove Awards but did not win. Seager is the Mariners’ first Gold Glove Award winner since Ichiro in 2010.

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