BY DAN GLICKMAN
Brighton High School graduate and Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Ernie Clement is a finalist for the 2024 Rawlings Gold Glove Award, Major League Baseball announced Tuesday.
Clement, who had a breakout season with Toronto this year, is one of three finalists for the honor of being the American League’s best-fielding third baseman. The other finalists are Houston Astros veteran Alex Bregman and Jose Ramirez of the Cleveland Guardians.
The 6-foot-0 right-hander played several positions this season but spent his most time at the hot corner, playing in 96 games there. He finished among the best in the AL in several defensive statistics, placing first at the position in the Range Factor/9 metric (a statistic meant to measure the defensive ability of a player by dividing putouts and assists by the number of innings played) with a 2.82 average, third in total zone runs (an advanced metric of how many runs the player’s defense was worth) with five, fourth in double plays turned (16), and fourth in defensive Wins Above Replacement (measuring how much better a player is than a likely replacement player) with 2.2. The 28-year-old had 60 putouts and 147 assists from third during the season.
Clement’s nomination for the award is a bit of a surprise, given that he played far fewer games at third than Bregman (142) and Ramirez (126), but it’s a capper to what has been his best season in professional baseball. Making the Blue Jays roster out of spring training, the University of Virginia alum played a career-high 139 games, slashing .263/.284/..408 in 452 plate appearances while reaching career highs in hits (114), doubles (21), triples (3), home runs (12), RBI (51), and stolen bases (12) in addition to his fielding prowess. In fact, Clement played in more games this season at the Major League level than he had in the first three years of MLB action combined.
No player born in the Rochester area has ever won a Gold Glove, which has been awarded since 1957, although several with Rochester connections through time with the Red Wings have won the award, including nine by Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Gibson, eight each for Orioles-era shortstop Mark Belanger and outfielder Paul Blair, and seven for Hall of Famer Mike Mussina. The most recent Red Wing alum to win a Gold Glove was Toronto pitcher Jose Berrios, who won the AL award at pitcher in 2023.
The 28-year-old Clement, who has played in the Toronto, Oakland, and Cleveland systems, has never played for the Red Wings, but he’s still made plenty of appearances at Innovative Field, including playing in Rochester with the Buffalo Bisons and making an appearance with fellow Rochesterian Greg Cullen at the team store last November.
The final winners of the Gold Glove will be announced on ESPN on Sunday, Nov. 3, at 8:30 p.m.
Cal Ripkin played in Rochester. Won 2 Gold Gloves in ‘91&’92 Why isnt he on that list of players associated with Red Wings who won Gold Gloves.
Good luck Ernie and congratulations on a great season.