Eye On Baseball unveiled their 2013 NL Bronze Cleat winners and the Mets had three players get the gold – or the bronze in this case.
The Bronze Cleat recognizes players who helped their team the most on the bases, not just with stolen bases, but also things like going first-to-third on a single or scoring from first on a double. FanGraphs’ Base-Running WAR also figures into the voting.
Second Base
Daniel Murphy, Mets: After spending the first few years of his career as an OK base-runner, someone who wouldn’t kill his team with his legs but wouldn’t do much to help out either, Murphy was borderline elite in 2013. He led all NL second baseman by stealing 23 bases in 26 attempts (88 percent) and taking the extra base a whopping 61 percent of the time. That’s the second-highest rate in the entire league among players who batted 350 times. Only NL MVP Andrew McCutchen was better. Matt Carpenter deserves a shoutout for his work on the bases this year.
Third Base
David Wright, Mets: I think Wright has reached “he’s so good he’s boring” status. We’ve marveled at his ability for so long that it has sort of lost its appeal. Wright stole 11 more bases than any other regular third baseman in the league (17 in 20 attempts) and he was essentially tied for first by taking the extra base 43 percent of the time. He was unanimous, getting the first-place vote on all four ballots. Ho hum.
Outfield
Eric Young, Mets: There are some truly outstanding outfielders in the NL, but none stood out on the bases as much as Carlos Gomez and Young. They clearly separated themselves from the pack and it showed in our voting. Young led the circuit with 46 stolen bases (in 57 attempts) and he hustled for that extra base 55 percent of the time. Gomez swiped 40 bags in 47 tries and took the extra base 44 percent of the time. They were both outstanding.
