As the offseason begins to kick into full gear, the awards for the 2011 season will begin to trickle out. Tuesday night, the 2011 Rawlings Gold Glove Awards Show will air on ESPN2 — the first time the awards have been given out on television.
ESPN sent out a release Monday afternoon with the three finalists at each position up for the Gold Glove Award this year. Despite the Nationals much-improved defense, there is not a single Washington player on the list this year.
The Nationals had a .983 fielding percentage in 2011 — ninth in the National League — and had two former Gold Glove winners on their roster in Ryan Zimmerman (1) and Ivan Rodriguez (13) as well as an infield defense that was both improved and impressive, and arguably the best outfield arm in the game in center most nights in Rick Ankiel. Nationals catchers also threw out 34 percent of baserunners this season, good for third best in the NL behind Arizona (41 percent) and Cincinnati (35 percent).
Still, not a single National found his name on the list ESPN released Monday.
Here is the full list of finalists by position with the American League listed first and National League second:
Pitcher
Mark Buehrle, CWS
Dan Haren, LAA
Fausto Carmona, CLE
Clayton Kershaw, LAD
Hiroki Kuroda, LAD
Kyle Lohse, STL
Catcher
Matt Wieters, BAL
A.J. Pierzynski, CWS
Alex Avila, DET
Yadier Molina, STL
Brian McCann, ATL
Carlos Ruiz, PHI
First Base
Adrian Gonzalez, BOS
Casey Kotchman, TB
Mark Teixeira, NYY
Joey Votto, CIN
Gaby Sanchez, FLA
James Loney, LAD
Second Base
Dustin Pedroia , BOS
Robinson Cano, NYY
Ian Kinsler, TEX
Brandon Phillips, CIN
Neil Walker, PIT
Omar Infante, FLA
Shortstop
Erick Aybar, LAA
J.J. Hardy, BAL
Asdrubal Cabrera, CLE
Troy Tulowitzki, COL
Ronny Cedeno, PIT
Alex Gonzalez, ATL
Third Base
Adrian Beltre, TEX
Kevin Youkilis, BOS
Evan Longoria, TB
Placido Polanco, PHI
Daniel Descalso, STL
Pablo Sandoval, SFG
Left Field
Alex Gordon, KC
Brett Gardner, NYY
Sam Fuld, TB
Gerardo Parra, ARI
Ryan Braun, MIL
Matt Holliday, STL
Center Field
Jacoby Ellsbury, BOS
Austin Jackson, DET
Peter Bourjos, LAA
Matt Kemp, LAD
Shane Victorino, PHI
Chris Young, ARI
Right Field
Nick Markakis, BAL
Torii Hunter, LAA
Jeff Francoeur, KC
Andre Ethier, LAD
Carlos Beltran, NYM/SFG
Jay Bruce, CIN
