A Fielding Bible Award recognizes the best defensive player for each fielding position in Major League Baseball (MLB) based on statistical analysis.[1][2] John Dewan and Baseball Info Solutions conduct the annual selection process, which commenced in 2006.[3] The awards are voted on by 10 sabermetrically inclined journalists and bloggers including Dewan, sabermetric pioneer Bill James, and writers such as Peter Gammons, NBC Sports' Joe Posnanski, SB Nation editor Rob Neyer, and ESPN analyst Doug Glanville.[4][5][6] The awards have historically been announced before the Gold Glove Awards, the traditional measurement of fielding excellence.[7] Dewan wrote that this award cannot equal the prestige of the Gold Glove, which started 50 years earlier, but it provides an alternative.[8]
Voted on by a 10-person panel that includes Bill James, Peter Gammons, Joe Posnanski, Rob Neyer, and John Dewan as well as the entire video scouting team at Baseball Info Solutions, the award sets out to recognize the best defensive player at each position, regardless of league.
Unlike the Gold Glove awards, chosen by coaches and based largely on reputation, the Fielding Bible Awards are picked by a panel of experts relying heavily on new-wave statistical analysis for defense.
Every year, John Dewan and Baseball Info Solutions conduct their own process, the Fielding Bible Awards.
And in The Fielding Bible Awards, a vote by various sabermetrically inclined journalists and bloggers, Zimmerman narrowly lost out to Tampa Bay's Evan Longoria (voters didn't differentiate between leagues).
From a news release, here's the makeup of the group that gave Bourn his award in a statistically-guided decision as Bourn is figured to have saved the Astros 16 runs.
The awards have historically been announced before the Gold Glove awards, which are the traditional barometer for fielding excellence.