It would be inappropriate to say that the winners of this year’s Fielding Bible Awards were the only players deserving of the honor. We had a great field of candidates at each position, so, as we did last year, we thought it would be worthwhile to acknowledge those who were the runners-up in the voting at each position.

First Base – Christian Walker of the Diamondbacks was the two-time reigning Award winner before being dethroned by four-time Award winner Matt Olson this year. Walker finished fifth at the position in Defensive Runs Saved. His 33 Runs Saved at first base over the last three seasons are the most of anyone at the position.

Second Base – Brice Turang of the Brewers led all second basemen with 22 Runs Saved in 2024 but lost a close vote to the only repeat winner from 2023, Andrés Giménez of the Guardians. Turang was an MLB-best 22 plays made above average on balls hit to his right, repeatedly taking away hits on balls hit up the middle.

Third Base – Ryan McMahon of the Rockies was a runner-up for the second straight season after finishing tied for second in Runs Saved at the position. He’s finished in the top four in voting at third base in each of the last four seasons but has never won an Award.

Shortstop – Ezequiel Tovar of the Rockies was one of six shortstops to record at least 10 Runs Saved in 2024. He ranks second in Runs Saved at this position since the start of the 2023 season. Tovar excelled at turning batted balls into outs and turning double plays, though slightly less so statistically than position Award winner Masyn Winn.

Left field – Steven Kwan of the Guardians was a two-time reigning winner before being dethroned by Riley Greene of the Tigers this year. This was Kwan’s best year in terms of his throwing. He had 4 Outfield Arm Runs Saved and allowed only 27% of runners to advance an extra base on balls he fielded (MLB average for left field is 39%).

Center Field – Daulton Varsho of the Blue Jays was the runner-up in center field after finishing with the second-most Defensive Runs Saved there (he also had the second-most in left field). However, Varsho likely isn’t complaining. After all, he won both our Multi-Position Award and Defensive Player of the Year.

Right Field – Sal Frelick of the Brewers was neck-and-neck with Wilyer Abreu in Runs Saved right up to the very end of the season. In fact, he led the position in the Range component of the stat. But he came up a little short, both in overall Runs Saved and in the Award voting, to Abreu.

Catcher – Cal Raleigh of the Mariners had standout numbers in our pitch framing and stolen base metrics but had the misfortune of going against a defensive superstar in Giants catcher Patrick Bailey, who rated slightly better than Raleigh in both areas.

Pitcher – Spencer Schwellenbach of the Braves is a former college shortstop and fields his position like one. He tied for second among pitchers in Defensive Runs Saved and came the closest to winning the voting among the second-place finishers. We wouldn’t be surprised to see him winning the Award next year.

Multi-Position – Jarren Duran of the Red Sox had the second-most Runs Saved of anyone with his 23 split between center field and left field. Duran made huge improvements in center field in particular. He totaled 17 Runs Saved there after tallying -5, -9, and -5 the previous three seasons.

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