Shortstops, right fielders are guys you gotta glove

Run prevention is one of baseball’s new buzz terms. As the game and how we watch it continue to evolve, we’re realizing more with each passing season that the balls that end up in gloves are just as important as the ones that end up in the bleacher seats.

Defense could be just as important to success in the Major Leagues as any other facet of the game, and there are myriad ways to evaluate it through advanced statistics. Those are becoming increasingly more reliable as the 2016 campaign winds down and we look to reward the best in the sport for their stellar work with the glove.

This year’s Esurance MLB Award finalists for Best Defensive Player are a fivesome as fearsome with the leather as they are with the bat, and they are focused on two of the most pivotal positions: right field and shortstop.

Mookie Betts of the Red Sox and Adam Eaton of the White Sox are right fielders, and Brandon Crawford of the Giants, Francisco Lindor of the Indians and Addison Russell of the Cubs are shortstops. All are elite defenders set to vie for this distinguished and well-deserved honor.

The Esurance MLB Awards annually honor Major League Baseball’s greatest achievements as part of an industry-wide balloting process that includes five groups, each of which accounts for 20 percent of the overall vote: media, front-office personnel, retired MLB players, fans at MLB.com and Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) voters.

Cast your Esurance MLB Awards ballot

The MLB Awards are an all-inclusive program, encompassing the top players and performances from both the American and National leagues from Opening Day through the end of the postseason.

Individual awards will go to the Best Major Leaguer, Best Hitter, Best Pitcher, Best Rookie, Best Defensive Player, Best …

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