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# Kody Clemens got screwed
- URL: https://the-generalist.ghost.io/kody-clemens-got-screwed/
- Published: 2026-10-15T12:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-15T12:00:02.000Z
- Description: How a weird discrepancy in award criteria worked against the Twins' star.
- Author: Patrick Donnelly
- Tags: baseball, advanced metrics, awards

There's an old joke that some of us like to repeat in the press box. If a guy gets a big hit or a home run, one of us might say, "That'll help his Gold Glove chances."

That seems counterintuitive, right? Because the Gold Glove is awarded for fielding prowess, not hitting skills. But most of the MLB awards are essentially popularity contests. And the bigger the name, the better the odds of winning.

Most awards are voted on by the Baseball Writers Association of America, an organization of which I have been a member for two seasons. And I can tell you, ball writers take that job seriously, if for no other reason than the threat of reprisal if/when our ballots go public. Nobody wants to get [brigaded by fans of a certain player or team](https://www.startribune.com/neal-pedro-martinez-boston-red-sox-al-mvp-cy-young/601182098?ref=the-generalist.ghost.io) if you got lazy and forgot to include one of their favorites on your list, or if they believe you undervalued their precious superstar.

However, the Gold Gloves are different. Voting conducted by MLB managers and coaches makes up 75 percent of the total, while 25 percent is allotted to defensive metrics – categories created and measured by the Society of American Baseball Researchers (SABR, whence the term "sabermetrics" is derived).

Managers and coaches have much better things to do with their time than take notes and study comparisons of opposing players to determine the best fielders at each position. They've got their own teams to worry about, whether they're in the playoffs or not. So a good chunk of their vote comes down to the players' reputation.

That's how Derek Jeter won five Gold Gloves – including his last one in 2010, when he was 36 years old – despite moving slower than the average glacier for much of his career. (Former Yankees announcer John Sterling said the phrase, "... and *past* a diving Jeter ..." so often that it became a meme.) He was good at positioning himself, but he had no range and an average arm. But he was Derek Jeter, Mr. Yankee of the 21st Century. Can't decide who to vote for? Ah, give it to Jeter, he's been around a while.

In 1999, Rafael Palmeiro of the Rangers won his third straight Gold Glove at first base, despite playing all but 28 games as a designated hitter that year. He had the reputation as a good fielder and had good defensive metrics the first two years. So when it came time to vote the next year, people likely didn't realize he was mostly a full-time DH. They remembered the name (in part because he was a monster at the plate, [PED accusations](https://www.si.com/mlb/2022/11/16/rafael-palmeiro-hall-of-fame-steroids?ref=the-generalist.ghost.io) or not) and checked his box.

Which brings me to my bigger point. Around midseason, I predicted that Kody Clemens would win a Gold Glove this year. Perhaps I'm biased because I watched him in person 60 times this season (versus a maximum of 12 times any opposing manager or coach would see him in person), but no matter where he lined up in the field, Clemens made more game-changing defensive plays than anyone else I saw this year.

He also bounced around the field a lot, which made him a favorite of Twins manager Derek Shelton because Clemens was both willing and able to play and play well wherever Shelton put him. For the record, Clemens started 69 games at second base, 40 games at first base, 17 games in right field, six games in center field and five games in left field.

There was a time when such versatility would have worked against him, because if you want to be voted the best player at a position, it helps to play *one* position, not five. But since 2022, utility players have had their own award to shoot for. And that's where I thought Clemens would wind up winning his first Gold Glove.

So when the [finalists for this year's Gold Glove Awards](https://www.mlb.com/news/2026-gold-glove-award-finalists?ref=the-generalist.ghost.io) were announced today and Clemens' name was nowhere to be found, I was gobsmacked. Surely he hit well enough (plus he's a Clemens, part of baseball royalty) to be a recognizable name to opposing managers and coaches. Longtime readers of The Generalist will remember that he authored THE Coolest Thing I Saw at Target Field This Summer as well.

[THE Coolest Thing I Saw at Target Field This SummerPlus, how to interview a player just minutes after he's had his heart yanked out of his chest and stomped on in front of hundreds of fans.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/d5/5f/d55f7f93-1c82-4c17-bb6a-1e45e9fda0a0/content/images/icon/favicon-8030b887-6096-4590-ba11-aace65d1cccd.ico)The GeneralistPatrick Donnelly![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/d5/5f/d55f7f93-1c82-4c17-bb6a-1e45e9fda0a0/content/images/thumbnail/IMG_2990-2-4c8846b8-c6fe-4be0-b63c-90e9db235bd6.jpg)](https://the-generalist.ghost.io/the-coolest-thing-i-saw-at-target-field-this-summer/)

Then I did a little digging and discovered a heretofore unknown twist. The utility player award – and *only* the utility player award – is based solely on SABR's defensive metrics formula. Players at every other position get a 75 percent boost from their reputations, their fame, how many times they were in the highlights for any reason – in other words, if they pass the eye test and the memory test. But utility players are at the mercy of the cold, hard numbers.

I'm not one of these guys who grumbles about advanced statistics – I think they add a lot to the game and can be very helpful in determining a player's true value. And according to the stats, Clemens wasn't one of the top 3 utility players in the American League. He was above average at first and the outfield but he struggled a bit in comparison to his peers at second base. And the eye test – my eyes, at least – agree with those findings. Clemens is a bit mechanical in his motions, which means he's not as fluid around the bag when starting or turning a double play. I would've thought he was around average, so I was surprised to see he was a minus-8 in defensive runs saved (in other words, an average second baseman would have saved eight more runs with his defense than Clemens did in the innings he played at second base).

But I also didn't realize the utility player Gold Glove was based exclusively on defensive metrics. So with every hit and every home run – he finished with 27 bombs and a 109 OPS+ (basically, he was nine percent better than the average hitter) – I thought he was doing enough to bolster his Q score around the AL and would get that big boost from the manager and coach vote. 

Instead, he was at the mercy of the statistics. And I'm OK with that, I guess. I don't see why utility players are graded differently than everyone else, though. Either reputation plays a role in every position or it shouldn't play a role in any position. But baseball is a game of traditions, and the eye test still matters to a lot of people in positions of power. 

So that's why I think Kody Clemens got screwed. In order to be a finalist next year, I can't even say he's going to have to hit better. His best bet, other than continuing to improve his defensive metrics, is to stick at one position all season. If the Twins move on from Royce Lewis and make Clemens their everyday first baseman, he's got a shot. Otherwise, he'll just have to settle for the respect of his manager and teammates for battling his tail off (old Gardyisms die hard) at every spot on the diamond.