Brice Turang and Sal Frelick, both of whom were born before George W. Bush was elected president, were awarded with Gold Gloves Monday for their league-pacing defensive performances at second base and right field, respectively, in the Milwaukee Brewers 2024 season that ended in heartbreak.
Some superlatives
Turang made more plays (441 total) than any other second-baseman in the majors this year, despite being on the field for nearly 2,500 fewer pitches than second-place Marcus Semien. Beyond quantity, he also prevented more runs from scoring (22, according to Fangraphs) than anyone else in baseball.
And Frelick nearly died (not really, but it looked pretty bad) when he ran full-sprint into the wall in right field to prevent a home run in Phoenix in a late-season victory. He also accumulated 16 Fangraphs Defensive Runs Saved in just 106 appearances in right field. Not too shabby.
Both of these 24-year-olds pass the eye test and have the nerdy advanced stats to back it up. Let’s reminisce in some of their best defensive moments.
One of the best double plays you will ever see
“Nobody better. Brice Turang, just give him the Gold Glove.”
Coming in fast
Frelick’s most-impressive defensive play of the year, per Statcast’s Catch Probability metric, came May 24 in which he covered 72 feet in 4.1 seconds to make a diving catch at Fenway Park, the stadium the Massachusetts native grew up dreaming of playing in.
Pretending I’m a superman…
Perhaps the crowd got loudest for Frelick when he went “Superman” to make a diving grab in deep center on May 14 to steal extra bases from ex-Brewer Andrew McCutchen…
Milwaukee doesn’t need to riot, apparently
A 112-mph groundout
A two-fer
Most games, even the best defenders don’t get a chance at making a web gem. On July 28, Turang made them on back-to-back plays against the Florida Marlins, saving at least a couple runs for rookie hurler Tobias Myers.
He called game.
And who can forget when Frelick ended the June 18 game against the Angels by robbing what would have been a three-run game tying homer with two outs in the bottom of the ninth in Anaheim
Look ma, no hands
While Frelick has been robbing home runs, Turang still was robbed of being named an All-Star this year.
Put him on the mound
Good news for Brewers fans: both of these young Cerveceros are under contract until 2030, so they could have a few more Midas-touched Mitts
