Simon: MLB’s best defenders in July

August 3, 2012/in /by jpomrenke

From SABR member Mark Simon at ESPN.com on August 3, 2012:

Who was the best defensive player of the month for July?

For the first time, our panel of voters didn’t have a consensus choice. The margin was narrow, but Cubs second baseman Darwin Barney edged out Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira and Athletics right fielder Josh Reddick.

Because the voting was so close, it seemed only fair to salute all three in this space. Let’s take a closer look at their performances.

Darwin Barney, Cubs 2B
When Baseball Info Solutions made adjustments to its defensive metrics a few weeks ago, we thought that Barney would be among those to take a big hit.

But Barney’s numbers turned out to be legit all along. The Cubs second baseman ended the month as the game’s most valuable defender, with 27 Defensive Runs Saved for the season, eight coming in July.

Read the full article here: http://espn.go.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/27548/julys-best-defenders-barney-tex-reddick

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Originally published: August 3, 2012. Last Updated: August 3, 2012.