Stallings enjoys being a Glove finalist
This isn’t the first time Jacob Stallings has received recognition for his defense, but the honor is not lost on him.
The Pirates catcher was named a National League Gold Glove finalist Thursday at his position for the second season in a row.
This, of course, comes more than five years after Stallings was designated for assignment by the Pirates. That tidbit comes up often with Stallings — not as a slight, but as a testament to the circuitous journey he has taken to get to this point.
In 2016, Stallings was a fringe major leaguer, struggling to hit at Class AAA Indianapolis. It would be two more seasons of that sort of story, though his offensive numbers in the minor leagues did improve. Stallings broke through for good in 2019, playing in 72 games. Two years later, here he is, a 31-year-old who steadily has become one of the best defensive catchers in baseball, his name announced alongside at least one Hall of Famer in Yadier Molina and another star in JT Realmuto as the other catching finalists.
“I would say [Molina is] in the same stratosphere as Johnny Bench, and there’s probably a couple others that are up there with him ... but they’re kind of in a different stratosphere than me,” Stallings told the PostGazette. “... So it’s just a guy that I have a ton of respect for. I have a ton of respect for JT as well. Yeah, I mean, it’s weird. It’s really weird to be in that same sentence as him and as those guys, but it’s cool for sure.”
Stallings’ defensive improvement is not an accident. That much is well-documented, too. He worked tirelessly on his framing, blocking and general athleticism, remaining as agile as possible within his 6-foot-5, 225-pound frame.
And he did all that work
to carve a role for himself as a major leaguer, first and foremost. In 2019, he was still in a position battle with Elias Diaz. He eventually won, but even still, there are no guarantees of longevity in this business, and it behooves Stallings to stay on top of his work.
After last year’s recognition as a finalist for the Gold Glove, an award he lost to Tucker Barnhart of the Cincinnati Reds, Stallings remained hungry for the prize. Unlike some other major leaguers, he acknowledges that he does look at statistical leader boards to see where he stacks up. He was well aware that he led all of baseball with 21 defensive runs saved, edging out Houston Astros shortstop Carlos Correa by a small margin.
He also pays attention to the Society for American Baseball Research’s defensive index stats. About 25% of the Gold Glove vote is given based on SABR’s findings
with that stat, with the rest coming from manager and coach votes. According to SABR’s website, Stallings led the National League in SABR’s defensive index, so that certainly bodes well for his prospects of actually winning the thing.
Those things, Stallings says, fuel him during a long season, in addition to whatever team success he can help the Pirates achieve.
“I think that probably has driven me even more so than I’d normally be driven, just to be as good as I can be,” Stallings said. “No matter the score of the game or anything like that, you’re always playing for something and everybody’s always playing for something.”
Stallings is one of three Pirates to be named a finalist. Center fielder Bryan Reynolds and shortstop Kevin Newman are there, too, for their respective positions. The veteran catcher admitted how proud he was of Newman,
especially, given how hard he worked in the offseason to improve his defense.
In the end, though, Stallings has become the stalwart for the Pirates defense. Two years in a row as a finalist will do that for a player’s reputation. Even still, he appreciates the honor.
“Certainly something that I didn’t expect when I started playing professional baseball, to be in this position, but really cool,” Stallings said. “Obviously Yadi and JT are two of the best at the position and just really, really good players. So it’s really cool to be finalists with them. I think it’s really just cool for me personally to get to where I’ve gotten. I think a lot of my numbers speak for themselves this year, and hopefully I get enough coach votes to win it.”