Listen Live
97.9 The Box Featured Video
CLOSE

 

 

(via chron.com)

Astros outfielder Michael Bourn further established his reputation as one of the best defensive players in baseball today, capturing his second Gold Glove award.

National League managers and coaches selected the center fielder as an NL Gold Glove winner in the outfield along with Shane Victorino of the Phillies and Carlos Gonzalez of the Rockies. The voters do not distinguish among the three outfield positions when voting.

Other winners were Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina and first baseman Albert Pujols, Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips, third baseman Scott Rolen and pitcher Bronson Arroyo and Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki.

The Astros acquired Bourn, who played at Nimitz High School and the University of Houston, in a 2007 trade with Philadelphia for closer Brad Lidge. Since his Astros debut in 2008, Bourn has been inconsistent on offense, but his stellar defense has kept him on the field and kept him a productive and often underrated player.

He is among the fastest players in the game and at home games, keeps steady patrol of one of the largest and most awkwardly shaped center fields in all of baseball.

Outstanding catches headed back into the gaps have become almost routine.

“Michael’s second Gold Glove comes as no surprise to anyone who has watched him play,” general manager Ed Wade said in a statement. “You see the ball leave the bat, and you say, ‘No way that one gets caught,’ and then Michael runs it down. Some guys make plays look tougher than they are. Michael makes the impossible catch look routine. It’s nice to see his hard work get recognized.”

And the numbers back up his proficiency with the glove.

When he won the more statistically-oriented Fielding Bible Award last week, it was calculated that Bourn saved the Astros 16 runs over the course of the season.