2010 AL Gold Glove Winner Reactions Mainly Focused On Derek Jeter

There's not much complaining about Joe Mauer, who is legitimately excellent. No one has a real strong opinion on Mark Buehrle, either, since pitchers end up making so few plays. Mark Teixeira does good work at first, Evan Longoria does great work at third, and Ichiro Suzuki, Carl Crawford, and Franklin Gutierrez are among the premier defensive outfielders on the planet. By and large, this is an inoffensive list.

The targets of criticism, then, have been the two Yankes in the middle infield. Robinson Cano won his first Gold Glove at second base, and - more significantly - Derek Jeter won his fifth, and second in a row, at shortstop. Baseball-Reference.com captures the popular sentiment:

Jeter's defense has long been of questionable quality, and it seems highly unlikely that a 36 year old shortstop is better in the field than, say, Alexei Ramirez, Cliff Pennington, or Elvis Andrus. But Jeter is Jeter, and we should all expect it by now.

Cano also stands out, albeit not to the same degree. Strong arguments could be made in favor of guys like Mark Ellis and Orlando Hudson, and the probability is that Cano won because of his offensive breakthrough. But Cano did make just three errors all season, which likely played a big part in his receiving this honor.