"Eat My Shorts!": Blue Jay Pitcher Defends Matt Chapman For Gold Glove Snub

For some, it was a surprising outcome when the Gold Glove awards were handed out on Tuesday and Toronto Blue Jays defender-supreme at third base, Matt Chapman, was not among the recipients. After all, he's dominated the position on the defensive side of the ball over the last half-decade. 

The 29-year-old Chapman had won the previous three full-season Gold Gloves at 3B, but in the final count, the ballots gave the American League award this year to Ramon Urias of the Baltimore Orioles. 

Urias had a great season, no doubt, and came out on top of some of the metrics that voters look at, including Defensive Runs Saved: he led the AL with 14. Urias was also tied with Josh Donaldson for the most Outs Above Average at 7. 

But none of that means much to Blue Jays pitcher Ross Stripling who had the benefit of Chapman's defense behind him for the first time this season. And from his front-row seat, he had his own sabermetric response (sort of) to the snubbing of Chapman for the Gold Glove:

I’m open to all analytics and metrics in our game. Besides the ones that say Matt Chapman isn’t the best 3B in the American League. Those metrics can eat my shorts

— Ross Stripling (@RossStripling) November 2, 2022

"I’m open to all analytics and metrics in our game. Besides the ones that say Matt Chapman isn’t the best 3B in the American League. Those metrics can eat my shorts."

Hilarious response by Stripling. Of course, Jays' fans won't be laughing if Stripling isn't back in a Toronto uniform in 2023. He's a free agent, however, and with the rock-solid year he had as an emergency fill-in in the Jays' rotation (10-4, 3.01 ERA, 111:20 K/BB ratio), he's in line for his first really big payday in the big leagues. It's unknown if the Jays' front office will see itself clear to match the highest bidder. 

Photo: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports