First Gloves: Kirby Puckett

A few years ago, ESPN ran a piece in which they asked some major leaguers if they remembered their first gloves. It was sort of sweet, the way a bullpen coach in his forties could still recall the second-hand Dave Winfield glove his dad fixed up for him, or how Buster Posey remembered that his first glove was the one his mom used to play softball.

At the time of the article, Brad Miller was the starting shortstop for the Tampa Bay Rays, and he was in the midst of the best season he would ever have. Well, offensively at least. Miller hit 30 homers and had 81 RBI, both career highs. He also played the most games of his career, and had the most plate appearances, and the most hits, and scored the more runs. His 3.3 offensive WAR for the year was also the best mark he would ever achieve.

Unfortunately, Miller was simply terrible in the field. His -24 Fielding Runs were, by far, the worst total of anyone in the major leagues who played at least half of their games at shortstop. In fact, it was the worst total at any position other than Andrew McCutchen’s -26 FR’s in center field for the Pirates, the first year it became clear he shouldn’t be playing there any more.