Kevin Newman In The Midst of Historic Streak At Shortstop
Entering the 2021 season, there were two main areas of the game that the Pittsburgh Pirates were focusing on. General Manager Ben Cherington wanted to make pitching and defense the foundation of this young team. The pitching is developing and working through some inexperience, but the defense has actually seen great improvement so far in 2021. At the end of the 2020 season, the Pirates ranked second to last in all of baseball at a .977 fielding percentage. Flash forward to this season, and the Pirates are one of the top defensive teams in the league. They currently are tied for ninth in all of Major League Baseball with a .984 fielding percentage.
Leading the charge defensively has been shortstop Kevin Newman who has written his name in the Pirates history books. He previously held the franchise record with 54 consecutive errorless innings at shortstop, which he set during his rookie season. However, Newman is back at it again and shattered his own record this season. So far, Newman has played 56 consecutive errorless games at shortstop and still counting. He added another game to his streak today, playing a perfect shortstop and keeping his fielding percentage at a perfect 1.000. He has helped to lead the position group, as Pirates shortstops are the best defensive shortstops in all of baseball with a fielding percentage of .988. Today, we look at Newman's success and how he has been so good on the defensive side of the ball.
Growing Into The Shortstop
When you think of a Big League shortstop, the thing that normally comes to mind first is defense. They are the quarterbacks of the infield, and help lead all the other infielders on the field. If there is one thing that Newman has done well at throughout his career, it is fielding the ball. He played over 3,500 innings of shortstop in the Minor Leagues and had a fielding percentage of .978. He committed just 34 errors in five Minor League seasons for an average of just 6.8 errors per season. His batting average fluctuated throughout his Minor League career, but one thing remained the same and that was Newman's consistent defense. When he initially got called to the Majors, it was a little bit of a struggle.
He got his first call to the Big Leagues in 2018 but didn't start consistently playing shortstop until the 2019 season. That year, he started as a bench player, and actually had a rough start defensively. It led to an overall heightened fielding percentage of .973 by season's end. However, by the end of the year, he was almost flawless at shortstop, and that is when he rattled off his franchise-record 54 consecutive scoreless innings. Put with that his .304 batting average, and he all but nailed down the starting shortstop job. He came into 2020 with no questions about his position, but the pandemic would put into question the season. Newman ended up appearing in 23 games at shortstop in 2020 and had his worst defensive season yet with a .930 fielding percentage.
This off-season, he made it his mission to improve defensively, and regularly posted videos on Twitter of his progress. It has all paid off so far this season, as in 56 games, 54 starts, as a shortstop, Newman has yet to commit an error. He has helped lead the Pirates shortstops to have the best fielding percentage in the league and has helped the Pirates as a whole crack the top 10 in fielding percentage. As we approach the halfway point of the season, there is no telling how far Newman takes this errorless games streak. He currently sits at 56 consecutive games but has a long way to go if he wants to contend for the MLB record of 110 consecutive errorless games at shortstop, set by Orioles infielder Mike Bordick in 2002. For now, Newman will continue to play his solid defense, and do his best to help the Pirates win ball games.
Hardware On The Way
Last season, the Pittsburgh Pirates had two Gold Glove Award nominees in Adam Frazier and Jacob Stallings. Both are doing great again with Frazier sitting at a .979 fielding percentage, and Stallings sitting at a .993 fielding percentage. Both should once again be in the running for a Gold Glove award, but there may be another player joining the mix. If Newman keeps up the pace he is on currently, he will definitely be in that conversation at year's end. The only thing currently stopping him from being named an elite shortstop in the MLB is his lack of offense. In 223 at-bats this season, Newman is hitting .202 with two home runs and 12 RBI. You would like to see him hit for a little more average, but the key thing keeping him in his role is his defensive play.
Among Pirates shortstops, the one who usually comes to mind when you talk of defense is Erik Gonzalez. The utility man has a slick glove and actually beat Newman out for the position in 2019. However, this season, his fielding percentage at shortstop is a not-so-good .957 in 14 games played. Shortstop is highly regarded as a defensive first position, and if Gonzalez is going to struggle there, Newman is going to continue to get reps. He is the only everyday shortstop in Major League Baseball who has not committed an error and currently leads the league in Defensive Runs Saved with 6.2. He is almost a run over the next closest shortstop, Trea Turner of the Washington Nationals with 5.3 defensive runs saved.
Even though his offense has been a struggle this season, Newman still deserves to get the majority of the reps at shortstop for his defense alone. You need a reliable guy at shortstop and Newman has been just that for the Pirates. Because Newman has been so good this season, if the Pirates end up trading Adam Frazier, I would keep Newman at shortstop. Cole Tucker would be the next man up, but Newman's defense is just too good to take away from shortstop. With the next generation of shortstops still a couple of years away from the Big Leagues, Newman will likely hold down the position for the next couple of seasons. If he continues to pay this strong defense, it will be a good couple of years for Pirates shortstops.
The Pittsburgh Pirates (23-44) open up a three-game series tomorrow night against the Cleveland Indians (37-28) at 7:05 pm. Chad Kuhl (0-4, 6.52) takes the mound for the Pirates in search of his first win of the season as he faces J.C. Mejia (1-1, 4.26) for the Indians. You can watch the game on AT&T Sportsnet, listen on 93.7 The Fan, or follow along with us on Twitter by following @Buccos_Cove.
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