Pirates catcher Jacob Stallings adds name to Gold Glove winners, excited to wear new label

Jacob Stallings wouldn’t allow himself to look at the Rawlings Gold Glove Award winners at his position until his name was on it, so the Pittsburgh Pirates catcher was excited to finally scan the list.

When Stallings finally indulged, he realized that would be recognized alongside past multiple Gold Glove winners such as Johnny Bench, Gary Carter, Tony Pena, Charles Johnson, Mike Matheny and Yadier Molina.

While it still hadn’t sunk in on Sunday night after the announcement on ESPN’s awards show, Stallings called it a “dream come true” to be honored as the best defensive player at his position in the National League. Stallings edged nine-time winner Molina and JT Realmuto of the Philadelphia Phillies in voting by MLB managers and coaches.

“It was crazy looking at the list and knowing that I’ll be on there for the rest of time,” Stallings said. “To be honest, it’s kind of been probably the highest individual achievement that I ever felt like I could probably win. … Growing up, I kind of wondered if I could win the Gold Glove. I didn’t really think I could get to the big leagues. I thought that maybe, if somebody would hit for me or something, (and) just let me play defense I could maybe win the Gold Glove.”

Stallings ???? Rawlings

Golden pic.twitter.com/sPMUMk1nl0

— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) November 8, 2021

Stallings, 31, earned the honors based on his SABR Defensive Index after leading the NL in defensive runs saved (21) and in defensive runs above average (16.4). His pitch block rate (95.5%) and playing 892 innings without allowing a passed ball proved elite. Stallings felt like he was best at blocking pitches but called it a “thankless statistic.”

“Nobody really pays too close attention to that,” Stallings said. “It’s mostly receiving and caught stealing. I was worried because I felt like blocking is what I did the best. I guess it’s gratifying to know that, not that I wasn’t doing it for nothing, but that the coaches around the league noticed and the metrics noticed and that it paid off for me.”

Jacob Stallings is coming in as the best pitch-blocker. In looking for a video of him, I came across this unrelated topic, where he talks about teaching himself Catcher Framing. And we can see that he made a leap forward between 2018 and 2019.https://t.co/34e1fbh9aq pic.twitter.com/JfVWe49Eiw

— Tangotiger (@tangotiger) October 19, 2021

Stallings was quick to share his success with everyone from Pirates manager Derek Shelton to assistant coach Glenn Sherlock to former bench coach Tom Prince and especially bullpen catcher Jordan Comadena. Stallings credited Comadena with helping him work on his pitch framing in 2019, when he went from third-string to starter.

“It started as I kind of came across (the analytics) and saw that I was really an average to below average receiver,” said Stallings, who broke down every pitch with Prince after games. “I don’t know that I would’ve been able to do it without them. They were great, just supportive, get on me when I needed to get kicked in the butt a little bit.”

Jacob Stallings - Pittsburgh Pirates.#catchers #catching #blocking pic.twitter.com/njsgYs4wOE

— Goodro Catching (@goodrocatching) March 24, 2021

Base-loaded stop. Split squat blocking setup. The patience by the catcher is flawless. Mitt turns over at exactly the last millisecond.

Jacob Stallings - Pittsburg Pirates#catching #catchers pic.twitter.com/5SA0ukCUkN

— Goodro Catching (@goodrocatching) April 1, 2021

As Stallings started to pay closer attention to analytics, he admitted to becoming too absorbed with the daily metrics. This past season, he allowed his performance to state the case. Stallings was especially thankful that his stellar play behind the plate was rewarded after being disappointed to come away emptyhanded as a finalist in 2020.

“I don’t think I’m really going to wow anyone,” Stallings said. “I’m not going to go out and make too many spectacular plays. I think my greatest strengths are just never taking a play off, never taking a pitch off, no matter the score or anything like that.”

Stallings is the first Pirate to win a Gold Glove since left fielder Corey Dickerson in 2018, and the first catcher since Mike LaValliere in 1987. Not only does Stallings get to see his name on a list alongside Pena and LaValliere as Gold Glove winners, but he is excited to wear the gold patch label on his catcher’s mitt, another Rawlings tradition.

“That was one of my main motivations,” Stallings said. “Just such a cool thing that they do. It’s funny. I’m really looking forward to it, is the best way to (say it). It’s one of the coolest things about winning the award. I’ll get a gold label for the rest of my career.”