Phillies: Zack Wheeler’s Gold Glove nod has Mets fans and MLB players spiraling

Phillies ace Zack Wheeler received a Gold Glove nomination, but many think Mets starter Marcus Stroman deserved it

Zack Wheeler has truly come into his own since leaving the New York Mets for their division rival Philadelphia Phillies.

He’s posted the best numbers of his career in his first two seasons in Philadelphia, and now, is a pitching Gold Glove finalist.

Unfortunately, the Gold Glove finalist announcement made a lot of baseball fans, players, and media members very unhappy. Marcus Stroman, who joined the Mets in Wheeler’s final year and had an incredible 2021 season, was not named a finalist, and he almost definitely should have been.

The Mets social team wasn’t happy.

Nor was SNY, which broadcasts Mets games.

Stroman’s teammate Taijuan Walker, who led the NL in Defensive Runs Saved (+7), also weighed in on the fact that neither he nor Stroman were finalists.

Stroman agreed.

2013 Red Sox World Series champ Will Middlebrooks echoed that Stroman and Walker were two of a few stars who deserved nods.

Stroman even not-so-subtly hinted that the Gold Glove snub would have him boycotting Rawlings.

The snub was so egregious that it united the two rival New York ball clubs, with Stroman inviting Aaron Judge, also not named a finalist, to start a glove company with him, and Judge was all for it.

Stroman was one of the best pitchers in baseball this year. As Mets Metrics noted, he, Walker, and Wheeler were three of only four NL pitchers with at least 40 Putouts + Assists and a positive DRS.

Not winning or being nominated for these awards certainly doesn’t negate a player’s incredible season. But the snubs this season were egregious.

Mets fans have been unhappy all year long, watching Wheeler soar with their division rivals. Stroman’s Gold Glove snub appears to be the straw that broke the camel’s back.