TOWER GROVE — It took the record holder, fittingly, to clue me into the record challenger and just what this newcomer could pull off this season.

A few weeks ago, Ken Reitz pulled me aside at the ballpark with a simple question: “Hey, how many errors does Glaus have?” The answer then is the same as it is now: Five. Glaus being third baseman Troy Glaus, of course, and errors being of chief interest to Reitz, who just happen to once own the National League record for fewest errors at the hot corner. In 1977, Reitz set the franchise record for the position with a .980 fielding percentage. He also set the NL record with nine errors that season. In 1980, he broke that with eight errors in 379 chances for a just-missed .979 fielding percentage. His eight errors and .980 fielding percentage are both club records, both eclipsed in the league in 2005 by Mike Lowell, whose six errors are the fewest by a player with at least 135 games at the position.

Both of Reitz’s records could fall to Glaus’ glove:

Glaus, 2008 … .984 FPCT … 5 errors

Reitz, team records … .980 FPCT … 8 errors

Lowell, 2005 … .983 FPCT … 6 errors (NL record)

The Cardinals have four players with intriguing Gold Glove credentials — from Albert Pujols at first base to Yadier Molina’s potentially snagging his first career Gold Glove at catcher and all the way out to center field, where Rick Ankiel has the highlights that tend to stick in voters’ memories. Not one of their Gold claims is as strong as Glaus, who is seeking his first. MLB.com’s Matthew Leach proved quicker to this topic with his well-reported discussion of Glaus’ Gold-metal chances today on the team’s official Web site. Lots of good quotes in there. Kudos to Leach for getting Glaus’ thoughts: “I’d love to be able to have that on my mantel,” the third baseman told the Florida State fanatic.

I come then not to repeat any of the coverage there, but to also explore it.

One of the recurring themes here in this blog is the problem with defensive statistics. (Down with Range Factor.) There are no fool-proof ones, only a lot of foolish ones. When it comes to National Leaguers, David Wright may have the better reputation at third base and he does have more total chances than Glaus (335 to 322), but that edge is misleading. Wright also has 90 more innings at the position than Glaus, 1,125 2/3 to 1,035. What is especially true for middle infielders can also be the case for third baseman — the hot corner on groundball teams tends to be busier and, therefore, the statistics better.

The Cardinals are second in baseball in groundouts, so it follows that Glaus would get  more chances than say Melvin Mora, whose Orioles rank eight in baseball, or Aramis Ramirez, whose Cubs rank 29th in groundouts.

Seattle third baseman Adrian Beltre’s Range Factor isn’t a wow (2.75, lower than Glaus’ 2.76 and Mora’s 2.94), but it lacks context. Beltre leads the majors in total chances (339) and assists (242) despite his team being smack dab in the middle of groundouts coaxed. Make of it what you will. Defense is better taken in gulps than in snapshots. And it is when the spectrum of numbers is considered that Glaus emerges as the best choice for the NL Gold Glove.

Consider the top MLB third basemen who have at least 500 innings at the corner:

THIRD BASEMAN, Team … Inn. Played … TC … ERRORS … FPCT

Troy Glaus, STL … 1,035 … 322 … FIVE … .984

Chone Figgins, LAA … 726 … 212 … FOUR … .981

Ryan Zimmerman, WSH … 640 2/3 … 216 … SIX … .972

Evan Longoria, TB …. 908 2/3 … 275 … EIGHT … .971

Pedro Felix, PHI … 777 1/3 … 250 … EIGHT … .968

Kevin Kouzmanoff, SD … 1,078 … 311 … TEN … .968

Ty Wigginton, HOU … 626 … 187 … SIX … .968

Blake DeWitt, LAD … 690 … 245 … EIGHT … .967

Scott Rolen, TOR … 771 2/3 … 237 … EIGHT … .966

Mike Lowell, BOS … 854 2/3 … 282 … TEN … .965

Alex Rodriguez, NYY … 878 1/3 … 257 … NINE … .965

I included so many American League third basemen because there really aren’t that many NL third basemen in the conversation. Glaus’ fielding percentage is not only giving Reitz’s record a run, it leads the entire league by nearly .020. It would take a profound rash of flubs for him not to lead the league in fielding percentage by a healthy margin. But fielding percentage alone does not a Gold Glove make.

Over at Bill James Online, they keep updated Fielding Bible statistics, and as Leach mentioned in his article, Glaus ranks well there. The most tangible of these stats is the Plus/Minus. It’s simple: The fielder gets a plus for a play beyond the average range and gets a minus for a miss within the average range. As far as defensive stats go, it’s muscular without being intimidating.

Here are the top 10 in the majors in Plus/Minus:

1. Beltre +27
2. Rolen +19
3. Jack Hannahan +15
4. Longoria +11
5. Figgins +11
6. Joe Crede +9
7. DeWitt +9
8. Glaus +8
9. Andy Marte +8
10. Wright +7

Again, Glaus ranks well against the other National Leaguers. A few more plays to his left (he’s a +5 in that direction) and he’ll surpass DeWitt and lead the league.

Numbers are nice. Eyes are better.

One of my prized posters in the college dorm room, located right above my desk, featured a certain third baseman fielding his position in front of a burning base. (Aside: Whatever happened to those punny posters of yore? Bash Brothers. Roboback. Chicago Vice. The Mail Man. Man of Steal. The aforementioned, Hot Corner? There has to be an El Hombre poster out there somewhere, right?) Third base has its defensive allure. And today’s game is stacked with guys who play it well — starting with Longoria, Beltre, Zimmerman and Crede. The best I’ve seen play in the past decade or so:

1. Scott Rolen
2. Ken Caminiti
3. Robin Ventura
4. Mike Lowell
5. Eric Chavez

Glaus knew going into this season that he was stepping into the position once held by the best defensive third baseman of the generation — and some argue the best defensive infielder of his era. He said repeatedly he isn’t Rolen. No one is. What Glaus is this season is healthy. It no longer feels like he’s wearing his cleats inside out when he steps for a ball. He’s no longer wondering if this is the lunge that puts him on the DL.

The numbers are good, but the eyes tell us that few in baseball are as good as Glaus at coming in on the ball. Few at the position have as good an arm as Glaus. Sure he doesn’t get to his right as readily as others, but there are plays he makes in front of him that help compensate.

“He’s been healthy,” longtime teammate Adam Kennedy said. “He’s been healthy and he’s playing everyday. Troy has always been one of those guys who plays better the more he plays. … It’s probably the best (defense) I’ve seen him play. But I don’t know if I can say that really. I’ve always thought he was up there with the best.”

News Flash: He has been.

We can all be a little myopic — focusing only on the NL and the behemoth AL teams — and this an example of what we miss: Glaus played good D for Anaheim. From 2000 to 2003, Glaus regularly appeared in Baseball America’s tools poll as one of the three “Best Defensive Third Basemen”. He finished behind Scott Brosius, Travis Fryman and Chavez, but he was also the only third baseman ranked in the top three all four seasons.

Only the Gold Glove winner is announced each season, but major-league officials and agents are told who the finalists are, and an industry source confirms that Glaus finished second in the voting in 2001.

He has the track record. He’s ranging toward records. He should get the award.

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