DOWNTOWN — Unlike the baseball writers, who reveal the innards of their award voting to the world to criticize, authorize and (yes sometimes) ridicule, only the winners of the managers’ and coaches’ votes get released. The real guts of how the Gold Glove or Silver Slugger votes play out, and who finished where, doesn’t see the sunshine.

There are winners, just not the same accountability.

The results may not be public. But that doesn’t mean they are secret.

Cardinals' 3B Troy Glaus (Source: Getty Images)

When it comes to the Gold Glove, baseball officials and agents see the voting results because they can be used for the player’s benefit in arbitration. A player may not have won the Gold Glove, but the fact that some managers and coaches voted for him as a Gold Glove-caliber defensive player can augment a case. It is through that release of information that we found out where some of the St. Louis Cardinals finished in the voting at their positions.

Troy Glaus, after a record-setting season at third base, finished second.

Albert Pujols finished third at first base.

Glaus, who finished second to Gold Glove winner David Wright, set franchise records with a .982 fielding percentage and seven errors at third. He snapped both records set by Gold Glove winner Ken Reitz. Glaus’ fielding percentage led all third basemen in the majors, finishing ahead of Philadelphia Phillies’ Pedro Feliz’s .974. Using The Fielding Bible metrics available at Bill James Online, Glaus ranked 13th in the majors with a plus-6 at third base — meaning his total number of plays outside his zone minus the number of flubs within his assigned zone equaled 6. He also was a Grade A on bunts, and was a plus-4 to both his left and his right.

These numbers tell us what our eyes did: Glaus was solid, even superb, if not Rolen spectacular at third, and he was among the finest in the league at coming in on the ball.

These same metrics, by contrast, have an absolute crush on the NL MVP, Pujols.

For the third consecutive year, Pujols won The Fielding Bible award at first base, given to the best defensive player at the position in the majors. His plus-20 ranking was second in the majors to Mark Teixeira. (Pujols was a plus-37 in 2007.) This past season, there were 200 plays that he was expected to make, and he made a total of 220. In the more faulty but traditional numbers, Pujols did well: His .996 fielding percentage ranked third in the National League, he committed six errors, and had one ringing endorsement. Bobby Cox called him the best first baseman in the league. That’s one vote he got. The rest of the votes leaned Adrian Gonzalez’s way and here were the top three at first, according to a baseball source:

1. Adrian Gonzalez, SD
2. Derrek Lee, CHI
3. Albert Pujols, STL

This is the second time in his career that Glaus has finished second for the Gold Glove. Pujols won the Gold Glove in 2006. The Cardinals’ only Gold Glove winner this season was catcher Yadier Molina, who claimed the first of his career. A few others did receive votes. Rick Ankiel received five votes for his play in the outfield, and Ryan Ludwick received three.

The complete list of NL winners is available here.

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