i have 2 say that i luv our outfield and im very glad at least 1 of our great youngsters finally got recognition, but i do think in 2009 it wuz the wrong player. nick markakis is without a doubt 1 of the best overall OUTFIELDERS in the american league and perhaps in baseball. until mlb corrects itself and gives each of the outfield positions its own award, great players like nick markakis will always be left in the shadows. i agree in the past most of the best fielders patrolled centerfield, but its time 4 a change. theres alot of great young talent and its about time these awards go 2 those who deserve them by thier performance and individual positions, not thier reputation from previous yrs.

Markakis. Period.

Dan, I have no problem with Adam winning the award; it's time an Oriole finally gets recognition for something positive once in awhile.

I agree with you about Markakis having the best instincts and perhaps he deserved it a little more, but Jonesy had more highlight reel quality catches. (Nick did make a really remarkable one in Boston that people seem to forget about, diving into the stands and fighting off some Red Sox fans to come up with the ball--very difficult catch.)

Markakis has said that Jones has the team's strongest outfield arm, but what he didn't add is that his own arm is the most accurate. This is where I think Pie doesn't quite match up. Also, normally I'd rather have Adam in center over Pie because he seems to keep his head in the game more (Felix made a few incredibly "unaware of the situation" type plays).

Also agreed is that Nolan Reimold isn't quite as good as the other three, though he's not bad by any stretch.

Bottom line IMHO: The discussion should only come down to Nick and Adam, with Felix running a close--but distinct--third. Overall, I rate Jones and Markakis as even, with each having his advantages.

If Pie can finally hit in 2010, I imagine that would force Nolan to first/DH, assuming that the Orioles don't trade one of them first. In any case, Pie or Reimold playing left, the O's have one of the better outfields in the majors.

I am oppose, by the way, to the current system of selecting outfielders. Each position has its own nuances just as much as the four infield positions. Of course, if that change were made to the voting, Markakis probably would never get a Gold Glove until Ichiaro retires.

The best Orioles defensive outfilder is Markakis. You have to take everything into consideration when deciding. Markakis is rarely out of position, takes great angles to the ball and throws out just about EVERYONE that trys to run on him. Its hands down Markakis.

i personally think that a great outfielder must cause disruptions to the other team with his glove AND his arm, so i think Markakis is the O's best defensive outfielder. he too is a great athlete and can sometimes make the sensational grab, but has a CANNON for an arm - unlike Jones, who is only slightly above average in that category. Jones is definitely more exciting because of his sheer athleticism, but i'll take the reliability that Markakis provides 10 times out of 10.

PS - if it weren't for Ichiro, Nick would have 2 or 3 gold gloves himself!

No stats needed here.....Markakis hands down.

You guys are nuts. I agree Nick plays a good right field and has a great arm, but Adam is spectacular!
Nick (yawn) sorry...just isn't that exciting. He plays right like Cal played short...if he's not in position he doesn't get the catch. Adam can go get it as good as(if not better then) anyone in the game.
He definitely deserved the GG. GO ADAM !!!

The numbers say Felix Pie. And in 2009, it wasn't even close.

http://www.fangraphs.com/winss.aspx?team=Orioles&pos=all&stats=fld&qual=0&type=0&season=2009&month=0

Markakis by a mile!!

It's the guy who already should've won 2 GG's, Nick Markakis.

Typical of the Baltimore media - an Oriole player finally wins an award and instead of it being a "positive" media story for the team and city, they run stories under-cutting his glory ("Did he deserve to win" poll; an article Comparing Jones to Markakis; etc.). And the fans follow the media's loser mentality lead . . . lol

No wonder Texiera and other top free agents avoid Baltimore, regardless of how much the Orioles are willing to overpay!

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Barkeep's Reply: You are absolutely right, Weston. Teixeira fled from the butchers in the Baltimore media to go somewhere calmer, less daunting, less media hungry: New York City. Listen, I am happy for Adam; I was just curious as to what the fans thought. Have a drink chip.

Markakis is better. So is Pie - defensively.

None of you really understand the difference between centerfield and right field at OPCC. Nick is able to play much more shallow, has less ground to cover and a huge barrier just over his shoulder, which he has learned to play extremely well. Nick is an outstanding right fielder with a great arm and I am glad he is on our team. But, could he learn to play center as well as Jones or how could do you think Jones would look playing right at the Yard.

Jones would be just as good as Nick but Nick would not be as good in center as Adam.

Two things that I believe need to be recognized. First the thing they keep talking about Ichiro on SportCenter is his measly 5 outfield assists when Nick had 13 not to say Ichiro isn't a great outfielder but NIck is better if not overall at least in that statistic and has been for a long time now. Second I'm sure someone somewhere has said it but the 8 errors Jeter had would have been many more without the Gold Glove of Teixeira at first. If you notice Jeter's highlight plays also almost always ended with a Teixeira pick at 1st.

Pass the peanuts down here please.....Nick has the combination of an accurate and strong arm. Probably no coincidence he was such a top pitching prospect. Jones has a strong arm but not quite as accurate. I'll take eithe one of them on my team and Reimold is no slouch either.

If I had to name the best OF right now, I'd say Markakis by a nose.

C'mon Man!
Markakis, are you kidding me. How many times does he have to lead the league in putouts. He's capable of making the same catches as Jones, but the bonus is the cannon arm.

Jones any day over Markakis. Also they had to make up for dropping the ball in the midsummer classic. Jones should have won the MVP for driving in the go ahead run. Great job Jones, Markakis, Pie and Reimold! With Jones winning this award it will/should increase the in-house competition.

Dan-
Pie might have the ability, but he makes some of the dumbest mental mistakes that a player is taught from day 1 of little league.

I think you really are shortchangin Riemold here too. He has a cannon for an arm, and I think you are gonna see tremendous strides overall this year.
Remember, he was learning a new position too. But, some of his assist were just plain out pretty.

Congratulations to Adam Jones. I am happy to see any Oriole player recognized with a post season award.

BUT...

Markakis is definitely a better outfielder and probably the best right fielder in the game. How he has not won a Gold Glove yet is beyond me -- what will it take for him to get recognized for his play?!?

Nick Markakis. Should have won a Gold Glove last year. But then, why am I not surprised? Remember the year Cal Ripken made only three errors the entire season at shortstop, and they gave it Omar Vizquel?

I thought I had to ask Ken for a clarification on what he meant by "close - but distant" but then I realized that the problem was with my reading comprehension and he said "distinct", not "distant". Guess I need another coffee this morning, Dan.

For me, I'd say at present it's Markakis, though Jones is still learning and has the potential to be really, really good. He'll probably make more highlight reel catches than Nick, but it still amazes me when guys run on Nick. Still, for all the raves we give him for accuracy, his throws are offline often enough to account for why guys challenge him.

Pie has the greatest speed to make up for his mistakes and run down balls not even Jones can get to. But his grasp on game situations prevents him from being seriously considered on the same level as the other two - so far. But he does have raw ability so it would be interesting to see how he continues to develop, both as a hitter and fielder.

I'd love to see what Reimold can do with good legs. It's hard to judge based on the limited amount I saw from him this year and with the knowledge (after the fact) that he was playing all year with a heel problem. I believe he should be at least adequate and would not be hurting the team when he plays in the outfield, other than the fact that he's not (so far) on the level of the other three.

OMG! I see a pooll asking if Adam is worthy of being voted GG. And you asking who the best outfielder on the team is. Crap, can't Adam have at least one day before we cast him off.

If Markakis was better than Jones he would be playing centerfield. Because your best outfielder is always put in centerfield. Markakis is in rightfield because he is an average outfielder with a strong accurate arm. Reimold in left average outfielder with average arm. Pie may well be the best outfielder that the orioles have. Very few balls were hit over his head. As for mistakes Pie was a centerfielder learning to play leftfield.

Pie
Jones
Markakis
Reimold

It's simple.
Adam Jones can go get 'em and bring 'em back from over the CF wall and covers much more ground.
Markakis has the stronger, more accurate arm.

Instead of rallying behind our 1st gold glove winner in years, we're actually coming 2gether against him to tell all the reasons why they should have chosen someone else.
Instead we should be coming together to debate why Jeter won the SS gold glove, when Erick Aybar (LAA) or Ceasar Izturis should have won the award.

I love Jonsey but this is just wrong. Markakis has better instincts off of the bat and has led the league in assists for 2 straight years. If you want to say Adam is a gold glove outfielder you have to give one to Nick also. Ichiro is so overrated because he hits 350 evey year, also I remember AROD getting it when he made a bunch of horrible plays while in Texas at shortstop. When they finally start giving this award to players for their fielding ability and not taking into account their hitting ability, then you will be able to see the players that truly deserve the award.

O's fan in the NYC area. Even Yankee fans are wondering why Jeter got it. As one said this isn't 1998 anymore.

This is typical Baltimore. We have a guy who won (and he does remind me of Paul Blair) and instead of celebrating him, we questioning the selection in favor of another guy. Does race play a role in this discussion? In the history of the Orioles there seems to be 2 good players of different ethicities that get "played" against each other. (Brooks v. Frank; Eddie v. Ripkin and now Markakis v Adam Jones.) It is sickening. Get mad at my post if ya wanna!

Sorry,I have to cut Pie out of this equation altogether-He has no baseball instincts or commonsense.He is lost as to where or when to throw,has a habit of being too flamboyent and takes terrible routes to the ball.Only his great speed saves him and an occassional great play(accidental or not)keeps him out there.Boy he has a long way to go.
Adam can be great at times,but as you stated insists on playing too shallow way too often-and that comes back to DT.Its his job to correct it ultimately,thru his coaches or his own intervention.
Markakis is the best defensive man now-but jonesy may catch him.
Wish they all had Nolans hustle though!He has been such a pleasure to watch.I am 67,and have yearned for a Riemold type for years.I'll take that over the Alomar wanna bes anyday(Hairston,etc).
B Rob comes close sometimes ,but slacks off at others.He can be a pleasure to observe also.
Wieters is impressive too,and his developement is going to be fun to watch.

AMEN!!! Emjay

Dan, it's Nick Markakis. Jones did enjoy a better defensive season in 2008. I would have given the Gold Glove to Nick but I can live with Adam getting it and I am very happy for the guy. He has certainly given Os fans something to root for this year.

i do not like the GG is given out. the best hitters (or NYY or BOS)get the award. Ichiro isn't half as good fielding as Markakis or Jones but he is a big name.

When we talk about who is the "better" OF, between two bona-fide stars, it's not an easy task. To get there, let's break it down by categories:

- Faster/covers more ground- Jones
- Jumps higher- Jones
- Stronger arm- hard to say- probably Jones- in terms of who can throw the farthest.
- Better OF instincts: plays the ball of the bat best; plays the carom off the wall- tough call- my leaning is Markakis.
- More accurate arm- Markakis
- More OF assists- Markakis- the guy continues to throw out so many base runners- especially those stealing home!
- Makes more difficult catches: leaping, shoestring, diving, etc,- I give slight edge to Jones, although he can also misplay some from time to time- rare, but still does. Best news is that he's only getting better!

What is the result: Seems Jones is the overall better OF- which is also why he plays CF- but Markakis does so many other things exceptionally well. What I do think is that Markakis is the overall best RF in bball!

Seems like our OF is in pretty good shape for years to come!

Nick is the best at this time, Adam will become the best because he plays centerfield and can cover a lot of territory.

This is a no brainer. Nick Markakis.

To the comment by Jim W. You say Jones can jump higher, but can he rob someone of a HR in RF? Nick has a 25 foot wall behind him. Jones doesn't. So how can you use jumping ability as a standard? I'm sure if Nick was in center he could rob home runs too. Your point is moot.

TY WIGGINTON

In response to TruthBeTold- good point about the RF wall for Nick. I agree that he can't always "rob" someone of a HR at that wall. However, there is a lot of other RF wall space- bleachers- that Markakis roams- and makes sensational catches. Hear me clear- there is no knock on Nick coming from me- the dude is a flat out baller and incredible OF! But the fact remains: Jones, who was also a standout basketball player who has always been known for his incredible leaping ability, IS the more athletic in terms of leaping- which I do think is an essential defensive standard. There are times when Nick cannot leap high enough to catch a ball in RF rather than it bouncing off the high wall. Again, no knock on Nick b/c he is sensational defensively!

I personally say it's a bit of a reach to say Markakis is a "no brainer" b/c clearly it's not by our standards- and the MLB experts. However, we can all agree that Nick deserved GG over Ichiro!

Hopefully this helps fuel years of ongoing fun, competitive rivalry in the OF between these 2- much like when Devo and Brady were tracking down everything in sight years ago!

it's Fiorentino---for cryin out loud!! it's a case of apples vs.oranges--two entirely different positions, requiring different types of players--oh, it'd be nice to have ALL of our outfielders possess the athleticism of Jones--doesnt happen that way--I don't think I'm far off saying that these two TEAMMATES(oh by the way)are arguably the best, (and if not---damned close!) defensively, at their positions in all of MLB. We are fortunate to have the both of them.