Stroman honoured with Golden Glove award

The Stro Show is more renowned for being one of the top pitchers in the American league, but defensively Marcus Stroman is no slouch, either.

The Toronto Blue Jays starter was honoured as such late Tuesday when he was named an American League Gold Glove winner for the first time in his still developing career. The awards — announced by MLB on Tuesday — honour one player from each of the American and National League for their defensive abilities during the regular season.

Stroman got the nod over fellow finalists Chris Sale of the Boston Red Sox and Alex Cobb of the Tampa Bay Rays.

Besides his ability as a starter, Stroman prides himself on his overall athletic ability, which obviously manifests itself in defensive prowess. In the 201 innings he pitched in the 2017 season (over 33 starts), Stroman had a fielding percentage of .979 with just one error while helping turn six double plays.

Stroman becomes just the second Jays pitcher to capture a Gold Glove, joining R.A. Dickey in 2013.

It was a solid season all around for Stroman, who finished with a 13-9 record and an ERA of 3.09.

Stroman’s Blue Jays’ teammate Kevin Pillar was a finalist for the Gold Glove awarded to centre fielders but finished as a runner-up to Byron Buxton of the Minnesota Twins.

Vernon Wells remains the most recent Jays position player to capture the award after capturing three in a row from 2004-06.