As a Chicago Cubs fan, a dedicated user of advanced analytics, and a former supporter of Darwin Barney, I have never had much love for Reds second baseman (who doesn’t necessarily agree with sabermetrics or Barney’s Gold Glove victory), Brandon Phillips.
(Whew, that was a sentence and a half.)
That said, I can admit that he is an inarguably fantastic second baseman and has been for quite some time. Indeed, some managers (like Joe Maddon) argue that the best defenders are boring ones, the ones that make the plays without any flash or excitement, but Phillips has shown that the opposite is true, as well.
Check out his most recent display of defensive aptitude:
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Not only was that a behind the back toss (impressive, but we’ve seen that before), it was a behind the back toss over, what, like 20 feet? That was a very impressive play and you have to give credit where credit’s due (especially when it comes against the Pirates).
And he followed it up with an immediate, and deserved, dab.