Christian Walker Wins Fielding Bible Award at First Base
Christian Walker had an outstanding year defensively for the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 2022 season. In addition to being a Gold Glove finalist, he was named the winner of the 2022 Fielding Bible Award for first base by Sports Info Solutions. The Fielding Bible Awards were voted on by a 15-person panel that ranked the top 10 players at the position. Walker received 12 out of 15 first place votes and 145 out of 150 possible points.
Walker led all first basemen with 17 defensive runs saved, which was 11 more runs than Matt Olson's second place total of six. The total is the highest by a first baseman since Joey Votto saved 18 runs in 2017. It's Walker's first career Fielding Bible award and the fourth ever won by a Diamondbacks first baseman, with Paul Goldschmidt previously winning the award in 2013, 2015, and 2017.
What made him stand out was his ability to close the hole between first and second. Walker was the only first baseman in Major League Baseball to convert more than 50% of his opportunities moving to his right into outs in 2022. Baseball Savant's Statcast also took note of his work in that direction, crediting him with 12 outs above average moving to his right.
We'll find out November 1st if Walker will be receiving more awards for his defense this season, as all the Gold Glove winners will be announced on a special broadcast of Baseball Tonight.
