Masyn Winn’s Errorless Streak Snapped — But He’s Still a Defensive Wizard
Sometimes even the best in the game get humbled. For St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Masyn Winn, Sunday morning brought the end of an incredible 49-game errorless streak. Major League Baseball reviewed a play from earlier in the week and ruled that a ball originally scored as a hit would instead be charged as an error — Winn’s third of the season.
One has to wonder if the knee he got an MRI on Monday had anything to do with this defensive miscue.
Masyn Winn Could Tie Who?
That’s right, the 22-year-old defensive phenom had gone nearly 50 straight games without a miscue. Even with the ruling, Winn is still in rare air. He now joins legends like Cal Ripken Jr. and Omar Vizquel in the record books for fewest errors in a season by a shortstop with three. Although keep in mind — the Cardinals still have 32 games left to play.
The play in question came off the bat of Miami Marlins infielder Xavier Edwards. A sharp line drive took a wicked hop off the mound, then another short-hop before reaching Winn. He backhanded, the ball popped free, and Edwards reached safely. Tough break, but MLB’s ruling doesn’t take away from Winn’s brilliance.
Because here’s the real story: Winn has quickly become one of baseball’s premier defenders in just his second full season. According to Baseball Savant, Winn sits in the 99th percentile in fielding run value, the 100th percentile in range, and the 89th percentile in arm strength. He leads all of MLB with 21 Outs Above Average and carries a fielding run value of 17. That’s Gold Glove-level dominance.
Elite Company
Oh, and about that “three errors” total? Compare Winn to other iron men like Atlanta’s Ozzie Albies and Texas’ Marcus Semien — the only other infielders with as many assists and as few errors. He’s already standing shoulder-to-shoulder with elite company.
Unfortunately, Winn was scratched from Sunday’s lineup against the Marlins with lingering knee soreness. He received an injection over the All-Star break and has been gutting it out ever since, but manager Oli Marmol gave him the day off. Thomas Saggese slid over to shortstop while José Fermín took second base duties.
Sure, the streak is over, but Winn’s defensive wizardry isn’t going anywhere. Cardinals fans are watching the growth of one of baseball’s brightest young stars — a shortstop who could be anchoring the infield in St. Louis for years to come.
