We are going to take some time to look at Gold Gloves now on MLB Monday as promised for some time, and we’re going to look decade-by-decade using dWAR calculations. They may not be the most accurate for some people, but they are consistent—as are we. The awards were first given in 1957, so this initial piece will only cover a few seasons, and we will go through the decades until we reach the 2020s sometime in March.

In 1957, there was only one set of Gold Gloves given out, for the entirety of the majors; in 1958, they awarded separate sets of awards to each league (American and National). We will offer up a replacement recipient of the terribly chosen awards when possible, based on existing dWAR data. This is not scientific, per se, but it is a start in re-assessing the bad voting done in the past (and present, still) by those in charge.

Editorial Note: Some pitcher defensive data is incomplete for this initial time period, so we may not be including those positional winners in these initial analyses; eventually, this will be remedied.

So, without further adieu, we will go with the ten “worst” Gold Glove winners of the 1950s, in reverse order:

10. Hank Aaron, RF, 1958 (0.2 dWAR): He was a negative defender for his career (-4.6 dWAR), although a lot of that came toward the tail end of his career. In his prime, though, he was a mixed bag, year to year. This specific season wasn’t that bad, but he surely wasn’t the best at his position for this year—that honor should have gone to Roberto Clemente (2.3 dWAR). We’re not really sure how this could have been missed.

9. Willie Mays, CF, 1957 (0.2): No one would ever deny that Mays was a very good defensive player, but that doesn’t mean every season he was the best of the bunch. This is a season where he probably won the vote on reputation rather than actual performance, specific to the year. With 2.0 dWAR in 1957, Richie Ashburn definitely should have this inaugural, MLB-wide Gold Glove. But we all know life is not fair in the end.

8. Vic Power, 1B, 1959 (0.0): A slightly below-average fielder for his career, this was a “down” season for Power, coming off a combined 0.7 dWAR in the prior two years. Breaking even in the field, however, should not warrant a Gold Glove for anyone. While not that much better, Dick Gernert (0.2) certainly rated better than Power did at the position among American League first basemen, so we’d re-assign this award, readily.

7. Frank Robinson, LF, 1958 (-0.1): We have gotten into the negative numbers now, and Robinson was not known for his glove, generally, finishing at almost -15 dWAR for his career. This was his only Gold Glove, and clearly he did not deserve it. He had a good 1957 year with the mitt (1.1), so maybe this was about the one-year-late theory. Instead, we would give this nod to Jim Gilliam (0.3), playing on a tough home field.

6. Minnie Miñoso, LF, 1957 (-0.2): Starting with this season, he won three GGs in four years—and only once did he post positive dWAR in that stretch. Clearly, this was not that season. He was an age-33 outfielder at this point, so perhaps this was an honorary vote? Ironically, Robinson (1.1 as noted above) deserved this inaugural GG designation, but he did not get it. Hence, the overcorrection in 1958, perhaps.

5. Gil Hodges, 1B, 1957 (-0.4): Yes, perhaps he is one of the most overrated fielders of his era, thanks to three consecutive GG vote wins he did not deserve. He was rarely a positive defender in his career that ended up with -5.4 dWAR. Two AL players posted positive dWAR at the position, and the best of the bunch was Power (0.3), which could explain why he won the noted vote above a few years later. See the patterns?

4. Jackie Brandt, LF, 1959 (-0.6): Playing in the same outfield as Mays can make someone look a lot better than they are, defensively. That is the case here, as Brandt posted negative dWAR marks in six of seven seasons from 1956-1962, playing next to Mays in 1958-1959. This nod should have gone to Harry Anderson (0.5), a relative no-name player who would be out of the major leagues by 1962. Associative names matter.

3. Gil Hodges, 1B, 1959 (-0.6): Another undeserved award, as Joe Adcock (0.2) deserved this award as the best-fielding first baseman in the National League. Back in 1954, Hodges posted a 0.6 dWAR mark, and he seems to have lived off that reputation. But that was the last positive dWAR mark of his career (ended 1963).

2. Gil Hodges, 1B, 1958 (-0.7): Admittedly, this was not a good year for NL first sackers, defensively. In fact, no full-time glove man posted a positive dWAR, so Hodges was just a “why not him again?” vote winner. The only guy “better” than him, in reality, was Frank Torre (-0.6), so this is only so high on the list because his glove was so bad, in general. Contextually, however, he was one of the “best” this season, which is laughable.

1. Hank Aaron, RF, 1959 (-1.1): Under very few circumstances should a player ever win a Gold Glove with this low of a dWAR number. This is another GG that should have gone to Clemente (0.9), but his 12-year run of Gold Gloves from 1961-1972. In three of those 12 seasons, he posted negative dWAR marks, so maybe this evens out overall in the end—as we have found out through all our awards series in all four major sports.