Parra wins NL Gold Glove in left field, anchors strong outfield

PHOENIX The best defensive outfield in the National League? It is not hard to make a case for the Diamondbacks. D-backs left fielder Gerardo Parra led NL outfielders with 12 assists before the league finally stopped running on him as the season wound down. Coupling arm and range, Parra was named the NL Gold Glove winner in left field in voting by major league managers and coaches announced Tuesday. Parra beat out Milwaukees Ryan Braun and St. Louis Matt Holliday. The Los Angeles Dodgers Matt Kemp beat out the D-backs Chris Young and Philadelphias Shane Victorino, the other finalists in center field. And D-backs right fielder Justin Upton, who was not one of the three finalists in the Gold Glove balloting, was named Monday as the best right fielder in the major leagues by the publishers of the Fielding Bible, which relies on a set of defensive metrics. The Fielding Bible winners were selected by a panel of 10 voters that included stat-head Bill James. Parra, who won the D-backs left field job in spring training as the D-backs committed to pitching and defense, made only two errors and participated in five double plays, three against Colorado. He is the D-backs' first Gold Glove winner since second baseman Orlando Hudson in 2007, and the first outfiedler with a Gold Glove since center fielder Steve Finley in 2000. Finley also won in 1999. For the first time, voters were asked to select one outfielder from left, center and right fields. In the past, three center fielders usually were chosen. Follow Jack Magruder on Twitter