The Pac-12 regular season has concluded, which means that awards season is about to begin. Arizona just might have the favorite for Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year.
Junior shortstop Nik McClaughry ended the regular season with a league-high 170 assists. He had 249 total chances and only five errors for a .980 fielding percentage. He also participated in 34 double plays, tied for fifth most in the conference.
"There's some guys that have one or two errors," said UA coach Chip Hale, whose team concluded the regular season Saturday at Oregon and will face the Ducks again in the opening game of the Pac-12 Tournament on Wednesday in Scottsdale. "But they're not at a premium position like shortstop."
If it were up to Arizonaβs players, McClaughry would win DPOY in a landslide.
"He's the best defender in the country, without a doubt," third baseman Tony Bullard said. "He will not miss a groundball. It's insane."
McClaughry, a transfer from Sacramento City College, became Arizonaβs starting shortstop about halfway through last season. The Wildcats, in turn, became a better team.
McClaughry has taken his defensive game to an even higher level this season. Routine plays are, to use center fielder Mac Binghamβs word, βautomatic.β McClaughry regularly makes difficult plays look routine.
McClaughry had about four of the latter in Arizonaβs series-clinching victory over then-No. 1 Oregon State last Sunday. Players are still talking about the barehanded play he made against Arizona State on April 24. ASUβs Sean McLain hit a chopper to McClaughryβs right. He grabbed the ball barehanded after the second bounce and immediately fired a strike to first base.
Arizonaβs Nik McClaughry scoops a up a gentle grounder by Washington Stateβs Jack Smith during their April 8 game at Hi Corbett Field. McClaughry is a favorite to be named Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year.
"That kid was super-fast," UA second baseman Garen Caulfield said. "I thought he had no shot. All of a sudden, he just barehanded it and threw it over there. That's when I was like, 'Man, he's special.'"
What makes McClaughry such an exceptional defensive shortstop? We asked his current coach, a former coach and a handful of his UA teammates. Hereβs what they had to say:
Work ethic and intent
Starting pitcher TJ Nichols: "He's the hardest worker on the team. Heβs here on the off days. I always see him before practice, after practice. He's just a workhorse, and I think that's why he's so good."
Bingham: "He's always first to the field. He'll take the time. He puts in so much work. Then, when he comes out (for a game), it's just easy."
Caulfield: "He's very committed to being the best he can be. I admire that about him. ... If there's something that he doesn't like with his game, he'll make it his advantage in a short amount of time."
Lynn Black, Sac Cityβs infield coach and a former minor-leaguer in the San Diego Padres system: "If we're working on drills in the fall, he treats the drills the same as he would catching a groundball in the College World Series. There's no difference."
"We make practice harder than the game for the guys. We throw balls, we hit them, we shoot them. Funky hops, big hops. Anything that's different and difficult for guys to make plays. It didn't matter what we were doing. He kept catching the ball. I haven't seen anything like that before, and Iβm not 35 years old.
"His freshman year, about two weeks into the fall program, I was standing there thinking to myself, βI haven't seen him misplay a ball yet.β That's really rare for a freshman.
"In addition, every throw he made was firm and accurate, which is even rarer to see. That's how it was and that's how it is today. A lot of work, athletic ability, but I just think his intent β he has a conviction to do things. He's awfully good."
Elite feet
Hale, a former MLB infielder: "Your feet make your hands good. ... Matt Williams, for example. He was a great third baseman because his feet were phenomenal. He had the feet of a shortstop. Nikβs feet are special, which makes him get into good positions to field balls. Very rarely do you see him fighting balls.
"That's why we always preach to kids when we're recruiting them: Don't stop playing other sports. Soccer, basketball, racquetball, those things help your feet. Sometimes kids get away from that, and they lose that athleticism."
Black: βHe played soccer in high school, so he's a pretty good athlete. He comes from a good, athletic family. His feet are quick, and they're always in a good position.β
Caulfield: "It almost looks like Nik never gets a bad hop. Some people can think that's luck. Chip tells us that's about his footwork and how he approaches groundballs. He just puts himself in really good positions out there on the field."
Preparation and instincts
Black: "One more I would add would be his internal clock. He's always had that. He just has a knack that very few people have to be able to quickly determine what decision he's going to make. And it's always going to be the right one.
"That's a sixth sense. Last year he told me that he ... did something to his middle finger. He didn't have the same velocity on the ball. So he used his internal clock, and he got to the ball a little quicker. He was able to compensate.
"I've been doing this quite a while, and I havenβt seen anybody like him that can do all these things and do them consistently well.β
Hale: "It's who Nik is. He's probably been that way since he was in junior high school. With experience, he's learning when he really needs to lean on it with the arm and when he can just sort of spin it over there.
"A lot of guys can't do that. There's guys in the big leagues that have to throw it as hard as they can every time or they're inaccurate. The ability to change arm angles is really important at that position."
Caulfield: "He knows everything about the runners, how tall his first baseman is. I'm blessed to take groundballs out there with him every day."
