Ichiro Suzuki, for the fourth time - in the four years of the existence of the Fans' Scouting Report - has been voted the best fielder in baseball. Leveraging the power of the world wide web, the fans were asked to evaluate all the fielders they've seen regularly in seven specific categories. Those categories were then weighted based on their relevance, to provide an overall fielding score.

Over 1300 fans took the time to participate. This project owes its entire existence to those fans. Listed below are the nine winners of the 2006 Globe Gloves, as the best fielders in baseball. (Thanks to Mick Doherty for the suggestion of the name.)

All commentary for each fielder is provided by a passionate fan for that team. I am fortunate enough that all graciously accepted to be involved, by providing their thoughts on these players.

Ichiro Suzuki By Dave Cameron, Blog

One of life's great mysteries has finally been answered; just as we thought, Ichiro would make a pretty terrific center fielder. His shift a few hundred paces to the right was necessitated by injury, but really, it's a long overdue move to maximize the skills of a truly great defensive player. Between his terrific first step, his raw speed, and his ability to position his body to make throws, he is the epitome of what you want in an outfielder. Even his reputation for making remarkable throws has helped the team, as runners are hesitant to advance on fly balls hit in his general area. After watching Mike Cameron run down every fly ball in sight for several years, the Mariners have finally found a worthy replacement. He just happened to be there all along.

The problem with us people is that we take what works well for granted. We spend FAR too much time complaining about troubles than looking at excellence and praising it.

For example, take the glovework of Astros shortstop Adam Everett. He's a guy you wouldn't think is even an athlete - maybe 6', 165 lbs (I don't pay NO nevermind to what the media guide says - ballplayers lie more about their height and weight than us girls do.)

He actually reminds me of Fred Astaire - it isn't until he starts to move with such elegance, that you notice him. Same with Adam. He's incredibly quick on his feet, can range REALLY well to either side (you don't hear "juuuuuust past a diving Everett" around here.) I have seen him ranging behind the third baseman on the outfield grass to pick up a ball he's missed in time to throw out the runner at first. You never see him getting to the ball so late that he has to jump to throw the ball, as Jeter does.

He catches almost any pop fly almost anywhere in the infield and in shallow center and left - a VERY useful ability as CF Willy Taveras is TERRIBLE at coming forward to get balls in spite of his speed and Astros LF have been the worst in the NL at fielding.

He's a very fast runner, is great at turning the DP, whether 6-4-3 or 4-6-3 and has a strong, accurate throwing arm.

He has 4 errors for the year. Three of them are throwing errors - and for the first time I can remember, he dropped a ball from his glove for the other error. I have never seen him pull a Buckner or boot a ball. I guess I would say his weakness is the location of his throws, almost always to first, not his arm strength. He's also an excellent cut off guy, throws well to home or third and never throws to the wrong base.

He also has a surprisingly good vertical leap - I've seen him leap like 3' in the air to catch a liner.

He makes all the routine plays and makes all the tough ones look routine. He doesn't barehand balls like Omar did, or flip behind his back (which of course makes the News) but he gets the ball, releases it quickly and accurately.

In my opinion, he has the best range of any shortstop in the NL and the quickest feet. Furcal has the strongest arm, but I honestly don't think I've seen anyone I'd trade him for (ignoring everything but defense...) I remember most of the guys in the NL who I have watched play SS here and Adam's the best I've seen (in the past, say, 15 years.)

That he has never received a Gold Glove, in spite of being head and shoulders above the other shortstops because he doen't hit much, is a travesty of justice. You can be sure that our pitchers know excellence when they see it and they can go to the mound with the confidence that almost always, if the ball is hit to the left side of the infield, it will be turned into an out.

Scott Rolen isn't the best third baseman I've seen going back on a ball. That would be Terry Pendleton. He's not the best I've seen charging bunts -- that's Mike Schmidt. The best going to his left? Tim Wallach. The best starting DPs? Graig Nettles. But when you factor in all the variables that go into great glovework at the hot corner -- instincts, arm, range, footwork, surehandedness -- Scott Rolen is the best third baseman I've ever seen. He's got the reflexes of a standout hockey goalie and the balance of a top-flight point guard (as a teenager, in fact, Rolen had scholarship offers to play hoops at Oklahoma State and Georgia). Weaknesses? I don't love Rolen on bleeders to his left, and he doesn't have enough raw speed to cover pop-ups well over his head. But those are quibbles. Rolen is essentially the complete package, and a 5-3 throw from Rolen to Pujols -- which seems to have enough pop and energy to light a mid-sized city for several years -- is one of the game's great enduring pleasures.

Eric Chavez is simply having the most astounding season of fielding I have ever had the pleasure to witness. Great fielding seasons don't get the kind of attention that having a bunch of walkoff hits like David Ortiz gets. It's obvious to me the Chavez is having a season for the history books. This is defense of Ozzie Smith-Brooks Robinson-Bill Mazeroski's ilk, the kind of defense that deserves to be remembered for generations.

Chavez won his fifth straight gold glove last year, but he won it more on reputation than on merit. His throwing shoulder was hurt, and he was unable at times to make the long throw across the diamond, resulting in a lot more errors than he usually makes. He is injured again in 2006, this time in his forearms, but this injury only affects his batting, not his fielding.

He'll win his sixth gold glove this year. This time, it will be fully deserved. Perhaps some of the defensive metrics will disagree with me, but Eric Chavez is having the greatest fielding season in Oakland A's history. He only has four errors this year. I sometimes think errors are judged by the emotion they generate: are you surprised he didn't make that play? If yes, call it an error. Chavez didn't make the great play to snag that high hop. We're surprised. With a lesser third baseman, it might have been called a hit.

Chavez is making every single play he should make, and adding some jaw-droppers in between. In an August series against the Blue Jays, and as much as Milton Bradley's walkoff homer might have stunned the Blue Jays into a pennant-hopes-killing funk, turning the A's fortunes in the other direction, it was Eric Chavez's defense that was the key to that series. Toronto hit rocket after rocket at him, and Chavez kept turning doubles into double plays all weekend long.

In another jaw-dropper: With one out, runners on second and third, and Texas one run down, Chavez took a chopper near the bag, and quickly tagged out Mark DeRosa trying to return to third base. Now, I can't ever remember seeing a 5-unassisted at third base like that before, but Chavez didn't stop there. After tagging out DeRosa, he jumped over him into foul territory, planted his feet, and fired across the diamond to throw out the batter, Ian Kinsler. Double play, inning over.

Mouth agape.

During a game in Los Angeles this season, Omar Vizquel fielded a grounder in a double play situation; unfortunately, the only chance for a double play would have been if Doug Mirabelli were running with one foot caught in a bear trap, and Vizquel ran to second on his own for the sure out. But instead of holding on to the ball, Vizquel immediately whipped it behind a runner who had just advanced to third. The runner had instinctively rounded the bag in case of an errant throw to first, and was tagged out diving back to third base.

That display of awareness and improvisation was amazing, but not exactly unexpected from Vizquel. Are there National League shortstops with comparable range to Vizquel? Maybe. Are there National League shortstops who are as fun to watch? No. He’s more fun to watch than any shortstop in the game, including the shortstop you’re thinking of right now. That one too. It isn’t even close. He’ll play to the crowd by making over-the-shoulder basket catches, diving stops, and throws from a sitting position, and also has an uncanny knack of timing his throws to beat every runner by one step. He makes every routine play, has a sniper’s accuracy with his arm, and has made more spectacular plays wearing a San Francisco uniform than any shortstop since a young Royce Clayton. There might be shortstops who can come close to the complete defensive package that Vizquel offers at his advanced age, but any tie is broken with Vizquel’s showmanship. Watching baseball is supposed to be fun, and no defender in the game reminds you of that more than Omar Vizquel.

If absense makes the heart grow fonder, I hope I'm never more than mildly interested in Yuniesky Betancourt. On the days the Mariners sent someone else, usually utility scrub Willie Bloomquist, out to man the shortstop position, the dropoff was a shock to the system. After watching Betancourt man the position for the majority of the last 200 games, my instincts have been recalibrated. I no longer expect the ball that gets past the third baseman to bounce into left field. That ball is now simply fielded on the grass, and the Cuban Cannon simply makes a ridiculously hard throw to get the runner at first base, and he does it every time.

I don't get to watch Adam Everett as much as I'd like to, because I've heard he's fantastic as well. But for now, I'll be content watching Yuniesky Betancourt everyday, because to my eyes, he's Adam Everett with a tan.

At the start of the 2006 season, there were few quibbles with Omar Minaya’s Opening Day roster. Arguably, one of them was the final outfield spot—a competition between Endy Chavez and Tike Redman. I, among many, disagreed with Minaya’s final decision of Chavez, citing Minaya’s unhealthy infatuation with the light-hitting Venezuelan.

Boy were we wrong.

Chavez, considered a proficient fielder his entire career, was blessed with what the Mets faithful could only call, “Magic Pixie Dust.” At the plate Chavez exceeded the wildest of expectations, but his most impressive contributions came in the field.

He simply gets to every ball hit in his direction. Chavez proved his versatility in 2006. Between the injuries to centerfielder Carlos Beltran, leftfielder Cliff Floyd and the instability of right field, Chavez saw considerable time at all three positions. His mastery of all three was extraordinary.

Chavez’s prime asset is his blazing speed, which can negate being out of position or late reads on fly balls. More than once Chavez caught balls when he was out of the camera until the last second. But what was most notable about Chavez’s play in the field was his intelligence. Rarely did he misjudge a ball. If the cliché, the first step is the most important, is true, Chavez qualifies immensely.

With Beltran and Chavez in the outfield, Mets fans were spoiled. Chavez’s defense may not be sparkling like the big-play-prone Ichiro or Torii Hunter, but the consistency and range Chavez brings saved plenty of hits and runs in 2006.

The one complaint you’ll hear about Carlos Beltran is “he plays too deep to be a great centerfielder.” Many further qualify the statement with “he’s no Andruw Jones.” In a way, it’s true; he does play deeper than many other great centerfielders, but he turns that difference into a strength. Beltran is one of the few centerfielders who is blessed with a tremendous amount of natural talent who makes good on it with superb instincts and intelligent play.

Because Beltran plays deeper, very few balls go over his head in center, and he uses his great speed to full effect when he ranges to his left or right. His lateral movement in particular is perhaps his greatest strength. While some bloop singles may fall in front of him, Beltran seems willing to sacrifice these bloops for the greater good of preventing would-be doubles and triples. He takes quick routes to fly balls and as a result rarely has to dive or leap. Instead, he just makes the play with seemingly minimal effort, resulting in fewer highlight reel plays but some of the smoothest outfield defense you'll see anywhere. Furthermore, he has a strong, accurate arm that should not be taken lightly.

Beltran might not be Andruw Jones—only Andruw Jones can say that—but he’s smart enough to realize that and plays to his own strengths. And with Jones losing a step or two, Beltran has emerged as the better outfielder in 2006.

As a sabermetrician, I often question the importance of catcher defense but Ivan Rodriguez is one catcher whose value is obvious to anyone who observes him for any length of time. First off, Pudge has one of the strongest, most accurate arms I have seen at any position. He completely freezes the opposition’s running game to the point that most teams do not dare run on him. Not only can they not steal bases on him but they also do not get big leads. With his superior instincts and quick release, Rodriguez is very eager to throw behind any runner who gets too comfortable on the bases.

Rodriguez does more than control the running game. He is very quick and agile and is adept at fielding bunts and foul pops around the plate. He also has good speed when he needs it and is one of the fastest players on the Tigers. He moves around so well that I am confident he could have had an excellent career as an infielder.

In his first year with the Tigers in 2004, he had a little trouble with pitch blocking but this is no longer a problem. After that season, he was determined to upgrade his defensive game and came to spring training in 2005 a lot slimmer. In the last two seasons, his improved mobility has allowed him to block pitches which would have skipped by him in 2004. He was already a gold glove caliber catcher and now he’s even better.

Rodriguez has been one of the best, if not the best, receivers in baseball for a long time. Indeed, he is one of the premier defensive players in the game at any position and you don’t need numbers to see it.