Yankees’ Joey Gallo silences critics: ‘I know I’m a really good defender’

New York Yankees’ left fielder Joey Gallo had a couple of rough defensive plays recently, one against the Boston Red Sox in which he dropped an easy popup, and another one against in the Toronto series, failing to call off Gio Urshela in a play that resulted in a double.

A small portion of Yankees and other teams’ fans criticized him over the Internet for his defensive miscues, but make no mistake: the reality is an entirely different one. Gallo is still one of the premier outfield defenders in the league, and a couple of isolated plays won’t change that.

His talent was on full display on Friday, for example. He made a crucial diving catch and also threw out a runner at third base in the Yankees’ 4-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays.

“I know I’m a really good defender,” Gallo said to NJ Advance Media. “I think people don’t obviously know that or give credit to that, but I know that.”

The Yankees’ slugger is also a solid fielder

He needed to have a great day with the glove to remind people that he is far more than a one-dimensional slugger.

“It was good to have a nice day out there and make some plays, especially after a trip of dropping a ball and whatnot,” Gallo said.

Perhaps the error against the Red Sox exposed him more than your average game because it was on national TV, against the Yankees’ archrivals.

“Sunday Night Baseball, that’s probably a terrible time to do that,” Gallo said.

“It’s just kind of part of it,” Gallo said. “I really haven’t thought too much about it. … You’re going to make mistakes and sometimes things aren’t going to go your way, but you’ve got to keep playing aggressively and I always believe in myself out there.”

The numbers are actually on Gallo’s side. He is in the 91^st percentile in Outs Above Average, with 6, and he is also in the 90^th in Outfield Jump.