Snake Bytes, 10/31: Happy Halloween

Team news

[SI.com] Pollock and Goldschmidt among Gold Glove National League finalists - The full list of 2015 National League Gold Glove Award finalists has been announced, including Paul Goldschmidt at first and A.J. Pollock in center. The annual award, presented by Rawlings, is given out to each league’s top defensive players. Managers and coaches comprise the voting in addition to a statistical component. Winners will be announced after the World Series.

[Fielding Bible] 2015 awards honor Goldschmidt and Inciarte - Gokldschmidt "saved 18 runs with his defense showing tremendous range for a first baseman, especially to his right. He was listed first on 10 of the 12 ballots receiving 118 out of a possible 120 points in the voting." Inciarte is the second winner of the new Multi-Position Fielding Bible Award, edging Addison Russell. Inciarte "showed extreme versatility and excellence manning every outfield position. He saved 12 runs in left, 4 runs in center and 13 runs in right field."

[FOX Sports] Diamondbacks on the verge of competing in the NL West -- but need a few additions - "After showcasing just how dangerous they can be in the second half of the past season, the D-backs could jump back into contention in the division in 2016 if they play their cards right during the offseason. Three things Arizona must address this offseason:" The author blows his credibility badly, when #3 is "Make the Chapman acquisition happen." No. Just... No.

[Newsday] Joe Garagiola's son says his dad is 'doing OK' - The last -- and only -- time the Mets overcame a 2-0 deficit to win the World Series, the men in the booth for NBC in 1986 were Vin Scully and Joe Garagiola, Even younger fans know of Scully, still on the job for the Dodgers at 87, but they likely do not realize how big Garagiola was, a personality who crossed over into the wider entertainment world. He was the Michael Strahan of his day, only more so.

And, elsewhere...

The Mets roared back in emphatic fashion to take Game 3 of the World Series last night in New York, but still trail the Royals 2-1. There are some striking parallels between this series and the 1986 one. In both series, the Mets lost the first game by one run, lost the second by six, but then won the third by six. Of course, the Mets won the 1986 series in seven, beating the Red Sox. In case you're wondering, Game 4 went to the Mets as well, by a four-run margin. Wouldn't bet against that tonight. And since it's the World Series, let's have an appropriately global selection of stories to fill out the rest of this.

[WSJ] Yoenis Cespedes: Baseball’s Most Improbable Golf Prodigy - Cespedes, 30, spent the first 25 years of his life in Cuba, an island with only two golf courses. He had virtually no exposure to the sport until early last year, when he tried it at a charity event in Florida. Now, he plays often before night games, smashing monster drives and posting scores that range from the low 70s to the low 80s.

[New York Times] The Lure of Baseball in the Dominican Republic - Baseball arrived on the island by sea in the 1860s, via Cubans fleeing the Ten Years’ War. By the 1930s, it had grown into a big-money sport where owners mined the country for talented youths whose parents often worked at sugar refineries. In 1937 a team, run in part by the dictator Rafael Trujillo, hired Negro League stars from the United States, including Satchel Paige. Mr. Trujillo built the first modern stadium, complete with lights, in the mid-’50s. That was when star Dominican players first graduated to the majors, beginning with the utility infielder Ozzie Virgil.

[AP] Baseball blues: Economic chaos hits Venezuelan fans - Venezuela's raucous, boozy and affordable baseball games have long provided respite from the growing gloom in the economically struggling country. Now, a more than quadrupling of ticket prices is putting a damper on the national pastime, with the season kicking off this month to sometimes half-empty stadiums and featuring players who say their per diems don't go far enough to buy lunch.

[Daily Beast] The Unknown Caribbean Island Breeding Baseball Stars - Curacao may only have a 150,000 inhabitants, and Aruba 100,000, but 22 of the 30 North American Major League clubs have permanent scouts based on the tiny Curacao, who are swarming like eagles around potential stars for the clubs they represent. Curacao and Aruba to this day are Dutch colonies (nowadays by choice) and because work on the islands is often scarce, many of its inhabitants decide to study or work in The Netherlands. That’s how Mariekson (Didi) Gregorius came to be born in Amsterdam and was swinging his first bat with the Amsterdam Pirates.