Major League Baseball announced the Gold Glove winners tonight, as selected by a group of managers, coaches, and statistical analysis. Twenty-five percent of the selection total was determined by SABR’s Defensive Index metrics, while the other 75 percent was determined by votes from all 30 managers and up to six coaches from each team. The utility Gold Glove was determined in a separate fashion, via a defensive formula calculated by SABR and Rawlings.
National League winners….
- Catcher: Patrick Bailey (1st Gold Glove)…..Finalists: Gabriel Moreno, Will Smith
- First base: Christian Walker (3rd)…..Finalists: Bryce Harper, Matt Olson
- Second base: Brice Turang (1st)…..Finalists: Ketel Marte, Bryson Stott
- Third base: Matt Chapman, (5th)…..Finalists: Nolan Arenado, Ryan McMahon
- Shortstop: Ezequiel Tovar (1st)…..Finalists: Dansby Swanson, Masyn Winn
- Left field: Ian Happ (3rd)…..Finalists: Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Brandon Marsh
- Center field: Brenton Doyle (2nd)…..Finalists: Blake Perkins, Jacob Young
- Right field: Sal Frelick (1st)…..Finalists: Jake McCarthy, Mike Yastrzemski
- Pitcher: Chris Sale (1st)…..Finalists: Luis Severino, Zack Wheeler
- Utility: Jared Triolo (1st)…..Finalists: Brendan Donovan, Enrique Hernandez
American League winners….
- Catcher: Cal Raleigh (1st)…..Finalists: Freddy Fermin, Jake Rogers
- First base: Carlos Santana (1st)…..Finalists: Nathaniel Lowe, Ryan Mountcastle
- Second base: Andres Gimenez (3rd)…..Finalists: Nicky Lopez, Marcus Semien
- Third base: Alex Bregman (1st)…..Finalists: Ernie Clement, Jose Ramirez
- Shortstop: Bobby Witt Jr. (1st)…..Finalists: Brayan Rocchio, Anthony Volpe
- Left field: Steven Kwan (3rd)…..Finalists: Colton Cowser, Alex Verdugo
- Center field: Daulton Varsho (1st)…..Finalists: Jarren Duran, Jake Meyers
- Right field: Wilyer Abreu (1st)…..Finalists: Jo Adell, Juan Soto
- Pitcher: Seth Lugo (1st)…..Finalists: Griffin Canning, Cole Ragans
- Utility: Dylan Moore (1st)…..Finalists: Willi Castro, Mauricio Dubon
I wonder if Chapman would have an incentive for receiving a gold glove……. Otherwise, lots of firsts this year, but well earned for everyone.
Dominic Fletcher got robbed. David also should have been in consideration for the pitching gold glove
Yeah that negative war player Def got robbed, lmfao
Not sure what you’re saying, but Fletcher was a terrific defensive right fielder, and was top 5 in defensive runs saved in about 1/3 of the innings. He didn’t play enough to win a gg, but he was only a negative WAR player because he can’t hit, which shouldn’t have anything to do with gold gloves (even if it does in reality).
You clearly don’t know ball, lmfao
Yeah 72 games, and a .966 fielding percentage hahaha. You’re just a Homer, and that’s cool
Was his .966 fielding percentage great, or his 72 games? Go ahead and explain
He’s clearly a Dom and David Fletcher fan, no one will talk about a pitcher gold glove snub haha.
@Big Hurt yes Fletcher played quite well for the roughly 40 games in RF. However he also played roughly 30 games in CF where he committed 6 errors. The most any OF in AL had was 7 for the season. Fletcher had 6 in just 29 games in CF and 72 games overall. His defense overall was a liability in 2024.
@Tiger3232 yeah, i said terrific defensive rf in 1/3 the games (or so), and also that he didn’t deserve the gold glove.
I think most of the centerfield innings were early in the season and he played most of the last 2 months in right and stood out as a great defender in a sea of garbage lol. Maybe he was great, maybe he was just so much better than Gavin Sheets that he just looked great ha.
Bro unironically uses fielding percentage in 2024!
Bro just outed himself as not knowing ball!
What next, are you gonna tell us the RF with the highest batting average and most RBIs should have won?
Swanson got robbed.
But Tovar played SS in Colorado with that famously huge infield.
Last time I checked all infields were the same size.
At risk on being whooshed by Drasco, I will note that I suspect Paleo was making a joke about their famously huge OUTFIELD, but using it as a play on why Swanson didn’t win. 😉
Santana? What a joke,played what, 30 games at 1B,and his range is knee to knee!
It’s all a sham.
he played 147 games at 1st. .996 fielding pct, not a shame
Sham/shame
He played 146 games at first base and his fielding range was in the 97th percentile per baseball savant. Don’t complain about things you don’t know about
Carlos Santana played 146 games at 1B this year with a fielding % of .996. He had 11 runs prevented (1st among MLB 1B), 14 OAA (1st among MLB 1B), and 8 DRS (3rd among MLB 1B)
Carlos Santana was spectacular defensively this year. Go watch his highlights. He was really good!
Santana played 146 games at 1B with good defensive metrics.
Santana played in 150 games, all but four at first base.
Lmao, you’re either a troll or clueless
Santana was the best defender not named Christian walker
What was really surprising was Dylan Moore getting the utility glove with negative defensive war
Twins season ticket holder here. Santana was amazing at first and had best runs above average of any 1B in AL this year.
Carlos Santana is a very smoooth fielder.
Paleobros
Carlos Santana is a very smoooth fielder.
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I can’t believe I am the only one to give this an upvote.
Santana played in 485 games at 1B this season, he has 12 knees, and his glove is literally made of solid gold. He earned it.
cooperhill
What a joke,played what, 30 games at 1B,
======================
Everyone makes mistakes, but this one is a little embarrassing.
Judge didn’t have a single error all season. How was he not a finalist?
He put up a -9 defensive runs saved in center. He put up a -6 outs above average.
He may not have committed an error, but he was quite bad (compared to others).
Does he make poor throws or something???
He doesn’t get to balls that others do and/or he takes bad routes
May be something to do with his injured toe from last year or just age-related. He’s also loss a tick in sprint speed this past season and was his slowest ever. Judge should be playing RF, not CF.
He drops easy balls in the world series. He just isn’t good in center
The catch he made up against the wall was pretty great though. Reminded me of Mike Trout circa 2012 @ Camden.
If he was running even 19mph he hit that wall with over 1000lbs of force. Kudos to whoever built it (The wall AND Judge).
Gold glove votes came in before that happened, but I hear you.
They do factor in range of field (balls they get to) and assists. Aaron Judge best position is really RF.
He is very good. NO disrespect to Mr. Judge
Some players with a more lanky body style are usually the best. You have probably seen highlights of players like Torii Hunter, Andruw Jones, Kenny Lofton, Steve Finley, Ken Griffey Jr., Jim Edmonds, Paul Blair so many more who have better agility like a basketball player
They can climb the wall to take away a HR and run down balls hit in the gap, cut balls off and hold runners to a single or to stop a runner at 3B, hit the cutoff man on relay throws consistently.
They often play shallow also because they know they have the speed and ability to track a ball hit over their head like Willie Mays
Limited range. Judge should be in RF, not centerfield…
Ouch! I didn’t realize is error that caused 5 unearned runs in game 5 and basically cost WS was first all year. Talk about poor timing.
He picked a horrible time to break that streak.
Informed: Yes, but it still made me laugh as hard as anything the White Sox did this year.
Lots of center fielders and shortstops get snubbed
Where’s j-rod? Where’s Gunnar Henderson?
You’re basing it on number of errors? I thought that in this day and age that stats like that are pointless? This era of fans thinks batting average and RBI mean nothing, but FIP and WAR mean everything.
Too bad for Jarren Duran. Played well enough for a gold glove, but so did Varsho. Shame they couldn’t have bumped Kwan
Duran is legit, he learned after not hustling in 2023. This year his defense was on point.
Canuck – You’re right, Duran got screwed because he split time between LF and CF.
Of all qualified MLB OF’ers, Duran was second best behind Varsho.
That’s why they have the utility position now.
Although, I still think it was better when they didn’t differentiate between the OF positions, since LF is generally where teams put their weaker fielding outfielders, so most guys who primarily play LF shouldn’t be in the running for Gold Gloves.
It’s unfortunate. Abreu wins because Soto is a weak fielder. Duran had a great year, but Varsho is really good as well.
the RF finalists in the AL are laughable
chr – Yes, after Abreu the rest were not very good. It’s mainly due to today’s managing where players get constantly shifted around, cycled in and out of various positions.
Yeah, Juan Soto is good at many of the baseball things, but right fielding hasn’t been one of them.
Lindor should have won the gold glove for shortstop in the NL. I’ve never seen a better defensive shortstop then him in my life. The gold glove award is pretty much a sham
Are you 12?
“than him”
That’s what you took away from that comment?
Tigers, what is what who took away from which comment?
I’m still amazed that people don’t understand that it’s often very difficult to know which comment someone is replying to if they don’t address the original commenter by their handle.
Lindor had one of his worst years defensively of his career. He still often makes some amazing plays. But he simply did not play anywhere near as well as Tovar did in the field.
In what world did Lindor have a bad defensive year? The man was damn near magic in the field (was careful not to call him a wizard, but it’s not a terrible analogy). He got cheated out of an All-Star appearance and now a Gold Glove. Years down the line, folks are gonna look at his lack of awards and not give him full props.
Did I say he had a bad year?? I said he had one of his worst seasons defensively, his 2nd worst to be exact. And by no means was he cheated out of a Gold Glove Tovar played the position far better in 2024. Yes they have statistics that measure these type of things.
That and Tovar played short in that huge cavernous Colorado infield.
Paleobros,
I’ve read that Denver’s mile-high elevation makes the infield play about 14.6% bigger than an average MLB infield.
“I’ve never seen a better defensive shortstop then him in my life.”
I know you’re a troll but Rey Ordonez was one of the best ever and he played for the team that you’re pretending to be a fan of. Maybe you’re not old enough.
Congrats to the Big Dumper!
Go Dylan Moore! And Cal Raleigh was very deserving. So awesome. A nice consolation prize for the Mariners after a very frustrating 2024 season.
AL Utility should have gone to Dubon – again. He played every position except pitcher and catcher and did it well.
Of course, we remember Jeter winning 5 Gold Gloves and didn’t deserve any of them according to his stats.
And then you have Soto as a finalist right fielder which is an absolute joke.
Espada should’ve played Dubon more at first. First base was a mess this season
Waaaah! Waaaaaaaaah! I am sure Dubon was really good but you have no idea what kind of season Dylan Moore had with the glove. You didn’t watch the Mariners play day in and day out. You have no idea.
And you didn ‘t watch Dubon play, so what is your point ?
I never brought up or spoke of Dubon, you did. I just congratulated Dylan Moore.
“I’m sure Dubon”
Yes you did lmao
Not in my original statement, I did not.
How TF is Juan Soto a finalist for a Gold Glove?!?!?!?!?
He’s the laziest outfielder in baseball.
He’s terrible.
Terrible, no. But he shouldn’t even be a GG finalist. His OF 10 assist and only 2 errors propped him up.
DRS -1
OAA -5
UZR -6
Tmandolfan: He was a finalist because offense is wrongfully taken into account when it comes to picking GG. I’d love for someone to explain that one to me.
avenger – Soto had the 3rd-best DRS in the league, he deserved the nomination. Not much competition.
YBC – Soto has the 3rd-best DRS in the league for qualified RF’ers.
Look at his competition:
Butler
Springer
Renfroe
Garcia
Santander
That’s it ….
Soto spent more time in RF than any other AL player. It isn’t close. If the GGs are to be differentiated in the OF, this is what happens, unworthy corner OFers get named as finalists. I noticed this with Justin Upton for a few years.
truth – Truth! I totally agree, GG winners should be Top 3 from total pool of all outfielders.
Only 8 players qualified for RF, that’s because of today’s managing where players get constantly shifted around, cycled in and out of various positions.
Agreed, plus most primary LFers wouldn’t be playing much LF in the first place if they were really good fielders. There are exceptions, but they can compete directly against all of the CFers, RFers, and the OFers who split their playing time if they are really that good.
Tman – Soto was statistically the 3rd-best RF’er in the league, hence the nomination.
Glad pat Bayley got it, he’s been easily the best defensive catcher since he’s come up
Bobby Witt Jr was a beast at shortstop, well-deserved gold glove. Congrats to all the first time winners!
And props to the 5’11”, 38 year old Carlos Santana to become the oldest GG winner ever.
*position player
Technically, pitchers also play a position, but I know what you mean.
YBC – Just curious, why do you mention his height? Is 5’11” considered short for 1B?
No offense, but have you even watched baseball for any period of time. Historically firstbasemen are among the tallest position players in the game. Being tall allows them greater reach (in most cases) in order to grab errant throws more easily.
So yes, it is very uncommon to have an everyday firstbaseman under 6 foot tall. Many are much taller than that.
south – I understand the advantage of having height at 1B, as you can reach more throws than a shorter guy. I was just wondering if an analysis had been done regarding how many who played first base this year are taller than the 6’2″ MLB player average.
And guess what? Of the first 30 players I researched, more than half are 6’2″ or less with many under 6 feet tall
Vladdy Jr, Santana, Walker, Busch, Yandy Diaz, Naylor, Cronenworth, Bride, Wade, Brown, Aranda, Turner, Yepez, Burleson, Horwitz, and Burger.
So the notion that most first basemen are very tall is now officially debunked :O)
I didn’t use a league average from this past season, I was speaking from a historical perspective that goes back to day one. I also used 6 feet and not the league average.
And in all honesty I am not trying to be argumentative or disagreeable, just pointing out that most years firstbase is one of the taller defensive positions. It has also always been a position where teams try to hide poor defenders that have good bats.
Santana however is different than the prototypical, as he has had a good bat going back to even his days as a catcher and also has consistently been a good defender. That is not always the case for shorter than normal firstbasemen.
south – All good, I always enjoy baseball discussions and this one motivated me to do the research so I got the answer I was originally seeking.
Just two things I’d like to point out. You are absolutely right about using first base to hide good hitters who are poor defensively, but wouldn’t that be one reason why let’s say a smaller 2B who is a good hitter gets moved to 1B? You are right, not all 1B are tall players groomed for the position. I’m pretty sure Devers will end up there soon, and he’s only 6 feet tall.
My second point, the game has drastically changed. Because of the short bench due to the expanded pitching staffs, it’s a lot more common to cycle players on and off first base. My own team’s manager seems to want almost every position player to learn first base, he even put Schwarber there!
For the record, 152 MLB players played first base this season. That’s more than 5 per team, crazy isn’t it?
Good points fever pitch
If Big Dumper had not won… there would be *so* many tables for me to flip. I would go to Ikea and flip all of them.
With ya on that Primitive
What a joke. Juan Soto and Bryce Harper were finalists, and Francisco Lindor doesn’t get a look.
Admittedly haven’t looked at the metrics but Soto appears to be one of the worst outfielders in all of baseball.
bitter – Soto came in at -.1 DRS which is quite average, 27th out of 54 qualified OF’ers.
You want the worst? Look no further than Bleday at -19 DRS.
There’s a strong argument for Lindor to be a finalist over Winn. He might even beat Swanson heads up. But Tovar is a completely different animal and is the best in NL by a lot.
Winn had 14 DRS, Tovar 10, and Swanson 7. Lindor had 1.
Runs +/- (Fielding Bible) has Swanson 10, Tovar 7, Winn 6 and Lindor 3.
There’s no argument to put Lindor in as a finalist.
Bryce Harper was actually solid at 1st. Compare to the competition – Lindor is a different position.
It’s hard to take a list that has Nicky Lopez and Juan Soto as finalists seriously.
Congrats to wilyer abreau well deserved
Christian Walker, Dbacks 1b, won his 3rd straight Gold Glove by lapping his competition on defensive runs saved again for the 3rd straight time. He also hits 30 HR and drives in 100 each season (slightly lower this year because of injury). Other NL 1b have bigger media names, but statistically Walker is the Best 1b in baseball right now!
Harper and Freeman are both better statistically. Walker is underrated but he’s not the best 1B in baseball.
belkiolle
Like I said, other NL 1b have bigger media reputations, but Walker is the best 1b in baseball.
You really need to watch highlight reels of his defense and your jaw will drop open. He single handidly makes the Dbacks infield defense elite, scooping up low throws and short hops, spearing line drives that no other 1b can get on a virtual nightly basis, starting double plays, footwork around the bag, etc. He is playing textbook, great defense daily. You have to watch Dbacks games regularly to appreciate how great he is on defense. Plus, he is the near equal offensively to Harper, Freeman and every other offensively touted 1b. All around skilled player. No weaknesses.
Walker’s a great defensive 1B, but Freeman and Harper are solid gloves, and better bats. Heck – this is a bad week to slight Freeman’s bat!
Congratulations to Triolo.He can play any infield position well and even played right field and caught a low liner that most rfs would not have caught.
Manny Machado not being in the top 3 just shows how much of a joke this award has become. Same with the Hall of Fame
I could understand giving it someone else but Machado is one of the best out there year in year out and should always be at least top 3
Machado hadn’t played enough innings by the 138th game to qualify. It’s hard to be a finalist if you don’t meet the criteria.
Even if you massage the innings limit to get him on the leaderboard he finished 6th in DRS, 8th in OOA and FRV, and 8th in Run +/- among NL 3B this year. He wasn’t a deserving finalist, much less winner, based on his season this year.
If you’re not into new metrics he was 6th in Fielding Percentage, 10th in assists, 7th in putouts, 10th in Double Plays, etc. He just didn’t have that good a year.
Congrats to the winners!
NL Gold Glove SP will belong to Spencer Schwellenbach going forward. He’s a former college SS and is really excellent.
Ohtani was robbed!!!!!!
I’m more shocked Jackson Merrill want in the top three for center
Jacob Young getting robbed for NL CF GG is a total joke. Kid got to almost every baseball on planet earth.
Yes Young was not just the best center fielder, he was the best overall defender in baseball. But he was an unheralded rookie on a bad team so why would baseball award him?! What a joke these awards are.
Slamtana finally getting his due.
Having Soto as a gold glove finalist makes the whole list suspect.
Varsho gets the platinum for AL?
I prefer The Fielding Bible.
Olson, Winn, Greene and Bibee should have won the award. Quite disappointing.
The point, really, is that a huge part of defensive excellence is day-after-day consistency. And most of us watch our own teams regularly but other teams just now and again. So stats inevitably play a big part in who gets selected as GG and it’s very hard for a ‘normal’ baseball watcher to be definitive about X being better than Y over a season.
So congratulations to everyone who was named and especially to those who were winners. As a Brewers fan I’m delighted for Brice Turang and Sal Frelick for their first GGs and also Blake Perkins as a finalist. I can’t say for sure whether they were ‘better’ than your favorite guy from another team. But I do know that each of them played their positions beautifully all season long and I’m very happy they got this recognition.
As a Cards fan I saw a ton of Brewers games. Turang is a fantastic defender. Frelick I wasn’t as impressed with but OF defense is harder to judge.
Frelick made some jaw-dropping spectacular plays. And he’s utterly fearless when it comes to walls, which fans always love. Of course, there’s always the possibility that one man’s superman dive catch is another man’s can of corn (with the second man being the guy with the better range and routing instincts). But I’m gonna assume that the metrics (such as they are) provide support for Sal’s GG award. But I know you weren’t dissing him btw!
As a Brewer fan, I can’t believe Frelick is considered to be a GG outfielder. Apparently, Betts didn’t play enough games in the OF to be considered? Or maybe that says something about the quality of current NL Right fielders?
Mookie Betts played 43 games in RF this season. I’d say he doesn’t, or shouldn’t, qualify.
@belkiolle
I guess he’s a bit better than Aaron Judge. At least Frelick knows to catch the ball before checking on the runner.
A shame the Brewers didn’t resign Santana along with another SP last winter instead of wasting the dollars they did in Hoskins.
Juan Soto as a finalist? Yikes
Where’s Juan Soto?
I’m surprised that they didn’t create a special “DH” Golden Glove for Ohtani….
hey Pirate fans, soak up Triolo’s GG news because this will be the highlight of this team until the winter meetings when Cherington imitates being a GM by signing Rowdy Tellez to a free agent contract for pennies
BAILEY BESTT
Congrats to Wilyer Abreu who played an outstanding right field defensively in the toughest right field in baseball.
I know there were some who thought he shouldn’t be the right fielder but he was outstanding his arm was one of the best in baseball. His jumps both laterally, in and back were outstanding. This guy also went after the ball with reckless abandon with complete disregard for his body. The gg is usually a popularity contest but they got it right in right field.
Once Rafaela transitions to centerfield full time he will threaten for a gold glove he’s outstanding defensively in center should be interesting with full seasons from Rafaela, Varsho, and Meadows. Three outstanding defensive centerfielders.
Bruin – Great post, but it’s been reported Rafaela could see a lot of time at 2B if Grissom continues to flop and with Mayer not likely to begin the season as the starting shortstop. I won’t even go there with regard to Story being healthy.
Safe to assume you think Anthony will replace Abreu in RF to start the season?
I sure hope that isn’t the case Bruin. Can you imagine an outfielder of Duran in left, Rafaela in center, and Abreu in right defensively that could be three gold glovers.
I do believe it’s moot though because I do think Anthony is the opening day right fielder in Fenway. He’s not as good as Abreu defensively but he’s no slouch and I think his offense is going to be special. If he doesn’t start with Boston it will be because of his ground ball rate and the team wanting him to learn the hit ball in the air a bit more. Imo it’s his only flaw it’s the thing that might make him 20-25 homer guy in the bigs versus a 35-40 homer guy.
Yea I think Anthony should start in Boston out of spring training ushering in a new era. I also think if Story gets injured again we may see Campbell play short if he continues to rake in spring training and in Worcester at the beginning of the season. It’s not his ideal position but he has shown he can play the position so I think he’s in play with a Story injury. I would also not sleep on Meidroth at second he was outstanding last year in Worcester his approach, plate discipline, and minuscule swing and miss can be used on this club. There’s a lot of talent in the minors should be really fun year next year.
lol Fever
I am very pleasantly surprised that Abreu beat out Soto. It should’ve been automatic, but good hitters seem to get a lot of credit for GG consideration.