Rawlings Gold Glove Award
The Rawlings Gold Glove Award, usually referred to as simply the Gold Glove, is the award given annually to the Major League Baseball players judged to have exhibited superior individual fielding performances at each fielding position in both the National League and the American League. Winners are determined from voting by the managers and coaches in each league, who are not permitted to vote for their own players. Additionally, a sabermetric component provided by the Society for American Baseball Research accounts for approximately 25 percent of the vote.
In 1957, the baseball glove manufacturer Rawlings created the Gold Glove Award to commemorate the best fielding performance at each position. Winners receive a glove made from gold lamé-tanned leather and affixed to a walnut base. In the inaugural year, one Gold Glove was awarded to the top fielder at each position in MLB; since 1958, separate awards have been given to the top fielders in each league. Thus, 18 Gold Gloves are normally awarded annually, one at each of the nine fielding positions for each league.
Since 2016, a Gold Glove is also awarded each year to one fastpitch softball player in the National Pro Fastpitch league.
History
For the first four seasons of the award, individual awards were presented to left fielders, center fielders, and right fielders. From 1961 through 2010, the phrase "at each position" was no longer strictly accurate, since the prize was presented to three outfielders irrespective of their specific position. Any combination of outfielders, often three center fielders, could win the award in the same year. Critics called for awarding a single Gold Glove for each individual outfield position, arguing that the three outfield positions are not equivalent defensively. Starting in 2011, separate awards for each outfield position were once again presented. In the 1985 American League voting, a tie for third-place resulted in the presentation of Gold Glove Awards to four outfielders ; this scenario was repeated in the National League in 2007.Before the involvement of the Society for American Baseball Research in the voting process, The Boston Globe writer Peter Abraham said the Fielding Bible Awards "are far more accurate " than the Gold Glove awards since statistics are used along with the opinions of an expert panel. The Gold Gloves are selected by managers and coaches that may have seen a player as few as six times during the season. Bill Chuck of Comcast SportsNet New England wrote that Gold Glove voters frequently counted only errors to determine winners. Geoff Baker of The Seattle Times said the votes for the Gold Gloves rely largely on a player's past reputation. The Associated Press wrote that "some fans have viewed the Gold Gloves as mostly a popularity contest, even suggesting that a player's performance at the plate helped draw extra attention to his glove." After winning the AL Gold Glove at first base in both 1997 and 1998, Rafael Palmeiro won again in 1999 with the Texas Rangers while only appearing in 28 games as a first baseman; he played in 128 games as a designated hitter that season, resulting in a controversy. Derek Jeter, winner of five Gold Gloves, believes that many defensive factors cannot be quantified. In 2013, Rawlings collaborated on the Gold Glove Award with SABR, who provided the SABR Defensive Index to add a sabermetric component to the selection process. The index accounted for 25 percent of the vote, while managers and coaches continued to provide the majority. Afterwards, Jay Jaffe of Sports Illustrated wrote that the Gold Gloves "appear to have significantly closed the gap on their more statistically-driven counterparts." SABR and FiveThirtyEight believed that the impact to the voting results by SDI, which is also included on the voters' ballots, went beyond its own 25% weight and also influenced the managers' and coaches' voting.
won 16 Gold Gloves, the most of any position player.
The most Gold Gloves ever won by one player is 18 by pitcher Greg Maddux. He won 13 consecutive awards from 1990 to 2002, all in the National League. Brooks Robinson has the most wins for a position player, with 16 Gold Gloves, all at third base, and is tied for the second-highest total overall with pitcher Jim Kaat, who won his 16 awards consecutively. Iván Rodríguez has won the most Gold Gloves as a catcher, with 13 career awards in the American League. Ozzie Smith has 13 wins at shortstop; he and Rodríguez are tied for the fourth-highest total among all winners. Among outfielders, Roberto Clemente and Willie Mays, who played primarily right field and center field, respectively, are tied for the lead with 12 Gold Gloves. Keith Hernandez, the leader at first base, has won 11 times, and Roberto Alomar leads second basemen with 10 wins. Other players with 10 or more wins include shortstop Omar Vizquel, catcher Johnny Bench, third baseman Mike Schmidt, and outfielders Ken Griffey Jr., Ichiro Suzuki, Andruw Jones, and Al Kaline.
The only player to win Gold Gloves as an infielder and outfielder is Darin Erstad, who won Gold Gloves as an outfielder in 2000 and 2002 and as a first baseman in 2004, all with the Anaheim Angels. The only other player to win Gold Gloves at multiple positions is Plácido Polanco, who won at second base and third base. Family pairs to win Gold Gloves include brothers Ken and Clete Boyer, brothers Sandy Alomar, Jr. and Roberto Alomar, Bengie and Yadier Molina, father and son Bobby and Barry Bonds, and father and son Bob and Bret Boone.
Winners
| Year | Links to the corresponding Major League Baseball season |
| 1B | First baseman |
| 2B | Second baseman |
| 3B | Third baseman |
| SS | Shortstop |
| OF | Outfielder |
| C | Catcher |
| P | Pitcher |
| * or ** | Winner of the most Gold Glove Awards at his position |
| Member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum |
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won as a left fielder
won as a center fielder
won as a right fielder
All-time Gold Glove Team
On February 20, 2007, Major League Baseball and Rawlings announced that an all-time Gold Glove Team would be named during the 50th anniversary of the first Gold Glove Awards. Rawlings asked 70 baseball reporters, former players and former managers to select 50 names for the ballot, from an initial selection of 250 names. The team was selected by fans, who voted at the Rawlings Gold Glove website, at United States Postal Service offices, and at sporting goods stores. The results were announced at the 2007 Major League Baseball All-Star Game.| First base | Wes Parker |
| Second base | Joe Morgan |
| Third base | Brooks Robinson* |
| Shortstop | Ozzie Smith* |
| Outfield | Willie Mays** |
| Outfield | Roberto Clemente** |
| Outfield | Ken Griffey Jr. |
| Catcher | Johnny Bench |
| Pitcher | Greg Maddux* |
Teammates
Middle infield duos
In the history of the Gold Glove Award, there have been eleven double-play combinations, or pairs of middle infielders, that have won awards in the same year. Shortstops and second basemen depend upon each other for the majority of double plays. The most common type of double play occurs with a runner on first base and a ground ball hit towards the middle of the infield. The player fielding the ball throws to the fielder covering second base, who steps on the base before the runner from first arrives to force that runner out, and then throws the ball to the first baseman to force out the batter for the second out. Mark Belanger won four Gold Gloves with the Baltimore Orioles alongside winning partner Bobby Grich, and Joe Morgan paired with Dave Concepción for four combination wins with the Cincinnati Reds. The most recent teammates to accomplish the feat are Andrelton Simmons and Ian Kinsler, who won with the Los Angeles Angels in 2018.| Shortstop | Second baseman | Team | Times won | Years | Ref |
| Chicago White Sox | |||||
| Pittsburgh Pirates | |||||
| California Angels | |||||
| Baltimore Orioles | |||||
| Baltimore Orioles | |||||
| Cincinnati Reds | |||||
| Detroit Tigers | |||||
| * | Cleveland Indians | ||||
| St. Louis Cardinals | |||||
| New York Yankees | |||||
| San Francisco Giants | |||||
| Los Angeles Angels |
Batteries
Since 1957, there have been five Gold Glove batteries. The pitcher and catcher, collectively known as the battery, are the only two players on the field involved in every pitch. In particular, the pitcher and catcher control the running game with tools such as pickoffs or the strength of the catcher's throwing arm. The first pitcher and catcher on the same team to win Gold Gloves in the same year were Jim Kaat and Earl Battey, with the Minnesota Twins in 1962. Only two pairs of batterymates have won Gold Gloves together more than once: Iván Rodríguez and Kenny Rogers won with the Texas Rangers in 2000, and again with the Detroit Tigers in 2006. Yadier Molina and Adam Wainwright matched the feat, winning in both 2009 and 2013.| Pitcher | Catcher | Team | Times won | Years | Ref |
| Jim Kaat | Earl Battey | Minnesota Twins | |||
| Rick Reuschel | Tony Peña | Pittsburgh Pirates | |||
| Bret Saberhagen | Bob Boone | Kansas City Royals | |||
| Kenny Rogers | Iván Rodríguez* | Texas Rangers | |||
| Kenny Rogers | Iván Rodríguez* | Detroit Tigers | |||
| Adam Wainwright | Yadier Molina | St. Louis Cardinals |
Platinum Glove Award
In 2011, Rawlings added an annual Platinum Glove Award awarded to the best defensive player in each league, as selected by fans from the year's Gold Glove winners. Numbers after a player's name indicate that he has won the award multiple times.National Pro Fastpitch
In 2016, Rawlings announced it would begin awarding a gold glove annually to a female fastpitch softball player in the National Pro Fastpitch league.NPF coaches and managers vote for a winner. This award is in addition to the collegiate and high school awards added in 2007, the 50th anniversary of the inaugural Gold Glove Awards.
| Year | Player | Team | Position | Ref |
| 2016 | AJ Andrews | Akron Racers | RF | |
| 2017 | Chelsea Goodacre | USSSA Pride | C | |
| 2018 | Jade Rhodes | Cleveland Comets | 1B | |
| 2019 | Jessie Warren | USSSA Pride | 3B |