Gold Glove Award facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Gold Glove Award
Roberto Alomar's 1994 Gold Glove Award
Sport	Baseball
League	Major League Baseball
Given for	Best fielding player at each position in the American League and National League
Sponsored by	Rawlings
Presented by	Major League Baseball
History
First award	1957

The Rawlings Gold Glove Award, often called the Gold Glove, is a special prize in Major League Baseball (MLB). It's given every year to baseball players who are the best at fielding (playing defense) in their positions. There's an award for each fielding position in both the National League and the American League. Many people think the Gold Glove is one of the most important awards for defense in baseball.

To pick the winners, managers and coaches from each league vote. They can't vote for players on their own team. Also, a special system called sabermetrics from the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) helps with about 25% of the vote. For "utility players" (who play many positions), only these statistics are used to choose the winners.

The company Rawlings, which makes baseball gloves, started the Gold Glove Award in 1957. They wanted to celebrate the best defensive players. Winners get a special glove made of gold-colored leather on a wooden base. In the first year, only one Gold Glove was given for each position across all of MLB. But since 1958, separate awards have been given for each league. In 2020, Rawlings also started giving a Gold Glove for the best defensive team in each league. And starting in 2022, there's even an award for a utility player in each league.

History of the Award

Gil Hodges was one of the first players to win a Gold Glove in 1957.

When the award first started (from 1957 to 1960), there were separate awards for left fielders, center fielders, and right fielders. But from 1961 to 2010, the award was just given to three "outfielders" in general. This meant that sometimes three center fielders could win in the same year. People thought this wasn't fair because each outfield position is different. So, starting in 2011, they went back to giving separate awards for each outfield position. Sometimes, there were ties, like in 1985 and 2007, where four outfielders won the award.

Some people used to say that the Gold Glove awards weren't always fair. They thought that managers and coaches might vote for players they knew well, or who were popular, even if they only saw them play a few times. Some even thought that how well a player hit the ball might make them more famous and help them win the defensive award. For example, in 1999, Rafael Palmeiro won a Gold Glove at first base, but he only played 28 games there that year. He was mostly a designated hitter.

To make the awards more fair, Rawlings teamed up with SABR in 2013. SABR created the SABR Defensive Index (SDI), which uses statistics to measure how well a player plays defense. This SDI now counts for 25% of the vote. Managers and coaches still do most of the voting, but the SDI helps make the awards more accurate.

Brooks Robinson won 16 Gold Gloves, which is the most for any player who isn't a pitcher.

The player who has won the most Gold Gloves ever is pitcher Greg Maddux, with 18 awards. He won 13 of these in a row from 1990 to 2002. For players who aren't pitchers, Brooks Robinson holds the record with 16 Gold Gloves, all at third base. He also won all of his awards in a row.

Other players with many Gold Gloves include:

• Iván Rodríguez (13 awards as a catcher)
• Ozzie Smith (13 awards as a shortstop)
• Roberto Clemente and Willie Mays (12 awards each as outfielders)
• Keith Hernandez (11 awards as a first baseman)
• Roberto Alomar (10 awards as a second baseman)

Only two players have won Gold Gloves at different positions:

• Darin Erstad won as an outfielder (2000, 2002) and a first baseman (2004).
• Plácido Polanco won at second base (2007, 2009) and third base (2011).

Some families have multiple Gold Glove winners:

• Brothers Ken and Clete Boyer (third base)
• Brothers Sandy Alomar Jr. (catcher) and Roberto Alomar (second base)
• Brothers Bengie and Yadier Molina (catcher)
• Father and son Bobby and Barry Bonds (outfield)
• Father and son Bob (catcher) and Bret Boone (second base)

The St. Louis Cardinals team in 2021 won the most Gold Gloves in a single season, with five players winning. They also won the team Gold Glove for the National League that year.

Platinum Glove Award

Nolan Arenado has won the most Platinum Glove Awards, with 6 as of 2022.

In 2011, Rawlings added another award called the Platinum Glove Award. This award goes to the best defensive player in each league, chosen by fans from all the Gold Glove winners that year.

Year	American League			National League
	Player	Team	Position	Player	Team	Position
2011	Beltré, AdriánAdrián Beltré	Texas Rangers	3B	Molina, YadierYadier Molina	St. Louis Cardinals	C
2012	Beltré, AdriánAdrián Beltré (2)	Texas Rangers	3B	Molina, YadierYadier Molina (2)	St. Louis Cardinals	C
2013	Machado, MannyManny Machado	Baltimore Orioles	3B	Simmons, AndreltonAndrelton Simmons	Atlanta Braves	SS
2014	Gordon, AlexAlex Gordon	Kansas City Royals	LF	Molina, YadierYadier Molina (3)	St. Louis Cardinals	C
2015	Kiermaier, KevinKevin Kiermaier	Tampa Bay Rays	CF	Molina, YadierYadier Molina (4)	St. Louis Cardinals	C
2016	Lindor, FranciscoFrancisco Lindor	Cleveland Indians	SS	Rizzo, AnthonyAnthony Rizzo	Chicago Cubs	1B
2017	Buxton, ByronByron Buxton	Minnesota Twins	CF	Arenado, NolanNolan Arenado	Colorado Rockies	3B
2018	Chapman, MattMatt Chapman	Oakland Athletics	3B	Arenado, NolanNolan Arenado (2)	Colorado Rockies	3B
2019	Chapman, MattMatt Chapman (2)	Oakland Athletics	3B	Arenado, NolanNolan Arenado (3)	Colorado Rockies	3B
2020	Gordon, AlexAlex Gordon (2)	Kansas City Royals	LF	Arenado, NolanNolan Arenado (4)	Colorado Rockies	3B
2021	Correa, CarlosCarlos Correa	Houston Astros	SS	Arenado, NolanNolan Arenado (5)	St. Louis Cardinals	3B
2022	Jose Trevino	New York Yankees	C	Arenado, NolanNolan Arenado (6)	St. Louis Cardinals	3B
2023	Giménez, AndrésAndrés Giménez	Cleveland Guardians	2B	Tatís Jr., FernandoFernando Tatís Jr.	San Diego Padres	RF

Gold Gloves in Fastpitch Softball

In 2016, Rawlings also started giving a Gold Glove award to a female fastpitch softball player in the National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) league. Coaches and managers in the NPF vote for the winner, but they can't vote for players on their own team. This award is similar to the ones given to college and high school players since 2007.

Images for kids

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  Iván Rodríguez

• 

  Kenny Rogers

See also

In Spanish: Guante de Oro para niños

• Silver Slugger Award - This award is for the best hitters, like the Gold Glove is for the best fielders.
• Wilson Defensive Player of the Year Award
• Esurance MLB Awards – Best Defensive Player
• Rawlings Woman Executive of the Year Award – another award from Rawlings, for minor league baseball.