Rawlings Sporting Goods Company, Inc., announced the winners for the 2018 Rawlings Gold Glove Award, honoring the best individual fielding performances at each position in the American League and National League. Winners were unveiled during a live, one-hour “Baseball Tonight – The 2018 Rawlings Gold Glove Award Announcement Show” on ESPN presented by Dick’s Sporting Goods.
Recognized as the best defensive players at their respective positions, this year’s class of honorees includes 13 past winners of the Rawlings Gold Glove Award and six first-time winners. Nolan Arenado of the Colorado Rockies is the consecutive award leader with six straight awards. Yadier Molina leads this year’s class with nine Rawlings Gold Glove Awards.
“Now in our 61st year of the Rawlings Gold Glove Award, this year’s honorees are well deserved and truly define defensive excellence,” said Mike Thompson, chief marketing officer for Rawlings Sporting Goods. “Since the award’s inception in 1957, it has become the standard by which defensive plays are measured, and to this day the award continues to be one of the most iconic awards in all of sports.”
Fans can now vote for the Rawlings Platinum Glove Award™ winner presented by the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) in each League on Rawlings.com. Voting opens at 9 p.m. CT on Nov. 4th and will end at 9 p.m. CT on Nov. 8th. Fans can only select one player in each league among the 2018 Rawlings Gold Glove Award winners to take home the “Best of the Best” honor, to be unveiled at the 2018 Rawlings Gold Glove Award Ceremony on Friday, November 9, 2018.
Each manager and up to six coaches on his staff vote from a pool of qualified players in their league, and cannot vote for players on their own team. In 2013, Rawlings added a sabermetric component to the Rawlings Gold Glove Award selection process as part of its new collaboration with the SABR. The SABR Defensive Index comprises approximately 25 percent of the overall selection total, while the managers and coaches vote continues to carry the majority.
The American League features four 2017 winners and the National League has six 2017 winners. Below is the complete roster of 2018 Rawlings Gold Glove Award winners from each League, and the number of Rawlings Gold Glove Awards each player has won in his career:
In addition to recognizing this year’s winners at the ceremony in New York, Rawlings will honor the legendary Major League Baseball® broadcaster Bob Costas with its Lifetime Achievement Award. Also, Keith Hernandez will be inducted into the Rawlings Gold Glove Award Hall of Fame as part of the night’s festivities.
Image courtesy Rawlings
