The American and National League Gold Glove winners were announced on Sunday night, marking the beginning of Major League Baseball’s 2023 award season.
The Texas Rangers, who were just declared World Series champions, equaled the Toronto Blue Jays for the most finalists of any franchise with five.
The announcement that this would be the first time since 2012 that someone other than Nolan Arenado would be awarded the National League’s finest defender at third base was one of the major narratives leading up to the game.
MLB Gold Glove Awards 2023: Full List of Winners and Reaction
For the second time in his MLB career, the star player for the St. Louis Cardinals wasn’t among the contenders for the post. Before Arenado’s 10-year run started, Chase Headley was the last NL third baseman to win a Gold Glove.
The SABR Defensive Index and manager and coach votes are used to determine the winners. With the exception of players on their own team, all 30 MLB managers and up to six coaches from each club vote on a group of players from their league.
75 percent of the votes are counted in favour of the manager or coach. The remaining 25 percent of the vote is made up of the SABR Defensive Index.
The complete list of 2023 MLB Gold Glove winners is as follows:
American League
C: Jonah Heim, Texas Rangers
1B: Nathaniel Lowe, Texas Rangers
2B: Andrés Giménez, Cleveland Guardians
3B: Matt Chapman, Toronto Blue Jays
SS: Anthony Volpe, New York Yankees
LF: Steven Kwan, Cleveland Guardians
CF: Kevin Kiermaier, Toronto Blue Jays
RF: Adolis García, Texas Rangers
P: José Berríos, Toronto Blue Jays
Utility: Mauricio Dubón, Houston Astros
National League
C: Gabriel Moreno, Arizona Diamondbacks
1B: Christian Walker, Arizona Diamondbacks
2B: Nico Hoerner, Chicago Cubs
3B: Ke’Bryan Hayes, Pittsburgh Pirates
SS: Dansby Swanson, Chicago Cubs
LF: Ian Happ, Chicago Cubs
CF: Brenton Doyle, Colorado Rockies
RF: Fernando Tatis Jr., San Diego Padres
P: Zack Wheeler, Philadelphia Phillies
Utility: Ha-Seong Kim, San Diego Padres
Out of their five nominees, the Blue Jays and Rangers each had three winners. With three winners, the Chicago Cubs lead the National League, and the National League champion Arizona Diamondbacks came in second with two.
One of the biggest single-season defensive turnarounds by any MLB player to win the Gold Glove at first base belongs to Texas’ Nathaniel Lowe.
Following an extraordinary postseason run that saw him win the ALCS MVP award, García’s right field play won him his first career Gold Glove.
The star of the Rangers defeated Alex Verdugo of the Boston Red Sox and Kyle Tucker of the Houston Astros. He was better than Verdugo (one) and Tucker (minus-six) with four outs over average.
Making Fernando Tatis Jr. their starting right fielder was one of the better moves the San Diego Padres made in 2023, even if there weren’t many things that went well for them following their winter spending binge.
Tatis defeated six-time Gold Glove winner Mookie Betts and Lane Thomas to earn the honour, capping an amazing first full season in the outfield. In terms of defensive runs saved (29) and UZR (13.8), he led all players.
Furthermore, it stands in sharp contrast to Tatis’ shortstop defence. In terms of defensive runs saved between 2019 and 2021, he was ranked 18th out of 23 players at the position with at least 2,000 innings.
Dansby Swanson is one shortstop who never stops being excellent with the glove. In his debut season with the Chicago Cubs, he repeated as a Gold Glover after winning his first career title the previous season while playing for the Atlanta Braves.
Among all position groups, the competition for the greatest defensive shortstop in the National League was one of the most interesting. Baseball Info Solutions’ infield range runs over average metric, which evaluates a player’s performance based on when the ball is hit and when the fielder reaches it or is unable to corral it, has Swanson, Francisco Lindor, and Ezequiel Tovar tied for first place.
In UZR (9.1), Lindor outperformed Swanson (5.9) and Tovar (2.4), with Swanson leading the three in defensive runs saved (18), compared to Tovar’s 13 and Lindor’s 7.
Since Derek Jeter in 2010, the New York Yankees have had their first Gold Glove winner at shortstop. In place of World Series MVPs Corey Seager and Carlos Correa, Anthony Volpe received the honour.
In terms of UZR (4.8), Seager was superior to both of his rivals, but in terms of defensive runs saved (15), Volpe was second among all AL shortstops. In addition, the 22-year-old had the greatest range of any MLB player playing that position.
The Cleveland Guardians’ run-prevention abilities are still among the finest in Major League Baseball, despite their numerous struggles this season trying to score runs.
Andrés Giménez at second base and Steven Kwan in left field were the two repeat winners for the Guardians.
Regardless of position, Giménez has established himself as one of the top defensive players in Major League Baseball. He led the AL in runs avoided (14), outs above average (18), and defensive runs saved (23)—more than any other player.
