The Rawlings Gold Glove Award winners for this year include Jose Trevino and DJ LeMahieu, two of the Yankees’ most reliable defenders. The prestigious award is Trevino’s first Gold Glove award and LeMahieu’s fourth.
ESPN2 announced the list of winners just before Game 3 of the World Series on Tuesday. For the first time, Rawlings Gold Glove went to a record 14 first-timers. This surpassed 11 first-timers selected in 1958 and 2020.
Also, a record number of nine first-time defensive players from the American League are awarded this time. In 2020, it was seven. There is a lot of new talent out there, and Trevino is one of them. At least, three rookies are among the Gold Glove winners. This is the most ever in a single year, beating two in 2020.
Trevino won the Gold Glove Award in the catcher category. LeMahieu got it for the utility category, which was included in the defensive awards for the first time this year. Rawlings worked with the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) to come up with a special defensive formula for the utility position. This formula is different from the traditional way of choosing players.
Trevino, who is 29, played for the Yankees and made his first All-Star team in 2022. He set career highs in games played (115), runs scored (39), hits (83), home runs (11), and RBIs (43). Trevino’s 3.09 ERA as a catcher was the third lowest in the Major Leagues, and he saved more runs than any other catcher.
Trevino saved 21 runs on defense, which was also the most of any catcher in the Majors. He is the third Yankee catcher to win a Gold Glove, after Elston Howard (1963–64) and Thurman Munson (1973-75).
LeMahieu, who is 34 years old, had already won three Gold Glove Awards in 2014, 2017, and 2018 at second base with the Rockies. It is his first Gold Glove in the American League.
LeMahieu has the best fielding percentage of any second baseman who has played at least 500 games. In 2022, he played 35 games at first base, 41 at second, and 47 at third.
Jameson Taillon, Anthony Rizzo, and Andrew Benintendi, all of whom play first base and left field for the Yankees, were also on the final list for Gold Glove Awards.
Since 2012, when both Mark Teixeira and Robinson Cano won Gold Gloves, this is the first time that the Yankees have had more than one player win the award.
In 2022, the Guardians have the most four Gold Glove Awards. The Yankees, Astros, Braves, and Cardinals have two Gold Gloves each.
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