2020 Rawlings Gold Glove Award finalists announced
OCTOBER 22, 2020 — For the eighth consecutive season, the SABR Defensive Index (SDI) will be used to help select the winners of the Rawlings Gold Glove Award® and Rawlings Platinum Glove Award™, presented by SABR.
On Thursday, Rawlings announced the finalists for the 2020 Rawlings Gold Glove Award, honoring the best individual fielding performances at each position in the American League™ and National League™. The winners will be unveiled during a live, one-hour airing of ESPN’s “Baseball Tonight” at 8:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday, November 3, 2020.
Following the show, voting will begin online for the Rawlings Platinum Glove Award, presented by SABR. A combination of the SABR Defensive Index and the national fan vote will determine who takes home the honor in each League. The final SABR Defensive Index rankings will be released at SABR.org/SDI on November 3, immediately following the ESPN broadcast.
Due to the compressed 2020 MLB season, the Rawlings Gold Glove Award qualifications have been amended to rely solely on the SABR Defensive Index this year. The SDI draws on and aggregates two types of existing defensive metrics: those derived from batted ball location-based data and those collected from play-by-play accounts, including data from MLBAM’s Statcast, Sports Information Solutions, and STATS, LLC.
For 2020 consideration, pitchers must have pitched at least 50 innings, catchers must have played in at least 29 games, and infielders/outfielders must have completed at least 265 defensive innings. Each player qualifies at the position in which he has played most.
“SABR is thrilled to continue to assist with the Rawlings Gold Glove Awards and is honored that the SABR Defensive Index was trusted to handle selections in a season filled with extraordinary circumstances,” SABR CEO Scott Bush said.
“This season has certainly been unlike any other and we’re thankful to continue the longstanding tradition of recognizing and honoring the best defensive players in the game,” said Mike Thompson, Rawlings chief marketing officer. “This year’s class of Gold Glove finalists is a mix of established and first-time honorees which should make for an exciting reveal of the winners on November 3.”
The 2020 Rawlings Gold Glove Award® finalists are:
AL finalists
- P: Griffin Canning (LAA), Kenta Maeda (MIN), Zach Plesac (CLE)
- C: Yasmani Grandal (CHW), James McCann (CHW), Roberto Perez (CLE)
- 1B: Yuli Gurriel (HOU), Matt Olson (OAK), Evan White (SEA)
- 2B: Cesar Hernandez (CLE), Nicky Lopez (KCR), Danny Mendick (CHW), Jonathan Schoop (DET)
- 3B: Isiah Kiner-Falefa (TEX), Yoan Moncada (CHW), Gio Urshela (NYY)
- SS: Carlos Correa (HOU), J.P. Crawford (SEA), Niko Goodrum (DET)
- LF: Alex Gordon (KCR), Lourdes Gurriel Jr. (TOR), Kyle Tucker (HOU)
- CF: Byron Buxton (MIN), Ramon Laureano (OAK), Luis Robert (CHW)
- RF: Clint Frazier (NYY), Joey Gallo (TEX), Anthony Santander (BAL)
NL finalists
- P: Max Fried (ATL), Kyle Hendricks (CHC), Alec Mills (CHC)
- C: Tucker Barnhart (CIN), Willson Contreras (CHC), Jacob Stallings (PIT)
- 1B: Brandon Belt (SFG), Paul Goldschmidt (STL), Anthony Rizzo (CHC)
- 2B: Adam Frazier (PIT), Nico Hoerner (CHC), Kolten Wong (STL)
- 3B: Brian Anderson (MIA), Nolan Arenado (COL), Manny Machado (SDP)
- SS: Javier Baez (CHC), Miguel Rojas (MIA), Dansby Swanson (ATL)
- LF: Shogo Akiyama (CIN), Tyler O’Neill (STL), David Peralta (ARI)
- CF: Ronald Acuna Jr. (ATL), Cody Bellinger (LAD), Trent Grisham (SDP)
- RF: Mookie Betts (LAD), Charlie Blackmon (COL), Kole Calhoun (ARI), Jason Heyward (CHC)
To learn more about the SABR Defensive Index, visit SABR.org/SDI.
Originally published: October 22, 2020. Last Updated: October 30, 2020.