2021 Rawlings Gold Glove Award finalists announced
OCTOBER 28, 2021 — For the ninth 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 2021 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 one-hour, special-edition broadcast of ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball at 8:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, November 7, 2021.
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 7, immediately following the ESPN broadcast.
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.
“This season was exciting for so many reasons, namely fans being back in the stands, and the 2021 Rawlings Gold Glove Award finalists certainly contributed to the fun with their amazing defensive highlights,” said Mike Thompson, chief marketing officer for Rawlings. “This year’s class of Gold Glove finalists is a great mix of young and veteran defensive stars, and we’re anxiously awaiting the reveal of winners on November 7 on ESPN.”
The 2021 Rawlings Gold Glove Award® finalists are:
AL finalists
- P: José Berríos (MIN/TOR), Dallas Keuchel (CHW), Zack Greinke (HOU)
- C: Martín Maldonado (HOU), Salvador Perez (KCR), Sean Murphy (OAK)
- 1B: Matt Olson (OAK), Jared Walsh (LAA), Yuli Gurriel (HOU)
- 2B: Whit Merrifield (KCR), Marcus Semien (TOR), David Fletcher (LAA)
- 3B: Matt Chapman (OAK), Joey Wendle (TBR), José Ramírez (CLE)
- SS: Andrelton Simmons (MIN), J.P. Crawford (SEA), Carlos Correa (HOU)
- LF: Randy Arozarena (TBR), Andrew Benintendi (KCR), Lourdes Gurriel Jr. (TOR)
- CF: Myles Straw (HOU/CLE), Kevin Kiermaier (TBR), Michael A. Taylor (KCR)
- RF: Hunter Renfroe (BOS), Joey Gallo (TEX/NYY), Kyle Tucker (HOU)
NL finalists
- P: Max Fried (ATL), Zack Wheeler (PHI), Zach Davies (CHC)
- C: Jacob Stallings (PIT), Yadier Molina (STL), J.T. Realmuto (PHI)
- 1B: Freddie Freeman (ATL), Paul Goldschmidt (STL), Max Muncy (LAD)
- 2B: Tommy Edman (STL), Kolten Wong (MIL), Ozzie Albies (ATL)
- 3B: Nolan Arenado (STL), Ryan McMahon (COL), Manny Machado (SDP)
- SS: Francisco Lindor (NYM), Kevin Newman (PIT), Brandon Crawford (SFG)
- LF: AJ Pollock (LAD), David Peralta (ARI), Tyler O’Neill (STL)
- CF: Jackie Bradley Jr. (MIL), Bryan Reynolds (PIT), Harrison Bader (STL)
- RF: Mookie Betts (LAD), Mike Yastrzemski (SFG), Adam Duvall (MIA/ATL)
To learn more about the SABR Defensive Index, visit SABR.org/SDI.
Originally published: October 25, 2021. Last Updated: November 7, 2021.