2021 Rawlings Gold Glove Award winners announced
For the ninth consecutive season, the SABR Defensive Index™ was used to help select the winners of the Rawlings Gold Glove Award and Rawlings Platinum Glove Award™, presented by SABR. The SABR Defensive Index accounts for approximately 25 percent of the Rawlings Gold Glove Award selection process which are added to the votes from the managers and coaches.
The 2021 Gold Glove winners were announced on ESPN’s “Baseball Tonight” on Sunday, November 7.
Here are the winners of the 2021 Rawlings Gold Glove Awards, announced Sunday night:
| Position | AL winner | Team | Award | NL winner | Team | Award | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | Dallas Keuchel | CHW | 5th | Max Fried | ATL | 2nd | ||
| C | Sean Murphy | OAK | 1st | Jacob Stallings | PIT | 1st | ||
| 1B | Yuli Gurriel | HOU | 1st | Paul Goldschmidt | STL | 4th | ||
| 2B | Marcus Semien | TOR | 1st | Tommy Edman | STL | 1st | ||
| SS | Carlos Correa | HOU | 1st | Brandon Crawford | SFG | 4th | ||
| 3B | Matt Chapman | OAK | 3rd | Nolan Arenado | STL | 9th | ||
| LF | Andrew Benintendi | KCR | 1st | Tyler O’Neill | STL | 2nd | ||
| CF | Michael A. Taylor | KCR | 1st | Harrison Bader | STL | 1st | ||
| RF | Joey Gallo | TEX/NYY | 2nd | Adam Duvall | MIA/ATL | 1st |
The SDI is compiled by the SABR Defensive Committee, which includes former SABR Board President Vince Gennaro; Sean Forman of Baseball-Reference.com; Ben Jedlovec, MLB’s Director of Engineering, Data Quality; former SABR Director F.X. Flinn; author and defensive metrics expert Chris Dial; and author Michael Humphreys.
The SABR Defensive Index 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. The three metrics representing batted ball data include Defensive Runs Saved from Baseball Info Solutions, Ultimate Zone Rating developed by noted sabermetrician Mitchel Lichtman, and Runs Effectively Defended based on STATS Zone Rating and built by SABR Defensive Committee member Chris Dial. The two metrics included in the SDI originating from play-by-play data are Defensive Regression Analysis, created by committee member Michael Humphreys, and Total Zone Rating.
Learn more about the SABR Defensive Index and view updated rankings at SABR.org/SDI.
Vote for Rawlings Platinum Glove Award winners
In 2011, Rawlings introduced the Rawlings Platinum Glove Award to honor the best defender in each League among the Rawlings Gold Glove Award winners in each season.
The SDI’s ability to accurately compare players from different positions will help determine the updated Rawlings Platinum Glove Award, presented by SABR. Fans continue to have a voice during this process, and can cast their vote for the Rawlings Platinum Glove Award winners.
- Vote now: Click here to vote for the 2021 Rawlings Platinum Glove Award winners. Stay tuned to learn the winners during a special broadcast on MLB Network at 6:00 p.m. ET on Friday, November 12.
Kansas City left fielder Alex Gordon and Colorado third baseman Nolan Arenado won their respective league’s Rawlings Platinum Glove Award last season.
Originally published: November 7, 2021. Last Updated: November 7, 2021.