Gold Glove Award

"Gold Glove" redirects here. For the boxing competition, see Golden Gloves. For other uses, see Golden Gloves (disambiguation).
Gold Glove Award
Roberto Alomar's 1994 Gold Glove Award
SportBaseball
LeagueMajor League Baseball
Awarded forBest fielding player at each position in the American League and National League
Sponsored byRawlings
Presented byMajor League Baseball
History
First award1957

The Rawlings Gold Glove Award, usually referred to as simply the Gold Glove, is the award given annually to the Major League Baseball (MLB) players judged to have exhibited superior individual fielding performances at each fielding position in both the National League (NL) and the American League (AL). The Gold Glove is widely considered one of the most prestigious defensive awards in baseball.

Winners for position awards are determined from voting by the managers and coaches in each league,[1] who are not permitted to vote for their own players.[1] Additionally, a sabermetric component provided by the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) accounts for about 25 percent of the vote.[2] For the utility player awards, the sabermetric component and other defensive statistics are exclusively used to select the winners, without any voting by coaches.[3]

In 1957, the baseball glove manufacturer Rawlings created the Gold Glove Award to commemorate the best fielding performance at each position.[4] Winners receive a glove made from gold lamé-tanned leather and affixed to a walnut base.[4] In the inaugural year, one Gold Glove was awarded to the top fielder at each position in MLB;[4] since 1958, separate awards have been given to the top fielders in each league.[4] In 2020, Rawlings began issuing a Gold Glove Award for team defense, with one recipient each in the American and National Leagues.[5] Starting in 2022, a Gold Glove Award in each league has been awarded to a utility player.[6]

For 2016–2019, a Gold Glove was also awarded each year to one fastpitch softball player in the National Pro Fastpitch league.[7]

  1. ^ a b "A-Rod breaks Vizquel's streak; AL West earns eight of nine". Sports Illustrated. Associated Press. November 13, 2002. Archived from the original on 9 January 2014. Retrieved May 26, 2009.
  2. ^ "Gold Glove Selection Criteria" (Press release). Rawlings Sporting Goods. Archived from the original on 2022-12-28. Retrieved 2021-10-13.
  3. ^ "Rawlings Gold Glove Award expands to utility players" (Press release). Rawlings Sporting Goods. Archived from the original on 2023-11-06. Retrieved 2023-11-06.
  4. ^ a b c d "History of the Gold Glove Award". Rawlings. Rawlings Sporting Goods. Archived from the original on May 21, 2022. Retrieved October 13, 2021.
  5. ^ "Rawlings Gold Glove Team Award | Learn More Here | Rawlings". www.rawlings.com. Archived from the original on 2023-02-17. Retrieved 2023-02-17.
  6. ^ Philips, Gary. "Rawlings Finally Introduces A Gold Glove Award For Utility Players". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on September 24, 2022. Retrieved September 24, 2022.
  7. ^ "Rawlings Softball Gold Glove Award". Rawlings. Archived from the original on October 17, 2021. Retrieved October 13, 2021.