Cain, Arenado, Athletics duo highlight 2019 Gold Glove winners

by Jason Wilson
Dylan Buell / Getty Images Sport / Getty

The 2019 Gold Glove awards were handed out Sunday. Colorado Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado took home his seventh consecutive award, and Matt Olson and Matt Chapman cemented their supremacy at the corners for the Oakland Athletics while winning for the second straight year.

Veteran outfielder Lorenzo Cain also finally won his first Gold Glove after 10 seasons in the big leagues.

Gold Gloves are awarded by combining votes from managers and coaching staffs from each major-league team with the SABR defensive index.

Here are this year's winners.

(Note: DRS = Defensive Runs Saved. UZR = Ultimate Zone Rating.)

AL catcher

Winner: Roberto Perez, Cleveland Indians (first Gold Glove)

INN. DRS Runners CS
993.2 29 20

Runners-up: Danny Jansen, Christian Vazquez

Did you know? This was Perez's first campaign as Cleveland's primary backstop after five seasons with the team.

AL first base

Winner: Matt Olson, Oakland Athletics (second Gold Glove)

INN. DRS UZR PO
1120.2 13 6.6 1023

Runners-up: Yuli Gurriel, Justin Smoak

Did you know? Olson led all major-league first basemen in DRS with 13.

AL second base

Winner: Yolmer Sanchez (first Gold Glove)

INN. DRS UZR PO
1256.2 11 4.9 248

Runners-up: Jose Altuve, DJ LeMahieu

Did you know? Sanchez is only the second White Sox second baseman to win a Gold Glove. Nellie Fox won three, and he was the inaugural recipient in 1957.

AL third base

Winner: Matt Chapman, Oakland Athletics (second Gold Glove)

INN. DRS UZR PO
1336 18 14.8 146

Runners-up: Alex Bregman, David Fletcher

Did you know? This is the first time Oakland has fielded multiple Gold Glove infielders in two consecutive years. Both Chapman and Olson won last year too.

AL shortstop

Winner: Francisco Lindor, Cleveland Indians (second Gold Glove)

INN. DRS UZR PO
1196.1 9 6.4 159

Runners-up: Marcus Semien, Andrelton Simmons

Did you know? This marks the first year multiple Indians players have won since they owned the middle infield in 2001, with Omar Vizquel and Roberto Alomar taking home the hardware.

AL left field

Winner: Alex Gordon, Kansas City Royals (seventh Gold Glove)

INN. DRS UZR OF Assists PO
1260 1 3.2 7 268

Runners-up: Robbie Grossman, Andrew Benintendi

Did you know? The Royals have won 17 Gold Gloves in the 2010s after only winning two in the 1990s and 2000s combined, according to Rany Jazayerli.

AL center field

Winner: Kevin Kiermaier, Tampa Bay Rays (third Gold Glove)

INN. DRS UZR OF Assists PO
1044.1 13 6.9 6 250

Runners-up: Mike Trout, Jackie Bradley Jr.

Did you know? Kiermaier was the only AL center fielder to play 1,000-plus innings and post a positive DRS in 2019.

AL right field

Winner: Mookie Betts, Boston Red Sox (fourth Gold Glove)

INN. DRS UZR OF Assists PO
1129.1 15 12.9 8 274

Runners-up: Kole Calhoun, Josh Reddick

Did you know? Betts is the first Red Sox outfielder to win at least four straight Gold Gloves since Dwight Evans won five consecutive times from 1981 to 1985.

AL pitcher

Winner: Mike Leake, Seattle Mariners (first Gold Glove)

INN. PO A E
197 20 25 1

Runners-up: Jose Berrios, Lucas Giolito

Did you know? Leake won in the AL despite finishing the season in the NL, and Zack Greinke won in the NL despite finishing the season in the AL.

NL catcher

Winner: J.T. Realmuto, Philadelphia Phillies (first Gold Glove)

INN. DRS Runners CS
1139.1 11 43

Runners-up: Austin Hedges, Yadier Molina

Did you know? No catcher was even close to throwing out as many baserunners as Realmuto. Yasmani Grandal finished second in the majors with 27 baserunners thrown out, well behind Realmuto's 43.

NL first base

Winner: Anthony Rizzo, Chicago Cubs (third Gold Glove)

INN. DRS UZR PO
1226.2 3 3.7 1140

Runners-up: Christian Walker, Paul Goldschmidt

Did you know? Rizzo is one of only three Cubs first basemen to win a Gold Glove. Mark Grace also won three in Chicago, and Derrek Lee earned two of his three during his Cubs tenure.

NL second base

Winner: Kolten Wong, St. Louis Cardinals (first Gold Glove)

INN. DRS UZR PO
1195.1 14 5.2 250

Runners-up: Ozzie Albies, Adam Frazier

Did you know? Wong is the first Cardinals second baseman to take home a Gold Glove since Fernando Vina in 2002.

NL third base

Winner: Nolan Arenado, Colorado Rockies (seventh Gold Glove)

INN. DRS UZR PO
1319.2 8 10.3 111

Runners-up: Anthony Rendon, Josh Donaldson

Did you know? Arenado has won a Gold Glove every year he's been in the bigs. The only other player to start their career with that long of a streak is Ichiro Suzuki, according to Sarah Langs of MLB.com. Ichiro received a Gold Glove in each of his first 10 seasons.

NL shortstop

Winner: Nick Ahmed, Arizona Diamondbacks (second Gold Glove)

INN. DRS UZR PO
1381 18 1.9 207

Runners-up: Paul DeJong, Trevor Story

Did you know? Ahmed led all NL players in SABR Defensive Index this season while earning his second straight Gold Glove.

NL left field

Winner: David Peralta, Arizona Diamondbacks (first Gold Glove)

INN. DRS UZR OF ASSISTS PO
806 10 6.2 3 201

Runners-up: Juan Soto, Hunter Renfroe

Did you know? Peralta is only the fourth Diamondbacks outfielder to win a Gold Glove, joining A.J. Pollock (2015), Gerardo Parra (2011, 2013), and Steve Finley (1999, 2000, 2004).

NL center field

Winner: Lorenzo Cain, Milwaukee Brewers (first Gold Glove)

INN. DRS UZR OF ASSISTS PO
1177.1 20 7.0 5 306

Runners-up: Victor Robles, Harrison Bader

Did you know? Despite being a multi-year finalist, Cain had never won the defensive honor. After winning, he told Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "It's something I've always wanted to win. Now, I finally have one. If I never win another one, at least I've got one."

NL right field

Winner: Cody Bellinger, Los Angeles Dodgers (first Gold Glove)

INN. DRS UZR OF ASSISTS PO
911.1 22 10.3 10 198

Runners-up: Bryce Harper, Jason Heyward

Did you know? The only outfielder with a higher DRS was Victor Robles (24), and he played 1,308 2/3 innings in the outfield.

NL pitcher

Winner: Zack Greinke, Arizona Diamondbacks (sixth Gold Glove)

INN. PO A E
208.2 33 34 1

Runners-up: Jack Flaherty, Aaron Nola

Did you know? Greinke has won all six of his Gold Glove awards over the last six seasons. The last pitcher to win at least six straight was Greg Maddux, who took 13 in a row from 1990 to 2002. Maddux later won five more from 2004 to 2008.

All 18 Gold Glove winners are now eligible to win the 2019 Platinum Glove Award given to the best overall defensive player in each league. Voting is open to the public, and the winners will be announced on Friday, Nov. 8.

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