Rawlings Gold Glove Award finalists were announced Wednesday morning, with the Los Angeles Dodgers having Freddie Freeman (first base), David Peralta (left field) and Mookie Betts (right field and utility) placing among the top-three finishers at their respective positions.
It’s a second consecutive season the Dodgers had multiple Gold Glove Award finalists, as they were represented by Tyler Anderson and Betts last year.
There are three finalists per league at every position, including for a utility player, which was awarded for the first time in 2022.
Gold Glove Award winners for the nine standard positions are determined via vote of MLB managers and up to six coaches from each team. Managers and coaches cannot vote for their own players and are only permitted to submit ballots for those in their same league.
Those votes amount to 75% of the selection total, with the SABR Defensive Index accounting for the remaining 25%.
For the utility Gold Glove Award, Rawlings collaborates with SABR to create a specialized defensive formula separate from the traditional selection process.
All 2023 Gold Glove Award winners will be announced during ESPN’s “Baseball Tonight” on Sunday, November 5, beginning at 4:30 p.m. PT.
Freddie Freeman
Freeman previously won a Gold Glove Award in 2018 while a member of the Atlanta Braves, and was a finalist in 2021.
Although Freeman historically is viewed as a strong first baseman, this season he finished with -8 in total defensive runs saved (DRS) and just 1.6 in ultimate zone rating (1.6). Freeman’s -7.5 total defense (Def) was fourth-best among qualified NL first baseman.
Carlos Santana (Pittsburgh Pirates/Milwaukee Brewers) and Christian Walker (Arizona Diamondbacks) are fellow finalists at first base for 2023. Walker won the Gold Glove at first base in 2022 for the first time in his career.
David Peralta
Peralta is a one-time Gold Glove Award winner, which he took home in 2019 while with the Diamondbacks. That same season Peralta also won a Fielding Bible Award and was the Diamondbacks’ recipient of the Wilson Defensive Player of the Year Award that has since been discontinued.
Peralta’s inclusion as a 2023 Gold Glove finalist is somewhat surprising due to not grading out favorably in most defensive metrics. He’s competing against Ian Happ (Chicago Cubs) and Eddie Rosario (Braves).
Happ won the 2022 Gold Glove Award for NL left fielder.
Mookie Betts
Betts fittingly is a Gold Glove finalist for another year of strong play at his natural right field position, and the utility award in recognition of a seamless transition to the middle infield.
Betts played 107 games in right field, 70 at second base and 16 at shortstop this season. Betts has won a Gold Glove Award in right field in six of the last seven seasons — falling short only in 2021.
Last year Betts joined Willie Davis (1971-1973), Raul Mondesi (1995, 1997) and Matt Kemp (2009, 2011) as the only Dodgers outfielders to win multiple Gold Glove Awards.
Betts (2020, 2022), Wally Moon (1960), Davis (1971-1973), Dusty Baker (1981), Mondesi (1995, 1997), Steve Finley (2004), Kemp (2009, 2011), Andre Ethier (2011) and Cody Bellinger (2019) are only the outfielders to ever win a Gold Glove with the Dodgers.
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