Rawlings Gold Glove Award finalists for the National League and American League were announced Tuesday morning, with the Los Angeles Dodgers having Will Smith (catcher) and Kiké Hernández (utility) placing among the top-three finishers at their respective positions.
The 2024 season marks a third consecutive year in which the Dodgers have had multiple Gold Glove Award finalists. In 2022, they were represented by Tyler Anderson and Mookie Betts.
For the 2023 season, Freddie Freeman, David Peralta and Betts (right field and utility) were Dodgers’ Gold Glove Award finalists.
Despite the strong showing, only Betts was a Gold Glove winner during that span as he took home the hardware for right field in 2022. Betts set a goal of winning the defensive award at shortstop this season but had early struggles and was thrown off course by a left hand fracture.
He then did not log enough innings to qualify for a Gold Glove Award in right field for 2024.
Gold Glove Awards 2024
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 2024 Gold Glove Award winners will be announced during ESPN’s “Baseball Tonight” on Sunday, Nov. 3, beginning at 5:30 p.m. PT.
Kiké Hernández
Hernández continued to be a jack of all trades for the Dodgers in 2024 as he played six different positions: first base, second base, third base, shortstop, left field and center field. Hernández also pitched again this year, making four appearances.
The 33-year-old has never won a Gold Glove Award in his career.
Brendan Donovan (St. Louis Cardinals) and Jared Triolo (Pittsburgh Pirates) are also finalists for the utility Gold Glove in the NL.
Will Smith
Smith easily had his best defensive season in 2024, which included leading the NL with a 33.3% caught stealing rate. He threw out 32 total would-be basestealers, which led NL catchers as well.
San Francisco Giants’ Patrick Bailey and Gabriel Moreno of the Arizona Diamondbacks are Smith’s competition at catcher for his first career Gold Glove Award.
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