ST. LOUIS – Colorado Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado won his eighth consecutive Gold Glove and right fielder Mookie Betts snared his fifth in a row on Tuesday, his first with the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers after four with Boston.
Kansas City Royals left fielder Alex Gordon also won his eighth Gold Glove — and fourth straight — in his final major league season.
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Chicago Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo earned the honor for the third straight year in the pandemic-shortened season and fourth time overall. He was joined for the first time by Cubs shortstop Javier Báez.
Cincinnati catcher Tucker Barnhart won for the second time and first since 2017. St. Louis second baseman Kolten Wong won for the second year in a row, six days after the Cardinals allowed him to become a free agent rather than exercise his $12.5 million option for 2021.
St. Louis left fielder Tyler O’Neill, Atlanta pitcher Max Fried and San Diego center fielder Trent Grisham were first-time winners in the National League.
Gordon and Cleveland catcher Roberto Pérez were the only players to repeat in the AL. They were joined by seven first-time winners, including Indians second baseman César Hernández. The others were Seattle first baseman Evan White and shortstop J.P. Crawford, Texas third baseman Isiah Kiner-Falefa and right fielder Joey Gallo, Chicago White Sox center fielder Luis Robert and Los Angeles Angels pitcher Griffin Canning.
The 36-year-old Gordon announced his retirement in September. He joined Hall of Fame outfielder Roberto Clemente and first baseman Wes Parker (both in 1972) as the only position players to win a Gold Glove in their last big league season, according to Sportradar.
Gordon, Hernández, White and Wong earned $18,519 bonuses, prorated portions of $50,000. Arenado and Robert earned $9,259, prorated portions of $25,000, and O’Neill earned $3,704, a prorated portion of $10,000.
Perez’s 2021 salary escalated by $250,000 to $5.75 million, and Barnhart’s by $250,000 to $4 million.
Gold Gloves are presented annually by Rawlings. Because of the shortened season, the awards were based on the Society for American Baseball Research's Defensive Index. From 2013-19, the index was about 25% of the total, with the rest voting by major league managers and up to six coaches per team.
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