Nolan Arenado, Mookie Betts headline MLB's Gold Glove awards
They say you can’t predict baseball, but that’s not entirely true. You can bet your entire life savings on Colorado Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado winning a Gold Glove award every season, and you would never go broke.
That was the case once again Sunday, as Arenado took home his seventh straight Gold Glove award. The 28-year-old Arenado is more than deserving of the award. He once again rated as the best defensive third baseman in the league, according to FanGraphs. While one-year defensive samples are always iffy, Arenado has been the best defensive third baseman in baseball since 2013, according to the advanced metrics. He’s no fluke.
Over in the American League, the biggest name to bring home some hardware is Boston Red Sox outfielder Mookie Betts. The 27-year-old Betts was once again a dominant force in all facets of the game. On top of being a strong offensive player, Betts continued to provide excellent defense for the Red Sox. It’s the fourth straight year Betts has won a Gold Glove award.
Here are the other Gold Glove award winners:
American League
C: Roberto Perez, Cleveland Indians
1B: Matt Olson, Oakland Athletics
2B: Yolmer Sanchez, Chicago White Sox
SS: Francisco Lindor, Cleveland Indians
3B: Matt Chapman, Oakland Athletics
LF: Alex Gordon, Kansas City Royals
CF: Kevin Kiermaier, Tampa Bay Rays
RF: Mookie Betts, Boston Red Sox
P: Mike Leake, Seattle Mariners
National League
C: J.T. Realmuto, Philadelphia Phillies
1B: Anthony Rizzo, Chicago Cubs
2B: Kolten Wong, St. Louis Cardinals
SS: Nick Ahmed, Arizona Diamondbacks
3B: Nolan Arenado, Colorado Rockies
LF: David Peralta, Arizona Diamondbacks
CF: Lorenzo Cain, Milwaukee Brewers
RF: Cody Bellinger, Los Angeles Dodgers
P: Zack Greinke, Arizona Diamondbacks
The only third baseman to post better defensive metrics than Arenado in 2019 also took home a Gold Glove. Matt Chapman of the Athletics picked up his second straight Gold Glove award.
Chapman could be in line for an Arenado-type run. He’s widely considered one of the best young defensive third basemen in the game. While Arenado and Chapman don’t have to compete for awards at the moment, it sets up a nice friendly competition between the two moving forward.
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Chris Cwik is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik
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