Betts adds NL Gold Glove to his 4 from AL
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LOS ANGELES -- Dodgers outfielder Mookie Betts won the Rawlings National League Gold Glove Award for right field, as announced Tuesday night on ESPN.
Betts, a finalist this year for NL Most Valuable Player, won his fifth consecutive Gold Glove and first as a Dodgers right fielder. Betts beat out finalists Charlie Blackmon of the Rockies and Jason Heyward of the Cubs.
• 2020 Gold Glove Award winners
Betts was charged with four errors (league high for right field) and had one assist from the outfield. But it was one amazing assist.
Had the Gold Glove been awarded purely on viral highlights, Betts would have been a lock on the strength of his breathtaking throw from the right-field corner to nail Arizona’s Ketel Marte at third base on July 31. He now has won Gold Gloves in both leagues after winning in the American League with the Red Sox from 2016-19. He is the first outfielder to win five straight Gold Gloves since Ichiro Suzuki won 10 straight in the AL from 2001-10.
Betts finished second in the NL with 52 games in right field while recording a .966 fielding percentage. He was among the NL's right-field leaders in innings played (438 2/3, second), ultimate zone rating (6.0, first), range runs (6.0, first), ultimate zone rating per 150 games (15.9, first) and defensive runs saved (11, first).
Center fielder Cody Bellinger was the only other Dodgers finalist, but the Gold Glove went to San Diego’s Trent Grisham.
Because of the compressed 2020 season, the award qualifications were amended to rely solely on the SABR Defensive Index.