Andrew Benintendi, Michael A. Taylor Win Rawlings Gold Glove Awards
KANSAS CITY, MO. (November 7, 2021) – Rawlings Sporting Goods, Inc., and ESPN announced tonight that Royals left fielder Andrew Benintendi and center fielder Michael A. Taylor have both won their first Rawlings Gold Glove Awards. This marks the 19th and 20th Rawlings Gold Glove Awards won by Royals players since the 2011 season, which are the most in the Majors during that stretch. Kansas City has also had at least one winner in each of the last 11 seasons (2011-21) for the longest active streak in the Major Leagues.
Overall, Kansas City has won 38 Rawlings Gold Gloves by 15 different players in their 53-year history, which includes a franchise-record eight each by Alex Gordon and Frank White. This season also marks the eighth time that the Royals have had multiple Rawlings Gold Glove honorees and first since 2018, when Gordon and Salvador Perez won awards. It’s also the first time that the Royals have had multiple outfielders win Rawlings Gold Glove Awards in the same season.
Benintendi started 129 games in left field during his first season with the Royals and had six assists, which ranked second among American League left fielders behind only Lourdes Gurriel Jr. (13). Three of his six outfield assists came during a four-game series vs. Houston from Aug. 16-19, including a walk-off outfield assist on Aug. 18, when he threw out the potential game-tying run at home plate to end the game. According to _Elias_, it was the fourth walk-off assist in club history and the first that did not require a relay throw. Benintendi led American League left fielders in starts, innings (1116.0), total chances (234), putouts (225) and fielding percentage (.987), and his seven defensive runs saved, according to _Fangraphs_, tied for the American League lead among left fielders.
Taylor, who became the first Royals’ center fielder to win a Rawlings Gold Glove since Willie Wilson in 1980, appeared in a career high 142 games in his first year with Kansas City and led all center fielders with 11 outfield assists, which ranked fifth among all American League outfielders. His total was the highest by a Royals center fielder since Melky Cabrera recorded 13 in 2011. Taylor also led Major League center fielders with 19 defensive runs saved (_Fangraphs_), 15 outs above average and 14 runs prevented (_Baseball Savant_). His 19 defensive runs saved were second among all players at any position, behind only Houston shortstop Carlos Correa (21).
The Rawlings Gold Glove Award winners are selected by the managers of the 30 MLB teams and up to six of each team’s respective coaches. Each manager and coach vote from a pool of qualified players in their League and cannot vote for players from their own team. In 2013, Rawlings added a sabermetric component to the Rawlings Gold Glove Award selection process, as part of its collaboration with the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR). The SABR Defensive IndexTM (SDI) comprises approximately 25% of the overall selection total, with managers and coaches’ vote continuing to carry the majority.
Voting for the Rawlings Platinum Glove Award, presented by SABR, begins at the conclusion of the awards show tonight at www.rawlings.com, allowing the public to weigh in as to who is “The Finest in the Field®” in both the American League and the National League. A combination of the international fan vote and the SABR Defensive Index will determine who takes home the honor of each League’s top defensive player. Gordon (2014, 2020) won the only two Rawlings Platinum Glove Awards in franchise history since the honor was introduced in 2011. The Rawlings Platinum Glove Award winners, in addition to the Rawlings Team Defensive Gold Glove Award and Rawlings Minor League Gold Glove award winners will be unveiled exclusively on MLB Network’s “MLB Tonight” on Friday, Nov. 12 at 5 p.m. CT.
Below is a list of Kansas City’s 38 Rawlings Gold Glove Award winners by 15 different players:
1971 – Amos Otis (OF)
1973 – Amos Otis (OF)
1974 – Amos Otis (OF)
1977 – Al Cowens (OF), Frank White (2B)
1978 – Frank White (2B)
1979 – Frank White (2B)
1980 – Frank White (2B), Willie Wilson (OF)
1981 – Frank White (2B)
1982 – Frank White (2B)
1985 – George Brett (3B)
1986 – Frank White (2B)
1987 – Frank White (2B)
1989 – Bob Boone (C), Bret Saberhagen (P)
2000 – Jermaine Dye (OF)
2006 – Mark Grudzielanek (2B)
2011 – Alex Gordon (LF)
2012 – Alex Gordon (LF)
2013 – Alex Gordon (LF), Eric Hosmer (1B), Salvador Perez (C)
2014 – Alex Gordon (LF), Eric Hosmer (1B), Salvador Perez (C)
2015 – Alcides Escobar (SS), Eric Hosmer (1B), Salvador Perez (C)
2016 – Salvador Perez (C)
2017 – Alex Gordon (LF), Eric Hosmer (1B)
2018 – Alex Gordon (LF), Salvador Perez (C)
2019 – Alex Gordon (LF)
2020 – Alex Gordon (LF)
2021 – Andrew Benintendi (LF), Michael A. Taylor (CF)