Raleigh, Turang honored for exceptional defense with Platinum Glove Awards
Blue Jays, Brewers take home Team Gold Glove Awards
The 2024 Platinum Glove Award winners and Gold Glove Team Award winners were announced Friday night at the Rawlings Gold Glove Award ceremony in New York.
Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh won the Platinum Glove for the American League, and Brewers second baseman Brice Turang won the Platinum Glove for the National League. The award honors the best overall fielder in each league.
The Blue Jays won the AL Gold Glove Team Award as the best fielding team in the AL for the 2024 season. The Brewers won the NL Gold Glove Team Award.
Raleigh was a first-time Gold Glove Award winner this season, as well as the first Mariners catcher to win the award. He's now the first Mariners player to win the Platinum Glove since the award's inception in 2011.
Turang is the first Brewers player to win a Platinum Glove Award. Like Raleigh, Turang was also a first-time Gold Glover in 2024, and the first Milwaukee second baseman to ever win the award.
Last year's Platinum Glove Award winners were Padres outfielder Fernando Tatis Jr. and Guardians second baseman Andrés Giménez.
Raleigh led all MLB catchers this season in games caught (135) and innings caught (1,122), and he led AL catchers with 17 Defensive Runs Saved (17).
Raleigh in particular was a standout pitch framer, leading AL catchers in Statcast's framing runs, with +13 runs saved from his framing.
"You're just trying to give the best visual possible," Raleigh explained at a Gold Glove "Gold Carpet" event at the MLB Flagship Store in New York on Thursday. "It's not even really for the umpire, it's just as much for the pitcher. … You want good presentation, and you're really just trying to keep everything in the zone as long as possible. Try to make everything look good, and the rest is up to them. I'm just trying to make it look good and present it the best I can."
Turang led all Major League fielders, not just second basemen, with 22 Defensive Runs Saved this season. He also led all NL fielders in Baseball Reference's Defensive Wins Above Replacement stat.
"The first step really matters. The distance you cover. How many plays you make that are routine compared to other guys. Stuff like that matters," Turang said of the keys to his defense after being named a Gold Glover. "But the main thing is winning. If I can help my team win, I’ll do it any way possible. That’s what really matters."
The Brewers, in large part thanks to Turang's defense, won the NL Gold Glove Team Award for a second consecutive season.
Milwaukee had 64 Defensive Runs Saved as a team, ranking second in the NL. The Brewers also ranked third in MLB and second in the NL by Statcast's Outs Above Average, at +31.
The Blue Jays also won the AL Gold Glove Team Award for a second straight season. Toronto topped the Major Leagues in Defensive Runs Saved as a team, with 102. The Jays were right behind the Brewers, and second in the AL, in Outs Above Average, at +26.
The Brewers had two individual Gold Glovers in 2024 in Turang and right fielder Sal Frelick. The Blue Jays had one, center fielder Daulton Varsho.