Alex Gordon, Eric Hosmer win Gold Glove Awards
Royals outfielder Alex Gordon and first baseman Eric Hosmer have each been honored with American League Rawlings Gold Glove Awards.
This is Gordon's fifth career award — the second most in franchise history — and Hosmer's fourth. Gordon had won four straight from 2011-14 and Hosmer three in a row from 2013-15.
The Royals have now won 14 Rawlings Gold Glove Awards since 2011, the most in the MLB in that span. The Royals are the only American League club to have at least one winner in each of the past seven seasons.
The awards were voted on by managers and coaches from the American and National Leagues and honor the best individual fielding performances at each position in both leagues.
Gordon tied for 11th among American League outfielders with eight assists this season, his highest total since also collecting eight in 2014, the last time he was awarded a Rawlings Gold Glove. Since moving to the outfield in 2010, his 82 assists are tied for most in the majors. In 2017, he also ranked third among AL left fielders with a .993 fielding percentage, committing just two errors in 269 chances. Gordon played 140 games in left field, one in right and 15 in center field this season, seeing action in center for the first time in his Major League career. Gordon’s five Rawlings Gold Glove Awards are second-most among active Major League outfielders, trailing only Ichiro Suzuki’s 10.
Eric Hosmer says the tight-knit unit that the #Royals built "doesn't become as strong without all you guys out here." #RaisedRoyal pic.twitter.com/qk4QY96Gpk
— FOX Sports KC (@FSKansasCity) October 1, 2017
Hosmer played in all 162 games for the first time in his career, seeing action at first base in 157 of them, which led the American League. He was also tops among AL first basemen in innings (1338.0) and total chances (1314), while finishing second in putouts (1314) and fourth in fielding percentage (.997). He had a streak of 120 games (1,013 chances) without being charged with an error, the longest streak by a Royals first baseman, according to Elias Sports Bureau. Hosmer’s four Rawlings Gold Glove Awards are tied with Adrian Gonzalez for most among active first basemen.
The Royals have won a total of 32 Rawlings Gold Gloves in franchise history, with 13 different players honored.
Each manager and up to six coaches on his staff vote from a pool of qualified players in their League and cannot vote for players on their own team. In 2013, Rawlings added a sabermetric component to the Rawlings Gold Glove Award selection process, as part of its new collaboration with the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR). The SABR Defensive Index comprises approximately 25 percent of the overall selection total, while the managers’ and coaches’ vote continues to carry the majority.
Outfielder Lorenzo Cain and catcher Salvador Perez were also nominated for Rawlings Gold Glove Awards this year.
