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What is a Gold Glove exactly?

It is an award created in 1957 by Rawlings (the most popular baseball glove maker at the time) to show defensive excellence at each of the nine positions.

It began, like the Cy Young Award, with only one winner at each position in MLB. In 1958 it was changed to include one for the American League and one for the National League.

A perusal of a list of all the winners fosters the opinion that, like many awards, it tends to honor the same players in a succession of seasons. For example, Brooks Robinson , Hall of Fame third baseman, won the award a record 16 consecutive times.

Jim “Kitty Kat” Kaat (who should be in the Hall of Fame), is next in line with 14 in a row and 16 total.

Pitcher Greg Maddux won 13 consecutive awards, and if not for an interruption by Mike Hampton in 2003 would have not only the all-time record but the consecutive record as well with 18, 19 had he won that year.

Hall of Fame shortstop Ozzie Smith put the trophy on his mantle 13 times, all in succession.

The great Willie Mays won the award 12 seasons, all in a row. Roberto Clemente , the Pirate Hall of Fame rightfielder who was taken from us much too early, also won the award 12 times, wait for it, you guessed it, all in succession. It would be prudent at this point to inform you that the award has always gone to the three outfielders, regardless of their position (LF, CF, RF), a change I would also see as being beneficial to the corner outfielders.

What am I driving at here? Well, I was just getting to that. Apparently if you have won the award once, it seems so much easier not even to look at a page of stats, just checking off the previous winner’s name.

It would be too many names and too much reading, to list all of the award winners who won in at least back-to-back seasons. I did think it would be fun to list some who have won several awards, but have received no love at all from historians.

Jim Landis , center fielder for the Chicago White Sox, who people under 50 probably are not remotely familiar with, was a five-time winner, again all in succession.

The diminutive southpaw Bobby Shantz won the inaugural award while with the New York Yankees in 1957. He ran the table three more times in succession in the American League and was traded in 1961 to the Pittsburgh Pirates. He was so good with a glove that he won four more times, all in succession in the senior circuit, making him the only player to win at least four Gold Gloves in each league. Again, if you are under 50 you may have not even heard of him.

Paul Blair (do you know him?) was in my view, one of the top five centerfielders of all time. He won eight awards, seven in a row, all with the Baltimore Orioles.

Curt Flood of the St. Louis Cardinals won a Gold Glove seven consecutive seasons but all young people know about him is that he is the spark for the explosion known as free agency and the ensuing wealth of seemingly everyone in MLB.

Bill Freehan , the outstanding catcher for the Detroit Tigers, won a Gold Glove five consecutive times, but remains unknown to most fans under 50.

I guess it would be Pollyanna-ish of me to think the award would go to the player with the best defensive statistics of the year. In 2007 Orlando Hudson of the Arizona Diamondbacks won the Gold Glove, but was inferior statistically to Brandon Phillips of the Cincinnati Reds. I realize I am a homer to say this, but he bested Hudson in PCT, had fewer errors and turned more double plays.

Hudson won again this season even though Phillips turned more double plays and had the same PCT.

As with all the other awards, there is always plenty to cry about, and always some who will just cite it as a popularity contest. What are your thoughts?
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