PHILADELPHIA — St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado became the fourth infielder to win 10 consecutive Rawlings Gold Gloves on Tuesday, when baseball’s winners for the sport’s most prestigious fielding awards were announced on ESPN2 before Game 3 of the World Series.
Arenado, 31, has won the National League’s Gold Glove at third base in each of his 10 seasons in the major leagues. That streak ties former Seattle Mariners outfielder Ichiro Suzuki for the longest by a player at any position to start a career.
The only infielders who put together longer streaks were Hall of Famers Brooks Robinson (third base, 16 straight Gold Gloves) and Ozzie Smith (shortstop, 13 straight) and former Cardinals and New York Mets first baseman Keith Hernandez (11 straight).
The Gold Gloves once tended to favor repeat winners, but this year’s list of honorees marked a season of unprecedented change. A record 14 players won their first Gold Gloves, including all but one of the winners in the American League.
The AL’s first timers were Cleveland Guardians pitcher Shane Bieber, New York Yankees catcher Jose Trevino, Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Guardians second baseman Andres Gimenez, Baltimore Orioles third baseman Ramon Urias, Houston Astros shortstop Jeremy Pena, Guardians left fielder Steven Kwan, Guardians center fielder Myles Straw and Astros right fielder Kyle Tucker.
The AL’s only repeat winner was the Yankees’ DJ LeMahieu, who was recognized as a utility player.
There was a little more familiarity among those who joined Arenado as Gold Glovers on the National League side. The first-time winners included Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Christian Walker, Colorado Rockies second baseman Brendan Rodgers, Braves shortstop Dansby Swanson, Chicago Cubs left fielder Ian Happ and Cardinals utility player Brendan Donovan.
Philadelphia Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto won his second Glove Glove, joining Houston’s Pena and Tucker in learning of their honor during the lead-up to their World Series contest.
“It’s a pretty cool moment, for sure,” Pena said. “[Getting] congratulated by our teammates. We know the focus is the game, so we’re going to enjoy this for a little bit and then get ready for the game.”
Pena joined Kwan and Donovan as winners during their rookie seasons, another record. The only other time in which there has been even two rookie Gold Glovers was 2020 (Luis Robert and Evan White).
In taking the honor, Pena continued to prove a worthy successor at the position in Houston to Carlos Correa, who won the award last season. Pena became the first rookie shortstop to win a Gold Glove.
“I heard that today and I was in shock because I didn’t know that was a thing,” Pena said. “But it’s pretty cool.”
San Diego Padres center fielder Trent Grisham won for the second time, while Los Angeles Dodgers star right fielder Mookie Betts won his sixth Gold Glove. Atlanta Braves pitcher Max Fried was honored for the third time.
