Today Rawlings announced the finalists for the 2017 Gold Glove Awards. It should come as no surprise that Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado was among the finalists named. DJ LeMahieu was also recognized for his continued defensive prowess at second base.
If he wins, it would be Nolan’s fifth consecutive Gold Glove. He is only the second player to win the award in his first four seasons, the first being outfielder Ichiro Suzuki, who won it in his first 10 years for the Mariners. Considering Arenado was fourth in baseball among all positions in Defensive Runs Saved with 20 this season, he seems a veritable lock to get the award. If he does, he’ll tie outfielder Larry Walker for the most in franchise history. The other third base finalists are the Nationals’ Anthony Rendon and the Pirates’ David Freese.
Second baseman DJ LeMahieu is nominated for the second year in a row. He’ll compete against the Marlins Dee Gordon and the Cubs’ Ben Zobrist. The two-time Rockies All-Star won the award in 2014 and finished first among NL keystoners this year with 8 DRS.
Gerardo Parra is a finalist in left field. He’ll compete against Adam Duvall and from the Reds and Marcell Ozuna from the Miami Marlins.
This is the 60th anniversary of the Gold Glove Awards, which have been given to the top defensive player at each position since 1957; starting in 1958 there were separate awards for National League and American League. The winners are voted on by manages and coaches in each league (managers are not allowed to vote for their own players) with the sabermetric component DRS comprising 25% of the vote. The Rockies have 19 Gold Glove awards in their history and have had at least one in every year since 2010.