Fried wins for defense among NL pitchers
Two rookies, Seattle Mariners first baseman Evan White and Chicago White Sox center fielder Luis Robert, were selected recipients of the Rawlings Gold Glove Award on Tuesday.
Separate American League and National League honors are given annually to the top fielder at all nine positions.
Robert became the first White Sox rookie ever to capture a Gold Glove. White is the second Mariners rookie to be honored, following right fielder Ichiro Suzuki in 2001.
Other AL winners included retiring left fielder Alex Gordon, who tied the Kansas City Royals’ franchise record with his eighth victory. Second baseman Frank White also won eight Gold Gloves.
Three AL teams had two winners apiece: the Texas Rangers (third baseman Isiah Kiner-falefa and right fielder Joey Gallo), the Cleveland Indians (second baseman Cesar Hernandez and catcher Roberto Perez) and the Mariners (White and shortstop J.P. Crawford).
Los Angeles Angels right-hander Griffin Canning was the victor among AL pitchers.
Robert and White are just the 11th and 12th rookies to win Gold Gloves and the first to do so in either league since Colorado Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado in 2013.
Arenado won his eighth consecutive award to lead this year’s list of NL winners. The only other third basemen with at least as many Gold Gloves as Arenado are Brooks Robinson (16), Mike Schmidt (10) and Scott Rolen (eight).
A Los Angeles Dodgers right fielder was honored for the second year in a row, this time with Mookie Betts taking the hardware. Cody Bellinger received the award last year before Betts joined the team and helped lead the Dodgers to the World Series championship. Betts won Gold Gloves each of the four previous seasons while he was with the Boston Red Sox.
The Chicago Cubs (first baseman Anthony Rizzo and shortstop Javier Baez) and the St. Louis Cardinals (second baseman Kolten Wong and left fielder Tyler O’neill) each had two NL recipients.
The other NL honorees were San Diego Padres center fielder Trent Grisham, Cincinnati Reds catcher Tucker Barnhart and Atlanta Braves pitcher Max Fried.