CLEVELAND — While the Cleveland Guardians are in the middle of the MLB Postseason against the New York Yankees in the American League Championship Series, four players are receiving recognition, being named finalists for the AL Gold Glove Awards.
Rawlings Baseball announced the finalists on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Tuesday morning. The awards are given to the best defenders in each league at their respective positions.
The Cleveland Guardians players included on this year's list of Gold Glove finalists are:
- Steven Kwan - Left field
- José Ramírez - Third base
- Brayan Rocchio - Shortstop
- Andrés Giménez - Second base
"The announcement of the Rawlings Gold Glove Award finalists each year creates so much excitement for our brand and the sport of baseball, not to mention for the talented athletes that are selected as the top defenders at their respective positions," said Mike Thompson, chief marketing officer of Rawlings. "We look forward to recognizing the winners of the highly coveted Rawlings Gold Glove Awards in a few weeks, but until then, we'll enjoy the banter amongst fans as to who is most deserving at each position."
Since the award's inception in 1957, Cleveland has won 41 Gold Gloves. Last year, the Guardians had two Gold Glove winners -- Giménez and Kwan -- who won at their respective positions.
This year, the Cleveland Guardians and the Kansas City Royals lead the American League, with both teams having four respective finalists.
Here's how Rawlings determines the winners of the Gold Glove awards:
"To determine the winners of the 18 defensive position Awards, each team's manager and up to six coaches on his staff vote from a pool of qualified players in their League and cannot vote for players from their own team. In 2013, Rawlings added the SABR Defensive Index™ (SDI) to the Rawlings Gold Glove Award selection process, which comprises approximately 25 percent of the overall selection total, with the managers' and coaches' votes continuing to carry the majority."
This year's Gold Glove winners will be unveiled on Sunday, Nov. 3, during "Baseball Tonight" on ESPN at 8:30 p.m.
