NEW YORK (AP) — All those snazzy plays by Alex Gordon, Eric Hosmer and Salvador Perez earned them more than tips of the hat from their Kansas City teammates.
The Royals trio wound up snagging Gold Gloves, too.
“It was something that was pretty special to watch,” Gordon said.
Three Baltimore players also were honored by Rawlings on Tuesday for fielding excellence, as was St. Louis catcher Yadier Molina for the seventh year in a row.
The Royals paid tribute to each other throughout a run to the World Series, tipping their caps after fine plays. Kansas City lost in seven games to San Francisco — none of the Giants won Glove Gloves.
“The whole entire team, what we did defensively all year, that’s part of our game,” Hosmer said on a conference call.
Gordon, who began his career as a third baseman before becoming a regular left fielder, won for the fourth straight year. Perez at catcher and Hosmer at first base have two wins apiece.
“We’ve said from day one, if you can’t play defense, there’s probably not a spot for you in our everyday lineup,” Royals general manager Dayton Moore said.
Perez said he thought Royals outfielder Lorenzo Cain, third baseman Mike Moustakas and shortstop Alcides Escobar could win Gold Gloves in the near future.
Managers and coaches voted for the awards in their own leagues. The Society for American Baseball Research’s Defensive Index factored about 25 percent into the results.
Gold Gloves have often been among the most discussed and disputed of the postseason awards.
More advanced ways of measuring glovework such as Ultimate Zone Rating and Defensive WAR have sometimes overtaken statistics such as errors and fielding percentage that often determined the winners. Reputation also carried a lot of weight over the years.
Cincinnati and Philadelphia, the top two teams in the majors this year by fielding percentage, didn’t have any winners.
Baltimore center fielder Adam Jones won for the fourth time, Orioles shortstop J.J. Hardy won his third in a row and teammate Nick Markakis won his second in right field. Markakis has become a free agent since the season ended.
There were six first-time winners — Mets center fielder Juan Lagares, Miami left fielder Christian Yelich, Colorado second baseman DJ LeMahieu and Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke in the National League and Seattle third baseman Kyle Seager and Houston pitcher Dallas Keuchel in the American League.
I feel so excited and happy,” Lagares said. “It’s a special honor.”
Other winners were Dodgers first baseman Adrian Gonzalez and Boston second baseman Dustin Pedroia for the fourth time each, Atlanta shortstop Andrelton Simmons, Braves right fielder Jason Heyward and Colorado third baseman Nolan Arenado.
“To be able to be recognized defensively is pretty special, considering that really wasn’t my reputation, coming into the big leagues,” Yelich said. “It’s cool feeling you’re a complete player.”
Molina is tied with Bob Boone for third place for most Gold Gloves by a catcher. Ivan Rodriguez won 13 and Johnny Bench 10 in awards that began in 1957.
Gonzalez and Pedroia each earned a $100,000 bonus for winning and Hardy, Jones and Markakis will get $75,000 each. Gordon, Molina and Perez made $50,000 apiece and Simmons and Heyward earned $25,000 each.
The Gold Glove triggered contract escalators for Perez, with the price of Kansas City’s options rising from $3.75 million to $3,825,000 in 2017, from $5 million to $5.15 million in 2018 and $6 million to $6.3 million in 2019.
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