Third baseman Nolan Arenado and infielder/outfielder Brendan Donovan were named National League recipients of the 2022 Rawlings Gold Glove Award for defensive excellence. The St. Louis Cardinals have had 99 Rawlings Gold Glove selections since the award originated in 1957—most among all MLB teams. It is the 32nd time the Cardinals have had multiple Gold Glove winners in the same season.
Arenado, 31, won his 10th consecutive career Gold Glove Award, taking home the hardware each year since debuting in 2013. He is the second player in MLB history, and first National League player, to win a Gold Glove Award in each of his first 10 seasons, joining Mariners outfielder Ichiro Suzuki (2001-10), and the 14th player in MLB history to win the coveted trophy in 10 consecutive years. This year’s win ties Arenado with Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt for second-most career Gold Glove wins at the hot corner (Brooks Robinson, 16). Nolan also becomes the seventh infielder in MLB history with 10+ career Gold Glove selections and fourth infielder to win at least 10 straight awards (3B Robinson-16, SS Ozzie Smith-13, 1B Keith Hernandez-11).
Arenado ranked first among MLB third basemen with a Cardinals record 42 double plays and second with 283 assists. He also ranked 2nd among all third basemen in Defensive Runs Saved (19) and Outs Above Average (15). Arenado joins Scott Rolen (2002-04, 2006), Terry Pendleton (1987, 1989) and Ken Boyer (1958-61, 1963) as third basemen to win multiple Gold Gloves with St. Louis.
Donovan, 25, won his first career Gold Glove Award and is the first National League player to win the award as a utility player after Rawlings announced the addition to its list of award recipients in September. He is the first Cardinal to win a Gold Glove in his rookie season and the first National League player to do so since Nolan Arenado with Colorado in 2013. Defensively, the majority of his innings came at second base (264.1), but he also logged innings at five other defensive positions including third base (189.0), left field (144.0), right field (143.0), first base (58.0) and shortstop (56.0). Earlier this season, Donovan became the only MLB player in the modern era (since 1900) to start at four different infield positions in the first four starts of his career.
The versatile defender had just seven errors across 854.1 innings, with 49 double plays and four outfield assists. Donovan accumulated nine Defensive Runs Saved across six different positions, including eight at third base (ranked T6th-among all MLB players). He becomes the 29th different player in franchise history to be selected as a Gold Glove winner.
According to FanGraphs, the Cardinals ranked 4th among all MLB teams in Defensive Runs Saved in 2022 with 70 and 4th in Outs Above Average with 24, the only team to rank in the top four in both categories. Reigning National League Gold Glove winners Paul Goldschmidt and Tommy Edman were announced as a 2022 Rawlings Gold Glove finalists on October 20, finishing in the top-three among NL first basemen and second basemen/utility players, respectively.
The Rawlings Gold Glove Award winners are selected by the managers of all 30 MLB teams and up to six of their respective coaches. Each manager and coach vote from a pool of qualified players in their League, but cannot vote for players from their own team. In 2013, Rawlings added the SABR Defensive Index (SDI) to the Gold Glove Award selection process, which comprises approximately 25% of the overall selection total, with the managers and coaches’ vote carrying the majority. To select the Utility Award winners, Rawlings collaborated with SABR to create a specialized defensive formula separate from the traditional selection process for the position winners.
Starting tonight, fans can vote for Arenado or Donovan to be named the Rawlings Platinum Glove Award winner at Rawlings.com. A combination of the national fan vote and the SDI will determine who takes that honor. Voting will remain open through Wednesday, November 9 at 10:59 PM CT and the winners will be unveiled on Friday, November 11.
