On Wednesday afternoon, Rawlings announced their Gold Glove Award finalists for the 2020 Major League Baseball season.
The New York Yankees have two finalists, and one may be rather surprising!
The Yankees first finalist was none other than third baseman Gio Urshela. The 29-year-old has become a defensive standout for the Yankees, as he makes highlight-reel plays on a daily basis.
Over 43 games this season, Urshela posted a .992 fielding percentage. He made just one error in 357.2 innings (121 total chances), and tallied 34 putouts as well as 86 assists.
Rawlings Gold Glove Award Finalists- AL Third Base: Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Yoan Moncada, Gio Urshela #TeamRawlings #RawlingsGoldGloveAwards pic.twitter.com/UzBMVc3csO
— Rawlings Baseball (@RawlingsSports) October 22, 2020
Isiah Kiner-Falefa of the Texas Rangers and Yoan Moncada of the Chicago White Sox are the other two American League third baseman finalists for the award.
The other Yankee to be named a finalist for a Rawlings Gold Glove is… yes, Clint Frazier!
Rawlings Gold Glove Award Finalists- AL Right Field Clint Frazier, Joey Gallo, Anthony Santander #TeamRawlings #RawlingsGoldGloveAwards pic.twitter.com/NXrdBDHZfB
— Rawlings Baseball (@RawlingsSports) October 22, 2020
Frazier is one of three finalists for the American League right field Gold Glove, joining Joey Gallo of the Texas Rangers and Anthony Santander of the Baltimore Orioles. This is Frazier’s first Gold Glove finalist nomination of his career.
Considering that a lot of people had doubts about Frazier’s defense, 2020 served as a bit of a “breakout” year for the 26-year-old. He showed tremendous improvement defensively to coincide with his already impressive offensive abilities.
Frazier played 34 games in the field this season and posted a .984 overall fielding percentage. While playing right field (the position he received the nomination for), Frazier made just one total error over 53 changes (spanning over 216 innings).
Based on their defensive play in 2020, both Urshela and Frazier are well-deserving of the nomination. We’ll have to wait and see if they bring home an official Gold Glove Award this season.
Rawlings will unveil their Gold Glove Award winners on Nov. 3, 2020 as part of a “Baseball Tonight” broadcast. The show will be aired at 7:00 PM, and will be broadcasted live on ESPN.
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