We knew this was coming, didn't we? The defensive brilliance of Ceddanne Rafaela, Wilyer Abreu, and Caleb Durbin was so evident all season long that last night's announcement of the 2026 Gold Glove winners was a mere formality as far as the Red Sox were concerned. As expected, all three took home with award, the first for Durbin, but the the second and third consecutive awards for Ceddy and Wily, respectively.
Only five players in Red Sox history have won more than Wilyer's 3 Gold Gloves. But he still remains 5 behind the team's all-time leader. If you can't already guess who that is, here's a hint: he played the same position as Abreu.
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Now we turn our attention to the American League Platinum Glove, which will be handed out on Friday. The Platinum Glove, which goes to the single best fielder in the league at any position, has been held in pretty high esteem since it debuted in 2011. But should it be?
Gold Gloves themselves were viewed as something of a joke for a while. For years the award was voted on by a pool of MLB managers and coaches and, frankly, they did a terrible job. That isn't all that surprising considering that managers would see some players only 6 times a year. More often than not the award went to the best hitter at each position rather than the best fielder — everyone remembers the infamous 1999 AL first base Gold Glove that was given to Rafael Palmeiro, despite the fact that he played only 28 games at first base that year.
In 2013, a selection of sabremetricians was added to the voting pool, which has given the award renewed legitimacy. But with the Platinum Glove, the powers-that-be went in the opposite direction and made it into a fan vote. The fans have to select the Platinum Glove winner from amongst the Gold Glove winners, so there's never been a truly egregious winner. Nevertheless it seems strange to deliberately strengthen the legitimacy of the Gold Gloves, while more or less ignoring legitimacy as a concern whatsoever with respect the Platinum.
Oh well, it won't the only thing MLB does this winter that I'm going to complain about…
Talk about the Gold Gloves, take a guess at the Red Sox all-time leader, and use this space to discuss whatever else you want. And as always, be good to one another.
