Four Chicago baseball players have been named finalists for the 2023 Rawlings Gold Glove defensive awards. Luis Robert Jr. of the White Sox is a finalist in center field, while the Cubs are represented by Nico Hoerner at second base, Dansby Swanson at shortstop and Ian Happ in left field.
Happ, the 2022 National League winner in left field, will defend his title against the Los Angeles Dodgers’ David Peralta and the Atlanta Braves’ Eddie Rosario. Happ played 154 games in left field for the Cubs this season and had a .989 fielding percentage.
Swanson is the defending NL Gold Glove winner at shortstop, playing last season for the Braves. In his first season with the Cubs, he had a .981 fielding percentage in 147 games at short. His 2.7 defensive wins above replacement in 2023 was fourth in the majors among all positions. Swanson is up against the New York Mets’ Francisco Lindor and the Colorado Rockies’ Ezequiel Tovar.
Hoerner had a .988 fielding percentage in 135 games at second base for the Cubs this season. His competition for the Gold Glove is the San Diego Padres’ Ha-Seong Kim and the Philadelphia Phillies’ Bryson Stott.
Robert is up for the AL Gold Glove in center field against the Seattle Mariners’ Julio Rodríguez and the Toronto Blue Jays’ Kevin Kiermaier. Robert, who won the center field Gold Glove in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, appeared in 143 games for the White Sox this season.
Anthony Rizzo, who won four Gold Gloves at first base for the Cubs, is a finalist this year with the New York Yankees. Zach McKinstry, traded in 2022 from the Cubs to the Detroit Tigers, got the nod in a utility role.
Former White Sox infielder Marcus Semien is a finalist at second base for the Texas Rangers.
Chicago native Alek Thomas, who attended Mount Carmel, is a finalist in center field for the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Gold Glove finalists are determined by a combination of 75% voting among managers and coaches and 25% use of a proprietary metric known as the SABR Defensive Index (SDI).
The Gold Glove winners will be announced at 6:30 p.m. on Nov. 5 on ESPN. Once the winners are announced, a combination of fan voting and SDI will determine the Platinum Glove winner from each league. Those winners will be revealed at the Gold Glove award ceremony on Nov. 10.
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