Breaking down the 2023 Gold Glove Award winners

The results of the 2023 Gold Glove Awards, which were revealed on ESPN on Sunday night, are in, breaking an incredible streak and creating history for both individuals and teams.

The number of first-time winners, 13, is the second-highest since the award’s inception in 1957, only surpassed by the total of 14 from the previous year (a Gold Glove category for utility players was introduced in 2022). In addition, a record-breaking four years running have seen at least ten first-time winners.

One Gold Glove Award was given to a rookie in each league. It is the third time in the award’s history that several rookies have won, according to the Elias Sports Bureau (as well as two in 2020 and three in ’22).

A few days following the unmatched exhilaration of winning the World Series, Lowe’s week culminated in receiving his first-ever Gold Glove Award. After a breakthrough ’22 season in which he launched 27 home runs with an.851 OPS, the 28-year-old slugger took a step back at the plate in 2023, producing a.775 OPS with 17 home runs. However, Lowe’s offensive shortcomings had little effect on his on-field performance; according to Statcast, he ended with four outs above average, a significant improvement from his minus-11 OAA in ’22, which was the lowest.

Giménez has earned the AL Gold Glove Award at second base for the second year in a row. With 23 defensive runs saved and 18 outs above average, the 25-year-old second baseman led the AL. Giménez follows Roberto Alomar, who won three in a row from 1999 to 2001, as the only other Cleveland player to earn consecutive Gold Glove Awards at second base.

Blue Jays’ Matt Chapman at third base

Chapman won his fourth career Gold Glove Award after yet another stellar season on defense at the hot corner. He is only the second third baseman in Blue Jays history to earn the award, the other being Kelly Gruber in 1990. With 12 defensive runs saved in 2023, he topped all AL third basemen in that category and had 92 career saves. Ever since Chapman entered the MLB in 2017,