Tag Archives: SABR Defensive Index

Carlos Correa Wins American League’s Rawlings Platinum Glove Award

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Carlos Correa is celebrating a

The 27-year-old Puerto Rican professional baseball shortstop, currently a free agent, is winner of the Rawlings Platinum Glove Award in the American League.

Carlos CorreaThe award is given to the best defensive player in each league.

Correa, the Houston Astros shortstop was joined by St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado, who won in the National League.

The two superstar fielders also represented the top defensive team award winners — Correa’s Astros were named the AL’s Gold Glove Team, and Arenado’s Cardinals were named the NL’s Gold Glove Team.

The Gold Glove Team Award honors the best defensive team in each league.

This is the first career Platinum Glove Award for Correa, who was also a first-time Gold Glover this year.

It’s the fifth consecutive Platinum Glove Award for Arenado, but his first with the Cardinals, after he won every year from 2017-20 with the Colorado Rockies.

The Gold Glove Team Award was introduced last year, and Houston and St. Louis are both first-time winners. Cleveland and the Cubs won the inaugural award in 2020.

Correa and Arenado were chosen as the top fielders from among this year’s Gold Glove Award winners through a combination of fan voting and a sabermetric component, the SABR Defensive Index.

Correa led the AL with +21 Defensive Runs Saved in 2021, while Arenado was one of the top defenders in the NL by various metrics like Ultimate Zone Rating (+5.7) and Statcast’s Outs Above Average (+10).

The Cardinals and Astros were the top two teams in the MLB by Defensive Runs Saved — St. Louis led MLB with +86 DRS, and Houston was second with +78 DRS. They were also the top two fielding teams by Outs Above Average, with the Cardinals’ +50 OAA leading MLB and the Astros’ +45 OAA second-best.