Los Angeles Dodgers All-Star Mookie Betts is among the finalists for several awards after a stellar 2023 season, including National League Outstanding Player, MLB Player of the Year, and two Gold Gloves in right field and utility.
Although he lost the Players Choice votes for NL Outstanding Player and MLB Player of the Year, he remains a finalist for two Gold Glove and Silver Slugger awards.
Betts is a six-time Gold Glove Award winner and has already won the 2023 multi-position Fielding Bible Award. He is one of only three players up for Gold Glove honors at two different positions this season (Mauricio Dubón, Houston Astros; Ha-Seong Kim, San Diego Padres).
All 2023 Gold Glove Award winners will be announced during ESPN’s “Baseball Tonight” on Sunday, November 5, beginning at 4:30 p.m. PT.
Gold Glove Award winners for the nine standard positions are determined via vote of MLB managers and up to six coaches from each team. Managers and coaches cannot vote for their own players and are only permitted to submit ballots for those in their same league.
Those votes amount to 75% of the selection total, with the SABR Defensive Index accounting for the remaining 25%.
For the utility Gold Glove Award, Rawlings collaborates with SABR to create a specialized defensive formula separate from the traditional selection process.
How Mookie Betts compares
Mookie Betts in right field
Fellow finalists for the 2023 National League Gold Glove Award in right field are Fernando Tatís Jr. (San Diego Padres) and Lane Thomas (Washington Nationals).
Betts played 107 games in right field and did not make an error. He recorded eight assists and three defensive runs saved, according to calculations by both Sports Info Solutions and FanGraphs.
Betts finished the season with -1 outs above average (OAA) in right field and totaled -1 run prevented.
Tatís appeared in 137 games in right field and had a .980 fielding percentage. He accumulated 12 assists and an MLB-best 29 defensive runs saved.
Tatís also led all right fielders with 11 OAA and 10 runs prevented. He should be the favorite to win the award, however, Statcast data is not used in voting.
Thomas played 151 games in right field and sported a .985 fielding percentage. He had 16 assists and one defensive run saved.
He finished with -3 OAA and -3 runs prevented.
Mookie Betts at utility
Betts also played 70 games at second base and 16 as a shortstop. He was the only player this season to have positive defensive runs saved at both an infield position and in the outfield while playing at least 400 innings at each.
Betts had a .991 fielding percentage at second base to go along with 33 doubles plays and six defensive runs saved, and posted a .935 fielding percentage at shortstop.
His OAA at second base was -1, which is the same mark as his runs prevented, and at shortstop he posted a total of -2 for each.
Tommy Edman (St. Louis Cardinals) and Kim are the other finalists for the NL Gold Glove Award in utility. Edman saw time at second base, shortstop, center field and right field, and sported a .986 fielding percentage with three defensive runs saved.
Edman had a -2 OAA and prevented -1 run at second base, but at shortstop he recorded 4 OAA and prevented 3 runs. In the outfield, he had a 6 OAA in center field and 1 in right field.
Kim played second base, third base and shortstop, and had a .991 fielding percentage with 16 defensive runs saved.
Kim recorded 7 OAA at second base and prevented five runs, while at shortstop he was exactly with zero at both. At the hot corner, Kim was worth 2 OAA and 2 runs prevented.
Statcast metrics have Betts as the clear third in this race while Edman and Kim both tied with with nine total outs above average.
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