Phillies: 5 Most Recent Players to Win National League Gold Glove Award

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On Sunday, three Phillies will vie for the Gold Glove; they look to become the team’s first Gold Glover since franchise hits leader Jimmy Rollins in 2012.

On the same day that Joe Girardi was announced as the Phillies’ 55th all-time manager, Thursday, October 24, three Phillies players were named finalists for the 2019 Rawlings Gold Glove Awards at their respective positions: catcher J.T. Realmuto, right fielder Bryce Harper, and right-hander Aaron Nola.

All three are looking for their first Gold Glove honors on Sunday.

The Phillies’ three Gold Glove finalists come just one season after having no finalists in 2018, when they were last in Major League Baseball in defensive runs saved (-146).

At least one Phillie won a Gold Glove Award in seven straight seasons from 2006 to 2012. And, albeit being a six-time All-Star and four-time Silver Slugger Award winner, Chase Utley was never one of them.

Click through to see the five most recent Phillies “gold glovers,” all of whom were teammates of Utley’s.

1. SS Jimmy Rollins: 2007, 2008, 2009, 2012

NEW YORK – NOVEMBER 04: Jimmy Rollins #11 of the Philadelphia Phillies forces out Nick Swisher #33 of the New York Yankees on a fielder’s choice in the bottom of the sixth inning of Game Six of the 2009 MLB World Series at Yankee Stadium on November 4, 2009 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images) /

Franchise hits leader and 2008 World Series champion Jimmy Rollins is the most recent Phillie to have won a Gold Glove. He has the most Gold Glove Awards all-time among Phillies shortstops, having won in 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2012.

During his first Gold Glove Award-winning season (and MVP season), 2007, Rollins ranked second among National League players in assists (479). And, among National League shortstops, he ranked first in games played (162), third in putouts (227), second in assist (479), and third in double plays turned (110).

Rollins committed 11 errors in 2007, the second-most among his other three Gold Glove Award-winning seasons: 2008 (7), 2009 (6) and 2012 (13).

2. 3B Placido Polanco: 2011

PHILADELPHIA, PA -JULY 20: Placido Polanco #27 of the Philadelphia Phillies fields a ground ball against the San Francisco Giants in the first inning on July 20, 2012 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Giants won 7-2. (Photo by Miles Kennedy/Philadelphia Phillies/Getty Images) /

Placido Polanco previously won Gold Glove Awards at second base with the Detroit Tigers in 2007 and 2009, before earning such honors in 2011 with the Phillies at third base. He earned All-Star nods in two of his Gold Glove Award-winning seasons, 2007 and 2011.

The Dominican Republic native played 16 seasons in the majors with four different teams: the St. Louis Cardinals (1998-2002), Phillies (2002-2005, 2010-12), Tigers (2005-09), and Miami Marlins (2013).

Spanning 1,927 career games, 688 with the Phillies, Polanco slashed .297/.343/.397 with 1,009 runs scored, 2,142 hits, 348 doubles, 32 triples, 104 home runs, 723 RBI, 429 walks and 538 strikeouts spanning 7,887 plate appearances.

Polanco was up for Hall of Fame consideration in 2019, however he received less than 1 percent of the vote and was eliminated from future ballot consideration. His other career accomplishments include:

2006 American League ALCS MVP
2007 American League Silver Slugger Award (second base)
MLB second-best batting average in 2005 (.331)
MLB-best 20 at-bats per strikeout in 2005 (20.0), AL-best in 2006 (17.1), 2007 (19.6) and 2008 (13.5).
American League-best 323 putouts as second baseman in 2008 (323)
American League second-most double plays turned as second baseman in 2009 (112)
National League second-most putouts as third baseman in 2011 (78)
League-best fielding percentage as second baseman: 2004, NL (.995); 2007, AL (1.000); 2009, AL (.997)
National League-best fielding percentage as third baseman: 2010 (.986), 2011 (.977), 2013 (.990)

3. OF Shane Victorino: 2008, 2009, 2010

PHOENIX – JULY 29: Outfielder Shane Victorino #8 of the Philadelphia Phillies makes a diving catch against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the first inning of the Major League Baseball game at Chase Field July 29, 2009 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

Center fielder Shane Victorino, the second of as many 2008 World Series champions on this last, has the second-most Gold Glove Awards all-time among Phillies outfielders (3), trailing only Garry Maddox‘s eight. Victorino won the Gold Glove in three consecutive seasons in 2008, 2009 and 2010.

Victorino later won his fourth Gold Glove Award with the Boston Red Sox in 2013, the same season he won his second World Series championship.

The “Flyin’ Hawaiian” played 12 seasons in the majors, the first being 36 games in 2003 with the San Diego Padres in which he hit just .151 with nine singles and two doubles spanning 83 plate appearances, albeit producing four RBI and seven stolen bases.

The Phillies brought on Victorino as a Rule 5 selection in 2005, and it became quickly apparent the team would not want to remove him from the 25-man roster to send him back to San Diego. Victorino made an instant impact both at the plate and in the field. He would continue to don red pinstripes until mid-way in the 2012 season, when he was dealt to the Los Angeles Dodgers at the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline.

Victorino finished his career with 42 career postseason RBI in just 60 games; 12 of those RBI came in 14 games during the Red Sox’ 2013 World Series championship run. His other career accomplishments include:

National League-most triples in 2009 (13) and 2011 (16)
American League-most hit by pitches in 2013 (18)
National League-most assists as outfielder in 2010 (11); American League-most assists as right fielder in 2013 (9)
National League-most double plays turned as outfielder in 2007 (4)
National League-best fielding percentage as center fielder in 2009 (.997) and 2011 (1.000).

4. OF Aaron Rowand: 2007

PHILADELPHIA – MAY 11: Aaron Rowand of the Philadelphia Phillies makes a leaping catch and crashes into the outfield wall during the game against the New York Mets at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on May 11, 2006. The Phillies defeated the Mets 2-0. (Photo by Miles Kennedy/MLB Photos via Getty Images) /

Center fielder Aaron Rowand’s tenure with the Phillies was brief, playing a combined 270 games for them in 2006 and 2007, but his impact will never be forgotten. Who could forgot the May 2006 contest against the division-rival Mets, in which Rowand made a game-saving catch, while sustaining injury after colliding with the center field fence. ESPN writes:

Ironically, Rowand had requested earlier in the season that additional padding be added to the fence. The padding was immediately ordered, but did not arrive until several days ago due to a delay by the manufacturer. It is scheduled to be installed next week, when the Phillies are on a road trip. “(Rowand) got hurt pretty bad,” Manuel said. “He’s gonna be out for a while. How long? I don’t know yet.”

Rowand is tied for having the third-most Gold Glove Awards all-time among Phillies outfielders, having won in 2007. The Phillies opted to part ways with him following that season, despite winning the Gold Glove, in favor of a Pat Burrell, Shane Victorino and Jayson Werth outfield tandem. As we know, that decision would pay off tremendously less than 24 months later.

Rowand played 11 seasons in the majors from 2001 to 2011: Chicago White Sox (2001-05), Phillies (2006-07), and San Francisco Giants (2008-11). The Phillies acquired him in November 2005 as part of the trade that sent eventual Hall of Famers Jim Thome to Chicago.

Rowand won the World Series with the White Sox in 2005, and five years later with the Giants (2010). His only hit in 12 plate appearances in the 2007 NLDS, with the Phillies against the Colorado Rockies, was a solo home run. Rowand logged 39 regular season home runs with the Phillies as well.

5. OF Bobby Abreu: 2005

PHILADELPHIA – APRIL 18: Bobby Abreu #3 of the Philadelphia Phillies makes a catch during the game against the Montreal Expos at Citizens Bank Park on April 18, 2004 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /

Bobby Abreu, who this past season became the first on this list to be inducted onto the Phillies Wall of Fame, is tied with Aaron Rowand for having the third-most Gold Glove Awards all-time among Phillies outfielders, having won in 2005.

In fact, Garry Maddox (8), Shane Victorino (3), Rowand (1) and Abreu (1) are the only Phillies outfielders to have ever won the award.

Abreu played 18 seasons in the majors, and eight-plus with the Phillies before he was dealt to the New York Yankees in 2006. In 1,353 games in red pinstripes, the two-time All-Star hit .303 with 891 runs, 1,474 hits, 348 doubles, 42 triples, 195 home runs, 814 RBI, and 254 stolen bases spanning 5,885 plate appearances.

His other career accomplishments include:

National League-most games played in 2001 and 2005 (162)
National League-most doubles in 2002 (50)
Major League-most walks in 2006 (124)
National League most assists as right fielder: 1998 (17) and 2000 (13).
Double plays turned as right fielder: 2004, NL (4); 2009, AL (4)

The Phillies have multiple Gold Glove nominees for the first time since 2016, when Freddy Galvis (shortstop) and Odubel Herrera (outfielder) were both up for consideration. The Phillies had no nominees in 2013, 2015, nor 2018, with second baseman Chase Utley being up for consideration in 2014.

Shortstop Jimmy Rollins (2012) is the most recent Phillie to earn Gold Glove Awards, and one could expect that at least one of Realmuto, Harper or Nola will be able to end such drought.

To determine Gold Glove Award winners, each Major League manager, along with up to six coaches on his staff, vote from a pool of qualified players in their respective league; they cannot vote for players from their own team. In recent years, the SABR Defensive Index™ accounts for approximately 25 percent of the selection total to determine winners, according to Rawlings.

This year’s Gold Glove Award winners will be announced on November 3.

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Phillies: 5 Most Recent Players to Win Gold Glove Award