As the MLB offseason ramps up, awards season rolls on, with the 2023 Gold Glove Awards being announced on Sunday evening. Fans have been waiting since Oct. 18, when four Philadelphia Phillies were named as finalists, to hear which ones, if any, will take home the hardware.
The final winners were unveiled on ESPN's "Baseball Tonight," and included only one Phillies player.
The annual Gold Glove Awards are presented to one player at each position in both leagues. Per the Rawlings website, the award "represents overall fielding excellence, and it is not an award based solely on fielding metrics and statistics, nor does it factor in offensive production."
Per MLB.com's Thomas Harrigan and David Adler, "... 30 MLB managers and up to six coaches from each team vote from a pool of players in their league, excluding players from their own team." The votes are used for 75 percent of the decision-making, while the SABR Defensive Index counts for the other 25 percent.
Which Phillie is a 2023 Gold Glove Award winner?
The lone Phillies player to receive a 2023 National League Gold Glove Award is starting pitcher Zack Wheeler.
After being a finalist for the second time in his career, this is Zack Wheeler's first Gold Glove. He won the Award over Jesús Luzardo (MIA) and teammate Taijuan Walker. The Phillies' ace threw 192 innings and committed only one error, making 16 putouts and 15 assists for a .969 fielding percentage.
As good as gold 🤩
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) November 6, 2023
Congrats to Wheels on taking home his first @RawlingsSports Gold Glove Award! pic.twitter.com/eUwBQJ1akm
Per MLB.com's Manny Randhawa: "Wheeler is the fourth Phillies pitcher to win the award, joining Jim Kaat (1976-77), Steve Carlton (1981) and Bobby Shantz (1964)."
Unfortunately, second baseman Bryson Stott, catcher J.T. Realmuto, and starting pitcher Taijuan Walker got shut out and went home empty-handed.
Bryson Stott lost out to Nico Hoerner of the Chicago Cubs at second base. Despite not winning this year, there should be plenty of opportunity in the future for the 26-year-old, who solidified himself as the Phillies' second baseman of the present and the future with a phenomenal second major league season.
Two-time Gold Glove winner J.T. Realmuto lost out to Arizona Diamondbacks catcher Gabriel Moreno, who Phillies fans are all too familiar with after the two teams' NCLS clash.
It was Taijuan Walker's first year being a Gold Glove finalist; he didn't commit a single error in a career-high 172 2/3 innings on the mound this year. Despite the loss, he'll be glad to see his teammate win the award.