The MLB named New York Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe as the American League Gold Glove winner, making him the first rookie in Yankees franchise history to take away the honor.
Yankees: Anthony Volpe a Pillar of Consistency at Shortstop in 2023
Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reported the news yesterday, Nov. 5, including this tidbit that made Volpe’s win extra special:
“At 22 years and 156 days old on the final day of the regular season, Volpe also became the youngest shortstop to win the honor, surpassing Alan Trammell in 1980 (22 years, 228 days).”
Volpe’s 157 defensive games played at shortstop led the AL. As a result of his durability and frequency at the position, he posted a 2.4 defensive WAR, good for third-best among all shortstops in the league.
Further, his 186 putouts, 357 assists, and 17 errors all ranked second in the league. Volpe was instrumental in whatever success that the Yankees had in 2023 despite their failure to see the postseason. He was one of the few Yankees to not miss considerable time due to injury.
Though Volpe did commit 17 errors, he was otherwise dynamic in the infield all year.
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Volpe on What the Honor Means to Him
Volpe had this to say when addressing his first Gold Glove win:
“I never really had goals or anything like that going into the season, numbers-wise, but when you can put yourself in Yankees history, that’s pretty crazy,” Volpe said during the season.”
In winning the award, Volpe beat out Carlos Correa (Minnesota Twins) and Corey Seager (Texas Rangers). Both Correa and Seager put together successful seasons in the infield, with Correa even outpacing Volpe with a .987 fielding percentage, which was third among all players at the position.
Nevertheless, Volpe did enough to win. He is just the 26th player in franchise history to take away the award and joins Derek Jeter as the only shortstops to do so among the pack.