The Texas Rangers’ march to a first World Series title was marked by a historical rate of success on the road, a pair of dynamic starting pitchers, a suddenly reliable bullpen, a whole bunch of momentum-swinging home runs, and defense.
Lots of defense.
There was that time pitcher Jordan Montgomery laid out to field a bunt against the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League Wild Card Series. There was the 104.5 mile per hour groundball that third baseman Josh Jung fielded and turned for a key double play in the AL Division Series against the Baltimore Orioles. There was left fielder Evan Carter’s improbable catch in the wonky left field corner of Minute Maid Park in the AL Championship Series. Center fielder Leody Taveras robbed a home run at Globe Life Field in that series, too.
Now, look at it this way: Those were the guys who weren’t nominated for a Gold Glove.
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Four days after the Rangers lifted the Commissioner’s Trophy, the defensive aptitude that helped them win it was rewarded. Catcher Jonah Heim, first baseman Nathaniel Lowe and right fielder Adolis García were named AL Gold Glove award winners on Sunday. Second baseman Marcus Semien and shortstop Corey Seager were both finalists at their respective positions.
Texas’ three Gold Glove winners are the most for a single season in franchise history and a steep turnaround from recent years. The Rangers had just two players win Gold Gloves from 2017 to 22.
