McLean ends Mets’ Gold Glove drought; Bellinger wins for Yankees

Nolan McLean won the National League Gold Glove at pitcher on Sunday, giving the Mets their first winner since Juan Lagares in 2014. Across New York, Cody Bellinger took the American League award in left field, seven years after winning in right field for the Dodgers.

Boston and Arizona each had three winners. Caleb Durbin, Ceddanne Rafaela and Wilyer Abreu represented the Red Sox; Gabriel Moreno, Geraldo Perdomo and Corbin Carroll won for the Diamondbacks. Nine of the 20 honorees were first-time winners, MLB reported.

What the award measures

The standard positional awards combine managers’ and coaches’ voting with the SABR Defensive Index. The voting accounts for 75 percent and the statistical component 25 percent. Managers and coaches vote within their league and cannot select their own players. The utility award uses a separate defensive formula developed with SABR.

That structure helps explain why a Gold Glove should be read as a composite judgment. It recognizes a season’s fielding at a particular position. One range statistic can illuminate the choice, but it does not reproduce the whole selection process. Rawlings’ published method is more useful for interpreting a close result than assuming the award simply follows one leaderboard.

American League winners

Pitcher: Tanner Bibee, Guardians. Catcher: Dillon Dingler, Tigers. First base: Christian Walker, Astros. Second base: Cole Young, Mariners. Third base: Caleb Durbin, Red Sox. Shortstop: Taylor Walls, Rays.

Left field: Cody Bellinger, Yankees. Center field: Ceddanne Rafaela, Red Sox. Right field: Wilyer Abreu, Red Sox. Utility: Ezequiel Duran, Rangers.

National League winners

Pitcher: Nolan McLean, Mets. Catcher: Gabriel Moreno, Diamondbacks. First base: Matt Olson, Braves. Second base: Brice Turang, Brewers. Third base: Alex Bregman, Cubs. Shortstop: Geraldo Perdomo, Diamondbacks.

Left field: Jackson Chourio, Brewers. Center field: Pete Crow-Armstrong, Cubs. Right field: Corbin Carroll, Diamondbacks. Utility: Mauricio Dubon, Braves.

Platinum voting comes next

The next defensive honor is the Platinum Glove, which selects an overall winner in each league from the Gold Glove recipients. Rawlings lists fan voting through November 5 at 11:59 p.m. Eastern, with the winners announced November 6. The fan vote is combined with the SABR Defensive Index. Sunday’s Gold Glove result does not decide that separate award.