Who has the most Gold Gloves awards in baseball history?

Who has the most Gold Gloves awards in baseball history?

Helix Odhiambo
updated at April 21, 2023 at 4:55 AM

The Rawlings Gold Glove Award is a prestigious accolade given to the best defensive player at each position in Major League Baseball. The award has existed since 1957, with several players winning it more than once. So, who has the most Gold Gloves ever? Get all the details below.

Who has the most gold gloves in major league baseball?
Rawlings Gold Glove Award winners Jeremy Peña (L) and Kyle Tucker (M) of the Houston Astros and J.T. Realmuto (R) of the Philadelphia Phillies pose for a photo ahead of their game at Citizens Bank Park on 1 November 2022 in Philadelphia. Photo: Daniel Shirey
Source: Getty Images

Winning the Gold Glove is the dream of every MLB player. Many players in our most gold gloves list below deserved the accolade because of their talent, hard work and brilliant defensive play during the season. However, some great players also missed out on the prize.

Who has the most Gold Gloves in history?

Baseball veteran, Greg Maddux, leads the chart with 18 gold gloves awards. Many consider him one of the best athletes to play the sport. He was an outstanding pitcher who accomplished a lot in his career.

Who has the most Gold Gloves in Major League Baseball?

Who has the most gold gloves ever?
Four-time Cy Young Award-winning pitcher Greg Maddux is honoured at halftime of a basketball game between the San Diego State Aztecs and UNLV Rebels at the Thomas & Mack Center on 3 February 2009 in Las Vegas. Photo: Ethan Miller
Source: Getty Images

Greg Maddux also won the MLB's most gold gloves (18). He was a talented pitcher who played for multiple teams in the league. Maddux won the award for 13 straight years between 1990 and 2003.

How are winners determined?

According to the rules, managers and coaches in each league vote for their favourite players, which account for 75%. The remaining 25% comes from the metric and statistics of each player. However, one is not allowed to vote for players in their team. Meanwhile, a player must have played a minimum number of games or innings (based on position) to become legible.

Who has the most Gold Gloves in MLB history?

Greg Maddux (18), Jim Kaat (16), and Brooks Robinson (16) are the only players who have won the award more than 15 times in baseball history. Here is a breakdown of the stars who have lifted the accolade ten times and more.

Player

Gold gloves

MLB team (s)

Seasons

Greg Maddux

18

Chicago Cubs, Atlanta Braves, Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres

23

Jim Kaat

16

Washington Senators, Chicago White Sox, Philadelphia Phillies, New York Yankees, St. Louis Cardinals

25

Brooks Robinson

16

Baltimore Orioles

23

Ivan Rodriguez

13

Texas Rangers, Florida Marlins, Detroit Tigers, New York Yankees, Houston Astros, Washington Nationals

21

Ozzie Smith

13

San Diego Padres, St. Louis Cardinals

19

Roberto Clemente

12

Pittsburgh Pirates

18

Willie Mays

12

New York Mets/San Francisco Giants, New York Mets

22

Omar Vizquel

11

Seattle Mariners, Cleveland Indians, San Francisco Giants, Texas Rangers, Chicago White Sox, Toronto Blue Jays

24

Keith Hernandez

11

St. Louis Cardinals, New York Mets, Cleveland Indians

17

Ichiro Suzuki

10

Seattle Mariners, New York Yankees, Miami Marlins

19

Andruw Jones

10

Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Dodgers, Texas Rangers, Chicago White Sox, New York Yankees

17

Ken Griffey Jr.

10

Seattle Mariners, Cincinnati Reds, Chicago White Sox

22

Roberto Alomar

10

San Diego Padres, Toronto Blue Jays, Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Indians, New York Mets, Chicago White Sox, Arizona Diamondbacks

17

Mike Schmidt

10

Philadelphia Phillies

18

Johnny Bench

10

Cincinnati Reds

17

Al Kaline

10

Detroit Tigers

22

Nolan Arenado

10

Colorado Rockies, St. Louis Cardinals

10 (active)

Who has the most Gold Gloves at each position?

Baseball has nine standard positions. They are pitcher, catcher, first baseman, second baseman, third baseman, shortstop, left fielder, centre fielder and right fielder. Almost every position has produced a gold glove winner in history.

Who has the most pitcher Gold Gloves?

Greg Maddux is the most successful MLB pitcher in the award. He also won four straight NL Cy Young Awards from 1992-95 and eight-time MLB All-Star. Zack Greinke of the Kansas City Royals has the most (6) among active pitchers.

Who has the most Gold Gloves as a catcher?

Who has the most gold gloves as a catcher?
Ivan Rodriguez of the Detroit Tigers tips his hat while receiving his 2007 Rawlings Gold Glove Award at Comerica Park in Detroit, Michigan, on 6 April 2008. Photo: Mark Cunningham
Source: Getty Images

Legendary catcher Ivan Rodriguez has the most awards among catchers. He won ten consecutive times with the Rangers and two with Detroit Tigers. Yadier Molina leads the current generation of catchers.

How many Gold Gloves have Yadier won?

The former St. Louis Cardinals catcher won the award nine times. However, he officially retired in November 2022 after serving an outstanding career in the MLB.

Who has the most Gold Gloves at first base?

Who has the most gold gloves in history?
Keith Hernandez of the St Louis Cardinals poses before an MLB game at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri. Hernandez played for the St Louis Cardinals from 1974-83. Photo: Ron Vesely
Source: Getty Images

The five-time All-Star and a two-time World Series champion, Keith Hernand, is the first base with the most Gold Gloves. He won it 11 consecutive from 1978-88 while playing for St. Louis Cardinals and New York Mets. Keith also bagged the 1979 NL Co-Most Valuable Player Award. Active first-base players with the most Gold Gloves are Paul Goldschmidt, Eric Hosmer and Anthony Rizzo (4).

Who has the most Gold Gloves at second base?

Who has the most gold gloves at each position?
American League second baseman Roberto Alomar of the Baltimore Orioles takes a swing on 7 July 1998 in a Major League All-Star game at Coors Field in Denver, CO. Alomar was named the MVP as the AL defeated the NL 13-8. Photo: Timothy A. Clary
Source: Getty Images

Roberto Alomar won the award ten times and is the most successful second base. He took the prize in 11 seasons from 1991-2001 while playing for the Blue Jays, Orioles and Indians. Alomar was also a 12-time All-Star, a two-time World Series champion, and the 1992 American League Championship Series MVP. Currently, DJ LeMahieu of the New York Yankees leads with three among active players.

Who has the most Gold Gloves at third base?

Brooks Robinson ranks among the best defensive third basemen of all time. Robinson won 16 Gold Glove awards in the position. He is also an 18-time All-Star, a two-time World Series champion and the 1964 AL MVP. Nolan Arenado of the St. Louis Cardinals has ten and hopes to break Robinson's numbers before retiring.

Who has the most Gold Gloves at the centre field?

Who has the most gold gloves at the centre field?
Willie Mays (L) of the San Francisco Giants poses with the Golden Glove award alongside Juan Marichal (R) with his All-Star Game MVP trophy on 11 September 1965 at Candlestick Park. Photo: Russ Reed
Source: Getty Images

Legendary star Willie Mays won the most awards (12) among centre fields. He is one of the greatest all-around players in baseball history. Willie was also the 1951 NL Rookie of the Year and a two-time NL MVP. He also appeared in the All-Star in 20 of his 22 MLB seasons. Kevin Kiermaier of the Toronto Blue Jays leads the current generation with three Gold Gloves.

Who is the only player to win a Gold Glove at two positions?

Who is the only player to win a Gold Glove at two positions?
Anaheim Angels outfielder Darin Erstad on the field after being issued his 2002 World Series Championship ring on 2 April 2003 at Edison International Field in Anaheim, CA. Photo: John Cordes
Source: Getty Images

Former Los Angeles Angels star Darin Erstad is the only player to win the accolade at two positions, the infield and outfield. Erstad won three Gold Gloves. He won his first two as a centre fielder in 2000 and 2002, while his third came in 2004 while playing as a first base.

Most Gold Gloves not in the Hall of Fame

MLB has produced talented players who won many things but failed to enter the Hall of Fame. So, who has the most Gold Gloves in baseball and still missed out on baseball's Hall of Fame?

Dwight Evans won eight gold gloves but dropped off the Hall of Fame ballot. Evans was a right-handed batter who played for the Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles in the MLB. He also won two Silver Slugger Awards. Legendary first baseman Dale Murphy received five consecutive Gold Gloves but missed out on the Hall of Fame. Other notable absentees are Ron Santo (5), Fred Lynn (4) and Steve Garvey (4).

You now know who has the most Gold Gloves in MLB history, but will his record get broken? Some believe that Greg Maddux's 18 accolades will last many years before someone matches his numbers. His success and achievements inspired a generation of stars who came after him.

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Authors
Helix Odhiambo photo
Helix Odhiambo
Helix Odhiambo is an award-winning Kenyan journalist and content creator with over 6 years of experience. In 2016, he won the Goal Blaze Correspondent Award for young writers.