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Freddie Freeman, Anthony Rizzo Combine for Quirky Gold Glove Feat

There's no denying Freddie Freeman and Anthony Rizzo are some of the best 1B defenders in MLB. Together, they pulled off an interesting Gold Glove feat.

When the 2018 Gold Glove winners were announced Sunday evening, Major League Baseball fans noticed one quirk. There were two National League winners for the award at first base.

In an interesting bit of history, Freddie Freeman of the Atlanta Braves and Anthony Rizzo of the Chicago Cubs tied for the award. According to The Athletic’s David O’Brien, it was just the fourth tie in the history of the Gold Glove.

Freddie Freeman, Anthony Rizzo Combine for Quirky Gold Glove Feat

History

The first time a tie for a Gold Glove occurred was in 1985. During that season, a tie for the third AL outfielder spot led to Dwight Evans, Dwayne Murphy, Dave Winfield, and Gary Pettis receiving the honor. A similar occurrence took place in the NL outfield award during 2007 with Andruw Jones, Carlos Beltran, Aaron Rowand, and Jeff Francoeur being honored. The other tie took place in 2012 when pitchers Jake Peavy and Jeremy Hellickson tied for the Gold Glove in the AL.

Freeman’s First

Fans of the Braves have recognized Freeman as a quality defender for some time. Now in his ninth MLB season, the rest of the country has taken notice. His stretch is one of the best in baseball as Freeman has saved many errant throws over the years.

Freeman finished second in MLB with 12 Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) at the position. Only Oakland’s Matt Olson (14) finished with more. Olson (11.6) and Freeman (7.8) also finished 1-2 in UZR.

Rizzo’s Second

Rizzo claimed the second Gold Glove of his career after also winning the award in 2016. He is certainly recognized as being a cornerstone member of Chicago’s infield and a dependable player at first base. Though he did not finish quite as high as Freeman in certain defensive numbers, Rizzo still posted four DRS in over 1,300 innings in 2018. His UZR of 3.3 ranked fifth in MLB at the position.

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Paul Harvey, Managing Editor

Paul Harvey, Managing Editor

Paul is a native and current resident of Georgia. He is an avid fan and lifelong student of the game of baseball and joined the LWOS team and baseball department in the summer of 2016. In addition to covering baseball, Paul can be found covering college football news with Saturday Down South & Saturday Tradition. You can check him out on Twitter: @HammerHarvey.

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