All season long, Brice Turang and Sal Frelick delivered the kind of defensive performances worthy of Gold Glove Awards.
Those performances were officially recognized as such Sunday night, when Turang and Frelick were among the 10 National League winners. This gives the Brewers multiple winners for the first time since 1979.
Turang, Frelick Win Gold Glove Awards for Brewers
Sal Frelick – Right Field
The definition of a DAWG in RF
Put some gold on @SalFrelick‘s glove 🏆 pic.twitter.com/X0TVCJwGRs
— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) November 4, 2024
“Sal, Brice, and Blake (Perkins) are great competitors,” manager Pat Murphy said in a statement from the club. “Any good that comes their way makes me smile. It’s great that they were all recognized by the league for their elite defensive execution. It was certainly a huge difference maker for our club.”
Frelick led all NL outfielders with 15 Defensive Runs Saved in 2024 and made a habit out of making highlight-reel catches, the most impressive of which came on June 18 in Anaheim, when he jumped and pulled back what would have been a game-tying three-run home run by Taylor Ward.
“There’s a lot of work put in (on defense), said Frelick, who beat out the Arizona Diamondbacks’ Jake McCarthy and the San Francisco Giants’ Mike Yastrzemski for the right field honors. “We’re out there every single day, from the first day of spring training until the last day of the season so it’s nice that there’s a little bit of recognition.”
Brice Turang – Second Base
The most electric 2B in the sport ‼️
Congrats to @BRiCEcTuRANG on his first career Gold Glove pic.twitter.com/UWhNr3c04s
— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) November 4, 2024
Turang was no less impressive. While Frelick led all NL outfielders in DRS, Turang topped the entire league with 22 defensive runs saved en route to becoming Milwaukee’s first Gold Glove winner at second base since George Scott in 1982.
That in itself is impressive, considering Turang — Milwaukee’s first-round pick in the 2018 MLB Draft — came up as a shortstop and didn’t play second base regularly until last season due to the presence of Willy Adames.
“I just like playing the infield,” Turang said. “I like getting outs. I’ve been lucky to have Willy up the middle with me, and him teaching me stuff. We’re always laughing, smiling around there. I just love playing the infield in general.”
Milwaukee almost had a third Gold Glove winner in Perkins, who was a finalist in center field but ultimately lost out to the Colorado Rockies’ Brenton Doyle.
“Blake, obviously, in my opinion, is the best center fielder in baseball, and we get to see it every single day,” Frelick said.
Historical Context and Criteria
The duo were among 14 first-time winners, tying a record for most first-time winners in a single season set in 2022.
All 30 MLB managers and up to six coaches from each team voted on a pool of players from their respective league, not including their own players, for the winners at the nine standard positions. That balloting accounts for 75% of the total score with the SABR Defensive Index accounting for the remaining 25%. Utility player winners were selected by a specialized defensive formula developed by SABR specifically for Rawlings.
Photo Credit: © Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images
