Betts, Bradley Highlight 5 Red Sox Gold Glove Nominations
By Matt McCarthy, 985TheSportsHub.com
Chances are, you won’t win 108 regular season games and at least nine more in the playoffs without playing good defense.
The Red Sox have proven that in 2018.
Major League Baseball announced the nominees for the Gold Glove awards on Thursday, and five Red Sox players are up for the award.
All three starting outfielders, Mookie Betts, Jackie Bradley Jr., and Andrew Benintendi were nominated. Ian Kinsler and Mitch Moreland round out the list.
If two Red Sox outfielders win, it will be the first time two Boston outfielders take home the honors in the same year since Fred Lynn and Dwight Evans in 1979.
Betts is looking for his third-straight Gold Glove in right field and is likely the favorite going up against Aaron Judge of the Yankees and Kole Calhoun of the Angels. Betts finished number one at his position in defensive runs saved, a popular metric to evaluate defensive performance.
Betts would be the first Red Sox player to win three Gold Gloves in a row since Dwight Evans, who took home five-straight awards from 1981-1985.
Bradley Jr. has previously been nominated twice, but has yet to win the award. Mike Trout of the Angels and Adam Engel of the White Sox are the competition in center field.
Benintendi is also looking for his first Gold Glove and is up against five-time winner Alex Gordon of Kansas City and Yankees left fielder Brett Gardner.
![Oct 24, 2018; Boston, MA: Boston Red Sox left fielder Andrew Benintendi catches a ball hit by Los Angeles Dodgers second baseman Brian Dozier during the fifth inning in Game 2 of the 2018 World Series at Fenway Park. (Paul Rutherford-USA TODAY Sports)](https://985thesportshub.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/88/2018/10/USATSI_11509553-1-1024x683.jpg)
Oct 24, 2018; Boston, MA: Boston Red Sox left fielder Andrew Benintendi catches a ball hit by Los Angeles Dodgers second baseman Brian Dozier during the fifth inning in Game 2 of the 2018 World Series at Fenway Park. (Paul Rutherford-USA TODAY Sports)
Moreland is a finalist at first base with Matt Olson of the A’s and Justin Smoak of Toronto. Moreland won the award in 2016 with Texas.
Kinsler, who won for his play at second base for the Tigers in 2016, is up against Oakland’s Jed Lowrie and Rougned Odor of the Rangers.
You can hear Matt McCarthy on 98.5 The Sports Hub’s own Hardcore Baseball podcast and on various 98.5 The Sports Hub programs. Follow him on Twitter @MattMcCarthy985.