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Daulton Varsho won the first Gold Glove of his career
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Photo credit: © Paul Rutherford - USA Today
Ryley Delaney
Nov 4, 2024, 07:00 ESTUpdated: Nov 3, 2024, 22:21 EST
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Ladies and gentlemen, Daulton Varsho has finally done it.
On Sunday evening, the 2024 Gold Glover winners were announced. Two Toronto Blue Jays, Ernie Clement (third base) and Daulton Varsho (centre field) were up for the award.
Varsho won the first career Gold Glove on Sunday evening at centre field He played 672 innings in centre field, posting 16 DRS and 5 OAA, along with an 8.5 Ultimate Zone Rating. While the Boston Red Sox’s Jarren Durran had a higher DRS (17) and OAA (7), his UZR wasn’t nearly as close as he accumulated only 5.2 in 810.1 innings.
Moreover, Varsho also played a significant amount of left field, posting 12 DRS and a 10 OAA in 404.1 innings. Looking at outfielders in 2024, his 28 DRS was by far the highest total while his 16 OAA was tied for the best.
Throughout the past two seasons, Varsho has accumulated 57 DRS in 2365.1 innings in the outfield. The next closest is former Blue Jay Kevin Kiermaier, who had just 27 DRS in 1531.2 innings.
Sadly, Ernie Clement didn’t win for American League third basemen. While his 9 Defensive Runs Saved in 661 innings was the highest (along with a 3 Outs Above Average) in the American League, the award was given to Houston Astros’ Alex Bregman. What hurts more is that Clement also accumulated 6 DRS and 4 OAA in 314.1 innings at shortstop, the former category was tied for the fifth-most in the American League in 2024.
Sticking with third baseman, former Blue Jay Matt Chapman won his fifth Gold Glove of his career, the second consecutive season he’s won the award. With the San Francisco Giants, Chapman had 17 Defensive Runs Saved and 11 Outs Above Average in 1338 innings played at the position.
Moreover, Alejandro Kirk was robbed for the second consecutive season. At least last season, he was nominated for the award he absolutely should have won. The catcher wasn’t as fortunate in 2024 though, as his 13 Defensive Runs Saved and 15 Fielding Run Value were clearly not good enough. For context, the winner Cal Raleigh had 17 DRS and 14 FRV.
So yeah, it was well deserved for the Blue Jays outfielder.
As always, you can follow me on Twitter @Ryley_L_D.

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