Maldonado, Simmons capture Gold Gloves
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Shortstop Andrelton Simmons and catcher Martín Maldonado, two cornerstones of the Angels' strong defense in 2017, won Rawlings Gold Glove Awards on Tuesday, cementing their status as the American League's premier defenders at their respective positions.
Simmons beat Elvis Andrus of the Rangers and Francisco Lindor of the Indians for his third Gold Glove and first with the Angels. He had previously won the award twice with the Braves in 2013 and '14. Simmons is the third shortstop to win a Gold Glove Award in both leagues, joining Omar Vizquel and Orlando Cabrera.
Maldonado, a longtime backup catcher who received his first chance to start this season after the Angels acquired him in an offseason trade with the Brewers last year, won his first career Gold Glove after topping the Indians' Yan Gomes and the Royals' Salvador Perez, who had won the award four years in a row.
Right fielder Kole Calhoun and left fielder Justin Upton were also finalists for Gold Gloves, but they lost out to the Red Sox's Mookie Betts and the Royals' Alex Gordon, respectively.
The winners are determined by a combination of votes from American League managers and coaches, who cannot vote for their own players, and several advanced fielding metrics.
According to FanGraphs, Simmons led the Majors with 32 Defensive Runs Saved this season, using his slick fielding, athleticism and strong arm to routinely turn in highlight-reel plays on the Angels infield. The 28-year-old joins Jim Fregosi (1967), Cabrera (2007) and Erick Aybar ('11) as the only Angels shortstops to win a Gold Glove.
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Known for his cannon-like arm, Maldonado caught an American League-best 137 games in 2017 and posted a 38.7 caught-stealing percentage, which ranked first among AL catchers who played at least 100 games. Maldonado, 31, is the third Angels catcher to win a Gold Glove, joining Bob Boone (1982, '86-88) and Bengie Molina (2002-03).
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It marked the sixth time in franchise history that the Angels have had multiple Gold Glove winners in a single season and the first since outfielder Darin Erstad and Molina each won in 2002.