Rizzo hauls in 2nd career Gold Glove Award

CHICAGO -- The Cubs' Anthony Rizzo won his second Gold Glove, finishing in a tie with the Braves' Freddie Freeman for the top defensive honor among National League first basemen.
Rizzo, 29, also won the top defensive award in 2016. This season, he posted a .995 fielding percentage in 148 starts at first, and ranked second among NL first basemen in double plays with 128, behind the D-backs' Paul Goldschmidt, who helped turn 131. Rizzo led all NL first basemen in assists with 147. The other finalist was the Reds' Joey Votto.
Rizzo is the third first baseman in franchise history to earn the award, and all three Cubs awardees have now won multiple Gold Gloves. Rizzo joins four-time winner Mark Grace (1992, '93, '95, '96) and two-time winner Derrek Lee (2005, '07).

Javier Báez's versatility may have hurt him in his bid for his first Gold Glove. Baez was a finalist at second base, but the award went to the Rockies' DJ LeMahieu.
Baez, 25, started 75 games at second (and totaled 699 2/3 innings there), 52 games at shortstop and 18 games at third for the Cubs. He ranked ninth in double plays turned among NL second basemen with 60 and posted a .984 fielding percentage there.
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"Javy, this year, is the best second baseman in baseball, and he can play short and third," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said in September when asked about Baez. "I'm certain we can throw him in the outfield. He's Gold Glove caliber at any position he plays and combine that with the power, the RBIs, the batting average.
"It's hard for anybody to match up with him, his overall skill set, his baserunning, arm strength, ability to throw off balance -- you just keep going down the list of things he can do that on other teams, maybe one guy can do one or two of these things but not anybody can do all of the things he can do," Maddon said. "He's just different."
Jason Heyward was a finalist in right field, but the Braves' Nick Markakis won the award. Heyward, 29, has won five Gold Gloves (2012, 2014-17). He started 91 games in right and 20 in center this season, missing time after he suffered a concussion in May and a hamstring injury in early September. He finished with a .991 fielding percentage in right, which ranked sixth among NL right fielders, and was tied with the Rockies' Carlos González for seventh in assists with six each. The other finalist in right was the D-backs' Jon Jay.
The Cubs now have had a Gold Glove Award winner in each of the past three seasons.

As one of the NL's Gold Glove winners, Rizzo is now eligible for the Platinum Glove Award, which is given to the best defensive player in each league. The award was established in 2011, and Rizzo won it two years ago.
Voting for this award is open at Rawlings.com and will continue until 9 p.m. CT on Thursday.