Robinson Cano and Mark Teixeira honored with 2012 Rawlings Gold Glove Awards
The New York Yankees congratulate 1B Mark Teixeira and 2B Robinson Cano upon being awarded 2012 Rawlings Gold Glove Awards. It marks the third time in the last four seasons that the Yankees have had at least two Gold Glove winners in the same year (also Jeter/Teixeira in 2009 and Cano/Jeter/Teixeira in 2010).
Teixeira led qualifying Major League first basemen with a career-best .999 fielding percentage, committing just one error in 1,055 total chances during the 2012 regular season. It marked the best single-season fielding percentage by any Major League first baseman over the last three seasons (2010-12) and the 10th-best single-season mark at first base in the Modern Era (since 1900). Teixeira’s .999 also established the Yankees franchise record at his position, surpassing Don Mattingly’s .998 in 1994 (2E in 989 total chances).
The award is Teixeira’s fifth overall Gold Glove (2005-06 w/ Texas and 2009-10, ’12 w/ Yankees) and third as a Yankee. He is one of just four Yankees first basemen to win the award and one of three to earn the honor at least three times with the club. Other Yankees first basemen to win the award are Joe Pepitone (three-time winner, 1965-66, ’69), Chris Chambliss (one-time winner, 1978), and Don Mattingly (nine-time winner, 1985-89, ’91-94).
Cano, who led all American League second basemen with 726 chances in 2012, finished second in the league with a .992 fielding percentage while making just six errors. This marks his second career Gold Glove Award (also 2010).
He is just one of two Yankees second basemen to win a Gold Glove, along with Bobby Richardson, who won the honor in five straight seasons from 1961-65. Cano also holds two of the three best single-season fielding percentages by a second baseman in franchise history with his third-best mark in 2012 and his club-best .996 in 2010 (3E in 776 total chances). Snuffy Stirnweiss owns the second-highest single-season mark by a Yankees second baseman (.993 in 1948).
Since his debut in 2005, Cano has played in more games (1,197), made more starts (1,171) and played more innings (10,413.1) at second base than any other Major Leaguer. He has also tallied the most chances (5,891) and been part of the most double plays (788) at his position over the stretch.
As a team in 2012, the Yankees’ .987 fielding percentage was the third-highest in the Majors and their 74 errors were the third-fewest. Their team fielding percentage also was the second-highest mark in franchise history, trailing only their .988 fielding percentage in 2010. The Yankees’ error total in 2012 was the second-lowest in a non-strike season in franchise history, behind only the 2010 club (69E).
STATEMENT FROM: YANKEES FIRST BASEMAN MARK TEIXEIRA RE: WINNING HIS FIFTH CAREER RAWLINGS GOLD GLOVE AWARD (2005-06, ’09-10, ‘12)
“I am honored to accept the Gold Glove Award and appreciate the recognition for my defense. There are a lot of great first basemen in the American League and I will continue to work hard to stay on top of my game defensively.”
STATEMENT FROM: YANKEES SECOND BASEMAN ROBINSON CANO RE: WINNING HIS SECOND CAREER RAWLINGS GOLD GLOVE AWARD (2010, ’12)
“It’s another dream come true for me. The Gold Glove is a special award because my defense is something I take a lot of pride in. There are a lot of ways you can contribute to a team win. It’s not always about offense. Sometimes saving runs is as important as scoring runs.”