Gold Glove winners will be revealed tonight
"There are moments when the glove has the last word." -- Brooks Robinson
It's time for one of those moments as the excitement of awards season makes you stop and watch again, whether it's Nolan Arenado over the tarp, Kevin Kiermaier up the wall, Andrelton Simmons in the hole, Brandon Phillips behind the back or Brandon Belt with the scoop. The 2015 Rawlings Gold Glove Awards will be announced in a one-hour hour show starting at 7 p.m. ET tonight on ESPN2.
Speaking of great gloves, voting continues through Friday at MLB.com/awards to help decide the MLB Esurance Awards, and that includes such categories as Best Defensive Player and Best Defensive Play. Awards season covers everything this time, even the Best Fan Catch.
In the Gold Glove Award race, the Royals and Giants lead the way with four finalists apiece. Here are the three finalists at each position in the American League and the National League:
Pitcher
AL: Mark Buehrle (Blue Jays), Sonny Gray (Athletics), Dallas Keuchel (Astros)
NL: Jake Arrieta (Cubs), Gerrit Cole (Pirates), Zack Greinke (Dodgers)
Catcher
AL: Jason Castro (Astros), Russell Martin (Blue Jays), Salvador Perez (Royals)
NL: Yadier Molina (Cardinals), Buster Posey (Giants), Wilson Ramos (Nationals)
First base
AL: Eric Hosmer (Royals), Mike Napoli (Rangers), Mark Teixeira (Yankees)
NL: Brandon Belt (Giants), Paul Goldschmidt (D-backs), Adrian Gonzalez (Dodgers)
Second base
AL: Jose Altuve (Astros), Brian Dozier (Twins), Ian Kinsler (Tigers)
NL: Dee Gordon (Marlins), DJ LeMahieu (Rockies), Brandon Phillips (Reds)
Shortstop
AL: Xander Bogaerts (Red Sox), Alcides Escobar (Royals), Didi Gregorius (Yankees)
NL: Brandon Crawford (Giants), Adeiny Hechavarria (Marlins), Andrelton Simmons (Braves)
Third base
AL: Adrian Beltre (Rangers), Evan Longoria (Rays), Manny Machado (Orioles)
NL: Nolan Arenado (Rockies), Matt Duffy (Giants), Todd Frazier (Reds)
Left field
AL: Yoenis Cespedes (while with Tigers), Brett Gardner (Yankees), Alex Gordon (Royals)
NL: Starling Marte (Pirates), Justin Upton (Padres), Christian Yelich (Marlins)
Center field
AL: Kevin Kiermaier (Rays), Kevin Pillar (Blue Jays), Mike Trout (Angels)
NL: Billy Hamilton (Reds), Andrew McCutchen (Pirates), A.J. Pollock (D-backs)
Right field
AL: Kole Calhoun (Angels), J.D. Martinez (Tigers), Josh Reddick (Athletics)
NL: Curtis Granderson (Mets), Bryce Harper (Nationals), Jason Heyward (Cardinals)
All 18 winners will be eligible for the fifth annual Rawlings Platinum Glove Award, given to the best overall defensive player in each league. You can vote for those two awards at Rawlings.com after the announcement show ends, and the winners will be revealed Friday night.
Molina has the most Gold Glove Awards among the nominees, with seven. With another, he could break a tie with Bob Boone for third place all-time among catchers, behind Ivan Rodriguez (13) and Johnny Bench (10). Teixeira is looking for his sixth, while a fifth nod could be in store for Buehrle, Gonzalez, Alex Gordon and Phillips.
Gold Glove Awards have been presented each year since 1957, with Greg Maddux holding the most (18), followed by Brooks Robinson and Jim Kaat (16 each).
MLB.com will have full coverage of tonight's announcement show hosted by Karl Ravech alongside analysts Alex Cora and Doug Glanville.