PHILADELPHIA -- Though J.T. Realmuto is focused on claiming another trophy by the end of the week, the Phillies catcher received his second career Gold Glove Award prior to Game 3 of the World Series on Tuesday night.
Realmuto, who won his other Gold Glove in 2019, threw out a Major League-leading 30 attempted base stealers during the regular season. That was five more than Seattle's Cal Raleigh, who was the only other catcher to throw out more than 20 baserunners.
Realmuto was not only the Phillies’ lone Gold Glove winner this season, but his two Gold Gloves are the only ones claimed by a Philadelphia player since Jimmy Rollins in 2012.
"Well-deserved, well-earned; such a great catcher, such a great guy, great teammate," said Aaron Nola. "To see what he's done this year behind the plate, he's obviously one of the most athletic [catchers], in my opinion, if not the most in the Major Leagues. He helps me out a lot. I'm not the quickest to the plate and he gets that ball down to second pretty quick."
It's not just pretty quick -- it's faster than anyone in the big leagues. Realmuto led all catchers with an average pop time of 1.82 seconds, according to Statcast.
Realmuto also paced all players with a 44.1 percent caught-stealing rate and a 2.1 defensive WAR, according to Baseball-Reference. Put it all together and his 11 defensive runs saved were the most by any NL catcher -- and just one shy of his career high of 12 from his first Gold Glove-winning season in 2019.
That defensive prowess has only further cemented Realmuto’s status as the best all-around catcher in the Majors. Offensively, the backstop racked up 22 home runs and 21 stolen bases to join Ivan Rodriguez in 1999 as the only catchers in AL/NL history with a 20-20 season.
Realmuto has continued to shine in the postseason, from his inside-the-park home run in Game 4 of the NL Division Series to his go-ahead 10th-inning home run in Game 1 of the World Series to throwing out Jose Altuve on a steal attempt in Game 2.