Mariners J. P Crawford Makes Rawlings Gold Glove Finalist List

 Seattle Mariners shortstop J.P. Crawford has been selected as a finalist for the 2021 Rawlings® American League Gold Glove Award. The announcement was made Tuesday by the Rawlings Sporting Goods Company and Major League Baseball.

Crawford is one of three finalists for the American League Gold Glove at shortstop with Carlos Correa (Houston) and Andrelton Simmons (Minnesota).

“It’s an honor to be named a finalist again,” Crawford said. “Credit to Coach Bone, I wouldn’t be in this spot without him. Also gotta shout out Ty France for an incredible year at first base, picking everything over there.”

The Rawlings® Gold Glove Awards will be announced on Sunday, Nov. 7 at 5:30 pm PT on ESPN’s “Baseball Tonight”.

Crawford finished the 2021 season having appeared in 160 games at shortstop this season, more than any other Major League player. Among American League players with at least 150 games played at shortstop, Crawford held a league-best .981 fielding percentage. He led American League shortstops with 222 putouts, ranked 2^nd in assists (388) and 2^nd in double plays started (88).

Crawford won his first career Gold Glove Award in 2020, joining Omar Vizquel (1993) as the only other Mariners shortstop to ever win the award.

If Crawford wins the award in 2021, he will become the 10^th player in club history to win multiple Gold Glove Awards with the Mariners. He would become the first Mariners player since Ichiro Suzuki (10x, 2001-10) to win a Gold Glove in back-to-back years, and the first player in club history to win multiple Gold Gloves at shortstop.

The Rawlings® Gold Glove Award is presented annually to 18 players, one for each position, in both the American and National Leagues. The Gold Glove has honored the best defenders at each portion in each league since it was first given out in 1957. Major League managers and coaches vote within their league, accounting for 75 percent of the selection process. The other 25 percent is conducted by the sabermetrics community.