2026 Gold Glove winners: the result at a glance
The 2026 Rawlings Gold Glove Awards were announced Sunday, November 1. Twenty players won across the American League and National League: one at each of nine traditional fielding positions plus a utility defender in each league. Boston's Red Sox and Arizona's Diamondbacks led all clubs with three winners apiece. Nine players earned their first Gold Gloves, according to MLB's official winners report. These are awards for defensive play during the 2026 season, not batting, overall MVP performance or a postseason result. The complete winners are listed below by league and position, followed by the most useful context about the teams and the selection process.
American League: all 10 winners
Pitcher — Tanner Bibee (Cleveland Guardians). Catcher — Dillon Dingler (Detroit Tigers). First base — Christian Walker (Houston Astros). Second base — Cole Young (Seattle Mariners). Third base — Caleb Durbin (Boston Red Sox). Shortstop — Taylor Walls (Tampa Bay Rays). Left field — Cody Bellinger (New York Yankees). Center field — Ceddanne Rafaela (Boston Red Sox). Right field — Wilyer Abreu (Boston Red Sox). Utility — Ezequiel Duran (Texas Rangers). This is the complete American League positional list published by MLB; it includes one utility award rather than treating the category as a tenth regular fielding position.
National League: all 10 winners
Pitcher — Nolan McLean (New York Mets). Catcher — Gabriel Moreno (Arizona Diamondbacks). First base — Matt Olson (Atlanta Braves). Second base — Brice Turang (Milwaukee Brewers). Third base — Alex Bregman (Chicago Cubs). Shortstop — Geraldo Perdomo (Arizona Diamondbacks). Left field — Jackson Chourio (Milwaukee Brewers). Center field — Pete Crow-Armstrong (Chicago Cubs). Right field — Corbin Carroll (Arizona Diamondbacks). Utility — Mauricio Dubón (Atlanta Braves). MLB's official winners report confirms all ten names and their teams. The list should not be confused with the October 14 finalists list, which had three candidates at each position.
Why Boston and Arizona finished on top
Boston's three American League honorees were third baseman Caleb Durbin, center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela and right fielder Wilyer Abreu. Arizona's three National League winners were catcher Gabriel Moreno, shortstop Geraldo Perdomo and right fielder Corbin Carroll. That is a tie for the most individual winners on any one club, not a separate team trophy. Boston's combination is particularly notable because Abreu and Rafaela were repeat outfield winners while Durbin was a first-time recipient. Arizona's group spans the battery, infield and outfield, reflecting different defensive responsibilities rather than one single metric.
The standout defensive numbers
Wilyer Abreu led all major-league players with 28 Defensive Runs Saved, according to MLB, while Boston teammate Rafaela recorded 21 and 16 Outs Above Average. Milwaukee second baseman Brice Turang finished with 23 Defensive Runs Saved, and Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong led MLB with 26 Outs Above Average. These metrics do not measure exactly the same thing: DRS estimates runs prevented relative to average fielding, while Outs Above Average evaluates the difficulty of plays made or missed. Comparing values across positions without context can be misleading. MLB's article reports each figure with the player's positional context.
Christian Walker and Matt Olson reach four awards
Houston first baseman Christian Walker earned his fourth Gold Glove after winning three with Arizona from 2022 through 2024. Atlanta first baseman Matt Olson also collected his fourth, having won in 2018, 2019 and 2025 before this season. Their fourth awards put them among the active leaders at first base, alongside Paul Goldschmidt, according to MLB. The award is based on the current season's fielding, not an automatic lifetime achievement recognition. Walker's Houston award is his first with that club, while Olson's came after another strong year of range and run prevention at first base.
The first-time winners worth noting
Among the first-time recipients, Seattle second baseman Cole Young was recognized in his second major-league season. Tampa Bay shortstop Taylor Walls became the first Rays player to win a Gold Glove at shortstop. Texas utility defender Ezequiel Duran received the Rangers' first award in that category. Mets pitcher Nolan McLean became the first rookie pitcher to win a Gold Glove, according to MLB's official account. Other first-time winners included Boston's Caleb Durbin, Arizona's Geraldo Perdomo and Corbin Carroll, and Milwaukee's Jackson Chourio. The overall total of nine first-time winners comes from MLB; the examples here are not intended as a separate official ranking.
How Gold Glove voting works
For the nine standard positions in each league, managers and coaches supply 75% of the voting score and the statistical component contributes 25%. Managers and coaches vote only within their own league and cannot select their own players. The statistical component is the SABR Defensive Index, designed to bring measured fielding performance into the award process. Utility players are selected through a different specialized formula developed with the Society for American Baseball Research. A Gold Glove is therefore neither a fan popularity poll nor a simple list of the players with the most errors avoided. Defensive range, run prevention, positioning and other factors matter.
Gold Glove versus Platinum Glove: what happens next
The 2026 Gold Glove winners were revealed November 1, but the Platinum Glove is a separate recognition. Rawlings opened fan voting for the Platinum award after the announcement and scheduled voting through November 5, with winners to be unveiled November 6. A combination of fan input and the SABR Defensive Index determines that honor. Readers should not treat the Gold Glove list as the final Platinum Glove results. A Gold Glove winner is eligible for the Platinum selection, but the latter has its own process and announcement date. Check Rawlings' official awards pages for the eventual results.
What the awards say about the 2026 season
A defensive award is a useful way to identify players whose value is less obvious in home runs or batting average. It can reward a catcher who controls the running game, a middle infielder who converts difficult ground balls into outs, or an outfielder who prevents extra bases with positioning and throwing. This year's winners also show how a club can be recognized at several positions: Boston and Arizona each had three individual honorees. None of those outcomes establishes which team had the best overall defense, and Gold Gloves do not replace full team-level fielding statistics or the postseason record.
Frequently asked questions
Who won the most 2026 Gold Gloves? The Boston Red Sox and Arizona Diamondbacks tied for the most individual recipients, with three each. How many winners are there? Twenty, ten per league including utility players. Who won at first base? Christian Walker in the AL and Matt Olson in the NL, each for the fourth time. Did Pete Crow-Armstrong win? Yes, the Cubs center fielder repeated as NL winner. Did a rookie pitcher win? Yes, the Mets' Nolan McLean won the NL pitcher award. Is the Platinum Glove decided? Not as of the November 1 Gold Glove announcement; the separate result is scheduled for November 6.
Sources and verification notes
This report uses MLB's official November 1 winners list as the decisive source for all twenty recipients and team totals, plus MLB's official Boston Red Sox release for the club's three winners and Rawlings/SABR material for the voting system and Platinum Glove timing. The photograph is a licensed CC0 archival image of a baseball game at Turner Field in Atlanta in 2016. It is illustrative only: it does not show the 2026 awards ceremony, any of the 2026 winners receiving trophies, or the 2026 season. Check the official award pages for later corrections or Platinum Glove results.