Until the Cardinals righted themselves with a stunning winning streak of 17 games in September, their rollercoaster of a season had featured inconsistent clutch hitting, a raft of starting pitching injuries and a significant change in closers. But, throughout the many ebbs and flows, there was a constant. The Cardinals almost always caught the ball and threw it straight.
The Rawlings Gold Glove voters sanctioned that important piece of their success Sunday night as the Cardinals were rewarded with five Gold Gloves, a major league record for a team in one season. That means the rest of the 14 National League teams had a total of four Gold Gloves this year.
Second baseman Tommy Edman, who beat out former teammate and mentor Kolten Wong of Milwaukee in Edman’s first year as a full-time second baseman, and center fielder Harrison Bader came to the party for the first time, capturing their initial Gold Gloves. Third baseman Nolan Arenado earned his ninth in succession (the first eight came with Colorado), first baseman Paul Goldschmidt won his fourth but first since 2017 and left fielder Tyler O’Neill his second in succession.
