The Orioles were further recognized for their run of excellent defense over the last three years with shortstop J.J. Hardy and outfielders Adam Jones and Nick Markakis winning 2014 American League Gold Glove awards on Tuesday.
Hardy and Jones each won their third consecutive Rawlings fielding honors while Markakis won the second of his career and first since the 2011 season.
The Orioles and Kansas City Royals led the major leagues with three winners each in the 2014 season. Jones and Hardy are the first pair of teammates to win three consecutive Gold Gloves since Brett Boone and Ichiro Suzuki did it for the Seattle Mariners from 2002 through 2004.
Hardy joined Mark Belanger as only the second Orioles shortstop to win three straight Gold Gloves, but Belanger won six straight from 1973 through 1978. In 2014, the 32-year-old ranked seventh among all AL fielders in defensive wins above replacement (2.1) and ranked third among AL shortstops in fielding percentage (.978).
His three Gold Glove awards are second among active shortstops as only Philadelphia’s Jimmy Rollins (four) has more.
“This is a special award for me because of the fact that the opposing managers and coaches are the voters,” Hardy said in a statement released by the club. “Obviously, I have a lot of respect for them and their knowledge of the game. A lot of credit goes to [third-base coach] Bobby Dickerson, who puts in a lot of time and effort with us and puts us in a position to be successful.”
Jones led AL center fielders in games played (155) and ranked fourth in assists (seven) while posting a 0.8 dWAR. The 29-year-old won his first Gold Glove in 2009 and joins Paul Blair as the only Orioles outfielders to win at least four Gold Glove awards. Blair won seven straight from 1969 through 1975.
8
In 2014, Markakis led AL right fielders in games (147), putouts (295), and fielding percentage (1.000) while ranking second in assists (11). However, the veteran outfielder posted a -0.5 dWAR, which isn’t a great endorsement from a metric standpoint and could reflect his declining range.
Both Jones and Markakis offered credit to first-base coach Wayne Kirby for his work with the outfield.
“It is an individual award, but a lot of people contribute to it,” Markakis said. “Wayne Kirby is a great influence on the outfielders and does a great job preparing us and putting us in the right position to make plays.”
The Orioles have now won at least three Gold Gloves in three consecutive seasons for the third time in franchise history (1969-71 and 1973-76). All other major league clubs have combined for a total of three such streaks (St. Louis 2002-04, Philadelphia 1976-79, and Cincinnati 1974-77).
This year marks the 20th time the Orioles have had multiple Gold Glove winners in the same year and the 11th time in which the Orioles have had at least three Gold Glove winners in the same season. Seventeen different Orioles players have earned a total of 70 Gold Gloves since the award was created in 1957, the second-highest total for any team behind the St. Louis Cardinals (85).
The selection process is 75 percent votes submitted by managers and coaches and 25 percent defensive metrics. Manager and coaches may not vote for their own players and can only vote for the awards in their own league.
