KANSAS CITY, Mo.— Kansas City Royals center fielder Michael A. Taylor has been named a finalist for a 2022 American League Rawlings Gold Glove Award, Rawlings Sporting Goods, Inc. announced today. Additionally, left fielder Andrew Benintendi has been named a finalist for an American League Rawlings Gold Glove Award, after playing in 93 games with the Royals before being traded to the Yankees on July 27.
The 2022 season marks the third in which Taylor has been named a finalist for a Rawlings Gold Glove, following 2017 with the Washington Nationals and 2021, when he won his first Gold Glove Award as a member of the Royals. He appeared in 124 games in his second year with Kansas City and recorded a .990 fielding percentage as a center fielder, while his 19 defensive runs saved matched Arizona’s Daulton Varsho for the most among all outfielders this season, 2 more than Cleveland’s Myles Straw, who finished 2nd in the American League. Taylor collected 8 outfield assists, which ranked tied for 3rd among all Major League center fielders, largely due to his 92.0 mph average throw speed, courtesy of _Baseball Savant_, which ranked 3rd among all AL center fielders (min. 300 throws). Taylor was one of four American League center fielders to eclipse 1,000.0 innings played in 2022, while he, Straw and Baltimore’s Cedric Mullins are the only three AL center fielders to reach 1,000.0 innings in each of the last two campaigns.
Since 2011, Kansas City’s 20 Rawlings Gold Glove winners are the most in the Major Leagues, and the Royals have had at least one winner in each of the last 11 seasons (2011-21), which is the longest active streak in baseball. Taylor, 31, was one of two Royals to win a Gold Glove in 2021 (also: left fielder Andrew Benintendi) and is looking to become to become just the sixth Royal in history to earn multiple Gold Glove Awards in their career, and would join Alex Gordon (8), Frank White (8), Salvador Perez (5), Eric Hosmer (4) and Amos Otis (3). He is also attempting to become the third Royals outfielder to win at least two consecutive Gold Glove Awards, joining Otis (1973-74) and Gordon (2011-14 & 2017-20).
Winners will be revealed on Tuesday, Nov. 1 at 4:00 p.m. CT during a special addition of “Baseball Tonight,” which will air on ESPN prior to Game 4 of the World Series. The Rawlings Gold Glove Awards honor the best individual fielding performances at each position in the American League and National League, as voted by Major League managers and coaches.
