Salvador Pérez, More Call out Gold Glove Voting After Royals Had No 2023 Finalists
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Finalists for the 2023 Gold Glove Awards have been announced, and players from the Kansas City Royals are not happy.
Star catcher Salvador Pérez, third baseman Maikel Garcia and shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. all took to social media on Wednesday to express their frustration at not being recognized for their defensive prowess:
Salvador Perez @SalvadorPerez15
I don’t know how that happened???😡 https://t.co/AqqMZKBuTc
Bobby Witt Jr @BwittJr
The Royals didn’t have a finalist for the 2022 Gold Glove Awards, either. The last Kansas City players to take home hardware for their defensive prowess were outfielders Michael A. Taylor and Andrew Benintendi in 2021. Both have since departed the team.
Perez is a five-time Gold Glove Award winner, though he hasn’t won one since 2018. He has been one of the best catchers in the majors for quite some time, and he earned his eighth selection to the All-Star Game this season.
Garcia and Witt both made their major-league debuts in 2022 and have since become two of Kansas City’s most important players. In addition to their impressive defensive skills, Witt hit .276 this season and Garcia hit .272, the two highest batting averages on the team among players who appeared in at least 100 games in 2023.
While the Royals have a talented crop of youngsters and a trio of defensive stars, they weren’t able to find success this season. Kansas City finished last in the AL Central for the second straight season with a 56-106 record. This is the franchise’s eighth straight year missing the playoffs after winning the World Series in 2015.
