Arizona Diamondbacks’ Gerardo Parra and Paul Goldschmidt win Gold Glove Awards
Oct 30, 2013, 12:22 AM | Updated: 12:35 am
Though the season did not end the way the Arizona Diamondbacks had hoped, their offseason is going pretty well so far.
It was announced Tuesday that Gerardo Parra and Paul Goldschmidt each won National League Gold Glove Rawlings Gold Glove Awards. It’s Goldschmidt’s first and Parra’s second.
“It’s a great award for Paul Goldschmidt and Gerardo Parra,” said D-backs manager Kirk Gibson. “They both work very hard and they’ve come a long way. That was one of their goals, to be able to do that and it’s good to see that they are honored with Gold Glove awards.”
The award is given annually to the player voted as the best defender at his respective position.
Parra, a 26-year-old right fielder, beat out Cincinnati Reds outfielder Jay Bruce and the Atlanta Braves’ Jayson Heyward for the award.
Parra previously won the award in 2011 when he played left field for the D-backs. This season, he had an NL-best 17 outfield assists and led all outfielders with 41 defensive runs saved. He also posted an ultimate zone rating of 31.1, which is the second-highest since Alfonso Soriano’s 33.2 in 2007.
For Goldschmidt, who was touted as a power hitter with shaky defense, the award is just another step on his path toward being one of baseball’s best players. The 26-year-old led NL first basemen with 1,494 putouts, and his .997 fielding percentage was second behind Colorado’s Todd Helton.
Goldschmidt is the fourth D-back to win a Gold Glove Award, joining Steve Finley, Orlando Hudson and Parra.
Arizona pitcher Patrick Corbin was one of three finalists for his position, but lost out to St. Louis’ Adam Wainright.
