Kansas City Royals
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. and third baseman Maikel Garcia were named winners of 2025 Rawlings Gold Glove Awards, as announced tonight by Rawlings Sporting Goods Inc. on ESPN’s Baseball Tonight.
The Rawlings Gold Glove Awards honor the best individual fielding performances at each position in the American League and National League. Winners were chosen by a combination of votes from MLB Managers and coaches, and the SABR Defensive Index.
This is Witt Jr.’s second straight Rawlings Gold Glove Award and Garcia’s first. The Royals now have 42 Rawlings Gold Glove winners by 18 different players. Over the last 15 seasons since 2011, the Royals lead Major League Baseball with 24 Rawlings Gold Glove Awards.
Witt Jr. is the first two-time Rawlings Gold Glove winner at shortstop in Royals history, and is the first American League shortstop to win the award in consecutive seasons since Andrelton Simmons with the Angels from 2017-18.
Witt Jr., 25, made 153 starts at shortstop in 2025, 3rd most in the American League. He ranked 2nd among AL shortstops in assists (382) and fielding percentage (.983), and he was charged with just 10 errors in 578 chances, 2nd fewest among AL shortstops (min. 125 starts).
Witt Jr. tied for the Major League lead among all players in 2025 with 24 Outs Above Average, according to Baseball Savant. Witt Jr.’s 18 Runs Prevented ranked 3rd in the Majors to Pete Crow-Armstrong (22) and Ceddanne Rafaela (19). Baseball Savant’s Fielding Run Value ranked Witt Jr. 5th among all defenders (20) and 1st among shortstops.
Garcia is the second Royals third baseman to win a Rawlings Gold Glove, joining George Brett in 1985.
Garcia, 25, ranked 3rd among American League third basemen with 130 starts, but ranked 1st in total chances (346), putouts (105) and fielding percentage (.980). He was charged with just 7 errors in his 346 chances at third base, fewest among American League players at the position (min. 125 starts). He committed only 1 error in his final 75 games at third base from June 25 through season’s end.
Garcia ranked 4th among all American League players with 17 Outs Above Average, and his 18 OAA as a third basemen led all players at the position in the American League, well ahead of 2nd-place José Ramírez (7) and Ernie Clement (7). Baseball Savant’s Fielding Run Value metric also ranked Garcia 1st among American League third basemen (14), ahead of Ramírez (6).