Three Former Red Sox Players Named Gold Glove Award Finalists

The Red Sox have some former players earning recognition for their defensive play

Scott Neville | Oct 20, 2022

Three Former Red Sox Players Named Gold Glove Award Finalists /

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Boston Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox have let a lot of defensive talent move on, which was depicted by the amount of Gold Glove finalists that used to play for the storied franchise.

Toronto Blue Jays' Jackie Bradley Jr., New York Yankees Andrew Benintendi and Los Angeles Dodgers' Mookie Betts all were named as finalists. The trio was an incredible outfield for Boston, particularly when they aided a 108-win 2018 team that went on to win the World Series.

Bradley earned most of his recognition with the Red Sox, playing 91 of his 131 games this season for Boston. The 32-year-old won a Gold Glove in center field back in the aforementioned 2018 season and will now vie for the same honor in right field. He joins Minnesota Twins' Max Kepler and Houston Astros' Kyle Tucker in the running for the award.

Benintendi is the defending Gold Glove winner in left field for the American League, with a chance to go back-to-back. Benny split time with the Kansas City Royals and Yankees this season, but a wrist injury cut his season short.

The 28-year-old impending free agent will compete with Cleveland Guardians Steven Kwan and Brandon Marsh, who despite currently being in the National League with the Philadelphia Phillies, is in the running because he started the season with the Los Angeles Angels.

Betts is not a stranger to defensive honors, as he won five Gold Glove awards in a row from 2016 to 2020, four of which came with Boston. After breaking the steak a season ago, Betts has a chance to get back on the horse this season. He'll be challenged by San Diego Padres' Juan Soto and Arizona Diamondbacks' Dalton Varsho.

Xander Bogaerts was the lone member of the current roster to be named a finalist, doing so for the first time since 2015 after a career year defensively.

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Published Oct 20, 2022

SCOTT NEVILLE

Scott Neville covers the Boston Red Sox for Sports Illustrated's new page "Inside The Red Sox." Before starting "Inside The Red Sox", Neville attended Merrimack College, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media with a minor in Marketing. Neville spent all four years with Merrimack's radio station WMCK, where he grew as a radio/podcast host and producer. His propensity for being in front of a microphone eventually expanded to film, where he produced multiple short films alongside his then-roommate and current co-worker Stephen Mottram. On a journey that began as a way to receive easy credits via film classes, he received a call from "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" star Charlie Day. Day advised him to make a feature-length film, which he completed his senior year. While writing the film, Neville completed an internship for United Way as part of their NFL Partnership Program. Neville ran the blog for a team of interns and hosted an internet show called "United Way's NFL Partnership Series" where he interviewed NFL alumni. After college Neville wrote for SB Nation's "Over The Monster," a Red Sox sister site of the flagship brand. His work would eventually lead him to a job as a content producer with NESN, where he would cover all sports. After developing as a writer with the top regional network in the world, he was given the opportunity to join the Sports Illustrated Media Group in his current endeavor as the publisher of "Inside The Red Sox." The successful launch and quick rise of "Inside The Red Sox" led to Neville joining the Baseball Essential ownership group, a national baseball site under SIMG. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottNeville46 Email: nevilles@merrimack.edu