Ezequiel Tovar is getting national recognition for his defensive prowess that’s been apparent for two years to Rockies fans.
Tovar won his first National League Rawlings Gold Glove Award on Sunday, after the Colorado shortstop led the majors at the position with an 11.2 ultimate zone rating, an advanced stat that quantifies how many runs a player saved defensively.
At 23 years and 60 days, Tovar is the youngest shortstop to win the Gold Glove Award in NL history, and the second-youngest player in franchise history to win the honor behind Nolan Arenado in 2013 (22 years and 167 days).
After being a finalist for the award last year, Tovar took home the Gold Glove this season. He was second among MLB shortstops with a .988 fielding percentage, and is the second shortstop in franchise history and just the 15th in MLB history with a season with at least 675 total chances and eight or fewer errors.
Tovar is the 10th player in franchise history to win the Gold Glove, and the third shortstop. Neifi Pérez also won the award in 2000, and Troy Tulowitzki won consecutive awards in 2010 and ’11. Tovar was one of 14 first-time Gold Glove Award winners on Sunday.
While Tovar stacked up flashy plays in 2024, he also was elite in traditional defensive metrics. He led MLB shortstops in total chances (676) and double plays (113), while also leading the entire majors in assists with 435. He was also third among NL shortstops in outs above average, which measures outs a player saved, with 15.
It was Tovar’s glove that was a primary factor in him rocketing through the minors to debut on Sept. 23, 2022, at the age of 21 years and 53 days. That made him the youngest position player to debut in franchise history. And while his bat has started to emerge — Tovar hit .269 with 26 homers this year — his glove has only gotten even better in his two seasons as Colorado’s starting shortstop.
Tovar was one of two Colorado players to win a Gold Glove Award, joining center fielder Brenton Doyle. While Tovar beat out the Cardinals’ Masyn Winn and the Cubs’ Dansby Swanson, Doyle who captured his second honor by edging the Nationals’ Jacob Young and the Brewers’ Blake Perkins.
This story will be updated.
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