While the Gold Glove award is given to the best defender at each position in both leagues, the Platinum Glove is awarded to the player deemed to be the best overall defender regardless of position in their league.
With just two weeks left in the 2026 MLB regular season, fans are beginning to pay attention to postseason awards as players are putting finishing touches on their resumes for this year.
Although MVP and Cy Young award debates typically take up the brunt of the discussion, fans are also starting to dig into defensive metrics while trying to figure out how many players on their favorite team are in the conversation for a Gold Glove award.
For the vast majority of MLB history that extended well into my childhood, defensive statistics were not all that in depth – and there was a widespread misunderstanding of what contributed to defensive value.
Prior to the dawn of sabermetrics where stats like defensive WAR, Outs Above Average and Fielding Run Value help paint a more detailed picture of how good a player is with the glove, more basic statistics like fielding percentage, outfield assists and errors were typically what voters went by to decide the best defensive player at each position.
While Gold Glove awards date all the way back to 1957, the Platinum Glove is an award that is around just as old as many of the new defensive metrics used to assess players in today’s game. The first Platinum Glove awards were handed out after the 2011 season, making 2026 the 16th season in which the awards will be handed out.
Despite the young age of the award, a handful of players have dominated the category in its early era. St. Louis Cardinals catcher and icon Yadier Molina won four of the first five awards in the National League, with likely future Hall of Fame third baseman Nolan Arenado winning the next six in a row.
Heading into the 2026 awards season, here’s a look at the players that have taken home a Platinum Glove award thus far:
- Yadier Molina, Catcher, St. Louis Cardinals: 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015
- Adrian Beltré, Third Baseman, Texas Rangers: 2011, 2012
- Andrelton Simmons, Shortstop, Atlanta Braves: 2013
- Manny Machado, Third Baseman, Baltimore Orioles: 2013
- Alex Gordon, Outfielder, Kansas City Royals: 2014, 2020
- Kevin Kiermaier, Outfielder, Tampa Bay Rays: 2015
- Anthony Rizzo, First Baseman, Chicago Cubs: 2016
- Francisco Lindor, Shorstop, Cleveland Indians: 2016
- Nolan Arenado, Third Baseman, Colorado Rockies/St. Louis Cardinals: 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022
- Byron Buxton, Outfielder, Minnesota Twins: 2017
- Matt Chapman, Third Baseman, Oakland Athletics: 2018, 2019
- Carlos Correa, Shorstop, Houston Astros: 2021
- Jose Trevino, Catcher, New York Yankees: 2022
- Fernando Tatis Jr., Outfielder, San Diego Padres: 2023, 2025
- Andrés Giménez, Second Baseman, Cleveland Guardians: 2023
- Brice Turang, Second Baseman, Milwaukee Brewers: 2024
- Cal Raleigh, Catcher, Seattle Mariners: 2024
- Bobby Witt Jr., Shortstop, Kansas City Royals: 2025

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