Twins first baseman Carlos Santana wins first career Gold Glove Award

Carlos Santana has played 15 major league seasons. He’s appeared in more than 2,000 games, has nearly 1,800 hits, more than 300 home runs and has a Silver Slugger Award to his name. ADVERTISEMENT But the 38-year-old had never been honored for his defense — until Sunday.

Santana was named the American League Gold Glove Award winner at first base with results of voting revealed on ESPN on Sunday night. Back in February, Santana said his mother asked him what he wanted to do before he retired. He told her he wanted to win a Gold Glove.



“I promised my mom I would win it,” he said in September. That promise has now been fulfilled after a season in which his 14 outs above average led all major league first basemen and his eight defensive runs saved was tied for first among AL first basemen. Coaches and managers comprised 75% of voting with 25% of the vote based on the Society for American Baseball Research Defensive Index.

ADVERTISEMENT Santana’s win makes him the first Twin to take home the award since Byron Buxton and Brian Dozier did so in 2017. He’s the first Twins first baseman to win a Gold Glove since Doug Mientkiewicz in 2001 and third (Vic Power) ever. The veteran infielder, who is now a free agent, also won the Diamond Award for the Twins’ Defensive Player of the Year.

“He’s much more athletic than probably anyone would want to give him credit for,” manager Rocco Baldelli said during the season. “I’m going to give him credit for it now. He’s a good athlete.

He’s excellent on his feet. And he is nimble.” Willi Castro, who was the first player in MLB history to appear in 25 or more games at five different defensive positions in a season, was a finalist in the utility category but lost to Seattle’s Dylan Moore.

ADVERTISEMENT ______________________________________________________ This story was written by one of our partner news agencies. Forum Communications Company uses content from agencies such as Reuters, Kaiser Health News, Tribune News Service and others to provide a wider range of news to our readers. Learn more about the news services FCC uses here .

.