SF Giants’ rookie catcher named finalist for Gold Glove

SF Giants' rookie catcher named finalist for Gold Glove

As soon as he was called up, almost two months into the season, Patrick Bailey showed why evaluators expect him to one day fill his mantle with Gold Glove Award trophies. He turned balls into strikes, nabbed about as many would-be base stealers as he had arm angles and even ended a game with his arm — not once, but twice.

It didn’t take long for it to become apparent that Bailey, with only 28 games above A-ball under his belt, was already among the game’s elite defenders.

On Wednesday, the 24-year-old rookie was announced as one of three finalists for the National League Gold Glove. His competition for the award, the Phillies’ J.T. Realmuto and Diamondbacks’ Gabriel Moreno, another rookie, are currently facing off in the NLCS.

If Bailey wins — results will be announced Nov. 5 — it would be historic. No Giants rookie at any position has ever won the Gold Glove, and it has been awarded to only two NL rookie catchers, Johnny Bench in 1968 and, most recently, Charles Johnson in 1995, four years before Bailey was born.

The last Giants catcher to take home the award, of course, was Buster Posey in 2016, while Brandon Crawford last won at shortstop in 2021.

Despite debuting on May 19, in the Giants’ 44th game of the season, Bailey finished the season at or near the top of nearly every defensive leaderboard.

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