Rawlings Unveils Ballot of Top 50 All-Time Rawlings Gold Glovers;
Fans to Vote for Best at Each Position During 'Summer of Glove'
1957 Rawlings Gold Glovers Willie Mays, Minnie Minoso, Frank Malzone Help Launch National Debate as Part of Rawlings Gold Glove Golden Anniversary
NEW YORK (Feb. 20, 2007) — Accompanied by some of baseball's "finest in the field," Rawlings today will unveil a ballot of the 50 greatest Rawlings Gold Glovers of the past 50 years, challenging fans around the world to select the All-Time Rawlings Gold Glove Team — the very best defensive player at each position since 1957.
During a ceremony this morning in Times Square in New York City, three of the five living members of the original 1957 Rawlings Gold Glove Team — Hall of Fame outfielder and 12-time Rawlings Gold Glove Award® winner Willie Mays, Frank Malzone, and Minnie Minoso — will join Rawlings officials in revealing the ballot and casting the first votes.
The debate will transcend generations — from grandparents to today's youth. Who's the best at each position? They all flashed serious leather. How do you choose between retired defensive gurus like Mays, Roberto Clemente and Dwight Evans vs. today's stars like Jim Edmonds, Torii Hunter, and Ichiro Suzuki? Ozzie Smith and Luis Aparicio or Omar Vizquel and Derek Jeter? Johnny Bench or Ivan Rodriguez? Brooks Robinson, Mike Schmidt, or Scott Rolen? Greg Maddux or Jim Kaat? Keith Hernandez or Don Mattingly? Joe Morgan, Bill Mazeroski, Roberto Alomar, or Ryne Sandberg?
Setting the ballot was no can of corn. Rawlings tasked nearly 70 baseball pundits and purists — those who played the game, managed the game, and reported on the game — to select the initial ballot of 50 from the more than 250 players who have ever won a Rawlings Gold Glove Award®. The panel identified 18 outfielders, six fielders at each infield position (first, second and third base and shortstop), five catchers and three pitchers. (See complete ballot below or visit www.RawlingsGoldGlove.com.)
Panelists included current and former baseball officials, managers who won multiple Manager of the Year awards, Ford C. Frick award winners, J.G. Taylor Spink award winners, and other baseball experts, including broadcasters, historians, and current and past presidents of the Baseball Writers Association of America.
"Selecting the 50 top defensive players that I believe deserved to be on the All-Time Rawlings Gold Glove Team ballot was not an easy task," said Bob Costas of NBC and HBO Sports. "At every position I was forced to omit very worthy candidates. For example, only three pitchers will appear on the final ballot, and those of us on the Rawlings committee had to choose our top three from a field of 23 quality candidates. After careful consideration I made my selections — Jim Kaat, Greg Maddux and Bobby Shantz — and yet there were several others who mastered the art of mound defense for whom I really wanted to vote.
"Now that the ballot has been set, baseball fans everywhere have an even tougher task than I did, voting for the one player at each position that best exemplifies defensive excellence."
Baseball fans will pick three outfielders and one player at each of the other positions to determine the All-Time Rawlings Gold Glove Team, which will be revealed mid-season.
"Several of the panelists explained how challenging and satisfying the initial voting process was, and these are people who have lived baseball over the decades," said Dick Heckmann, executive chairman of K2 Inc., Rawlings' parent company. "We're anxious to see how fans will vote. Fans debating and reminiscing about the purest form of the game — defensive performance and excellence in the field — will be good for baseball."
Said Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith, a 13-time Rawlings Gold Glove Award® winner and shortstop representative on the ballot: "There's nothing better than a good baseball debate among fans about which players are the best at what they do."
At today's ceremony, two youth baseball teams will join members of the 1957 team in casting the first votes in the program, which runs through June 19. Fans can vote online at www.RawlingsGoldGlove.com, which provides comprehensive background on each member of the ballot as well as tools to enable voters to compare players head-to-head and from different eras.
Fans also can vote at thousands of sporting goods retailer locations, by mobile device and text messaging, or via the U.S. Postal Service. Visit www.RawlingsGoldGlove.com for complete details.
"Looking back over 50 years, it's going to be a challenge," said Rawlings President and General Manager Robert Parish. "So we wanted to make the ballot as accessible to fans as possible, including creating a robust Web site and providing ballots via thousands of stores operated by many of our sporting goods retailer partners."
Fans can also enter a sweepstakes to win a Rawlings "Gold Glove" of their own — a special Golden Anniversary edition Rawlings Pro Preferred glove filled with 50 one-ounce American Eagle gold coins (approximate value: $35,000).
Also in celebration of the Golden Anniversary of the Rawlings Gold Glove Award®, youth baseball players will be recognized for their play in the field as parents post videos at www.RawlingsGoldGlove.com of boys and girls 12 years old and younger making incredible plays just like the pros. A gold-ribbon panel will select 10 finalists from the submissions. Those 10 will have their great plays "called" by broadcaster Chris Berman. Consumers will then vote at www.RawlingsGoldGlove.com for the best fielder among the finalists, who will receive the first-ever Junior Rawlings Gold Glove Award.
In January, Rawlings announced that it will award the first-ever Collegiate and High School Rawlings Gold Glove Awards in 2007, recognizing America's greatest NCAA Divisions I, II, and III, NAIA, NJCAA Divisions I, II, and III and high school defensive players. Balloting will be consistent with the American Baseball Coaches Association All-America nomination and voting process.
Rawlings, the Official Baseball Supplier to Major League Baseball and the No. 1 brand in baseball gloves, has presented the Rawlings Gold Glove Award® since 1957. In the inaugural season, the award was presented to nine players; since then, 18 Major Leaguers have received the award annually — one for each position in both the National and American Leagues. Voting is done by coaches and managers.
The complete ballot for the All-Time Rawlings Gold Glove Team
Pitchers: Bob Gibson, Jim Kaat, Greg Maddux.
Catchers: Johnny Bench, Bob Boone, Bill Freehan, Ivan Rodriguez, Jim Sundberg.
First Basemen: Keith Hernandez, Don Mattingly, Wes Parker, Vic Power, J.T. Snow, Bill White.
Second Basemen: Roberto Alomar, Bill Mazeroski, Joe Morgan, Bobby Richardson, Ryne Sandberg, Frank White.
Third Basemen: Buddy Bell, Ken Boyer, Eric Chavez, Brooks Robinson, Scott Rolen, Mike Schmidt.
Shortstops: Luis Aparicio, Mark Belanger, Dave Concepcion, Derek Jeter, Ozzie Smith, Omar Vizquel.
Outfielders: Paul Blair, Roberto Clemente, Andre Dawson, Jim Edmonds, Dwight Evans, Curt Flood, Ken Griffey Jr., Torii Hunter, Andruw Jones, Al Kaline, Garry Maddox, Willie Mays, Kirby Puckett, Ichiro Suzuki, Larry Walker, Devon White, Dave Winfield, Carl Yastrzemski.
Members of the original 1957 Rawlings Gold Glove Team
Willie Mays, CF (New York Giants); Al Kaline, RF (Detroit Tigers); Minnie Minoso, LF (Chicago White Sox); Frank Malzone, 3B (Boston Red Sox); Nellie Fox, 2B (Chicago White Sox); Gil Hodges, 1B (Dodgers); Roy McMillan, SS (Cincinnati Reds); Sherm Lollar, C (Chicago White Sox); and Bobby Shantz, P (New York Yankees).