Royals’ Bobby Witt Jr. and Seth Lugo named 2024 American League Gold Glove winners

Two Kansas City Royals All-Stars received a special honor on Sunday.

Franchise cornerstone Bobby Witt Jr. and All-Star pitcher Seth Lugo won the 2024 American League Rawlings Gold Glove Award at their respective positions. The Royals standouts headlined a quartet of Royals finalists alongside teammates Freddy Fermin and Cole Ragans in October.

Witt, 24, took home his first career Gold Glove Award. He recorded a .974 fielding percentage in 160 games started at shortstop. In 583 defensive chances, Witt posted 207 putouts, 361 assists and committed 15 errors.

Additionally, Witt turned 78 double plays while finishing with 16 Outs Above Average (OAA) per Baseball Savant.

“This award is a real feather in his cap,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “But also, I think it’s going to be more incentive for him to keep growing.”

Witt began his MLB career splitting time between shortstop and third base. In the last two seasons, he settled at shortstop and improved defensively under the tutelage of Royals infield coach Jose Alguacil.

“There were still some questions (in 2023) about whether that was going to be his spot or short was going to be his spot,” Quatraro said. “And (Royals general manager) J.J. (Picollo) was pretty decisive that, ‘Hey, we are going to go with him at short.’

“And once I started to talk to Bobby and understand how he works and how he thinks, I think the most impressive part was his desire to get better and his willingness to accept he wasn’t a finished product.”

Witt has continued to improve his defensive positioning and footwork. This season, he led all AL shortstops with a career-high Fielding Run Value (12). Witt is just the second Royals shortstop to win a Gold Glove, joining Alcides Escobar in 2015.

Lugo, 34, also earned his first career Gold Glove. He posted a 1.000 fielding percentage in 33 starts and turned three double plays in 206 ⅔ innings.

“He’s been a good athlete in the past and in other sports,” Quatraro said. “So none of that really surprises me, but the consistency with which he went about the work and fielding his position was really fun to watch.”

Lugo is the second Royals pitcher to win a Gold Glove in franchise history. He joins Royals Hall of Famer Bret Saberhagen (1987) on the prestigious list.

In spring training, the Royals focused on “PFPs” — pitchers’ fielding practice — early in camp. The drills ranged from fielding bunts to covering first base and home plate.

Quatraro noted that Lugo was among the best in the group. He was impressed with Lugo’s attention to detail and believes it served as motivation for the entire team.

“He was the standard that everyone else was trying to live up to,” Quatraro said. “He did all the drills well and he took them seriously.”

Witt and Lugo are the first pair of Royals Gold Glove winners since Andrew Benintendi (LF) and Michael A. Taylor (CF) in 2021. They are now eligible for the 2024 Rawlings Platinum Glove Award.

The Platinum Glove was introduced in 2011. It will be awarded to the top defensive player in each league. Fans will be able to vote for the Platinum Glove Award winner at Rawlings.com.

Last season, San Diego Padres right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. and Cleveland Guardians second baseman Andrés Giménez won the Platinum Gloves.

Former Royals outfielder Alex Gordon is a two-time Platinum Glove winner (2014, 2020). He is the only player in franchise history to win the award.