Kiermaier wins Gold and Platinum Glove Awards
Former 2010 Princeton Rays' (and current Tampa Bay Rays') centerfielder Kevin Kiermaier, was named on the night of November 10 as the winner of the 2015 Rawlings Gold Glove Award as the best defensive centerfielder in the American League this past season.
Then for a great encore, he was voted to receive the overall 2015 American League Platinum Glove Award as the best defender at any position in the league this past season. He was joined here by the National League winner, catcher Yadier Molina of the St. Louis Cardinals.
Kiermaier's defense led all of Major League Baseball in 2015 with 42 defensive runs saved according to Baseball Information Solutions, who began tabulating that statistic during the 2003 season. He also led all of MLB's centerfielders with 15 outfield assists. He is the first player ever to win a Gold Glove in his first full season in the majors.
He started his professional career as the P-Rays'everyday centerfielder in 2010 and already displayed even then the hard-drivnmg work ethic and defensive prowess he developed further into his career. Offensively, he hit .303 (66-for-218) in 57 games for the P-Rays that year while showing his speed by scoring 44 runs and swiping 17 bases.
Other former P-Rays that have won the Gold Glove Award ward in prior seasons are outfielder Carl Crawford (1999 P-Ray) and pitcher Jeremy Hellickson (2005) as well as former 1991 Princeton Reds' infielder Pokey Reese.