Marlins Left Fielder Marcell Ozuna Wins His 1st Gold Glove
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Marcell Ozuna has proved his glove is just as valuable as his bat.
The Miami Marlins left fielder was awarded his first Rawlings Gold Glove Award on Tuesday night.
The 26-year-old becomes just the second Marlins' outfielder ever to win a Gold Glove Award, following the accomplishment of Christian Yelich in 2014.
Ozuna led all National League left fielders this season in games played (152), games started (151), innings (1,335), total chances (320) and putouts (305). He posted a fielding percentage of .984 while committing just five errors in those 1,335 innings.
He beat out Gerardo Parra of the Rockies and Adam Duvall of the Reds for the NL honor.
"It means a lot to me because it is one more achievement in my career -- something that every player would like to win," Ozuna told MLB.com. "And thank God I was able to achieve it."
Ozuna also swatted 37 home runs and knocked in 124 RBIs while slashing .312/.376/.548.
Fans recognized his dual threat capabilities, voting for him to be the NL's starting left fielder in the 2017 All-Star Game.
The Gold Glove winners are determined by votes tallied from each MLB manager and up to six coaches on each staff, as well as the SABR Defensive Index, which comprises approximately 25 percent of the overall selection total.
