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MLB Awards Tracker 2024: American Baseball Alumni
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MLB Awards Tracker 2024: American Baseball Alumni

As the 2024 MLB season draws to a close, time begins to hand out well-deserved awards and honors. Former USA Baseball players have flooded stadiums across the country and made daily headlines, so be sure to follow along and see which former Team USA players have been recognized for their outstanding play throughout of the season!

GOLDEN GLOVE

C Patrick Bailey (2016 18U collegiate national team, 2018, 2019): After being named a Gold Glove finalist in 2023, 2024 saw Bailey win the prestigious award for best defensive backstop in the National League. The NC State alum was not only elite in the NL, but he led all catchers in defensive runs saved (20) and was the best pitcher according to Baseball scholar. In 2016, Bailey started four games behind the plate en route to the gold medal with the 18U National Team and played back-to-back summers with the Collegiate National Team in 2018 and 2019.

3B Alex Bregman (2010 16U, 2011 18U, 2013, 2014 collegiate national team, 2017 Pro): A double All-Star and World Series champion, Bregman adds his very first Gold Glove Award to his distinctions. Strong defensive play isn’t anything new for Bregman, but Houston’s everyday third baseman posted his career-best ERA (6) and led the American League in percentage defensive (0.972). Bregman marks only the second time in franchise history that the Astros have won a Gold Glove at third base. The nine-year MLB veteran donned the Stars and Stripes five times during his career and won a gold medal in four of those campaigns. Most notably, Bregman hit .564 and led the 16U National Team in RBIs to lead Team USA to a gold medal at the 2010 COPABE Pan American Championships.

3B Matt Chapman (2013 collegiate national team): For the fifth time in his career and the second year in a row, Chapman earned Gold Glove honors at the hot corner. Chapman led all third basemen in defensive runs saved (17) and tied for first in big outs above average at third base (11). The eight-year MLB veteran joins the elite, becoming the third third baseman to win a Gold Glove in both the AL and NL, joining Matt Williams and Robin Ventura. With Team USA, Chapman earned the role of everyday third baseman and regularly performed cleanup batting for the Collegiate National Team, hitting .278 while leading the team in RBIs (20).

2B Brice Turang (2014 15U, 2016, 2017 18U): The 2018 first-round draft pick led the National League in defensive runs saved (22) and became the first Brewers second baseman to earn Gold Glove honors and the club’s first infielder to doing so since Robin Yount in 1982. Alongside Turang’s first Gold Glove is an added golden asset, as the California native helped the 18U National Team win the 2016 COPABE Pan American Championships and the Baseball U World Cup -18 WBSC 2017. Turang started all nine games at shortstop and hit .353 with a pair of triples en route to winning a gold medal with Team USA in 2016.

CF Daulton Varsho (Pro 2019): Like his predecessor, Kevin Kiermaier, Varsho made improbable catches with ease and was a force to contend with in Toronto’s outfield. Varsho’s 3.1 defensive WAR was the highest among all players in the league according to Baseball Reference. The former second-round draft pick made his debut with USA Baseball in 2019, when Varsho played in the outfield during the WBSC Premier12 tournament.

SS Bobby Witt Jr. (2018 18U, 2023 Pro): Witt broke out in 2024 and won his first Gold Glove in addition to being named an All-Star and American League batting champion. The third-year Royal started short in 160 games and led all AL shortstops with above-average putouts (16) and above-average defensive runs (17.6). Witt’s first Gold Glove season saw the shortstop hit 73 double plays and post a .974 fielding percentage. In addition to making the 2023 WBC roster, Witt led the gold medal-winning 2018 18U National Team in batting average (.576), triples (3) and runs scored (18).