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Rays’ Kevin Kiermaier wins the American League Gold Glove award

Published on November 10, 2015 in Sports/Top Headlines by Gary Shelton

Isn’t the ambition of every Outlaw to make off with the gold?

If so, consider Kevin Kiermaier a success.

Kiermaier, the popular outfielder of the Tampa Bay Rays who is nicknamed “The Outlaw”, left with the gold glove for center fielders on Tuesday night, a designation you will have no problem convincing his pitchers of. Kiermaier saved 42 runs, almost triple the Rays’ record. He led the position by throwing out 15 runners.

Kiermaier came up the hard way. He was a 31st-round draft pick, and management wondered if he would be able to hit enough to earn his keep. He hit .263 this year, however.

Kiermayer is the fifth Rays’ player to win the gold glove, joining Evan Longoria (who has won two and was a finalist Tuesday night), Carl Crawford, Carlos Pena and Jeremy Hellickson.

Coaches and managers make up 75 percent of the vote. The other 25 percent is based on statistics.

Tags: Gold Glove Kiermaier Longoria Rays

Gary Shelton is one of the most recognized and honored sportswriters in the history of the state. He has won the APSE's national columnist of the year twice and finished in the top 10 eight times. He was named the Florida Sportswriter of the Year six times. Gary joined SaintPetersBlog in the spring, helping to bring a sports presence to the website. Over his time in sports writing, Gary has covered 29 Super Bowls, 10 Olympics, Final Fours, Masters, Wimbledons and college national championships. He was there when the Bucs won a Super Bowl, when the Lightning won a Stanley Cup and when the Rays went to a World Series. He has seen Florida, FSU and Miami all win national championships, and he covered Bear Bryant, Bobby Bowden and Don Shula along the way. He and his wife Janet have four children: Eric, Kevin, K.C. and Tori. To contact, visit [email protected].