Hall of Fame pitcher Greg Maddux has more Gold Gloves than any other man who ever played in Major League Baseball, capturing 18 of the fielding awards during his storied 23-year career, all in the National League.

What Is the Gold Glove?

The Gold Glove is an award given to the top defender at each position in each league at the end of every season. The Gold Glove awards are sponsored by Rawlings and voted on by managers and coaches in the league, who are not permitted to vote for players on their own teams.

The Gold Glove award was instituted in 1957 with one selection from each position across both leagues before expanding to a full set of Gloves for each of the American and National Leagues beginning in 1958.

While the Gold Glove process has been criticized over the years for not always rewarding the actual best fielders in the game, with reputation playing into the voting, it is still a coveted and respected honor.

And, for a pitcher like Maddux, a string of Gold Gloves hint at an unsung advantage he had in building his sterling pitching record — he always knew he could count on at least one fielder to handle the ball adeptly!

Greg Maddux Gold Gloves

Against that background, here is the full list of years in which Maddux won a Gold Glove, along with the team he was pitching for at the time and the count of Gold Gloves he had accrued at that moment:

The only break in Maddux’s long streak came in 2003 when Mike Hampton of (ironically) the Atlanta Braves took the NL Gold Glove award.

Before Maddux won his 17th award in 2007, Jim Kaat held the record for pitchers with 16 Gold Gloves, an overall mark matched by Baltimore Orioles legendary third baseman Brooks Robinson.

Maddux’s prowess in the field also helped his pitching line by limiting the number of baserunners he allowed, as evidenced by his stingy 1.143 career WHIP.