Gold Glove finalists show Mariners' stars just as much disrespect as respect

The finalists for this year's Rawlings Gold Glove Awards were announced on Wednesday, and the Seattle Mariners only have one name on the list. It's exactly who you think it is...unless it isn't.

Whereas you might have expected to see Julio Rodríguez's name among the Gold Glove finalists for American League center fielders, it's just as notable — and certainly just as shocking — that Cal Raleigh got shut out of the finalists at catcher.

Julio has not won a Gold Glove before, and the chances of him winning his first this year might not be especially good. He's up against Kyle Isbel and Ceddanne Rafaela, both of whom either matched or exceeded Julio in Defensive Runs Saved and Outs Above Average.

Even still, it's nice to see Julio getting recognition as a finalist. He truly earned it, as his "No Fly Zone" out in center field had never lived up to its name quite like it did this year. He set a personal best in Defensive Runs Saved (nine) and nearly equaled his best mark for Outs Above Average (10).

It also felt like the three-time All-Star's best defensive work came when the Mariners needed it the most. Perhaps most memorably, his fielding played a role in that September series in Atlanta, during which he single-handedly turned the tide of the Mariners' season.

The Gold Gloves didn't have to disrespect Cal Raleigh like that

As for why Raleigh is not even a finalist for a Gold Glove, honestly, your guess is as good as ours.

True, he wasn't quite as excellent behind the dish in 2025 as he was in 2024. His Defensive Runs Saved swung from 17 down to just two, in part because his caught-stealing rate dropped by 7.1 percent. After leading MLB with 32 caught-stealings last year, he managed only 21 this year.

Raleigh did catch the most innings (1,072.0) of any backstop, however, which makes it that much more remarkable that he did not commit a single passed ball during the regular season. He was also an elite pitch framer who stacked up well against the Gold Glove finalists at catcher, ranking behind Alejandro Kirk, on par with Dillon Dingler and ahead of Carlos Narváez. And even if this was a down year for Raleigh's throwing, he still provided more value with his arm than Kirk.

Even if he didn't ultimately win it, you'd think that Raleigh would at least have been on the short list for a Gold Glove after winning one in tandem with a Platinum Glove last year. That he's not makes you wonder what happened, with the only possible explanations being that he was either short-changed by the coaches who voted or by the SABR Defensive Index that also plays a role in how Gold Gloves are awarded.

We may never know, so the best thing to do is to keep taking comfort in the fact that Raleigh has 62 home runs and counting for the 2025 season. If that doesn't put a smile on Mariners fans' faces, nothing will.