Dipped In Gold Part 1 Trivia Quiz

Answer: Third Base

Rolen was a defensive wizard throughout his entire 17-year career, which began with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1996. He won eight Gold Glove awards at third base between 1998 and 2010.

Rolen was plagued by injuries in several seasons that limited his playing time, so he might have won several more, as he was regarded by many critics, coaches, and fellow players during his time as the best defensive third baseman in baseball. Rolen was elected into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2023.

Answer: Outfield

Best known for his time with the Atlanta Braves from 1996-2007, Andruw Jones earned ten consecutive Gold Gloves as a center fielder from 1998-2007, and led the National League in defensive wins above replacement (dWAR) amongst all positions four times according to Baseball-Reference.

Unfortunately after turning 30 years of age, Jones began a steep decline in both his hitting skills and defensive skills, and retired at the age of 35 after five less than stellar seasons as a journeyman with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Texas Rangers, Chicago White Sox, and New York Yankees.

Answer: Third Base

Despite winning ten Gold Gloves at third base, Schmidt's defense may be overlooked by his great ability as a hitter; Schmidt hit 548 career home runs, and led the league eight times during his career, which lasted from 1972-1989 all with the Philadelphia Phillies.

He was a three-time National League MVP (1980, 81, 86). At the time of his retirement, his ten Gold Glove Awards were second all-time by a third baseman, well behind Brooks Robinson's 16. Schmidt was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1995.

Answer: Catcher

Yadier Molina, or otherwise known as "Yadi", spent 19 seasons from 2005-2022 with the St. Louis Cardinals, after taking over the reins from fellow multiple Gold Glove winning catcher Mike Matheny, who won three with the Cardinals between 2000 and 2004. Yadi would go on to win nine Gold Gloves between 2008 and 2018.

Here is an interesting statistic: During his career from '05-22, teams attempted to steal a base against the St. Louis Cardinals 1,370 times. The next closest team during that span was the Arizona Diamondbacks with 1,883 attempts. The San Diego Padres led all teams with 2,532. This shows just how much other teams respected the defensive prowess of Yadi.

Answer: Catcher

Regarded by many, including myself, as the greatest catcher in MLB history, Bench was noted as an all-around player. The position of catcher is perhaps the most physically demanding on the field, and most catchers are defensive-first, low impact hitters. Bench was one of the exceptions to that rule; he won two National League MVPs in 1970 and 1972, and led the NL in home runs and RBIs in both seasons.

He won ten consecutive Gold Glove awards from 1968-1977. Bench was selected to 14 All-Star teams, and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1989.

Answer: Catcher

Also known as "Pudge", Ivan Rodriguez played 21 seasons from 1991-2011, most notably for the Texas Rangers. He played his first 12 seasons there, winning the 1999 American League MVP. He won 13 Gold Glove awards from 1992-2007. He was the catcher for the 2003 Florida Marlins when he won his only World Series title, which was against the New York Yankees.

It was his only season with the team. Pudge was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2017.

Answer: Outfield

Clemente, who played with the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1955-1972, was a complete package as a baseball player -- he was a great hitter, base-runner, and defender, and was the 1966 National League MVP. He finished his career with a career .317 batting average and hit exactly 3,000 hits. Perhaps just as impressive, he won 12 consecutive Gold Gloves from 1961-1972.

Clemente was also known for his humanitarian efforts, and in the offseason of 1972, the 38-year-old, who was still an active player, was killed on December 31st in a plane crash when he was flying to Nicaragua to help victims of an earthquake that struck the capital city of Managua days earlier. Normally a player must wait five seasons after retirement to be eligible for the Hall of Fame, but a special election was held in 1973 and he was elected less than one year after his final game.

Each year, The Roberto Clemente Award is presented to a player in each league who "best exemplifies the game of baseball, sportsmanship, community involvement and the individual's contribution to his team".

Answer: Third Base

Brooks Robinson, who played 23 seasons with the Baltimore Orioles from 1955-1977, was noted for his supreme prowess at third base, earning the nicknames, "Human Vacuum Cleaner" and "Mr. Impossible" for the way he played the position. Although he won the American League MVP in 1964, Brooks was always at his best in the field rather than at the plate.

He was only a career .267 hitter with a lowly .401 career slugging percentage, but he won an astounding 16 consecutive Gold Glove awards between 1960 and 1975.

He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1983.

Answer: Outfield

Ichiro played nine seasons in the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) in Japan before debuting in the MLB in 2001 with the Seattle Mariners at the age of 27, which is a late start for most rookie players. Despite this, Ichiro was able to play in parts of 19 seasons and collect 3,089 hits during his distinguished career. Ichiro won both the Rookie of the Year and the American League MVP in 2001.

He led the American League seven times in hits, and had a string of ten straight 200-hit seasons. Ichiro was also noted for his great fielding abilities, and won ten consecutive Gold Gloves as a right fielder from 2001-2010.

Answer: Outfield

Center fielder Jim Edmonds began his career with the California Angels in 1993 where he spent his first seven seasons. During this time, he was selected to the All-Star game in 1995 and won two Gold Gloves in 1997 and 1998. After being traded to the St. Louis Cardinals prior to the 2000 season, Edmonds thrived even more, earning trips to three more All-Star games and winning six more Gold Gloves for a grand total of eight during his 17-year career.

Despite his great defensive skills along with nearly 400 home runs and a career .527 slugging percentage, Edmonds was eliminated from appearing on further Hall of Fame ballots when he debuted in 2016. This was because he failed to receive the required minimum five percent of votes, finishing with just 11 of a possible 440.