Morning Marquee: Gold Gloves handed out; Alfonso Soriano retires

With the San Francisco Giants enjoying the World Series trophy, it’s time for Major League Baseball to start sharing the wealth, starting with the Rawlings Gold Glove Awards. Headlining the winners this year is Cardinals backstop Yadier Molina, who picked up his seventh consecutive NL honor. Former Chicago Cubs and current Rockies second baseman DJ LeMahieu took home his first, joining teammate Nolan Arenado who won his second in a row.

In the American League, it was no surprise to three Kansas City Royals win as their team went to the World Series on the heels of great defense. Eric Hosmer, Alex Gordon and Salvador Perez all took home the honor. It was the first time the Royals have had three winners in the same season.

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The Baltimore Orioles, who lost to the Orioles in the ALCS, weren’t too shabby themselves. They too claimed three, as Nick Markakis, Adam Jones and J.J. Hardy won for the O’s. For Hardy, it was his third consecutive, joining former Oriole Mike Mussina (1996-99) as the only Orioles players to win it three straight years.

The Los Angeles Dodgers are said to be near naming Farhan Zaidi as their new GM, possibly later this week. Zaidi comes from Oakland, where he was an assistant GM under Billy Beane for the last 10 years. He is considered to be one of the brightest minds in baseball.

Tuesday was the 45th anniversary of Ernie Banks second MVP award, which made him a back-to-back winner, the first in NL history. Banks won both awards for teams with losing records, also the first time that happened. The line still stands up today, .304, 45 HR, 143 RBI, and only 13 errors (a record low for shortstops at the time) while playing in all 155 games that season.

After a mostly illustrious 16-year career, Alfonso Soriano announced his retirement. Soriano, who struggled in 2014, felt his body was healthy, but he didn’t have that fire and passion for the game anymore. He spent all or part of seven years with the Cubs, the longest with any team (Yankees, Rangers, Nationals).

Here are the headlines from yesterday:

‘Farhan Zaidi rumored to be the Dodgers’ next GM’ – Lasorda’s Lair

‘Three Royals take home Gold Gloves’ – Kings of Kauffman

‘Baltimore Orioles take home a Gold Glove times three’ – Birds Watcher

’45 years later: Ernie Banks second MVP stands the test of time’ – Cubbies Crib

‘Former Cubs outfielder Alfonso Soriano retires’ – Cubbies Crib