Adrian Gonzalez, Zack Greinke win Gold Glove Awards

LOS ANGELES -- Adrian Gonzalez and Zack Greinke won Gold Glove Awards on Tuesday evening, giving the Dodgers its first winners of the award since 2011. The Dodgers had four finalists for baseball's most revered fielding honor.

Managers and coaches in each league vote on the Gold Glove Awards, which have been given out since 1957, though there is also a sabermetric component that accounts for 25 percent of the process.

This is the fourth career Gold Glove Award for Gonzalez, and his first since 2011, beating out fellow finalists Adam LaRoche of the Nationals and Justin Morneau of the Rockies.

"All the coaches that watched me play and the whole panel of voters that they recognized me for this award, it's very gratifying knowing that I'm doing well at the position, playing well for my team and for our pitching staff," Gonzalez said on Tuesday. "Defense is a big part of baseball, especially in the National League, and being able to do it at a high level is always a good thing."

Gonzalez won a Fielding Bible award as the top fielding first baseman in baseball last week, and led the NL with 12 defensive runs saved (per Baseball Info Solutions) and 10 runs above average in Total Zone Rating (per Baseball Projection, tied with Morneau). Not that Gonzalez pays much attention to advanced defensive statistics.

"I go off of what I see. I don't know if there is a stat for saving bad throws or moving around the bag. For me, that's what I do best, and it's what opposing coaches see that's what I do best," Gonzalez explained. "Some of the stats I have seen I don't know how they get the equation or the final result. Some I have seen I don't agree with, and some I have seen that feels like it's fairly accurate.

"I don't know what the starting point was. For instance in zone rating, does positioning matter or is it from a neutral position for the first baseman. Some of those things I don't really understand so I don't pay much attention to them."

Gonzalez is the first Dodgers first baseman to win a Gold Glove since Steve Garvey in 1977, and joins Garvey (1974-77), Gil Hodges (1957-59) and Wes Parker (1967-72) as Dodgers first basemen to win the award. Gonzalez gets a $100,000 bonus for winning the Gold Glove Award.

Greinke beat out teammate Clayton Kershaw and Adam Wainwright of the Cardinals for his first career Gold Glove.

Kershaw was also a finalist in 2011 and 2012, winning in 2011. Greinke was also a finalist in 2013.

Gonzalez said Greinke positions the fielders on days he is pitching, constantly checking to make sure the fielders are where they should be.

"His athletic ability is incredible. [Greinke] can really do anything. I think you can put him at any position on the field and he'd do an adequate job at it. He's a guy who just has an incredible feel for the game, and understanding of his position," Gonzalez said. "He's a guy who fields his position really well. Not many balls get hit up the middle when he's in there. He definitely deserved the award, and I'm glad he won it."

Juan Uribe lost out at third base for a second straight year to Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado. Uribe despite starting only 98 games led the NL in defensive runs saved, total zone rating and ultimate zone rating (per FanGraphs).

No Dodgers third baseman has ever won a Gold Glove Award.