Oregon State baseball alum Steven Kwan earns third-straight gold glove for Guardians

Published 1:30 pm Monday, November 4, 2024

Former Oregon State Beaver turned-Cleveland Guardian Steven Kwan won the third Rawlings Gold Glove of his big league career, with the reveal of the award winners Sunday, Nov. 3. 

Kwan debuted for the Guardians in 2022 after being selected by the organization in the fifth round of the 2018 MLB Draft. Since his debut in 2022, Kwan has won the American League’s left field Gold Glove award every season. Kwan remains the only Oregon State product to win multiple Gold Glove awards, with former Boston Red Sox outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury and former Cubs middle infielder Darwin Barney winning the awards in 2011 and 2012, respectively. 

The 2024 season was one of his best to date, with Kwan leading all AL left fielders in defensive runs saved with 10 and tied for fifth in outfield assists with nine. He became just the fifth player in MLB history to win the award three times in his first three seasons, joining Cincinnati Reds catcher Johnny Bench, Florida Marlins catcher Charles Johnson, Colorado Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado and Seattle Mariners outfielder Ichiro Suzuki. 

Kwan’s Outs Above Average — an advanced metric used to measure extra outs added above replacement level — ranked third amongst AL outfielders, with four. He trailed just the Toronto Blue Jay’s Dalton Varsho’s 10 and Colton Cowser of the Baltimore Orioles with eight. According to Baseball Savant, MLB’s advanced metric database, Kwan was in the 99th percentile of arm value. 

Kwan was named an AL All-Star for the first time in his career in 2024, finishing the year slashing .292/.368/.425 with 16 doubles and a career-high 14 home runs. The 14 bombs hit by the former Beaver were more than he had hit in his previous two seasons as a big leaguer, amassing just 11 in 2022 and 2023 combined. 

Kwan and his Guardian’s reached the American League Championship Series in 2024, losing a best-of-seven series to the New York Yankees in five games. 

Complete List of 2024 Gold Glove Recipients 

American League 

C: Cal Raleigh, Seattle Mariners

1B: Carlos Santana, Minnesota Twins

2B: Andrés Giménez, Cleveland Guardians

SS: Bobby Witt Jr., Kansas City Royals

3B: Alex Bregman, Houston Astros

LF: Steven Kwan, Cleveland Guardians

CF: Daulton Varsho, Toronto Blue Jays

RF: Wilyer Abreu, Boston Red Sox

P: Seth Lugo, Kansas City Royals

Utility: Dylan Moore, Seattle Mariners

National League 

C: Patrick Bailey, San Francisco Giants

1B: Christian Walker, Arizona Diamondbacks

2B: Brice Turang, Milwaukee Brewers

SS: Ezequiel Tovar, Colorado Rockies

3B: Matt Chapman, San Francisco Giants

LF: Ian Happ, Chicago Cubs

CF: Brenton Doyle, Colorado Rockies

RF: Sal Frelick, Milwaukee Brewers

P: Chris Sale, Atlanta Braves

Utility: Jared Triolo, Pittsburgh Pirates