Astros boast pair of first-time Gold Glove winners: 'I felt like this year we got a lot of good work done'

A pair of Houston Astros players were named first-time recipients of the Rawlings Gold Glove Award on Tuesday, per a report on the team’s website.

Right fielder Kyle Tucker and shortstop Jeremy Peña were preparing for Game 3 of the World Series against the Philadelphia Phillies on the road – a 7-0 loss – when they learned of the announcement. 

The Gold Glove is presented to the best defensive player at their positions in the American League (AL), the report said.

According to the franchise, Tucker and Peña are among 14 players who’ll make room on their shelves for their first Gold Gloves, making 2022 the year with the most ahead of the 11 awarded in 2011 and 1958, when the accolade was first presented.

The report said that Tucker registered 13 defensive runs saved to lead all AL right fielders in the most recent campaign, as well as became the third Astros outfielder to win a Gold Glove.

“I mean, it's a really cool trophy and a really cool award,” Tucker, who began the Fall Classic as the first Astros player to smash multiple home runs (HR) in a single game of the best-of-seven championship round, said, per the ball club. “With Peña winning, too, is awesome. But it shows all of our hard work that we put in during the season trying to get better and help out our team to get off the field and try to put up runs offensively. But this is a pretty cool moment.”

Peña’s Gold Glove win is historic in more ways than one.

Per the report, the 25-year-old is the first Astros rookie and the first rookie shortstop to earn such hardware, more than a week after his feats against the New York Yankees netted him American League Championship Series Most Valuable Player (ALCS MVP) honors.

“I felt like this year we got a lot of good work done,” the former top prospect said in the report. “[Astros coaches] Joe Espada, Omar López, they knew exactly what I had to work on to become a better defender. And we stuck with it all year.”

Tucker and Peña look to help the Astros knot the World Series a second time.

A win in Game 4 on Wednesday forces a Game 6 in Houston while a loss puts the team on the brink of elimination for the first time this postseason.

Cristian Javier takes the mound for the Astros in the pivotal contest.