Colton Cowser has a chance to be special in two more ways in 2024.

Cowser is trying to become the first Orioles outfielder chosen as the American League’s Rookie of the Year since Al Bumbry in 1973. Bumbry is remembered as a center fielder but he made 58 starts in left and 24 in right. He didn’t have more than one start in center until 1976 – making 53 in center and left.

Infielder Gunnar Henderson was named Rookie of the Year in 2023, reliever Gregg Olson in 1989, infielder Cal Ripken Jr. in 1982 and designated hitter/ first baseman Eddie Murray in 1977.

The Orioles never had a left fielder win a Gold Glove, but Cowser is a finalist. Rawlings began distinguishing outfield positions in 2011, but eight-time winner Paul Blair was a center fielder.

(Props if you remember the one game that Blair played at third base in 1968. He didn’t start but he totaled eight innings and committed an error.)

Jacob Young is a Gold Glove Award finalist after his first full season in the big leagues, and the rookie center fielder stands a good chance of becoming the Nationals’ first winner of the award in a dozen years.

Young was officially named a finalist today, confirming he finished among the top three among all National League center fielders along with the Rockies’ Brenton Doyle and the Brewers’ Blake Perkins. Voting among NL managers and coaches already took place in late September, which accounts for 75 percent of the final tally. The remaining 25 percent is determined by a statistical component. Winners will be announced Nov. 3.

The Nats have had only two Gold Glove winners in their two decades in D.C.: third baseman Ryan Zimmerman in 2009 and first baseman Adam LaRoche in 2012. Young is well positioned to join that group and become the club’s first outfielder to be honored for defensive excellence.

The 25-year-old debuted late in the 2023 season and showed off some of his skills down the stretch. He actually didn’t make the Opening Day roster this season but was quickly recalled from Triple-A Rochester when Victor Robles suffered a hamstring injury. He wound up taking over the starting center field job and never gave it up, impacting several organizational decisions regarding other, longer-tenured players.

According to Baseball Savant, Young finished the season with 20 Outs Above Average, tied with Guardians second baseman Andrés Giménez for most among all major leaguers, regardless of position. His 18 Runs Prevented led all big leaguers and represented the highest number posted in that statistical category since 2019.

Ryan Mountcastle was drafted by the Orioles as a shortstop in 2015, the 36^th-overall selection out of a Florida high school with bat skills that figured to stamp his ticket to the majors. Evaluators assured that he’d hit at any level.

But where to play him?

The arm didn’t work at short, leading some members of the organization to quickly push for a position change. Others were slower to concede.

Valuable time was lost, and that created some friction. As if more of it was needed behind the scenes.

The Orioles decided to try him at third base full-time in 2018 after his 16 starts in the Arizona Fall League. They introduced him to left field the following year at Triple-A Norfolk, setting up his major league debut in 2020. But the career-changer came with the commitment to first base, where he made 82 starts in 2021 and 123 in ‘22.

Lane Thomas has been recognized for his stellar defensive season with his first career Gold Glove Award nomination.

Thomas today was named by Rawlings Sports one of three finalists for the award among National League right fielders, along with the Dodgers’ Mookie Betts and the Padres’ Fernando Tatis Jr.

Winners at all positions will be announced Nov. 5 on ESPN.

It’s the first time Thomas has finished in the top three at his position in voting conducted by major league managers and coaches near the end of the regular season. The ultimate winner will be determined both by those votes and a sabermetic component provided by the Society for American Baseball Research, which accounts for 25 percent of the final tally.

Thomas enjoyed a breakthrough season for the Nationals not only at the plate (where he hit 28 homers and stole 20 bases) but also in the field. He was second among all NL outfielders with 18 assists, trailing only the Rockies’ Nolan Jones (who played all three outfield positions, plus first and third bases) by one.

The Orioles will try again for their first multiple Rawlings Gold Glove Award winners since 2014.

They have three candidates this year – catcher Adley Rutschman, first baseman Ryan Mountcastle and left fielder Austin Hays.

Rutschman is pitted against the Rangers’ Jonah Heim and the Blue Jays’ Alejandro Kirk. Mountcastle joins the Yankees’ Anthony Rizzo and the Rangers’ Nathaniel Lowe. Hays joins the Blue Jays’ Daulton Varsho and the Guardians’ Steven Kwan.

Winners are determined from voting by the managers and coaches in each league who are prohibited from choosing their own players. A sabermetric component accounts for about 25 percent of the vote total.

The results will be announced on Nov. 5 beginning at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN’s “Baseball Tonight.”

The surprised reactions this week to Ramón Urías winning a Gold Glove at third base weren’t shared by the Orioles infielder.

Urías knew the numbers. He understood that his chances were good. He didn’t concede the honor to Toronto’s Matt Chapman or Cleveland’s José Ramírez.

Let the others express their doubts and skepticism.

The 14 Defensive Runs Saved, 10.9 Ultimate Zone Rating and 11.1 SABR Defensive Index computed for Urías led all American League third basemen. He was armed with solid arguments.

“I knew that I had a shot to win at Gold Glove this year, especially because of the metrics,” Urías said today on a video call with media.

When Rawlings announced the finalists for the annual Gold Glove Awards last week, a lot was made about Juan Soto’s inclusion in right field. His advanced metrics showed he was actually one of the worst defensive right fields in all of baseball this year.

Not a lot of attention was given to Victor Robles, however, since his inclusion in center field made more sense. Despite more struggles at the plate this year, the 25-year-old outfielder returned to a high level of defense in center.

But Robles was denied his first Gold Glove in his second time as a finalist for center field in the National League, losing to the Padres’ Trent Grisham last night.

Let’s compare the center fielders.

Robles’ 12 Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) led all NL center fielders and ranked behind only the Royals’ Michael A. Taylor and the Guardians’ Myles Straw among all major league center fielders. He also had a 4.8 Ultimate Zone Rating (UZR), 1.8 arm rating, five outs above average, six runs above average and a 4.1 defensive rating, per FanGraphs. Robles recorded an NL-high seven outfield assists, while also having an NL-high six errors. In 971 ⅔ innings in center field, Robles had 340 putouts with a .983 fielding percentage.

It’s award season in Major League Baseball as the World Series gets underway tonight. Some outlets and awards have announced their winners and finalists ahead of the Baseball Writers' Association of America announcing the finalists for their awards after the Fall Classic.

Last week, Rawlings announced the three finalists at each position in both leagues for the Gold Glove Awards. Yesterday, Louisville Slugger announced the finalists for the Silver Slugger Awards.

As it pertains to the Nationals, Victor Robles and Juan Soto are Gold Glove finalists, and Luke Voit, Josh Bell and Soto are Silver Slugger finalists. But for the Gold Gloves, Soto represents both the Nats and Padres, whereas for the Silver Sluggers, Voit represents just the Nats, and Bell and Soto represent just the Padres.

Confusing, right?

Also pertaining to the Nationals this year – and perhaps the next couple of years – is how these awards are credited to players who have been traded during the season, like Soto, Bell and Voit.

The finalists for the Rawlings Gold Glove Awards were announced Thursday afternoon, and wouldn’t you know it, the Nationals had two representatives.

Well, 1 ½, you could say.

Victor Robles and Juan Soto (who is also representing the Padres) were named finalists in the National League in center field and right field, respectively. It is the second time they have been named finalists, with the former teammates both earning the honor in 2019 (Soto in left field).

Robles’ nomination makes sense. His 12 Defensive Runs Saved led all NL center fielders and he recorded an NL-high seven outfield assists. As discussed on Wednesday, he was by far the best defensive player on a Nats team that struggled in the field.

Soto, on the other hand, raises some eyebrows.

One current Nationals outfielder and one former Nationals outfielder were named Gold Glove Award finalists this afternoon, with Victor Robles and Juan Soto sharing that distinction despite no longer being teammates.

Robles is a finalist among National League center fielders, joining the Padres’ Trent Grisham and Diamondbacks’ Alek Thomas. Soto is a finalist among NL right fielders, joining the Dodgers’ Mookie Betts and the Diamondbacks’ Daulton Varsho.

Gold Glove Awards are selected via a combination of analytics and a vote among managers and coaches, all of which are submitted prior to the end of the regular season. The top three finishers at each position in each league are considered finalists, with the winners set to be announced Nov. 1, prior to Game 4 of the World Series.

This is the second time Robles has been named a finalist, coming three years after his breakthrough rookie season in 2019. He stands a good chance of winning this time, given the fact his 12 Defensive Runs Saved led all NL center fielders and ranked behind only the Royals’ Michael A. Taylor (another former teammate) and the Guardians’ Myles Straw among all major leaguers at his position.

Robles also recorded an NL-high seven outfield assists, though he was charged with six errors (also an NL-high).