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A Gold Glove ranks as one of the most difficult awards for a college baseball player to win.
Only nine are handed out each season. In the three years that the American Baseball Coaches Association and Rawlings have awarded them, only three schools have had more than one player win one.
And no school has had two winners in the same year until Creighton's Darin Ruf and Vicente Cafaro pulled off the accomplishment this season.
“And we had a third guy — Elliot Soto — who was under strong consideration to win one,'' Creighton coach Ed Servais said. “But there's no way you're going to get three guys from the same team win Gold Gloves when there are only nine given out.
“You might never again see two guys from the same team win in the same year.''
Ruf is the only Division I player to win the award twice. The first baseman out of Omaha Westside won his first as a sophomore in 2007. Ruf finished his career with 2,251 putouts, the third-most in NCAA history and only 38 shy of the career record.
In starting every game the past four seasons, Ruf made just nine errors in 2,355 total chances for a .996 career fielding percentage. He made only two errors in 642 chances in 2009, including none in Missouri Valley play.
Cafaro won a junior college Gold Glove in 2007 with Iowa Western Community College in Council Bluffs. A two-year starter at second base for the Bluejays, Cafaro compiled a .982 fielding percentage. He made just four errors in 307 total chances in 2009 for a .987 fielding percentage as a senior.
Ruf and Cafaro anchored the right side of the infield for a team that led the nation in defense. The Bluejays compiled a .984192 fielding percentage, the best since college baseball started using metal bats in the mid-1970s. The 1971 West Virginia team holds the NCAA record at .984802.
“Having Darin and Vicente win Gold Gloves brings tremendous recognition to our program,'' Servais said. “I think people around the country realize that kids at Creighton can defend. I was hopeful that we'd have one of the guys off this team win a Gold Glove.
“I never thought we'd have two. I'm very happy that those seniors were able to win that award.''
Contact the writer:
679-2298, steve.pivovar@owh.com
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