By Matthew Leach / MLB.com

Scott Rolen has won four consecutive Gold Gloves and five overall. (Cardinals/Scott Rovak)

Jim Edmonds, Mike Matheny, Scott Rolen and Edgar Renteria all copped the hardware recognizing them as the NL's elite defensive players at their positions. For Edmonds, it was his fourth consecutive Gold Glove and sixth overall. Rolen won for the fourth year in a row and the fifth time in his career. Renteria won his second, and second straight, and Matheny won for the second time. It was the fourth consecutive year at least two Cardinals won Gold Gloves.

2003 Gold Glove winners AMERICAN LEAGUE
C	Bengie Molina, ANA
1B	John Olerud, SEA
2B	Bret Boone, SEA
3B	Eric Chavez, OAK
SS	Alex Rodriguez, TEX
OF	Ichiro Suzuki, SEA
OF	Mike Cameron, SEA
OF	Torii Hunter, MIN
P	Mike Mussina, NYY
NATIONAL LEAGUE
C	Mike Matheny, STL
1B	Derrek Lee, FLA
2B	Luis Castillo, FLA
3B	Scott Rolen, STL
SS	Edgar Renteria, STL
OF	Andruw Jones, ATL
OF	Jose Cruz Jr., SF
OF	Jim Edmonds, STL
P	Mike Hampton, ATL

Fernando Vina might have made it five Redbirds with Gold Gloves, but a hamstring injury limited him to 61 games this year. Vina won at second base each of the past two seasons.

The most striking winner was Matheny, who beat out Florida's Ivan Rodriguez. In his first year in the National League, Rodriguez made a huge splash offensively and defensively. Yet the 10-time winner took a back seat to the steady Matheny.

"It's a great honor, but it's definitely one that I wasn't expecting," Matheny told KSDK Channel 5 television. "I thought I could have had a better year defensively."

The two make for an interesting contrast. Rodriguez is best known for his cannon of a throwing arm, while Matheny's success at throwing out baserunners has declined in recent years. But there is no better technical catcher than Matheny, who did not commit his first passed ball of 2003 until July 28. Matheny is widely praised for his ability to call a game, and no one blocks balls or blocks the plate better.

As for Rolen and Edmonds, they have gone beyond incumbents all the way to institutions as Gold Glove winners. Some of Rolen's defensive numbers were not up to their usual standards in 2003 -- his double plays, zone rating and range factor were all down -- but he committed a mere 13 errors in 153 games.

Edgar Renteria   /   SS
	Height: 6'1" Weight: 180 Bats/Throws: R/R More info: Player page Stats Splits Hit chart Cardinals site

Edmonds' highlight-reel catches are a SportsCenter staple, and he may have outdone even himself with back-to-back robberies in Cincinnati in late August. In consecutive games of a weekend series, he stole homers from Kelly Stinnett and Russell Branyan at Great American Ballpark. He ranked fourth among NL center fielders in putouts and second in assists, despite missing 25 games.

And then there's Renteria, perhaps the quietest great player in the National League. For the second consecutive year, he won both the Gold Glove and the Silver Slugger at shortstop, marking him as the league's premier player at his position on offense and defense. Renteria does little spectacularly like his teammates, but his steadiness and dependability in the field have earned him raves.

Matthew Leach is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to approval by Major League Baseball or its clubs.