CHICAGO – One of the driving forces behind the Cubs’ return to the postseason this year was a foundation built around fielding a strong defensive unit across the board. It was no surprise then that six of Chicago’s players got the nod as a finalist for a Rawlings Gold Glove Award.
On Sunday, the Cubs took home a Major League-leading three Gold Gloves, with center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong, second baseman Nico Hoerner and left fielder Ian Happ each picking up hardware. This marks the first time in the long, storied history of the Cubs that two outfielders won in the same season.
“Sometimes it doesn’t get enough attention,” Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said of the team’s defense at the end of the season. “We focus on the pitching or focus on the hitting. We have exceptional fielders in a lot of different places.”
The Cubs also had Gold Glove finalists this year at third base (Matt Shaw), catcher (Carson Kelly) and pitcher (Matthew Boyd), while also boasting previous Gold Glove winners at shortstop (Dansby Swanson) and right field (Kyle Tucker) this season. All together, the Cubs’ defense led the NL in both Defensive Runs Saved (84) and Statcast’s Fielding Run Value (41) this year.
And while this was the fourth consecutive Gold Glove Award for Happ and the second time Hoerner (also in ’23) has picked up the trophy, Crow-Armstrong stood out as a defensive anchor for the North Siders in center.
“He’s the backbone of our defense,” Hoyer said. “What he does defensively night in, night out is unbelievable. I think he’s the best defensive player in baseball. The number of catches he makes head high that other teams’ center fielders don’t get to is remarkable.”
Crow-Armstrong completed 19 five-star catches (0-25% catch probability), setting a single-season record since Statcast has been tracking such plays. Billy Hamilton previously held the mark with 12 five-star catches in 2016. Crow-Armstrong’s 24 Outs Above Average are the second most on record, trailing only Byron Buxton’s 27 OAA in ’17.
Crow-Armstrong turned in a 21 Fielding Run Value, ranking fourth in the Majors behind catchers Patrick Bailey of the Giants (30) and Alejandro Kirk of the Blue Jays (22), as well as fellow center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela of the Red Sox (22). Among center fielders, Crow-Armstrong trailed only Rafaela in DRS (15) and Defensive Runs Above Average (17.7). They were tied in Range Runs Above Average (19), per Statcast.
Beyond the five-star plays, an area where Crow-Armstrong surpassed Rafaela was overall conversion rate on catches between one-five stars (0-95%). The Cubs’ center fielder successfully converted 83.2% (104 out of 125 chances) of those catches, compared to 77% (77 out of 100) for Boston’s center fielder.
In winning his first career Gold Glove Award, the 23-year-old Crow-Armstrong became the youngest outfielder to take home the honor for the Cubs. Among all positions, only Ken Hubbs won a Gold Glove for Chicago at a younger age, doing so as a 20-year-old at second base during his 1962 NL Rookie of the Year campaign.
Hoerner was also one of baseball’s top overall defenders, ranking first among second basemen in Fielding Run Value (12), Outs Above Average (14), Defensive Runs Saved (17) and Range (10). He joined Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg as the only second basemen in Cubs history to win multiple Gold Gloves. Sandberg won nine straight from 1983-91.
Happ was already the first Cubs outfielder to win three Gold Gloves, but he has now stretched that record to four with this year’s win. The veteran Happ led NL left fielders in DRS (nine), had five assists and was charged with only one error in 1,274 1/3 innings at his position.
Since the Gold Gloves for outfielders became position-specific in 2011, Happ is the only left fielder to win the award at least three consecutive years in the NL. With their wins on Sunday night, both Happ and Steven Kwan of the Guardians have now tied Alex Gordon’s MLB-record streak of four in a row, which he achieved in the American League for the Royals twice (2011-14 and 2017-20).
