Should Even More Than Cubs Players Have Been Named Gold Glove Winners?

The Major League season is officially over, and while the Chicago Cubs didn't end up in the World Series, the team had plenty of highlights. The ball club was led by its defense, which took them to their first playoff appearance in four years.

Now that the year has come to a close, the personal accolades are starting to roll in, and that starts with the highest defensive honor that MLB offers: the Gold Glove Award. The Cubs had the most finalists across the league, and at the end, three players took home the honor.

But should there have been more?

Left fielder Ian Happ, center fielder Pete-Crow Armstrong, and second baseman Nico Hoerner rightfully took home the first honor of the MLB season. Happ has now won four consecutive Gold Gloves, Hoerner took home his second, while Pete Crow-Amrstrong won his first of probably many.

Who Was Snubbed This Year?

Shaw throwing to get an out against the Reds in Cincinatt — Katie Stratman-Imagn Images

Catcher Carson Kelly, pitcher Matthew Boyd, and third baseman Matt Shaw were the other named finalists, and while it is a high honor just to be nominated, winning it is clearly the end goal.

Boyd wasn't a player one would argue should have beaten out the pitching winner, Logan Webb, of the San Francisco Giants, who led all NL pitchers in defensive runs saved, the most significant factor considered for pitchers.

When looking at Carson Kelly, he doesn't have the flashy putout number like Patrick Bailey does, but he spent nearly 30 games less than Bailey behind the plate. Still, he finished in the top five amongst catchers in the NL. Both his fielding and caught stealing percentages are significantly better with a near-identical WAR.

	Carson Kelly	Patrick Bailey
Games Played	105	132
Total Chances	802	1077
Putouts	777	1013
Errors	2	7
Double Plays	6	9
Fielding Percentage	.998	.994
Stolen Bases Allowed	44	61
Caught Stealing Percentage	.343	.303
WAR	1.3	1.4

Matt Shaw has the same limitation that Kelly did in terms of the number of games he suited up for at third base, but again, he put up comparable numbers to Ke'Bryan Hayes. He is right behind him across the board, so statistically it looks like Hayes outright won this battle, but it is easy to argue that Shaw's defensive efficiency is much higher.

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Despite playing in 28 fewer games, he was on pace to beat both his assists and double plays numbers, as well as to at least tie the putouts that Hayes had. His criticism would have come down to a lower fielding percentage, but arguably, those other numbers would have been up for that.

	Matt Shaw	Ke'Bryan Hayes
Games Played	124	152
Putouts	80	100
Assists	214	291
Double Plays	18	26
Fielding Percentage	.977	.987
Range Factor	2.62	2.74
WAR	1.4	1.9

Regardless of the outcomes of the Gold Glove award, the Cubs would be thrilled to have the most nominees in baseball and led all teams with three winners. It will be interesting to see if they pull off a fourth (or fifth) next year, as Kelly and Shaw will take on more responsibility for the team in 2026.

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