Ian Happ won his third straight Gold Glove award this offseason, becoming the first Chicago Cubs outfielder to ever accomplish the feat. From 2022 (Happ’s lone All-Star season) to 2024, the dominant defender led all left fielders with 31 outfield assists. He also ranked second in MLB with 23 defensive runs saved over that three year span.
Over the 2022-24 seasons Ian Happ also led all left fielders with 445 games played, 3,280.0 innings played and 834 putouts. Meanwhile he also committed the fourth-fewest errors (7) over that span.
Happ, selected ninth overall by the Cubs in the 2015 MLB Draft, is a big part of why the Cubs are in first place right now. If you are betting World Series futures, at casinos like süperbahis giriş, you’ll see the Cubs with some decent odds.
Their prospects are getting more favorable as the season goes on, and having the best outfield in baseball is a huge part of that.
Happ is the fifth Cub to win at least three Golden Gloves, joining the likes of Anthony Rizzo, Andrew Dawson, Greg Maddux and Ryne Sandberg. However, he needs to get his offense on par with his defense.
At least if the Cubs are going to reach their full potential, and go as far they can in the postseason, they will need Happ to get his offense closer to being on par with his defense.
He’s the kind of player who will always he stronger with his glove than he is with his bat. It’s just who he is.
He is not Juan Soto or anything, by any means. As was articulated by RG.org, Mets owner Steve Cohen gave Soto a 15-year, $765 million contract for a reason. Soto, 26, entered this season batting .285 with 201 home runs, 592 RBI, and a 2019 World Series ring with the Nationals in just his second season in the league. For Happ, the goal is to just see if he can try and be more of a two way player than he is right now.
Two-and-a-half months into the 2025 season, Happ has kept the elite glovework going, with a .992 fielding percentage and 119 put outs in 123 total chances.
He also a DWAR of 0.3 and Range Factor of 2.66, showcasing his quickness agility. It’s a major reason why the Cubs are currently in first place in the NL Central, by a good five games, and on pace to win about 100 games. We’ll see if they can keep this torrid pace up, and then hopefully, maybe even win a postseason series!
Obviously talent is crucial but in order to win you also need the drive and motivation to go along with it.
Fielding is a huge part of the game, but obviously it gets overshadowed by pitching and hitting. Gaudy slugging statistics will always get the most attention, when it comes to numbers in baseball.
Chicago Cubs Best Outfield in Baseball Series
LF Ian Happ CF Pete Crow-Armstrong RF Kyle Tucker
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter