No surprises here.
The World Series begins today, if you’re into that sort of thing. It’s the New York Yankees at the Los Angeles Dodgers, with first pitch scheduled for 5:08 p.m. PT. You can watch the game, which features a starting pitching matchup between Gerrit Cole and Jack Flaherty, on FOX. Go Yankees. Beat LA.
But you’re here because you care about the San Francisco Giants. And on Thursday, we were treated to a little dose of Giants news. Fielding Bible, the highly-respected defensive analytics site that is behind the popular metric DRS (Defensive Runs Saved) announced their annual awards, which acknowledge the best defensive player in baseball at each position, regardless of league.
And the Giants have two winners this year which, remarkably, doubles the total number of Giants who have been given the honor in the award’s 19-year history (the other two: Pedro Feliz in 2007 and Buster Posey in 2015 and 2016; remarkably, Brandon Crawford never won). You can probably guess who those two are, and not just because I put it in the headline: third baseman Matt Chapman and catcher Patrick Bailey.
Of Bailey, Fielding Bible noted, “Bailey led all catchers with 20 Defensive Runs Saved. He led all catchers in Strike Zone Runs Saved, a stat that measures a catcher’s skill at getting more strikes than expected. He also ranked tied for third in Stolen Bases Runs Saved.”
And of Chapman, the praise really showed just how much better he was than the competition, noting that the three-time winner “easily led third basemen with 17 Defensive Runs Saved. No one else at the position had more than 10 Runs Saved in 2024. Chapman rated above average on balls hit to his right, to his left, and straight-on.”
Chapman and Bailey join an impressive cast of winners this year: Atlanta Braves first baseman Matt Olson, Cleveland Guardians second baseman Andrés Giménez, St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Masyn Winn, Detroit Tigers left fielder Riley Greene, Colorado Rockies center fielder Brenton Doyle, Boston Red Sox right fielder Wilyer Abreu, Cleveland Guardians pitcher Tanner Bibee, and Toronto Blue Jays utility player Daulton Varsho, their pick for Defensive Player of the Year.
Way to go, dudes.
How many days until Giants baseball?
Just 153 days until Opening Day.