CONGRATULATIONS: “Defense Defines Him!” — Nico Hoerner Wins Second Career Gold Glove, Cementing His Legacy as MLB’s Premier Second Baseman.vc

After a historically dominant 2025 season where he led all second basemen in nearly every defensive metric, the Cubs’ “quiet leader” is officially recognized as the best in the game.

CHICAGO — The Cubs clubhouse went still for a moment — eyes turned, breaths held. Nico Hoerner stood by his locker, phone in hand, when the notification flashed across the screen. A brief silence. Then came the cheers, the hugs, the disbelief.

For the quiet leader of the Cubs, the moment felt surreal. After a season of grit and grind, he had just learned that once again, the hardware was his.

Rawlings officially announced Sunday that Nico Hoerner has won the 2025 National League Gold Glove Award for second base. The honor cements his legacy as MLB’s premier defensive player at the position and marks the second time in his career (first in 2023) that he has claimed the award.

The win was the “cherry on top” of Hoerner’s best all-around season, a campaign in which he posted a career-high 6.1 bWAR and hit .297. But while his bat was crucial, the award confirms what Cubs fans and analysts have known all year: his defense is in a tier of its own.

A Historically Dominant Season

The title “premier second baseman” is not hyperbole; it is a statistical fact. Hoerner didn’t just win the Gold Glove—he ran away with it.

He finished the 2025 season leading all National League second basemen in nearly every defensive category that matters:

• Defensive Runs Saved (DRS): 17
• Outs Above Average (OAA): 15 (a career-best)

According to advanced metrics, Hoerner finished in the 98th percentile for OAA, meaning his range, instincts, and execution were superior to virtually every other fielder in the sport. He was, as one analyst noted, “the best-rated defender at his position in every conceivable metric.”

Hoerner’s individual brilliance was the engine of a historically great Cubs defense. He, along with fellow 2025 Gold Glove winners Ian Happ (LF) and Pete Crow-Armstrong (CF), formed an “elite defensive spine” up the middle. Their play anchored a Cubs team that led all of Major League Baseball with 36 Outs Above Average and finished second in baseball with 84 Defensive Runs Saved.

For Hoerner, the award is the ultimate validation of a relentless work ethic. While others chase home runs, his legacy is being built on perfectly turned double plays, diving stops in the shallow outfield, and an uncanny ability to be exactly where the ball is hit.

This Gold Glove solidifies his identity. Offense is what he does; defense is who he is.