Chicago Cubs star Pete Crow-Armstrong wins Platinum Glove

Crow-Armstrong becomes the second Cub to win the Platinum Glove; Anthony Rizzo won it in 2016. He narrowly lost the Platinum Glove last year to Fernando Tatis Jr. and became only the second National League outfielder to win it since the award began in 2011.

Crow-Armstrong’s incredible defense

No surprise, Crow-Armstrong was statistically one of baseball’s best fielders. He led all MLB players in Outs Above Average (25) and Fielding Run Value (26), Range (23), and was top-ten in Defensive Runs Saved (16). His Fielding Run Value is in the 100th percentile on Baseball Savant.

Crow-Armstrong also ranked second in MLB with eight 5-star catches. Even more impressive, Crow-Armstrong now holds more 5-star catches (34) than any other player in the Statcast era. He passed Kevin Kiermaier for the most 5-star catches in July. To put that in perspective, 34 times in his career—including eight times this past season—he has chased down fly balls with a 25% catch probability or lower.

Despite the occasional gaffes, Crow-Armstrong’s overall play in center field earned him the platinum. He was so good that he made some catches look routine on balls few players get even close to. It’s like one could not tell it was even a tough catch. This could be the first of multiple Platinum Gloves in his career. Now we wait for his National League MVP announcement.