Since becoming the Giants’ president of baseball operations, Buster Posey has constantly stressed his desire to build a fundamentally sound team — a team that plays “strong defense.” Zack Minasian, the team’s new general manager, sang a similar tune during his introductory press conference.
As Posey and Minasian begin building next year’s team, they won’t have to look far for two of baseball’s best defenders.
Third baseman Matt Chapman and catcher Patrick Bailey were both named Gold Glove Award winners on Sunday, the first time the Giants have had multiple recipients in a single season since Posey, second baseman Joe Panik and shortstop Brandon Crawford all captured the hardware in 2016. They are the first Giants to receive the award since Crawford in 2021.
Mike Yastrzemski was a finalist for the Gold Glove in right field, but the award went to the Brewers’ Sal Frelick.
For Chapman, who signed a six-year, $151 million extension with San Francisco in September, this marks the fifth Gold Glove of his career, three of which he won with the A’s. The 31-year-old’s defensive résumé also features two Platinum Glove Awards, three Fielding Bible Awards and 109 defensive runs saved, the most by any position player since he made his debut.
