The New York Yankees’ Cody Bellinger and Chicago Cubs’ Pete Crow-Armstrong are being celebrated as the best defensive players in MLB.
Bellinger and Armstrong were named 2026 Platinum Glove Award winners the night of the Gold Glove Award Ceremony Friday night in New York City.
Platinum Glove winners are selected from the list of Gold Glove Award winners through combination of fan voting and Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) defensive analytics.
This marks the 16th year in which the award has been distributed since its founding in 2011.
Crow-Armstrong is the first NL center fielder to win a Platinum Glove Award and the second Cubs player since Anthony Rizzo took home the honor in 2011.
He earned the honor after leading the MLB in outs above average (26) and runs prevented (23) while tying for seventh with 16 defensive runs saved, according to Baseball Savant and Fielding Bible.
Crow-Armstrong is also a finalist for the NL MVP award. He could become the first player to win a Platinum Glove and take home an MVP honor in the same season.
Bellinger joins Jose Trevino, who received a Platinum Glove honor in 2022, as the second Yankees player to earn the AL honor.
He recorded six outs above average this season and was credited with preventing six runs and recording 20 defensive runs saved by Baseball Savant and Fielding Bible.
Some fans argued other Gold Glove winners including Boston Red Sox center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela should have been candidates for the honor.
Other Gold Glove Award winners in the AL included Cleveland Guardians pitcher Tanner Bibee, Detroit Tigers catcher Dillon Dingler, Houston Astros first baseman Christian Walker, Seattle Mariners second baseman Cole Young, Boston Red Sox third baseman Caleb Durbin, Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Taylor Walls, Red Sox right fielder Wilyer Abreu and Texas Rangers utility player Ezequiel Duran.
The NL’s Gold Glove list was rounded out by New York Mets pitcher Nolan McLean, Arizona Diamondbacks center Gabriel Moreno, Atlanta Braves first baseman Matt Olson, Milwaukee Braves second baseman Brice Turang, Chicago Cubs third baseman Alex Bregman, Diamondbacks shortstop Geraldo Perdomo, Brewers left fielder Jackson Chourio, Diamondbacks right field Corbin Carroll and Braves utility player Mauricio Dubón.
Baseball award season will continue over a busy November highlighted by the announcement of All-MLB Teams Nov. 11, and BBWAA MVP awards Nov. 12 and Silver Slugger Awards Nov. 17.