Ian Happ Named NL Finalist for Left Field Gold Glove

Perhaps no Chicago Cub was more deserving of an award in 2022 than Ian Happ. It was a grim year, no one was going to challenge for MVP, or Cy Young, so Chicago will take what they can get.

Among his peers, the two other who were nominated for the award, — David Peralta and Christian Yelich — Happ leads in defensive runs saved, and by a wide margin. He has 13 to Peralta's -4 and Yelich's -2.

One has to wonder how Peralta and Yelich were ever named finalists for the award with such paltry totals. How can a player win an award for fielding if he's actively hurting the team on defense?

In Peralta's case, the answer is outs above average, of which he boasts five, 88th percentile overall among MLB players. Happ only has one OAA. 

Yelich, meanwhile, is a different story. He has -4 OAA on the season, 13th percentile overall, nor does he lead players in outfield assists — he has two — nor arm strength, in which he's 27th percentile.

Perhaps, Yelich is cruising on name recognition only. It's not for past performance either that he was nominated. He once won a Gold Glove in 2014, but the last time he had more than one DRS was in 2015. The days of Yelich being an elite fielder are gone.

Happ should steamroll this competition, en route to his first major award.