The Yankees spent much of the offseason getting dragged from every direction, but Sunday night brought a rare dose of good news.
Cody Bellinger was voted the American League Gold Glove winner in left field, beating out Wyatt Langford of the Rangers and Chandler Simpson of the Rays. It was a clean defensive honor for a team that has taken plenty of hits since its season ended in early October, when Tampa Bay swept the Yankees in a best-of-five Division Series.
The praise for Bellinger stands in sharp contrast to the noise around the club lately. Several former Yankees stars - including Hall of Famers Goose Gossage, Derek Jeter and CC Sabathia - have criticized the team’s clubhouse culture, fielding, fundamentals and leadership.
Alex Rodriguez, Paul O’Neill and Joe Girardi have also weighed in. Even Brewers manager Pat Murphy, who has no Yankees connection, took a shot at them during the World Series celebration last week.
Against that backdrop, Bellinger’s award gave the Yankees something to point to.
He played 123 games in left field in 2026, his second season with the Yankees and first year of a five-year, $162.5 million contract. In 248 chances, he made three errors, had eight assists and turned two double plays.
The advanced numbers backed up the hardware. FanGraphs credited Bellinger with a plus-21 Defensive Runs Saved mark, the best among MLB left fielders. Jackson Chourio of the Brewers, the National League Gold Glove left fielder, was next at plus-13.
Baseball Savant also had Bellinger near the top of the position. His plus-6 Outs Above Average ranked third among MLB left fielders, behind Chourio at plus-9 and Simpson at plus-7.
Paul Goldschmidt put it plainly last August: “As a defender, he’s just so good,” Goldschmidt said. “As a defender, he’s just so good.
I think it’s almost underrated. He goes to get balls that guys aren’t even getting and he’s catching them standing up.
He gets such good reads out there.
“And his arm, you kind of forget about it. He’s got one of the strongest arms in baseball. It’s so accurate.”
The Yankees had two other Gold Glove finalists, but neither came away with a win. Catcher Austin Wells and utility man Jose Caballero were both finalists without taking home the award.
Around the league, the American League Gold Glove winners included Cole Young at second base, Caleb Durbin at third base, Taylor Walls at shortstop, Ceddanne Rafaela in center field, Wilyer Abreu in right field, Dillon Dingler at catcher, Ezequiel Duran as utility and Tanner Bibee as pitcher.
In the National League, Matt Olson won at first base, Brice Turang at second base and Alex Bregman at third base.
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