How I Voted for the 2025 Fielding Bible Awards: Infield

Last year, Mark Simon of Sports Info Solutions asked me to vote on the Fielding Bible awards. If you’re not familiar with them, they’re my preferred defensive award, created by John Dewan and SIS in 2006. They’re a Gold Glove equivalent for the major leagues as a whole, with one award given out per position. Members of a panel made up of a variety of baseball experts vote for five players at each spot; there are also additional awards for best multi-position defender, defensive player of the year, and defensive team of the year. I’m happy to say that Mark was kind enough to ask me to participate again this year. The results will be released tomorrow, October 23, at 2 PM ET.

Voting for a national award is a prestigious honor, and this particular award carries extra meaning for me. The list of panelists is a who’s who of the writers and commentators who got me into baseball. Peter Gammons is a frequent voter, for goodness sake. Bill James, the godfather of sabermetrics, was an inaugural panel member. The founder of Strat-o-Matic votes! I absolutely wouldn’t be doing this job today if I hadn’t spent whole summers as a kid playing my All-Stars against my dad’s squad in that formative simulation. Voting for this award has been a dream come true.

Last year, I spent some time talking to MLB Chief Data Architect Tom Tango about the proper way to think about the constellation of reputable advanced defensive metrics I had to choose from when assessing players. It’s a veritable acronym soup out there. There’s DRS, FRV, and DRP, as well as legacy and component metrics like UZR, OAA, RDA, and Total Zone. Each of these systems attempts to measure defense quantitatively. All of them have their merits, and all of them do a fairly solid job of what they say on the label, as it were. On the other hand, they don’t always agree. As an example, Zach Neto was either 13 runs above average (DRS), three runs below average (FRV), or roughly average (DRP) in 2025. Confusing!

Neto is hardly the only player to fall into this camp. That’s part of the reason there are so many defensive systems, in fact; if they all said the same thing, there would be no need for this dizzying array of options. Each system has its own methodology, and measures success and failure using its own definitions. A holistic, overarching view of defense requires weighting each of these metrics carefully and then coming to an overall view of each player based on each system’s particular merits. To make matters even more confusing, each “system” is itself multiple systems specialized for individual positions. The first base model and the left field model clearly can’t be the same, and don’t even get me started on catching.

I’ll spare you the nitty gritty of how I handled this difficult puzzle (last year’s version of this article offers a deep dive into my methods if you’re interested), but I created weighted ranking scores for each position based on the relative stability of the metrics and used that to create my initial rankings. From there, I used my own expertise and judgment to move players around from their initial ordering. I tried to have a light touch overall, though. No amount of eye test vibes could overrule the fact that Heliot Ramos grades out as one of the worst defenders in the major leagues (for the record, his defense fails the eye test, too). I considered past defensive value because I know that single-season defensive statistics are noisy, but mostly as a tiebreaker; I’m attempting to vote for the best defenders in the major leagues in 2025, not the best defenders of the last few years.

I think this process did a good job of combining the best information that publicly available defensive systems can produce with a critical, evidence-focused eye on the game. I watch a ton of baseball, and I also spend quite a bit of time thinking about how to measure player skill, and the limits of doing so. I’m just talking my own book here, but I really do believe this is the best way I can determine who played the best defense in baseball this season. So without further ado, let’s look at my infield ballot.

Catcher
1. Patrick Bailey
2. Alejandro Kirk
3. Dillon Dingler
4. Cal Raleigh
5. Luis Torrens

For the second year running, voting for Bailey was a no-brainer. He’s the best receiver in baseball, and it’s not close. Statcast has him a whopping nine runs ahead of the second place Kirk, and other framing metrics give Bailey slightly more of an edge. Even without a computer keeping track, Bailey’s strike-stealing prowess is obvious. Just watch Giants opponents leave the batter’s box; they’ll tell you all you need to know. But it’s not just about the receiving. Bailey is also among the best catchers in the majors at controlling the running game. An easy way to think about it: Bailey threw out 31% of would-be base stealers this year. Other Giants catchers managed an aggregate 16% caught stealing rate, and runners stole 50% more often on them. In other words, Bailey turned off the running game almost completely. He was also one of the best blockers in the league this year for good measure, a big point of improvement since 2024. This was the easiest vote on my ballot.

The runners up were no slouches, to be clear. Kirk might not have come into the majors with the reputation of an elite defender, but he absolutely is one, and I think he’s the best defensive catcher in the American League. Like Bailey, he’s a great receiver. He’s also the best blocker in the game per Statcast, and I agree with their assessment. He’s average at controlling the run game, but hey, they can’t all be Bailey. Dingler got my third place vote because he’s well rounded, above average in every facet of catcher defense. He and Bailey have similar value overall – Dingler boasts worse defense but better offense – making him one of the best young catchers in the game. This is a defensive award, though, and the two guys ahead of him were just better this year.

Both Raleigh and Torrens had their ups and downs. Raleigh’s framing declined quite a bit this season – hitting 60 homers is hard work – and DRS was not a fan of his overall play behind the plate, though the other two systems liked him well enough. Torrens’ strength was his arm; he was the best in baseball at controlling opposing baserunners and middling in the other aspects of defense. DRP was less of a fan of him than the other systems, but both FRV and DRS thought he was excellent. The other catchers I gave strong consideration to were Austin Wells, Carlos Narváez, Pedro Pagés, and Sean Murphy.

First Base
1. Matt Olson
2. Carlos Santana
3. Spencer Steer
4. Ty France
5. Rhys Hoskins

Olson was an easy first place choice at first base. He excels across the board in everything you can imagine needing your first baseman to do, and he also plays every single game. He’s rangy making plays, with great hands and a huge reach, and I want to be very clear that every defensive system, as well as my eye test, was in agreement. Olson led first basemen in DRS (the measure my model likes most at first), FRV, and DRP; in other words, it was unanimous. Santana was no slouch himself, with positive reviews from all three systems. In fact, he finished second in each of them thanks to his all-around defensive excellence. If he played as much as Olson, he might have challenged him for the top spot, but Olson’s combination of volume and rate was unmatched.

The other three names on this list probably look a bit out of place, but I feel good about each vote. Steer finally found a defensive home this season after years of shuttling around the diamond, and he put together an excellent campaign. He’s undersized at 5-foot-9, but he makes up for it with good range behind the bag. The more teams push the boundaries of what constitutes a legal shift, the more first basemen need to make plays, and guys like Steer have been big beneficiaries. He looked great out there to my eye, and he was fourth in my raw rankings; I bumped him up to third place because I thought he looked more comfortable the more time he got at the position.

France placed third before my manual adjustments, and I watched a lot of clips to confirm what the numbers were saying: His problems this year were on the offensive end, not in the field. This was definitely his best year defensively; he’s been a poor fielder for most of his career. That led me to round him down slightly, because I’m a lot less confident in my evaluation of him than I am of the top few, but he absolutely deserves a spot on this list. Hoskins probably looks even weirder here; when I think of famously bad defenders, he frequently comes to mind (as a left fielder). He also barely played this year; he only recorded 670 innings at first. But he was amazing! DRS, FRV, and DRP all agreed that he was one of the best first basemen in the game on a per-inning basis. He had a reasonable number of scoops per game. He looked the part. It’s one of those classic ironies that Hoskins got better at defense just in time for teams not to need his offense anymore, and I thought that his impressive improvement merited recognition, even if I never seriously considered him for the top spot.

Second Base
1. Nico Hoerner
2. Andrés Giménez
3. Xavier Edwards
4. Marcus Semien
5. Jazz Chisholm Jr.

Hoerner is basically a shortstop playing second base, and it’s no surprise to me that he swept the advanced defensive metrics here. I actually spent a while reviewing his defense on video. That wasn’t because I seriously considered anyone else for the top spot; it’s just that satisfying to watch him play. Hoerner’s only real weakness is a below-average throwing arm, but he hides it incredibly well. He’s great going to his right, normally a tough play for second basemen with middling arm strength, but his range and footwork mean that he’s throwing from much better positions than his counterparts, so you almost never notice it.

Some years, Hoerner plays his usual blend of elite defense and gets outdone by his should-be-shortstop counterpart in Toronto. This year, however, Giménez missed a ton of time and also filled in at short for the injured Bo Bichette. On a rate basis, I think he was the best second base defender in the majors again in 2025, but Hoerner played 600 more innings. That was enough for me to end up leaning Hoerner’s way. These two guys and Brice Turang, who would have been sixth on my list in what was a down season for him in the field, are what true plus shortstops look like in an easier defensive assignment.

Edwards, who I gave serious consideration to for second place, has been a revelation since sliding over from short. He has a little bit of Hoerner to him; he looks like he has a strong arm, but I think it’s mostly because he’s excellent when it comes to getting his feet under him and throwing from a good base. Very occasionally, I got the sense that Edwards was actually overrunning balls because he gets such a good first step, but that’s a good problem to have. He’s one of the players I watched most in this exercise, and I came away impressed. All three marquee defensive systems love him, and he looked the part in my extensive viewing. If it weren’t for 41 games of shortstop at the start of the season limiting his time at the keystone, I would have had him ahead of Giménez.

Semien was his usual solid self, and even with a broken foot causing him to miss the last month of the season, he played a ton of innings, vaulting him above the competition here. Chisholm was a preference pick; I think there are four or five players with a good argument for fifth, but Jazz has been a really good second baseman for a while now, and he set a career high for defensive innings there this year. If I were the Yankees, I’d go out of my way to make sure he can play second every day next season instead of moonlighting in center (2024) or at third (2025). He looks awesome across the board here, and I think he could be even better with more consistent playing time.

Shortstop
1. Bobby Witt Jr.
2. Nick Allen
3. Masyn Winn
4. Jeremy Peña
5. Mookie Betts

This was the hardest position of the exercise for me. Witt and Allen were almost deadlocked in my initial rankings, and every attempt to separate them only made me less sure of who had a better year. FRV thought Witt was the best by a mile, while DRS thought he was merely okay. Both agreed that Allen was very good. DRP liked Allen more but didn’t think either were among the best defenders, just to add to the confusion. Witt’s sheer range of tools was my tiebreaker. He can do everything you can imagine. He has the best range of any shortstop, which makes sense, because he’s an elite short-burst athlete and also the fastest player in the sport. He has a strong throwing arm – not the strongest of the group, but solidly above average. Earlier in his career, I thought that his footwork often put him into tough situations that his athleticism got him out of. Now everything has come together. He seems to be getting better every year, too; I didn’t even have him in my top 10 last season, and now I’m mentally penciling him into the top three for the next half decade.

I really wanted to vote for Allen, a longtime favorite of mine who I’ve always thought deserved more major league playing time. He showed why this year, taking an open competition for shortstop in Atlanta and running with it. He’s not particularly fast. He doesn’t throw particularly hard. His tremendous first step and absurdly sure hands make up for those shortcomings in a big way, though. Allen might be the smoothest shortstop in the majors. The internal clock that tells defenders how much time they have? Allen’s is phenomenal. If you watch him field, he’s never in a hurry and yet always on time. He’s fundamentally sound at every turn, whether it’s body positioning for double play turns or just knocking down a ball that would have otherwise gone for extra bases. I’m not sure it’ll be enough to land him a long-term starting spot — after all, he did bat .221/.284/.251 this year — but we finally got a full-ish season of Allen on defense, and it didn’t disappoint.

Winn won this award last year, and I think his 2025 was about as good of a season. I had him fourth in 2024, and I think he probably won’t win this time around. This award tends to hew a bit more closely to DRS than to other metrics, which makes sense considering it’s run by Sports Info Solutions, and Winn’s DRS declined by a lot this year. Meanwhile, his FRV went in the exact opposite direction. For me, that suggests that Winn is probably about the same player as last year, when he was incredibly good, so I’m putting him in roughly the same spot. His cannon arm is the most visually pleasing tool any of these guys have; watching some of his throws from deep in the hole beat fast runners will never get old.

That leaves Peña and Betts. Peña graded well across the board, just like he has for years, and at this point, I’m very confident saying that he’s an excellent shortstop defender, more confident than I was in any name behind him on the list. I expect Betts to finish higher than I voted for him here – DRS likes him a lot more than FRV and DRP, and players like that tend to outstrip my estimation of them – but that doesn’t mean I think he’s bad. Indeed, I think that he was one of the best five defensive shortstops in baseball this year, which is downright phenomenal for an outfielder who took up the position at 31. The man is a superstar.

Third Base
1. Ke’Bryan Hayes
2. Maikel Garcia
3. Ryan McMahon
4. Matt Chapman
5. José Ramírez

In 2021, Kevin Goldstein and I placed Hayes 16th on our Trade Value rankings. In retrospect, that was a mistake, but cut us some slack — it was the first time we’d helmed that exercise. The pitch was “likely Gold Glove third baseman who has a chance to hit a ton,” and while the “hit a ton” part hasn’t materialized, defensively, Hayes has been the best player in the majors at the hot corner, head and shoulders above the rest. He’s 30 runs clear of the closest competitor in DRS over the past five years, and 27 runs clear according to FRV. He’s that far ahead of the field despite a 700-inning deficit in playing time thanks to injuries; in other words, he’s much better than everyone else on a rate basis. This year, he set a career high for defensive innings, and while he still can’t hit a lick, oh my god, you need to watch him play defense. He’s particularly great on those down-the-line smashes that many third basemen struggle with; his footwork and hands are so good that he looks like he’s playing a different game.

Hayes wasn’t a no doubt no. 1 for me, because Garcia had a great year too. I’ll put it this way: I think Garcia is probably one of the 10 best defensive shortstops on the planet, and the only reason he isn’t challenging for hardware there is that he happens to play on the same team as Witt. That means Garcia has to play third, and man does he look good there. The headlining tool is his throwing arm, and he has the classic third base highlight reel down pat; big off-balance throws, do-or-die barehands, double plays that you can’t believe had enough time to develop. Don’t bunt on Garcia, in other words; many of his best plays have come on the charge, though he’s capable across the board. The biggest thing holding him back might be that he trusts his arm a little too much; he had a few more throwing errors than you’d like to see, but you can live with those in exchange for all the extra outs Garcia hoovers up.

I’ll keep my analysis of the last three names brief, because this is only half of my votes and this article is getting long. McMahon, Chapman, and Ramírez are all clearly excellent defenders who had solid years in 2025. Chapman was below his historical standard, probably due to an injury that cost him a month, but he still played some of the best defense in the majors when he was available. His 100% is right there with Hayes’; this is a pretty good down year. McMahon is a steady performer but not on the transcendent level of the top two guys. Ramírez is a marvel, just the same metronomically excellent all-around game year after year. He’s one where the systems disagreed quite a bit, but his aggregate score put him in a big, seven-player tier behind the top guys, and I feel confident that he’s a good defender because of a long accumulation of evidence. One quick shout out here: Ernie Clement only played 603 innings at third, but his defense was competitive with Garcia’s on a rate basis. Remember that name, because tomorrow, I’ll go through the rest of my votes: outfield, multi-positional defender, defensive player of the year, and defensive team of the year.