{"id":119126,"date":"2025-11-10T14:00:06","date_gmt":"2025-11-10T14:00:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=119126"},"modified":"2025-11-10T14:00:06","modified_gmt":"2025-11-10T14:00:06","slug":"%f0%9f%9b%a1%ef%b8%8f-reinforcing-the-blue-wall-at-wrigley-nico-hoerner-didnt-just-celebrate-the-2025-gold-glove-winners-he-sent-a-clear-message-chicagos-defensive-identi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=119126","title":{"rendered":"\ud83d\udee1\ufe0f REINFORCING THE BLUE WALL AT WRIGLEY: Nico Hoerner didn\u2019t just celebrate the 2025 Gold Glove winners \u2014 he sent a clear message: Chicago\u2019s defensive identity is now non-negotiable, and the Cubs plan to dominate with elite defense in every inning. With Ian Happ, Pete Crow-Armstrong and Hoerner anchoring the field, fans were reminded that runs scored against this team will be hard-fought. Next season, the Cubs aren\u2019t just building around offense \u2014 they\u2019re cementing a legacy of reliability behind the shine."},"content":{"rendered":"<figure>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p data-mm-id=\"_mspx0g0pl\">If determining MLB&#8217;s best defense is based on how many 2025 Gold Glove Award winners a team has, the Chicago Cubs would reign supreme.<\/p>\n<p data-mm-id=\"_xuf1m0ym3\">This is because outfielders Ian Happ and Pete Crow-Armstrong, along with second baseman Nico Hoerner, all earned this prestigious honor after the 2025 MLB season.<\/p>\n<p data-mm-id=\"_7iitpmzrg\">No other MLB team has more than two Gold Glove winners. And while San Diego Padres outfielder Fernando Tatis Jr. won the Platinum Glove (which is given to each league&#8217;s best overall defender), there was an outcry from the baseball community that PCA didn&#8217;t earn this honor.<\/p>\n<p data-mm-id=\"_f42074tnm\">Regardless, there&#8217;s no question that the Cubs&#8217; defense is the elite of the elite. And if they weren&#8217;t already going to be baseball&#8217;s best defensive unit heading into the 2026 season, all it would take is an acquisition like Alex Bregman to ensure that&#8217;s indeed the case.<\/p>\n<div class=\"\" data-mm-id=\"_c4nwhnusz\">\n<div>\n<figure data-id=\"_c4nwhnusz\" data-mm-type=\"image\"><canvas><\/canvas><picture><source \/><source \/><source \/><img title=\"Chicago Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong \" alt=\"Nico Hoerner Sends Clear Message On Cubs\u2019 Defensive Identity\" \/><\/picture><\/figure>\n<p>Pete Crow-Armstrong \/ David Banks-Imagn Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p data-mm-id=\"_shsvvh6g7\">Those who have played baseball understand that while each defensive play depends on one to several individuals, a team&#8217;s total defensive effort depends on all nine guys. And for a team to sustain great defense over the course of a season, it takes having an identity.<\/p>\n<p data-mm-id=\"_ar99b8fjb\">Nico Hoerner spoke to this with powerful recent comments, which were conveyed in a November 9 article from Meghan Montemurro of the <em>Chicago Tribune<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p data-mm-id=\"_ntdxpcnpe\">\u201cThat Padres (wild-card) series, I think, was really the best example of that, just the ability to win close games and steal runs and hits from the opposing team and from all parts of our defense,\u201d Hoerner said.<\/p>\n<figure data-mm-id=\"_hf29bi94v\">\n<blockquote>\n<div dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">\n<p>Nico Hoerner, Ian Happ and Pete Crow-Armstrong at the Gold Glove award ceremony \ud83d\udd25<\/p>\n<p>(\ud83d\udcf8: juliemazur_ IG story) pic.twitter.com\/79Txhze721<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u2014 Cubs Zone (@CubsZone) November 9, 2025<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n<p data-mm-id=\"_yeavovxga\">\u201dAnd only three of us were able to win the awards, but it was a real group effort. We all benefit from each other in a high standard and a sense of identity within that, and it\u2019s always easier to play when you\u2019re surrounded by good players,&#8221; he added.<\/p>\n<p data-mm-id=\"_harhwhhon\">Ian Happ (who has now won four straight Gole Glove Awards) also echoed his teammate&#8217;s sentiment, noting, \u201cAll across the field, we were pretty exceptional. And I think the confidence that gives our pitchers \u2014 they were the most competitive team in the zone, just as far as strike throwing. And I think it gives those guys a lot of confidence to go out and throw strikes and know that if the ball is put in play, the defense behind them is really solid.<\/p>\n<p data-mm-id=\"_dtk630izv\">&#8220;And so at times, it felt like it was a really suffocating thing for us as a group to be able to make all of those plays,&#8221; Happ continued.<\/p>\n<p data-mm-id=\"_ylcuyis7i\">A fun storyline to follow for 2026 will be whether the Cubs can continue to hold baseball&#8217;s crown for having the best defense.<\/p>\n<p data-mm-id=\"_26nop1csy\"><u><em><strong>The Latest Chicago Cubs News<\/strong><\/em><\/u><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If determining MLB&#8217;s best defense is based on how many 2025 Gold Glove Award winners a team has, the Chicago Cubs would reign supreme.  This is because outfield<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":119136,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-119126","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>\ud83d\udee1\ufe0f REINFORCING THE BLUE WALL AT WRIGLEY: Nico Hoerner didn\u2019t just celebrate the 2025 Gold Glove winners \u2014 he sent a clear message: Chicago\u2019s defensive identity is now non-negotiable, and the Cubs plan to dominate with elite defense in every inning. With Ian Happ, Pete Crow-Armstrong and Hoerner anchoring the field, fans were reminded that runs scored against this team will be hard-fought. Next season, the Cubs aren\u2019t just building around offense \u2014 they\u2019re cementing a legacy of reliability behind the shine. - NEWS USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=119126\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\ud83d\udee1\ufe0f REINFORCING THE BLUE WALL AT WRIGLEY: Nico Hoerner didn\u2019t just celebrate the 2025 Gold Glove winners \u2014 he sent a clear message: Chicago\u2019s defensive identity is now non-negotiable, and the Cubs plan to dominate with elite defense in every inning. With Ian Happ, Pete Crow-Armstrong and Hoerner anchoring the field, fans were reminded that runs scored against this team will be hard-fought. 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