BALTIMORE — Nico Hoerner almost chuckles thinking back to when Dansby Swanson signed with the Chicago Cubs.
Hoerner remembers after the Cubs made Swanson their long-term shortstop with a seven-year, $177 million deal
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in December 2022, people were quick to try to make a pairing out of them.“They’re asking us about our friendship, like before I had met him, things like that, which is funny, but there’s no replacement for time,” Hoerner told the Tribune. “It’s a really special thing to have in our sport, whether it’s time with one team or time with teammates, and so the more that we’ve played together and the more things we’ve been able to enjoy on and off the field, my respect for him just grows and grows, and our friendship does too.
“I feel we’re aligned by similar things — come from different places, different backgrounds — but when it comes to what we want out of baseball and our careers and family, all those things, we see a lot of things pretty similarly, and that makes sharing space with someone easy.”
President of baseball operations Jed Hoyer has emphasized defense as he built this team over the last four years, and it starts up the middle. Among second base and shortstop duos, the Cubs lead the majors with a .995 fielding percentage. Swanson, 32, leads shortstops in assists and is fourth in Fielding Run Value while Hoerner, 29, has yet to commit a fielding error and is tied for second among second basemen in Fielding Run Value.
They are quickly becoming the defining double-play pairing for this generation of Cubs fans.
Swanson and Hoerner this season have moved into fifth in franchise history, dating to 1898, with 510 games started together as a double-play tandem. Those ahead of them feature notable names:
- Billy Herman and Billy Jurges, 816 games started
- Ryne Sandberg and Shawon Dunston, 957
- Glenn Beckert and Don Kessinger, 1,082
- Johnny Evers and Joe Tinker, 1,092
That mark also puts Swanson and Hoerner second among active players, trailing only Houston’s Carlos Correa (currently on the 60-day injured list) and Jose Altuve (670 starts). With the two under contract together for three more years after the 2026 season, Swanson and Hoerner could eclipse 1,000 games started together if they stay healthy.
“It’s been such a joy and treat to be able to play beside him,” Swanson told the Tribune. “He makes my job a lot easier, and that’s the cool thing about defense is, yes, it takes individual performance, but also it takes a group effort, and guys being in the right places and defending as a unit. So that to me is the fun part with just how he goes about it.”
Their individual defensive abilities and how they work together up the middle is spoken almost in reverence by their teammates. For first baseman Michael Busch, playing alongside Swanson and Hoerner is all he has known in the big leagues.
“I probably don’t know how good I have it,” Busch told the Tribune. “You’re looking at probably the best duo right now up the middle, in my opinion, just from a stance of, does it get any better? I don’t really know because of how good it is and clean. I don’t think people understand how difficult it is to be that consistent. The hops that they get, plays that they make, they make it look so easy, automatic. It’s usually not that easy.”
Busch typically doesn’t get to witness their full defensive sequences play out since he has to turn and get to first base to receive their throws. But he typically checks it out afterward on the video board, always amazed by how the hard pregame work they put in daily plays out on the field.
Busch recalled a conversation he had a couple of weeks ago when he noted how people go to a game to see offense or a great starting pitching performance but “come to a Cubs game and there’s going to be a defensive play that you’re in awe and just like, ‘Dang.’ ”
“That happens a lot more than usual,” he said.
Ian Happ, the Cubs’ longest-tenured player, has seen plenty of elite defenders during his 10 seasons in Chicago. The left fielder often finds himself turning to Pete Crow-Armstrong in center to give each other a “Can you believe that?” look after Swanson or Hoerner makes a spectacular play.
But it all comes back to the sequences that might go under the radar. Their ability to make tough plays look routine and handle the ones that are expected to be made shouldn’t be overlooked.
“Obviously the flashy ones are the ones that get the highlights: Dansby’s backhanded plays, Nico’s diving into the four hole, those are the ones that are kind of highlighted,” Happ said. “But for me, the consistency of having two guys that when the ball’s hit in their direction, the play is completed. That’s the most underappreciated part of it, and it’s just not like that everywhere. We’re very spoiled watching those two for a while.”
Each of the two-time Gold Glove winners has different strengths.
Swanson is always impressed by Hoerner making plays to his glove side, something he would want to be incorporate into his game if he could pick something from his teammate.
“He really, really works at it,” Swanson said. “He takes pride in being a good defender. His intensity in game, he’s always in the right place, he never gives up on plays. He’s always ready to make every play, he’s in tune with every pitch, ready for the ball to come to him. And obviously the physical ability is special.”
Hoerner praised Swanson’s ability to make the game never look too fast for him, which speaks to his confidence, trust and skill set. Among all of Swanson’s defensive attributes, Hoerner would add the shortstop’s patented slide to his right, noting he has always been a little envious of players who can go to their right and slide and while putting their foot in the ground to throw to first. Hoerner has tried to learn to slide on that leg over the years, but “it’s a sneaky-hard thing to do and makes those plays to his right look a lot easier.”
“His internal clock, whether he makes the play or not, it looks like he’s always doing things on his terms, and he knows how and what he wants to do,” Hoerner said. “He never looks like he’s second guessing anything that he does, and the combination of great fundamentals, his own style, it’s fun to watch.”
The camaraderie Swanson and Hoerner have developed over the last 3½ seasons is a special bond reflected by their abilities to anticipate each other and become one of the best double-play tandems.
“There’s so much that happens fast: quick decisions on where you’re throwing it, how you’re delivering the ball and all those things,” Hoerner said. “So when you have a lot of trust in somebody next to you, it allows you to be athletic and a good version of yourself, and you’re not having to worry about or think about what someone else is doing too.”