The plays often go unnoticed.
They don’t line up in the box score or within basic defensive metrics. But preventing runners from advancing an extra base on balls hit to the outfield impacts game outcomes, and the Chicago Cubs’ outfielders have been the best at limiting those attempts.
Perhaps that isn’t surprising since the Cubs have easily been the best defensive team in the majors this season and by the end of September they could finish tops in the Statcast era, dating to 2018. The Cubs’ 62 Fielding Run Value, a combined defensive statistic, this year already ranks second among all teams in the last eight seasons, trailing only the 2018 Arizona Diamondbacks (64 FRV).
Through Tuesday, the Cubs’ outfielders lead MLB with 12 Fielder Runs, a metric that measures the performance of an outfielder in preventing extra bases. Opposing teams are clearly respecting the arms of the Cubs’ starting outfield — Ian Happ, Pete Crow-Armstrong and Seiya Suzuki — with the lowest percentage of advance attempts. Only the New York Mets (17) and Kansas City Royals (14) have thrown out more base runners than the Cubs (13).
The key to it all, third-base coach Quintin Berry explained, is securing the baseball.
“The danger is guys try to be too quick, and then we create more issues than what was already supposed to be there,” Berry, who works with the outfielders, told the Tribune. “So secure the baseball first of all, but it’s all about creating good angles to get the ball directly.”
The Cubs spent a lot of time in spring training working on this. The old way of teaching outfield defense centered on getting around the baseball and coming through it. The Cubs, at least, don’t teach that anymore. Instead, Berry and the staff preach to their outfielders to get to the baseball as quickly as possible and throw it in from any arm angle that gets the ball in the air.
They tailored drills during camp this spring to break down the sequencing. One day was spent working on the outfielders’ first steps and directional movements. The next day was arm day, focusing on a variety of different angles and getting balls in off the wall, down the line and in the gaps.
“It’s all about creating good angles to get the ball directly,” Berry said. “The reality is, where are your checkdowns? Where’s our concentration going to be? What can’t happen? Allowing those back-end runners to get an extra 90 on a ball that you can’t throw this guy out anyway, so just being smart with that kind of stuff. You have to set it before it even happens because that’s when the game speeds up.”
Left fielder Ian Happ has become the gold standard with his throws. Berry credited the infielder-turned-outfielder for the daily work Happ, who has won four consecutive Gold Glove Awards, puts in with that part of his game and the value of his accuracy.
“There’s a ton that goes into it as far as prep work with how you come to a new stadium, understanding how it’s going to kick off the walls and how the line plays and those type of things, how the grass plays,” Happ said to the Tribune. “But it’s been a real emphasis for us. It’s something that, as a former infielder, it’s something I’ve been good at.
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“We are really good at putting in effort to get to the ball quickly and get it in and trusting our middle infielders that they’re going to redirect it where it needs to go.”
The familiarity between the Cubs’ outfielders and infielders plays an important role, too, in their ability to prevent runners from advancing. Happ and Suzuki are now in their fourth season playing with Dansby Swanson and Nico Hoerner up the middle, and it marks the third full year for Crow-Armstrong. The defensive chemistry took some time to come together, but the unit’s consistency has turned the Cubs’ defense into an elite strength.
Happ remembers that during Swanson’s first season with the Cubs in 2023, the shortstop would try to cut the balls off. Now Swanson knows Happ always likes to make one-hop throws into second base.
“So now he’ll line up for me with almost no intention of catching the ball,” Happ said. “And so for those guys to know us and then to put the effort in to understand this is how we play the game, this is what we’re looking for, that all goes into it.”
Hoerner credits the Cubs’ outfielders for the accuracy of their throws. The key for infielders on the receiving end, Hoerner added, is to be comfortable letting the baseball travel as long as possible on the throws and using their feet to position themselves in the right spot.
“The cutouts of Wrigley for the corner outfielders are both challenging but also create opportunities for throwing guys out and limiting extra bases, which is a huge deal,” Hoerner said to the Tribune. “So I think it’s a reflection of them being prepared, knowing where to throw the ball to. They’ve done a great job of both throwing the ball to the right bases but also being accurate and having a really strong arm is helpful as an outfielder.”
The Cubs have seen all season, and even in the postseason last year, how much an elite defense can impact a game. Their pitchers have certainly benefited, and with the outfielders’ ability to consistently prevent extra bases, it will likely again play an important part in whatever postseason success the Cubs experience.
“Just give them a shot,” Berry said. “That’s basically all they’re trying to do is give our infield a shot to get it and do something with the baseball.”