You’ve probably seen the highlight reels. A shortstop dives into the hole, pops up, and fires a laser to first. The crowd goes nuts. But if you're only looking at the web gems, you're missing the real story of how baseball games are won and lost with a glove. Honestly, looking at a basic box score to judge defense is like trying to understand a movie by looking at the poster. It just doesn't work.
When we talk about mlb team fielding stats, most fans instinctively look at errors. It makes sense. An error is a mistake you can see. But errors are kinda the worst way to measure how good a team actually is at defending. Why? Because you can't get an error on a ball you never reached.
The Trouble With The Old School
Let’s be real for a second. Fielding percentage is a dinosaur. If a third baseman has zero range but catches everything hit right at him, he’ll have a "perfect" 1.000 fielding percentage. Meanwhile, the guy next door who covers half the left side of the infield might miss a tough play and get charged with an error.
The guy with the error is almost always the better player.
In the 2025 season, the Texas Rangers and Atlanta Braves sat at the top of the traditional fielding percentage charts, both sporting a .991 mark. Does that mean they were the absolute best? Not necessarily. While the Rangers backed it up with a massive 89 Defensive Runs Saved (DRS), the Braves were actually a bit lower in the advanced categories, finishing with 46 DRS.
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The gap between "not making mistakes" and "making extra outs" is where the elite teams live.
Understanding the New Math
If you want to know who is actually winning games with their gloves, you have to look at Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) and Outs Above Average (OAA). These aren't just fancy numbers. They basically tell us how many runs a team kept off the board compared to an average group of fielders.
Take the Chicago Cubs. They were the 2025 Defensive Team of the Year for a reason. They didn't just have one or two stars; they had a positive DRS at eight out of nine positions. That is virtually unheard of.
- Nico Hoerner at second base (Gold Glove winner).
- Pete Crow-Armstrong in center (100th percentile OAA).
- Ian Happ in left (his fourth straight Gold Glove).
When you have that much coverage, your pitchers don't have to be perfect. They just have to throw strikes.
Why OAA is the Truth
Statcast’s Outs Above Average (OAA) is probably the most honest stat we have right now. It uses tracking data to see exactly how far a fielder had to run and how much time they had to get there.
If a ball has a 25% catch probability and your center fielder grabs it, they get +.75 points. If they drop it, they lose -.25. It’s a cumulative score. In 2025, Bobby Witt Jr. and Pete Crow-Armstrong both posted 24 OAA, tying for the best in the league.
Basically, they turned 24 hits into outs that an "average" player wouldn't have made. Over a 162-game season, that’s huge. It’s the difference between a division title and watching the playoffs from your couch.
MLB Team Fielding Stats: The 2025 Leaders
If we look at the final numbers from the 2025 regular season, a few teams separated themselves from the pack. It wasn't always the teams with the biggest payrolls, either.
The Rangers were monsters. They finished with 89 DRS. That’s nearly 90 runs they "saved" just by being in the right spot and making the plays. Marcus Semien remained a vacuum at second base, and having a veteran presence like that settles the whole infield.
The Toronto Blue Jays were a surprise to some, finishing with 51 DRS and a team OAA of 14. They got a massive boost from Ernie Clement, who was a utility wizard. He recorded 22 DRS while moving all over the dirt. It’s hard to overstate how valuable it is to have a guy who can play three different positions at a Gold Glove level.
On the flip side, you have the Boston Red Sox. Their story is a bit weird. They led the league in errors with 116. That sounds like a disaster, right? But then you look at Ceddanne Rafaela in center field and Wilyer Abreu in right. Both won Gold Gloves. The Red Sox had elite range in the outfield, but their infield—specifically at shortstop and third—was often a revolving door of miscues.
It’s proof that a team can be both spectacular and frustratingly sloppy at the same time.
Catching: The Invisible Value
We can't talk about team defense without mentioning the guys behind the plate. This is where stats get really nerdy but also really important. Patrick Bailey of the San Francisco Giants is basically a cheat code.
In 2025, Bailey won his second straight Gold Glove. But the "stat" that matters most for him is Fielding Run Value. This combines framing (turning balls into strikes), blocking, and throwing. Bailey isn't just a catcher; he's a one-man run-prevention machine.
When a catcher like Bailey is back there, pitchers are more confident. They can throw the slider in the dirt knowing it won't go to the backstop. They can nibble at the corners knowing they might get that extra strike call.
The San Francisco Giants as a whole might have finished with a middle-of-the-road record (81-81), but their pitching staff looked a lot better than it probably was because they had a wall behind the plate.
What Most Fans Get Wrong About "Range"
There is a big misconception that "range" is just about speed. It isn't. It’s about the "jump."
Statcast tracks the first step of an outfielder. If you react 0.2 seconds faster than the next guy, you don’t have to be as fast to catch the ball. This is why Steven Kwan of the Cleveland Guardians is so good. He isn't the fastest sprinter in the world, but his routes are perfect.
Kwan led all left fielders in 2025 with 7 Outfield Arm Runs Saved. He doesn't just catch the ball; he prevents runners from even trying to take the next base. That doesn't always show up in a box score, but opposing coaches definitely notice it.
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2026 Outlook: Who to Watch
As we head into the 2026 season, the landscape of mlb team fielding stats is shifting again. We’re seeing more young, athletic shortstops like Kevin McGonigle (Tigers) and J.J. Wetherholt (Cardinals) expected to make an impact.
The Atlanta Braves just signed Ha-Seong Kim to a one-year deal to fix their shortstop problem. In 2025, Braves shortstops were a black hole offensively and inconsistent defensively. Kim is a former Gold Glover who can play anywhere. If he regains his 2023 form, the Braves' team defensive metrics are going to skyrocket.
Also, keep an eye on the Arizona Diamondbacks. They had a weird 2025 where they used 17 different pitchers to get a save. While their bullpen was a mess, their defense remained solid with guys like Corbin Carroll in the outfield. If they can settle their pitching staff, their defensive efficiency (the rate at which they turn balls in play into outs) should remain top-tier.
Actionable Insights for Fans and Bettors
If you’re trying to use these stats to actually understand the game or predict outcomes, stop looking at "Errors" or "Fielding Percentage." They are noisy and often misleading. Instead, focus on these three things:
- Team OAA vs. Team DRS: If a team is high in OAA but low in DRS, they have great range but maybe struggle with the "finesse" parts of the game (like double plays or throwing). If they are high in both, like the Cubs or Rangers, they are an elite unit.
- Catcher Framing: Look at the "Runs from Extra Strikes" stat on Baseball Savant. A team with a top-5 framing catcher will always have a lower team ERA than their "stuff" suggests.
- The Utility Factor: Teams with high-end utility players (like Mauricio Dubón or Ernie Clement) are more resilient to injuries. When a starter goes down, the team defense doesn't crater.
The 2025 season proved that you can't just "hit" your way to a title anymore. The gap between the best and worst defensive teams is roughly 80 to 100 runs over a full year. That is the equivalent of adding an All-Star hitter to your lineup for free.
Next Steps for Deep Analysis:
Head over to the Statcast Leaderboards on Baseball Savant and filter by "Fielding Team." Look for the "Success Rate" column. This compares how many plays a team actually made versus how many they were expected to make based on ball flight data. It's the most objective way to see who is overachieving in the field right now. Pair this with Defensive Runs Saved data from FanGraphs to see which teams are turning those extra outs into actual scoreboard impact.