Former Vanderbilt star Dansby Swanson wins Gold Glove for second year in a row with Cubs

For the second year in a row, Dansby Swanson is taking home the NL’s Gold Glove for shortstops. This time, however, he did it with the Cubs instead of the Braves.

The former Vanderbilt star, who hit .330/.418/.541 in college and won Most Outstanding Player in the 2014 College World Series with the Commodores, signed with the Cubs this offseason for seven years and $177 million.

Swanson was one of three Cubs to win hardware for the strongest fielder at his position this year, joining left fielder Ian Happ and middle infield-mate Nico Hoerner.

Swanson led all qualified Major Leaguers with an outstanding 20 outs above average, per Baseball Savant. He also led the league with 15 runs prevented and turned 72 double plays this season, fifth among MLB shortstops.

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Four Cubs shortstops have now won the Gold Glove at the position, with Swanson joining Hall of Famer Ernie Banks, Don Kessinger, and Javier “El Mago” Baez.

“Those guys up the middle are kind of the leaders of that infield,” Cubs manager David Ross said of Swanson and Hoerner, per MLB.com. “And the staples that we’re going to have here for a long time. It’s a real comforting feeling when the ball’s put on the ground.”

Swanson had a fielding percentage of 98.1 percent, his fourth straight year above 98 percent. He made his second straight All-Star Game this season, hitting 22 home runs to go along with his stellar glove.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Former Vanderbilt star Dansby Swanson wins second straight Gold Glove