Gabriel Moreno just had the kind of season catchers almost never have. On Sunday, the Arizona Diamondbacks backstop was named the 2026 NL Gold Glove winner — and he’s also the National League batting champion at .311. In all of MLB history, only Joe Mauer had ever done both in the same year, and Mauer did it twice, back-to-back, in 2008 and 2009.
The 26-year-old Venezuelan, who already owned a Gold Glove from 2023, closed his best professional season with a .311/.388/.486 slash line, 16 home runs, 33 doubles, 83 RBI in 130 games, and 14 Defensive Runs Saved behind the plate. That last number ranked second among all MLB catchers — only Detroit’s Dillon Dingler topped him, and Dingler took home the AL hardware.
A Double Nobody Has Pulled Off in 17 Years
Rawlings announced the award November 1st, but the real weight of the moment goes well beyond the graphic card. Moreno is just the second catcher in big-league history to combine a batting title with a Gold Glove in one season. To find anyone else who even led the league in average at catcher, you have to go back to Ernie Lombardi and Bubbles Hargrave.
The last NL catcher to win a batting title was Buster Posey, who hit .336 in 2012. Posey never paired it with a Gold Glove. Moreno does — 14 years later — with the full package.
The offensive résumé holds up under scrutiny: Moreno ranked fourth in the NL in OBP (.388) and fifth in OPS (.874), a career high. His Statcast profile backs it up too — an average exit velocity of 89.3 mph and a Hard Hit% of 42.2%. This wasn’t a fluky batting average built on weak contact.
Behind the Plate: Why the Voters Said Yes
The Gold Glove vote is 75% managers and coaches, 25% the SABR Defensive Index. Moreno earned it. Among NL catchers, he led in all three Statcast catcher pillars:
- +5 runs in pitch blocking
- +3 runs in stolen base prevention
- +5 runs in framing
His defensive bWAR of 2.0 led every catcher in the National League. The other NL finalists at the position — San Diego’s Freddy Fermin and Luis Torrens — weren’t close on the combined package.
Arizona Had a Big Night
Moreno wasn’t the only Diamondback celebrated. Shortstop Geraldo Perdomo won his first Gold Glove, and right fielder Corbin Carroll was also recognized, making Arizona one of two teams with three Gold Gloves on the night — tied with the Boston Red Sox. It’s only the second time in franchise history the Diamondbacks have placed three winners in a single ceremony, matching what they did in 2019.
For a club that reached the World Series in 2023 — the same year Moreno won his first Gold Glove — the 2026 haul confirms that Arizona’s identity is built with both the glove and the bat.
Moreno turns 27 in February. He now has two Gold Gloves, a batting title, and a season that puts him in historical conversations for his position. Look up how many catchers in MLB history can say the same. The list is very short.
