SEATTLE — Following a rookie season in 2025 where he showed flashes of brilliance, but also fought though extended stretches of struggles, Cole Young realized he needed to improve his overall game to find sustained success in the big leagues.

At the top of his offseason to-do list was becoming a better defensive second baseman. He wasn’t consistent on routine plays and confident in his ability to make them.

The hours of daily work on his defense, including an intense focus on the fundamentals ingrained into his mind by former infield coach Perry Hill, have earned him baseball’s highest defensive honor.

On Sunday, Young was named the American League Gold Glove award winner for second base. He joined Bret Boone, who won three straight Gold Gloves from 2002-2004, and Harold Reynolds, who also won three straight Gold Gloves from 1990-1992, as the only Mariners second basemen to win the award.

He is the second Mariners player to win a Gold Glove award in his age-22 season or younger, joining Ken Griffey Jr., who won three awards prior to his age-23 season.

Young was the favorite of the three finalists that included Michael Massey of the Kansas City Royals and Chase Meidroth of the Chicago White Sox. He had the best overall numbers, leading American League second basemen in almost every defensive category this season, including games played (157), innings played (1,350 1/3), putouts (223), assists (397), fielding percentage (.990) and defensive runs saved (16).

He posted a Baseball Reference Wins Above Replacement of 4.4, which was second highest on the Mariners this past season trailing only Randy Arozarena’s 5.7. It was also the second highest among all second baseman.

But it wasn’t just Young’s defense that improved in 2026. He had a solid second at the plate as well while playing in 160 games. He posted a .246/.312/.381 slash line with 19 doubles, four triples, 17 homers and 66 RBI.

2026 American League Gold Glove Winners

P – Tanner Bibee (Cleveland)

C – Dillon Dingler (Detroit)

1B – Christian Walker (Houston)

2B – Cole Young (Seattle)

3B – Caleb Durbin (Boston)

SS – Taylor Walls (Tampa Bay)

LF – Cody Bellinger (New York Yankees)

CF – Ceddanne Rafaela (Boston)

RF – Wilyer Abreu (Boston)

Utility – Ezequiel Duran (Texas)

2026 National League Gold Glove winners

P – Nolan McLean (New York Mets)

C – Gabriel Moreno (Arizona)

1B – Matt Olson (Atlanta)

2B – Brice Turang (Milwaukee)

3B – Alex Bregman (Chicago Cubs)

SS – Geraldo Perdomo (Arizona)

LF – Jackson Chourio (Milwaukee)

CF – Pete Crow-Armstrong (Chicago Cubs)

RF – Corbin Carroll (Arizona)

Utility – Mauricio Dubón (Atlanta)

____

©2026 The Seattle Times. Visit seattletimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.