Photo: Larry Placido/Icon Sportswire

The signature play of Matt Chapman’s season came against the Mets on May 24. The Giants had a one-run lead with the bases loaded and two outs in the ninth inning, with Mark Vientos facing Giants reliever Camilo Doval.

Vientos hit a slow roller along the third base line. Chapman raced in to make a barehand play and his throw beat Vientos by a hair. It was as impressive a play as any third baseman has made in 2024.

And it fits with Chapman’s season. He’s been one-of-a-kind at his position.

Chapman ranks tied for No. 3 in the National League and No. 1 among all third basemen with 6.0 bWAR. In terms of the individual components, Chapman has been 18 Runs Above Average as a hitter, 15 Runs Above average as a fielder (that’s his Defensive Runs Saved), and a somewhat surprising 6 Runs above Average as a baserunner.

We say somewhat surprising because Chapman had never totaled more than 1 baserunning run in a season prior to 2024. But this season, he has 13 stolen bases in 15 attempts. Those 13 steals are more than he had in his entire seven-year career entering the season.

Chapman also ranks 6th in a Bill James-devised stat, Baserunning Net Gain, which measures a variety of things, including how often a runner takes an extra base on a hit, advances on a wild pitch or passed ball, and avoids getting thrown out on the bases.

Chapman’s defense isn’t really a surprise. He’s a two-time Fielding Bible Award winner and four-time Gold Glove winner. He’s been at or near the top of the third base leaderboard consistently throughout this season.

If you think it’s odd that Chapman has a better WAR than players like Rafael Devers, José Ramírez, and Manny Machado, look to their respective Defensive Runs Saved numbers. Chapman is 10 Runs Saved better than Ramírez, 15 better than Machado and 22 better than Devers.

Hitting-wise, Chapman’s 2024 has been the opposite of his 2023 when he started super-strong and then faltered as the season moved along. This season, Chapman started slow. He entered May 17 with a .599 OPS in 44 games. He’s had an .864 OPS since then.

The top hitting third basemen don’t field like Chapman does and the top fielding third basemen (Ernie Clement, Ryan McMahon, Ke’Bryan Hayes among them) don’t hit like Chapman does.

Chapman’s combination at third base is so distinct that with 6.0 bWAR, he’s at least 2 bWAR ahead of every third baseman other than Ramírez.

In fact, the only other player this season to contribute as much run value as Chapman in hitting, fielding, and baserunning is Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran.

Remember that Chapman had trouble finding a team as a free agent this past offseason. He came into spring training needing to prove that he was an elite player. To this point, he’s been both an elite player and a complete one.

The Giants gave Chapman a 6-year, $150 million contract this week, a reward for his track record and his relative health since coming back from hip surgery in 2021. He’s played in nearly 93% of all games in the last four seasons.

That said, Chapman will be 32 next April. Only three players in their age-32-or-older season have played even 70 games at third base this season (Nolan Arenado, Eugenio Suárez, and Gio Urshela). Four did so in 2023. Chapman’s next prove-it opportunity will be showing he can remain a complete player as he travels the downward slope of baseball’s aging curve.

Most bWAR Among Third Basemen- 2024 Season