Boston Red Sox third baseman Caleb Durbin ’22 wins a Gold Glove in his second year in the MLB. (Photo courtesy of Caleb Durbin)

Caleb Durbin ’22 made MLB history as the first Division III alum to win a Rawlings Gold Glove Award on Nov. 1. This accolade honors the best defensive player at each position in both the National League (NL) and American League (AL), as determined by MLB coaches and managers, alongside sabermetrics community members. Nevertheless, Durbin still feels he has something to prove. 

Durbin’s 2026 season with the Boston Red Sox was just his second season both in the major leagues and as a full-time third baseman. He saved 13 runs and committed only 11 errors in 151 regular-season games. Recording six outs above average, he ranked in MLB’s 91st percentile and fielded 14 points above the AL average at third. Durbin achieved all this while playing with a partially dislocated pinky on his glove hand in the final three months of the season. 

Before he was a Gold Glove-winning third baseman, Durbin was a three-time all-University Athletic Association shortstop for the Bears, then forwent his final year of NCAA eligibility to go pro. The Atlanta Braves organization selected Durbin in the 14th round of the 2021 draft. Over the next four years, he played for seven minor league teams, mostly at shortstop and second base, and eventually earned a spot on the Yankees’ 40-man roster as a second baseman. Durbin was then traded to the Milwaukee Brewers, where he made his MLB debut at third base and earned a spot on the 2025 MLB All-Rookie Team. Boston acquired Durbin in a six-player trade right before 2026 spring training. 

“To be able to have moved to that position full time, starting only a year ago, and to win a Gold Glove at that position in the major leagues, means a little bit more to me just because I think a lot of people don’t see me as a natural third baseman,” Durbin said. “I just take pride in being able to be a good defender anywhere on the field.” 

Of the 24 WashU alumni who have made it to MLB, Durbin is now the second to earn a Gold Glove. Dal Maxvill ’60 won the prestigious award at shortstop for the 1968 St. Louis Cardinals before NCAA D-III existed. With Ryan Loutos ’21 back in the minors on a contract with the Seattle Mariners’ rookie-level affiliate team, the Arizona Complex League Mariners, Durbin is currently the only WashU alumnus in the majors.  

Caleb Durbin is the first D-III alum to win the Rawlings Gold Glove Award. (Photo courtesy of Caleb Durbin)

Durbin credits WashU Head Coach Pat Bloom with building a Bears baseball culture comparable to professional baseball organizations by focusing on “doing the little things right.”

“You should see our [WashU] practices; they’re very intense,” Durbin said. “They’re very detail-oriented, and that helped me a ton because I got to pro ball, and I was steps ahead of D-I guys and guys that have been in pro ball already.” 

Few D-III baseball players have made it to the big leagues. According to MLB rosters and transactions, Durbin is just one of two 2026 MLB regulars who played for a D-III collegiate team.  

“I just know how much work it took to go on from D-III to this level, and it’s always in the back of my head,” Durbin said. “I always have something to prove, and it’s kind of that chip on your shoulder that never goes away.”

That mentality kept him on the field after he partially dislocated his left pinky diving headfirst into first base on June 24. Durbin prefers to wear his glove with his ring finger and pinky in the glove’s pinky hole because it allows him greater control when fielding. After the injury, that became a problem: his pinky swelled and wouldn’t straighten. Durbin taped his fingers together and loosened his glove’s laces as much as possible so he could keep playing. He also cut a hole in his batting glove to fit his injured finger. 

“The pain dissipated throughout the season, and in my head, I couldn’t miss time for a pinky injury,” Durbin said. “I would have felt like such a baby. So I just had to figure it out.”

After the season ended, Durbin learned he had also been playing with a chipped fifth metatarsal — the bone on the outer edge of the foot.

The injuries are just the latest adversity he’s faced. The 5’6” former shortstop from a D-III school, who had minimal third-base experience before turning pro, has spent his career defying labels. To Bloom, Durbin is proof that persistence can pay off. 

“He hasn’t allowed setbacks, criticisms … to change his demeanor and his commitment to wanting to be as good as he can be,” Bloom said. “I think that he is a great example for not just Division III athletes, but for collegiate athletes in general, that says, you absolutely can do this. … You can, in fact, get an education from a world-class institution, and you can also work to try to achieve your childhood dreams.”

Athlete or not, Durbin advises WashU students to work for their dreams. 

“The more work you put in, the more you’re gonna get out of it,” Durbin said. “I’m a Gold Glover now, but back then, in college, I wanted to be a Gold Glove D-III player and have a chance to play professionally and win a D-III World Series. Then I get drafted, and then I want to be a minor league Gold Glover, and so you’re always taking it in stride, trying to get the next best thing that’s in reach.”