What's more, he played in at least 150 games at the position in eight consecutive years, something only five second basemen have ever done, and in seven of those he had positive defensive WAR. Doerr is an "A +" offensively and he's one of the five best defensive second basemen in the history of MLB. In addition to his batting titles, Hornsby led the league in runs five times, hits/doubles/RBI four times, triples/homers twice, and OBP/SLG nine times. .333/.424/.429, OPS -- .853, Hits -- 3,315, HRs -- 47, RBIs -- 1,300, Sacrifice Hits -- 512 (all-time leader), A great player in the first two decades of the 20th century, Collins hit for a high average, stole bases, drew walks and would have won Gold Gloves if they'd had them back then. He has been mythologized, but if anything, he was exceptionally -- and an exceptional -- human. The top 100 will roll out next week. When I was younger, I used to love to watch this guy play defense. Jackie only played 11 professional seasons, including one with the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro League, where he didnt debut until he was 26. He returned sharp in 2005, batting .316 as the starting second baseman for the Oakland As. After losing the 1914 World Series, Mack broke up the As and sold Collins to the White Sox for $50k. Players are evaluated on five criteria as the foundation of our rankings: We use Wins Above Replacement (WAR) as a basis for these calculations. Blue Jays top 5 >, Orioles: Bobby Grich, 1970-76Key fact: Franchise-best 36.0 bWAR among second basemenThere might not have been a better middle-infield tandem in the mid-1970s than Grich and Mark Belanger, each of whom won four consecutive Gold Glove Awards from 1973-76. Hubbard played much of his career for those Atlanta Braves teams that had an overabundant amount of ground ball pitchers on their team. Dozier started his career with the Twins in 2012, was an All-Star in 2015 and won a Gold Glove Award in 2017. He was a World Champion and the NL MVP in both seasons. Just an opinion. Still, he'll be totally fine and a top-three second baseman in . How close was it? .320/.404/.480, OPS -- .884, Hits -- 2,839, HRs -- 184, RBIs -- 1,427, They called him The Mechanical Man, a tribute to his consistency. Cron. In fact, that entire infield made it into the Hall of Fame, except for Critz. Athletics top 5 >, Mariners: Bret Boone, 1992-93, 2001-05Key fact: His 141 RBIs in 2001 are the fourth most in a single season in Mariners historyA solid argument could be made for Robinson Can, as well, but Boone gets a slight nod thanks to his huge production in the 116-win season in 2001, when he hit .331/.372/.578 with 37 homers and an AL-leading 141 RBIs. Morgan made his first of ten all-star teams the following season, but it wasnt until he was traded to the Reds in 1971 that his career really took off. In 2014, LeMahieu led the majors with 99 double plays. He helped lead the Dodgers (the Brooklyn version) to the borough's only World Series title. He hit north of .300 in five times while winning seven Silver Sluggers. Bottom line: Kudos to a player who never exactly excelled in the major leagues, but crafted a 15-year career with six different teams, playing both second base and shortstop. The top second basemen make the routine look easy and the difficult look routine. In 1949, seven years after he played his last game, Gehringer was elected to the Hall of Fame. What MLB insiders are saying about Shohei Ohtani, Sources: Mets, OF Pham agree to 1-yr, $6M deal, Reports: Brewers ink ex-Marlins IF/OF Anderson, Deal merges Ripken, Cooperstown youth baseball, Sources: Red Sox, Duvall agree to 1-yr., $7M deal, A's formally welcome ex-Japanese star Fujinami, Mets GM: Lineup deep even after losing Correa, Thomas, Pirates star and original Met, dies at 93, Who will get traded? Teams: Minnesota Twins, Los Angeles Dodgers, Washington Nationals. I think so, maybe similar in style to Ichiro Suzuki, except playing a different position. Alomars post-season totals are impressive: a .313 batting average, four HRs, 33 RBI, 32 runs, and 20 SBs in 58 games. Frisch had 641 assists during the 1927 season and it still stands as the MLB record for a Second Baseman. He was a tremendous all-around athlete and played multiple sports in college, which, along with World War II, delayed his eventual career in MLB. Carew was an all-star for an incredible 18 consecutive years, starting with his rookie year in 1967. There are three second basemen that often present themselves before me as should-be Hall-of-Fame second basemen. Here's what happened with Hubbard, he DID play on ground ball teams (generally speaking). Until Ryne Sandberg retired in 1997, the Chicago Cubs two-bagger was considered the gold standard at the position, winning the top fielding award nine seasons in a row. He was, by far and away, the best defensive second baseman from the 1920s. The greatest defensive second baseman of his time, and perhaps of all-time, Mazeroski is ironically best remembered for an unmatched accomplishment at the plate. Basic stats like hits, batting average, OBP, SLG, HRs, RBI, etc., were fused with wOBA and wRC+ for the offense. Grich played the final 10 years of his career with the Angels after spending seven seasons with the Orioles, as the Long Beach, Calif., native signed as a free agent with the Halos before the 77 season. And in 2015, he participated in MLBs first second-baseman-to-third-baseman-back-to-second-baseman triple play. note-next to each player I will also list an offensive letter grade, so you know where they stand in that category, the way I see it (we can assume they are all an "A +" defensively, since they are among the top 10 all time, defensively). The all-time leader at third base in value generated on defense with 38.8 WAR on defense alone, Robinson is sort of like Bill Mazeroski at second base -- a big postseason performance or two plus . I got sidetracked there. Braves top 5 >, Marlins: Luis Castillo, 1996-2005Key fact: Three-time All-Star and three-time Gold Glove Award winner with MarlinsOne of the best players in Marlins history, Castillo led the league in stolen bases in 2000 (62) and '03 (48). But Bill James presented this conclusion, Jody Reed is second all time in the history of MLB in defensive Win Shares per season for a second baseman, behind only Bill Mazeroski. He is one of seven players in MLB history to win consecutive World Series titles with different teams: the Kansas City Royals in 2015 and the Chicago Cubs in 2016. 1 second baseman for every club, as chosen by MLB.com's beat reporters. I think his system is flawless, except he puts too much weight on Length of Career, but that's another article. He played for seven franchises but is best known for his stints with the Blue Jays, Orioles, and Indians. Defensively, Lajoie was also a standout player, leading the league in assists three times and putouts five times. Extrapolate that to an entire season, and you have an MVP candidate. Somehow, a quiet top-tier Hall-of-Fame second baseman because he was Ted Williams' teammate in Boston. I almost agree. Either way, Bill James comes to this conclusion on Mazeroski: his 113 defensive career Win Shares is 1st all time in the history of MLB for a second baseman. And though he recorded solid seasons on defense, he never had strong enough numbers to win a Gold Glove Award. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Copyright 2023 Pitcher GIFS Inc. All Rights Reserved. Teams: Colorado Rockies, Florida Marlins, Los Angeles Dodgers, Arizona Diamondbacks, Milwaukee Brewers. Cardinals top 5 >, Cubs: Ryne Sandberg, 1982-97Key fact: In the 22 seasons since Sandberg's retirement, 13 players have started at second base for the Cubs on Opening Day (none more than two years in a row)At the time of his retirement, Sandberg owned the MLB record for homers by a second baseman, while also having set the mark for consecutive games without an error (123). Bottom line: Known for his distinctive batting stance where he holds his bat high above his head, Craig Counsell has the distinction of being on base twice when the World Series ended with a walk-off hit with the Florida Marlins (1997) and the Arizona Diamondbacks (2001). He's not even the best defensive 3rd baseman to play for El Toro High School's 2009 varsity baseball team. Hometown fans wildly threw their giveaway seat cushions on the field in celebration. During the 2012 season, Barney committed just two errors, and tied the major league record for consecutive errorless games at second base with 141. Pedroia, who has played for Boston for all of his 14 years in the big leagues, helped raise the World Series trophy in 2007 and 2013. The best defensive second baseman of his time, and perhaps of all time, "Maz" is ironically best remembered -- and memorialized outside of PNC Park -- for his unmatched accomplishment at the plate. Pirates top 5 >, Reds: Joe Morgan, 1972-79Key fact: His 98.9 career WAR is second all-time at second base (behind only Rogers Hornsby)When Morgan was acquired from the Astros after the 1971 season in an eight-player trade, it gave the Big Red Machine the extra gear it needed to create a true dynasty. Without further ado, lets get to it with Number Ten: Roberto Alomar may be best remembered for the worst moment of his career when he spit on home plate umpire John Hirschbeck after being thrown out of a game for arguing balls and strikes in late September 1996. Hornsby bounced around considerably for the rest of his career for a player of his caliber. 1. After that season, he was traded to the Mets. Three years later, he became the first American League second baseman to hit 40 homers in a season, finishing with 42 overall. Ultimately, however, Pedroias body of work was just enough to put him a hair above Hall of Famer Bobby Doerr as the best to ever play second base for the Red Sox. 17. And hes been to the All-Star Game four times. Bottom line: In 2012, Darwin Barney won the Gold Glove Award the first by a Chicago Cubs second baseman since Ryne Sandberg won nine in a row (1983-91). Nap Lajoie 6. Of course, Grich won Gold Gloves back when they meant a bit more than they do today. Widely considered the best defensive third baseman of all time, Robinson won 16 straight Gold Gloves (1960-75), an American League MVP in 1964, two World Series with Baltimore (1966,. Dauer held two American League single-season fielding records for a second baseman, including 86 consecutive errorless games and 425 straight errorless games, both in 1978. Based upon Gold Gloves won, Ivan Rodriguez is the clear victor, while based upon fielding percentage, numerous players who spent more than 10 seasons in the Majors have a . He's top 10 at the position, headed to top five, and leaving the Yankees shouldn't affect his ultimate legacy as one of the best at the position. He was the all-time home run leader among second baseman until Jeff Kent passed him. Teams: Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, Milwaukee Brewers, San Diego Padres, Detroit Tigers. Some well-known second basemen have career fielding percentages that are just a bit outside the top 25 in baseball history. Kent, a career .290 hitter, holds the all-time record for most home runs by a second baseman with 351 (out of 377). A broken finger finally forced him to wear a glove in 1896, and that year he fielded .978, a record fielding percentage for a second baseman until well into the 1900s. He wasn't a failure offensively, but he was the next best thing. My candidates for the best defensive right fielder of all time are: Roberto Clemente (12 gold gloves) Dwight Evans (8 gold gloves) Al Kaline (10 gold gloves) Ichiro Suzuki (10 gold gloves) Larry Walker (7 gold gloves) Dave Winfield (7 gold gloves) Mookie Betts (5 gold gloves) Jason Heyward (5 gold gloves) Jesse Barfield (2 gold gloves, cannon arm) He won an MVP in 1949. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you. That score is 114th all-time entering the 2020 season and puts him narrowly above the likes of Sal Bando (61.5), Willie Davis (60.8), and Gary Sheffield (60.5). And boy could he play defense. Frisch broke in with the New York Giants in 1919 and played for 19 seasons. As the Reds dynasty began to collapse, Morgan eventually moved on and played his final five seasons with four different teams. Alomar, meanwhile, was very good in San Diego, but he would reach another level after being traded to Toronto ahead of the 1991 season. He was traded to the San Francisco Giants, where he won a World Series in 2010. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions. Because of how different eras of baseball have been played, it's difficult to nail down the best defensive catcher of all time. Way-way-too-early 2023 MLB All-Stars: Predicting full rosters for both the AL and NL, 28 days, 3 teams -- and countless twists: Inside the Carlos Correa free agency saga, Pride, power and complaining about bad airplane food? His uniform and cleats were sent to the Baseball Hall of Fame after he became the first player to accomplish a unique feat in two different games: hit three home runs, knock in seven RBI and steal two bases. Had Robinson played more seasons, he would have been towards the top of this list. He ranks first in stolen bases; second in games played, plate appearances, triples, and runs; third in batting average; and sixth in RBI. Roberto Alomar FAQ Who are the best MLB second basemen of all time? Walker won the Silver Slugger Award in 2014. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. -- Schoenfield, Teams if u dont have Maz in the top ten,your list is bogus.NO-ONE did the double play pivot better,not to mention the only 9th inn walk off homer in a game 7 of the wrld series,not to mention ,against the highly favored New York Yanks! Teams: Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, Toronto Blue Jays. AL Triple Crown (1901), Hall of Fame ('37), Career stats This didnt slow him down, though. Teams: Washington Nationals, Los Angeles Angels, Seattle Mariners, Tampa Bay Rays. When Fletcher was playing for the Texas Rangers, and former President George W. Bush was the owner, Bush named his dog Spot Fetcher, in recognition of Fletcher. In total, he won seven batting titles and owns the third-highest lifetime batting average of any player who debuted after 1965, behind Tony Gwynn and Wade Boggs. JAWS (Jaffe WAR Score system) was developed by sabermetrician Jay Jaffe as a means to measure a player's Hall of Fame worthiness. He pretty much got the job done offensively, ever so slightly below average. He was ever so slightly below average. 1. Philadelphia Phillies (1896-1900), Philadelphia A's ('01-02, '15-16), Cleveland Bronchos ('02), Cleveland Naps ('03-14), Honors Hell likely face heavy opposition when he eventually becomes eligible for Cooperstown. Angels top 5 >, Astros: Craig Biggio, 1988-2007Key fact: Franchises all-time leader in games, hits, runs, total bases, doubles, extra-base hitsDrafted as a catcher, Biggio made the move to second base in 1992 and went on to win four Gold Glove Awards and four Silver Sluggers at the position. He won rookie-of-the-year that season, finished fifth in the MVP voting, and led the league in stolen bases. A teammate of Randal Grichuk on the Colorado Rockies, C.J. Bottom line: Jamey Carroll played second base, shortstop and third base during a dozen years in the bigs. Either way, Grich, Childs and Richardson are the three best second basemen in the history of MLB that are not in the Hall of Fame, with arguments from Davey Lopes (1970s) and Tom Daly (1890s). Grich was a great offensive second baseman, an "A" offensively. Playing for the Colorado Rockies two years later in the best season of his career, Carroll committed just three errors at second base, and led all NL second basemen in fielding percentage. Zobrist was named MVP of the 2016 World Series. As is always the case, we tried to balance the rankings between longevity and dominance to get a good cross-section. That said: I don't buy the consensus that he's the best second baseman ever. The pinnacle years for both came during the '75 and 76 World Series championship seasons for the Reds, as Morgan earned consecutive NL MVP Awards. Playing for the Rockies from 2012 to 2018, he was a three-time Gold Glove winner (2014, 2017 and 2018), and was an All-Star pick in 2015 and 2017 but not in 2016, when he wound up as the NL batting champion. He should certainly be in the conversation, as Utleys 64.4 career bWAR and 62.9 fWAR rank 14th and 12th, respectively, among second basemen all-time. Six-time All-Star (1933-38), MVP ('37), Hall of Fame ('49), Career stats -- Mark Simon, ESPN Stats & Info, Honors The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network. Bottom line: Mark Loretta was a dependable fielder over a 15-year MLB career that saw him play on six different teams. 10. I guess that's why many historians say that Reed was among the best defensive second basemen that have ever graced the field, I agree with them on Reed. Yankees top 5 >. Your email address will not be published. Philadelphia Phillies (1981), Chicago Cubs ('82-94, '96-97), Honors Lajoie played most of the rest of his career in Cleveland, finally returning to the As for his final two seasons in 1915-16. Alomar won back-to-back World Series titles with Toronto in 1992 and 1993 but never made it back to the Fall Classic with the Orioles or Indians despite four playoff appearances. Answer (1 of 30): I can't quibble with the other answers to this question, other than to offer the facts that 1. He was only 19, though, and didnt stick with the team until 1908. He was the AL second baseman in the first six All-Star Games, when he was already in his 30s. Brooks Robinson is generally regarded as the GOAT defensively at third. Bottom line: Rich Dauer was a winner. Bottom line: Remember when Tom Herr hit a walk-off grand slam in 1987 that led St. Louis past the New York Mets? But he was immediately fired, beaten over the head with wiffle ball bats and called names because of it. Big personalities? Cano has not officially retired, but after being cut by the Mets and Padres this season, he may not get another chance. He had an incredible knack for getting on base and has the second-most home runs for someone his size (5-7) or shorter. Jackie Robinson 3. Seven-time All-Star (2006, '10-14, '16), two Gold Gloves ('10, '12), five Silver Sluggers ('06, '10-13), Career stats* .358/.434/.577, OPS -- 1.010, Hits -- 2,930, HRs -- 301, RBIs -- 1,584, His hitting stats are undeniable, even coming in a high-scoring era. -- Schoenfield, Teams Collins was a member of the legendary Connie Macks Athletics until 1915. (Insider), Teams In a few weeks, well keep moving around the diamond and rank the Top Ten Shortstops. A native of the Dominican Republic, he is an eight-time All-Star, won the Silver Slugger Award five times and netted two Gold Glove Awards. Scott is a SoCal native who, after two decades of fighting L.A. traffic, decided to turn his passion for fantasy sports into a blog - the now-defunct Fantasy Mutant. LeMahieus 877 games and 849 starts for the Rockies at second base were more than twice as many as the next player on the list (Eric Young, 413 and 389). Rockies top 5 >. He was then forced to apologize, he was allowed to call his Mother (upon his request) and then he was re-hired. Carew retired after the 1985 season despite a still-productive season in which he hit .280 with a .371 OBP. D-backs top 5 >, Dodgers: Jackie Robinson, 1947-56Key fact: Only player whose uniform number is retired across MLBA true hero, legend, trailblazer and leader -- and thats before we even get into Robinsons stats. He seemed destined to be a Yankee for life but shocked the baseball world in 2013 when he left New York to sign a $240M contract with the Mariners. -- Schoenfield, Rogers Hornsby batted .424 in 1924. He is on the short list of the greatest right-handed hitters ever. He remained with the club from 1902-14, and not only was he one of the biggest stars of his time, but his name still lives on in the Indians record book. .285/.344/.452, OPS -- .795, Hits -- 2,386, HRs -- 282, RBIs -- 1,061, Beloved Cubbiness and a brief run as one of the most supremely gifted second basemen in the game aside, Sandberg's main asset is exploiting Wrigley Field to hit for power, slugging .491 there vs. a less-than-epic .412 everywhere else. NL All Star ('90), 11-time AL All-Star ('91-2001), 10 AL Gold Gloves ('91-96, '98-01), four AL Silver Sluggers ('92, '96, '99-00), All-Star MVP ('98), Hall of Fame ('11), Career stats 10-time NL All Star (1966, '70, '72-79), All-Star MVP ('72), five NL Gold Gloves ('73-77), two-time NL MVP ('75-76), one NL Silver Slugger ('82), Hall of Fame ('90), Career stats* That was the lowest BA of his title years. Because of how different eras of baseball have been played, it's difficult to nail down the best defensive catcher of all time. Hornsby got a taste of the show in 1915 and was a regular with the Cardinals the following season. Give me a break, he has so damn many of them now, who can keep them all straight? Bottm line: Freddy Sanchez overcame physical adversity to become a professional athlete, having been born with a pigeon-toed left foot and a club right foot. With catchers and first basemen in the books, next up is second base. His offensive prowess is among the greatest of all players, not just second basemen. Its a fair argument, but as we mentioned when discussing Roger Clemens, its hard to know who did what throughout the games history. -- Dan Mullen, senior MLB editor, Teams Hornsby retired from playing in 1937 and was elected to the Hall of Fame five years later in 1942. 17 is not formally retired, but the Brewers have not issued it to anyone sinceRobin Yount, Paul Molitor and Gantner played together for 15 years, the longest tenure for a trio of teammates in Major League history until the Yankees Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera broke the mark in 2010. Much of his career came in the low-scoring 1970s, and he won seven batting titles, hit .328 lifetime and chased .400 in 1977, when he finished at .388. Teams: Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs. Kinsler was a star on the Rangers' two pennant-winning teams of 2010-11, but Julio Franco was also an outstanding second baseman, earning three All-Star selections and winning an AL batting title. That wasn't very nice of me to say, I like Jeter, offensively speaking. It doesnt make sense, in our opinion, for most of the great baseball players to have played prior to World War II, when MLB was segregated. They include All-Stars, World Series champions, Hall of Famers and baseball legends. Why? In fact, other than the pitcher, catcher and shortstop positions, it is probably the most important defensive position on the field. In his first season with Cincinnati, Morgan led the league in runs, walks, and OBP; and finished fourth in the MVP voting. It's why he's a top-tier Hall-of-Fame second baseman, the earliest second baseman in the Hall of Fame and one of the 10 best second basemen in the history of MLB. He also won the NL batting title in '16, hitting .348 with a .911 OPS. In 2004, he scored the last-ever run for the Montreal Expos, before they relocated to Washington, D.C. He's finally in the Hall of Fame, where he belongs. Hill excelled in 2009, when he rebounded from a concussion that ended his previous season and was named the AL Comeback Player of the Year after slugging 36 home runs and notching 108 RBI. The great Rogers Hornsby was the clear choice for the best second baseman of all time. .328/.393/.429, OPS -- .822, Hits -- 3,053, HRs -- 92, RBIs -- 1,015, The Tony Gwynn or Ichiro Suzuki of his era, Carew was a master of bat control and one of the great bunters in the game's history. Minimum of 1000 IP, 3000 PA, 500 games (fielding, 500 IP for Ps), 200 stolen base attempts (catchers) or 80 stolen base attempts (baserunners only since 1951) or 100 decisions for career and active leaderboards for rate statistics. Since then, nine second basemen have posted a higher career fielding percentage than "Ryno.". Yet he remained an offensive force. Here is the No. Still, his play at second base in 1992 was good enough to break Ryne Sandbergs string of winning nine consecutive NL Gold Glove Awards. The entire Os infield was excellent defensively, and Grich was the anchor on the right side, helping Baltimore to consecutive division championships in 73 and 74. Second basemen are an important part of a baseball team's defense. It was in that same timeframe that the As became a dynasty, winning back-to-back World Series titles from 1910-11 and a third in 13. Either way, Grich, Childs and Richardson are the three best second basemen in the history of MLB that are not in the Hall of Fame, with arguments from Davey Lopes (1970s) and Tom Daly. Baseball Best MLB Defensive Players of All Time By Paul Ladewski, updated on March 11, 2020 Old-Time Baseball Photos / Facebook TTO has done more to hurt defense than Daniel Murphy ever could on his worst day. Teams: New York Mets, St. Louis Cardinals. Best Season: 2008 - .292/.380/.535 with 33 home runs, 104 RBIs, 64 walks, a .915 OPS, 6.0 offensive WAR, 3.5 defensive WAR and an 8.2 fWAR Being blocked by Placido Polanco early in his career and knee injuries at the back-half of his prime kept Utley from accumulating the type of counting statistics to make him a slam-dunk Hall of Famer. Teams: St Louis Cardinals, Minnesota Twins, Philadelphia Phillies, New York Mets, San Francisco Giants. After retiring, he became a minor league coach and worked his way up to be first-base coach for the Phillies in 2015. Rogers Hornsby Jackie Robinson Joe Morgan Rod Carew Cano has eight .300 seasons and a ninth possibly on the way, has a good chance to top 3,000 career hits and probably will pass Jeff Kent for most home runs by a second baseman. Bottom line: After being drafted by the Washington Nationals in 2008, Danny Espinosa was called up to the bigs in 2010 and often served as a utility player at all the infield positions and in left field.
Is Lowdermilk Beach Open After Hurricane Ian, Articles B
Is Lowdermilk Beach Open After Hurricane Ian, Articles B