Anyway, most of you know that Bill James pretty much invented the Win Shares system, which so many take as gospel. I think his system is flawless, except he puts too much weight on Length of Career, but that's another article. Three times Hornsby hit over .400, including his .424 average in 1924. 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). "Based on the distance that there was away from the goal line, I knew they were in sneak formation," Wilson said . Nicknamed "The Frenchman," Nap Lajoie was one of the best hitters and second basemen of the early part of the 20th century. After losing the 1914 World Series, Mack broke up the As and sold Collins to the White Sox for $50k. The switch-hitter from Puerto Rico signed as an amateur free agent when he was 15 years old, and eventually went to two World Series with the St. Louis Cardinals (2006 and 2011) as the teams third-base coach. After retiring, he became a minor league coach and worked his way up to be first-base coach for the Phillies in 2015. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. .320/.404/.480, OPS -- .884, Hits -- 2,839, HRs -- 184, RBIs -- 1,427, They called him The Mechanical Man, a tribute to his consistency. Yet he remained an offensive force. 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. 2 jersey retired in '76 and has a sculpture with shortstop Luis Aparicio on the Guaranteed Rate Field concourse. Second basemen are an important part of a baseball team's defense. He was a Top 10 MVP finalist five times. SHORT PEAK = WAR in best three seasons. 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 elected in 1939 to the Hall of Fame with the fourth set of illustrious entrants. Coming back to the Cards was, you guessed it, Frankie Frisch. Teams: St. Louis Cardinals, Toronto Blue Jays, Philadelphia Phillies, Detroit Tigers, Miami Marlins. Oh, offensively, Hubbard pretty much got the job done, but he was slightly below average. His defensive rating on Fangraphs leads all second basemen all-time with over 1,000 plate appearances. If youre interested in any of the other positions weve covered to date, you can find them and a lot of other great content in the archive. The only knock on Muncy is defense, as he rates below average at the position, and he's coming off Tommy John. After release from Dodgers, what's next for Trevor Bauer? The reason that I'm telling you this is so YOU don't make the same mistake as that guy did. He was also a solid hitter, finishing with a .295 career batting average. To create our list, an ESPN expert panel voted on thousands of head-to-head matchups of 162 players, based on both peak performance and career value. Alomar was decorated with many honors during his career, including 12 all-star selections, four silver sluggers, and ten gold gloves. 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 . Because of how different eras of baseball have been played, it's difficult to nail down the best defensive catcher of all time. These rankings are for fun and debate purposes only, and fans were able to participate in Twitter polls to vote for their favorites. The next four seasons were magical for Morgan, especially 1975 and 1976. Over that span, The Mechanical Man would lead the league in games four times; hits, runs, and doubles twice; and triples, stolen bases, and batting average once. Offense and defense? -- David Schoenfield, ESPN.com senior writer, Cano can do it all: He hits for both average and power, tied with Rogers Hornsby among second basemen for the most seasons (five) with at least a .300 batting average and 25 home runs. In 2006, Ellis broke the AL single-season record for fielding percentage (.9968) though oddly, he did not win the Gold Glove Award that year. No one loves a good debate quite like baseball fans, and with that in mind, we asked each of our beat reporters to rank the top five players by position in the history of their franchise, based on each player's career with that franchise. Bottom line: The Cubs picked up DJ LeMahieu in the second round of the 2009 draft, but he shined in the major leagues after being traded to Colorado. In 2007, he won the Silver Slugger Award and was named to his first of two All-Star Game appearances. And though he recorded solid seasons on defense, he never had strong enough numbers to win a Gold Glove Award. Should a below-average offensive player be in the Hall of Fame at any position other than the pitcher's? He pretty much got the job done offensively, too. Walker won the Silver Slugger Award in 2014. One of those players is Hall of Famer Roger Hornsby who was one of the best hitters of his generation and . Royals top 5 >, Tigers: Charlie Gehringer, 1924-42Key fact: 78.6 career fWAR ranks fifth all-time among MLB second basemenBorn and raised in Michigan, Gehringer played his entire 19-year career in Detroit, where his consistent greatness earned him the nickname The Mechanical Man. The Hall of Famer batted .306 or better in 13 of his 16 full Major League seasons, led the league in games played four times, played at least 150 games in nine seasons, and posted a .900+ OPS eight times. That wasn't very nice of me to say, I like Jeter, offensively speaking. Still, his play at second base in 1992 was good enough to break Ryne Sandbergs string of winning nine consecutive NL Gold Glove Awards. And boy could he play defense. JAWS (Jaffe WAR Score system) was developed by sabermetrician Jay Jaffe as a means to measure a player's Hall of Fame worthiness. Reds top 5 >, D-backs: Ketel Marte, 2017-presentKey fact: Selected as the 2019 NL All-Star starter at second baseIn a close race with Jay Bell, Marte gets the nod here. He didn't reach the majors until he was 28, but hit .311/.409/.474 and was one of the most exciting players ever with his daring dashes on the bases. Bottom line: Rich Dauer was a winner. Kent was one of the best offensive second basemen of all time and arguably the position's best power hitter. Do you want big names? 20 is one of three retired numbers in Royals history. Buddy Bell and Adrian Beltre. 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). Teams: Minnesota Twins, Los Angeles Dodgers, Washington Nationals. Frankie Frisch (1920s) offensive Rating: A +. Marlins top 5 >, Mets: Edgardo Alfonzo, 1995-2001Key fact: His .318 average with runners in scoring position is highest in Mets historyAlfonzo might be the trickiest Met to rank because he appeared in 524 career games for the team at second base and 515 at third, spending three full seasons as the starter at each position. Cano has not officially retired, but after being cut by the Mets and Padres this season, he may not get another chance. 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. Lazzeri played for six AL-pennant winners during his dozen years in pinstripes, batting .293 with 169 home runs and 1,157 RBIs. Morgan was an on-base machine who could run, hit for power, and play excellent defense. That's why he's a top-tier Hall-of-Fame second baseman, one of the 10 best ever, overall, at the position. He played in Baltimore and New York. I remember reading something that Bill James had written about Jody Reed. Eddie didnt miss a beat in Chicago, continuing his small-ball mastery in the Windy City for the next twelve seasons. Once we whittled down the list, we incorporated offensive stats and honors/awards to finalize it. Ozzie Albies might soon be considered the franchises best. 4. His signature moment arrived during his 1984 NL MVP-winning season, when he hit two homers off Bruce Sutter in a five-hit, seven-RBI outburst to help the Cubs beat St. Louis. Orioles top 5 >, Rays: Ben Zobrist, 2006-14Key fact: Two-time All-StarZobrist played all over the field during his time with the Rays, but the position he played the most was second base, so well label him as a second baseman. Some will balk at Canos inclusion on the list, given his two suspensions for PED use. Jody Reed (1990s) offensive rating: C -. He was a three-time All-Star, won three consecutive Gold Glove Awards and was part of the franchise's two World Series championship teams. Whites No. Unfortunately for Carew, he wouldnt find much post-season success in Anaheim either. Teams: Colorado Rockies, Florida Marlins, Los Angeles Dodgers, Arizona Diamondbacks, Milwaukee Brewers. 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. Teams: Pittsburgh Pirates, New York Mets, Milwaukee Brewers, Miami Marlins, New Yor Yankees. Eddie Collins debuted with the As just five seasons after Nap LaJoies jump. Teams He made his first of six consecutive MLB all-star games that season and led the league in stolen bases and batting average. 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. He could run, hit, hit for power, and play stellar defense. Welcome to another edition of Top Ten! What do you get when you combine those two facts? Frisch became a player-manager for St. Louis in 1933 and continued managing after he retired. He ranks second in all-time WAR-162 and sixth in WAR7 among second basemen, representing his dominance. He won rookie-of-the-year that season, finished fifth in the MVP voting, and led the league in stolen bases. After a falling out with Giants manager John McGraw in 1926, he was traded to the Cardinals after the season. I'm glad he's in, but what took you so long, Veteran's Committee? Give me a break, he has so damn many of them now, who can keep them all straight? He was the AL second baseman in the first six All-Star Games, when he was already in his 30s. In 2015, he was hired to manage the Milwaukee Brewers, leading them to the NLCS in 2018. In 1929 he won his second MVP as a member of the Cubs and also made it to the World Series again that year (which, of course, they lost). Neither of them had short careers, but they didn't have long ones either. The most decorated second baseman of all-time, Sandberg has won more Silver Slugger Awards (7) than anyone at the position to date, beginning with his 1984 NL MVP-winning campaign in which he hit . If you enjoyed this article, check out our All-Franchise Starting Lineup in the between weeks. Nap Lajoie 6. We feel its important to acknowledge that baseball is harder to play today than it was 25 years ago, and 50 years ago, and so on. 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? .271/.392/.427, OPS -- .819, Hits -- 2,517, HRs -- 268, RBIs -- 1,133, In 1975 and 1976, Joe Morgan towered over the National League, winning back-to-back MVP awards, with WAR totals of 10.9 and 9.6. Big personalities? Despite his personal success, Carews Twins teams did not win much. I was surprised Ryno didnt make it too. Team (s): St. Louis Cardinals, New York Giants, Boston Braves, Chicago Cubs & St. Louis Browns. Not if you ask me. 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. Frisch went to four more World Series with St. Louis, this time coming out on top in the latter two. You can find both and tons of other great content in the We Love Baseballsection. He hit north of .300 in five times while winning seven Silver Sluggers. The Big Red Machine also made it to the World Series that year, losing in seven games to the Oakland As. 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. I almost agree. He was also named an All-Star that year, and won the first of two Silver Slugger Awards. LONG PEAK = WAR in best seven seasons. He ranks first in stolen bases; second in games played, plate appearances, triples, and runs; third in batting average; and sixth in RBI. 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. Required fields are marked *. 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. Of course, Grich won Gold Gloves back when they meant a bit more than they do today. Big numbers? 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. New York Yankees (2005-13), Seattle Mariners ('14-present), Honors Indians: Nap Lajoie, 1902-14Key fact: Indians' all-time leader in WARLajoie was literally the face of the organization, as the club changed its name from the Bronchos to the Naps in 1903 after Lajoie himself. All he did his sophomore season was bat .342, win a silver slugger, and play in the all-star game. Bottom line: He played second base, shortstop and third base during a 16-year career that saw him net three Gold Glove Awards (2007, 2009 and 2011). .308/.356/.497, OPS -- .854, Hits -- 2,129, HRs -- 260, RBIs -- 1,041, 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. I think he was the best ever, barehanded. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. And in 2019, he won his first World Series ring, with the Nationals. His offensive prowess is among the greatest of all players, not just second basemen. The only question these days is will he make the National Baseball Hall of Fame? Dozier started his career with the Twins in 2012, was an All-Star in 2015 and won a Gold Glove Award in 2017. His 377 home runs are tops among second basemen, and he has more hits than several Hall . This didnt slow him down, though. Teams: Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, Toronto Blue Jays. Cron. The fact is, if I did a cross section of the 100 most respected baseball histoians in the United States, I can almost guarantee you that Mazeroski would show up as the best defensive second baseman in the history of MLB. .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. He finished second in rookie-of-the-year voting that season and led the league in walks. He had power (career high 42 home runs) and his defensive metrics are better than his reputation, although in this case maybe you want to refer to the eyewitness accounts. Grich was a great offensive second baseman, an "A" offensively. He was close we have him at #12. He returned sharp in 2005, batting .316 as the starting second baseman for the Oakland As. Philadelphia Phillies (1981), Chicago Cubs ('82-94, '96-97), Honors In a few weeks, well keep moving around the diamond and rank the Top Ten Shortstops. I would have Morgan at number two, right behind Hornsby. He has been mythologized, but if anything, he was exceptionally -- and an exceptional -- human. Kent was one of the best offensive second basemen of all time and arguably the position's best power hitter. How We Ranked Baseballs Greatest Players. Despite his success in St. Louis, Hornsby was traded to the Giants after the Cardinals won the World Series in 1926. Alomars post-season totals are impressive: a .313 batting average, four HRs, 33 RBI, 32 runs, and 20 SBs in 58 games. When I was younger, I used to love to watch this guy play defense. You might be surprised at who missed the cut. 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. 1. Giants top 5 >, Padres: Mark Loretta, 2003-05Key fact: Loretta, who hit .314 in three seasons with San Diego, and Tony Gwynn are the only qualifying Padres with a batting average above .300Overall, Loretta vs. Roberto Alomar isnt much of a debate. Mazeroski remains the only player in Major League history to hit a walk-off homer in Game 7 of the World Series, which he did to lead the Bucs . He moved to first base halfway through his career, but would rate higher as a second baseman. And they can be a pitchers best friend. Second basemen are an important part of a baseball teams defense. Some well-known second basemen have career fielding percentages that are just a bit outside the top 25 in baseball history. In 20 World Series contests, he batted .321 with a .375 OBP. Let's begin with the long ball. Bill Mazeroski (1960s) offensive rating: C -. It's why he's a top tier Hall of Famer at the position. How about Robinson Cano? 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. In 1990, Oquendo recorded just three errors while playing in 150 games. Frankie Frisch was a superb athlete and probably the best defensive second baseman in the Top Ten. Yes, he broke in as a first baseman and rarely played second base over the final four seasons of his 10-year career, but Robinson was a second baseman in four of his six All-Star seasons, including his NL MVP-winning year of 1949. Two NL Triple Crowns (1922, '25), two-time NL MVP ('25, '29), Hall of Fame ('42), Championships He's not even the best defensive 3rd baseman to play for El Toro High School's 2009 varsity baseball team. The 10-time All-Star and eight-time Gold Glove Award winner remains the only player in Major League history to hit a walk-off home run in Game 7 of the World Series, which he did to lead the Bucs past the Yankees in 1960. 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. Philadelphia A's (1906-14, '27-30), Chicago White Sox ('15-26), Championships In the field, he's . That was the lowest BA of his title years. The other two are Cupid Childs (1890s) and Hardy Richardson (1880s).
Kathryn Francis Mcgraw,
Fluorite Products That Contain The Mineral,
What Happened To Brian Callahan Comedian,
Do Hilton Hotels Have Ear Plugs,
Debbie Rosado Biografia,
Articles B