In the field, he's smooth and effortless with a strong arm. However, we also adjust for era, integration and level of competition, and missed playing time due to factors beyond the control of the player. It didnt matter where Lajoie played in the field; he was excellent everywhere. 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). 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. .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. 10. I think his system is flawless, except he puts too much weight on Length of Career, but that's another article. He's finally in the Hall of Fame, where he belongs. With catchers and first basemen in the books, next up is second base. He ultimately fell short and settled for .388, but theres no doubt the 18-time All-Star, seven-time batting champion, '77 AL MVP Award winner and first-ballot Hall of Famer was one of the best pure hitters in baseball history. Still, compare their three-year tenures specifically in San Diego, and its Loretta who comes out on top. Alomar made into the Hall of Fame in his second year of eligibility after just missing on his first attempt likely due to that famous spitting incident. Answer (1 of 30): I can't quibble with the other answers to this question, other than to offer the facts that 1. While it's hard, if not impossible, to compare across eras, there is a lot of evidence that baseball players have been improving defensively over the years, so fairly recent players a. After losing the 1914 World Series, Mack broke up the As and sold Collins to the White Sox for $50k. 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) That leaves half or just under half from his long peak (seven best seasons), short peak (three best seasons), and prime (five best consecutive seasons). 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. When it comes to the top three second baseman on our list of the Top 10 MLB Second Baseman All-Time Rankings, each is deserving of the top spot. Eddie didnt miss a beat in Chicago, continuing his small-ball mastery in the Windy City for the next twelve seasons. I got sidetracked there. 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? "Frisch can knock down more balls with his elbows, knees, chest and head, and by dint of his fleet recovery throw out the runner, than any nine men we know"-Gordon Mackay, respected baseball historian, 1924. Let's begin with the long ball. Only Ty Cobb has a higher lifetime batting average than Hornsbys .358. These rankings are for fun and debate purposes only, and fans were able to participate in Twitter polls to vote for their favorites. 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. To start the 2018 season, Panik set an MLB record by becoming the first player to hit solo home runs in back-to-back 1-0 victories. Carew retired after the 1985 season despite a still-productive season in which he hit .280 with a .371 OBP. Collins returned to the As for his final four seasons and retired in 1930 at the age of 43. 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 . Of course, once they point this out, they then proceed to rate him an "A +" defensively and call him one of the best defensive second basemen of all time. Frisch went to four more World Series with St. Louis, this time coming out on top in the latter two. I just love that old quote from Hano. I almost agree. Second Base JAWS Leaders. And in 2015, he participated in MLBs first second-baseman-to-third-baseman-back-to-second-baseman triple play. The 2007 AL Rookie of the Year has been a significant contributor to the modern-day success of the Red Sox. Everything he did in the field was smooth, it was elegant and it was a joy to watch. As the Reds dynasty began to collapse, Morgan eventually moved on and played his final five seasons with four different teams. Once Jackie debuted with the Dodgers in 1947, it became clear that he belonged. Big personalities? He won rings in Toronto. After retiring in 1997, Reed went into coaching. 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 Some well-known second basemen have career fielding percentages that are just a bit outside the top 25 in baseball history. However, as Robinsons career was relatively short, he lags in the counting stats. 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. Acquired in a blockbuster trade that sent the popular Matt Williams to the Indians in 1996, Kent teamed up with Barry Bonds to give the Giants their most fearsome power duo since the Willie Mays-Willie McCovey era. How about Robinson Cano? His offensive numbers werent quite as good as Cano & Alomar, but if there was a way to quantify leadership, hed probably leap both of them! 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. Collins career would last another 23 seasons before he eventually retired in 1930. 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. And in 2013, he coached the Israeli national team in the World Baseball Classic. He also won an MVP with the Cards in 1931 and made it to three all-star games after the inaugural game in 1933. The loss in 1919 became known as the Black Sox Scandal when it was later revealed that several players conspired to throw the World Series. He went to four consecutive World Series with the club from 1921 through 1924, coming out a winner in the first two. This week, were on to the keystone as we take a look at the best second basemen of all time. He was ever so slightly below average. A teammate of Randal Grichuk on the Colorado Rockies, C.J. If character counted in the compilation of this list, Jackie Robinson would be number one. 2 jersey retired in '76 and has a sculpture with shortstop Luis Aparicio on the Guaranteed Rate Field concourse. Rogers Hornsby Jackie Robinson Joe Morgan Rod Carew Critz didn't make it into the Hall of Fame because of his offense. Second basemen are an important part of a baseball team's defense. Extrapolate that to an entire season, and you have an MVP candidate. The BBWAA wasted no time adding him to the group at Cooperstown, electing him in his first year of eligibility in 1990. That said: I don't buy the consensus that he's the best second baseman ever. Corrective surgery allowed him to excel at baseball, and after being signed by the Boston Red Sox he blossomed with the Pittsburgh Pirates, where he was a three-time All-Star and won an NL batting title in 2006. To illustrate how big Lajoie was in his day, the Bronchos renamed themselves The Naps after their leader in 1903. If you want to know how bad things got, over Kilian's first nine starts in Iowa, he went 2-0 with a 2.06 ERA. -- Schoenfield, Teams Dodgers top 5 >, Giants: Jeff Kent, 1997-2002Key fact: Hit 351 of his 377 career home runs as a second baseman, a Major League record for the positionKent played for six teams over his 17-year career, but he enjoyed his most prolific stretch during his tenure with the Giants. 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). He won the College World Series twice at USC. Frankie Frisch (1920s) offensive Rating: A +. In 1990, Oquendo recorded just three errors while playing in 150 games. 1 -- St. Louis Cardinals (1926), Career stats He bounced back and forth between playing shortstop and second base throughout his MLB career. That was the lowest BA of his title years. Buddy Bell and Adrian Beltre. He was the all-time home run leader among second baseman until Jeff Kent passed him. -- Mark Simon, ESPN Stats & Info, Honors The three-time Gold Glove Award winner made the cover of Sports Illustrated in 1999 when he was with the Mets and considered by some to be part of "The Best Infield Ever" along with second baseman Edgardo Alfonzo, shortstop Rey Ordonez and third baseman Robin Ventura. The way it really was. Brian Dozier is a lifetime .245 hitter, but he's hit 192 home runs and made $30 million in career salary. Bottom line: A three-time All-Star, Ben Zobrist is a well-rounded utility player. -- Christina Kahrl, ESPN.com MLB writer, Teams His defensive rating on Fangraphs leads all second basemen all-time with over 1,000 plate appearances. 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. Hornsby's 127.1 WAR is the ninth-highest score all . Lajoie played most of the rest of his career in Cleveland, finally returning to the As for his final two seasons in 1915-16. Twins top 5 >, White Sox: Nellie Fox, 1950-63Key fact: Won 1959 AL MVP AwardA strong and accurate case could be made for Fox or Eddie Collins as the top White Sox second baseman, and while Collins overall numbers are a little better, its Fox who gets the nod for having made a greater impact on the franchise overall. The econd base position is one of the most important defensive positions on the field. -- Schoenfield, Rogers Hornsby batted .424 in 1924. Photo by Ben Gorman/Unsplash | Adapted by Justin Redler (@reldernitsuj on Twitter). He was also a great World Series performer, winning four titles and hitting .328 in 34 career games. Cano won five silver sluggers and went to eight all-star games altogether, and even chipped in a couple of gold gloves. 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). Oh, offensively, Hubbard pretty much got the job done, but he was slightly below average. He'll be . There it is. Those were his only .300 seasons, but he had many other years he could have won an MVP award: He drew an astonishing number of walks, was one of most efficient base stealers of all time, won five Gold Gloves and had a power at a time when few second basemen did. The only question these days is will he make the National Baseball Hall of Fame? Morgan is the Reds all-time leader with 406 steals, and he led the league in on-base percentage four times with the Reds. Kent was one of the best offensive second basemen of all time and arguably the position's best power hitter. Gantner was famously feisty, often tangling with opponents on the field and sometimes in the bar. This incident ruined fan perception of Alomar for better or for worse. It's why he's a top tier Hall of Famer at the position. Teams: Cleveland Indians, Cincinnati Reds, Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Angels, Boston Red Sox. He moved to first base halfway through his career, but would rate higher as a second baseman. Sign up to receive our daily Morning Lineup to stay in the know about the latest trending topics around Major League Baseball. Teams: Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, Toronto Blue Jays. After one season with the Athletics, in which Lajoie dominated the league in almost every statistical category, including the Triple Crown, he moved on to Cleveland. Despite his success in St. Louis, Hornsby was traded to the Giants after the Cardinals won the World Series in 1926. 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. .338/.380/.466, OPS -- .847, Hits -- 3,243, HRs -- 82, RBIs -- 1,599, The first big star of the new American League in 1901, he ranks 23rd all time in Baseball-Reference WAR. 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. Lajoie retired following the 1916 season. He played for seven franchises but is best known for his stints with the Blue Jays, Orioles, and Indians. Nicknamed "The Frenchman," Nap Lajoie was one of the best hitters and second basemen of the early part of the 20th century. In an era before awards, Lajoie led the league in key offensive categories several times during his 21-year career, including hits (4x), doubles (5x), RBI (3x), batting average (5x), SLG (4x), and HRs (1x). The Big Red Machine also made it to the World Series that year, losing in seven games to the Oakland As. Bold indicates active player. Carew was an all-star for an incredible 18 consecutive years, starting with his rookie year in 1967. -- Scott Lauber, ESPN.com Red Sox reporter, Second basemen aren't supposed to be great. The Dodgers made it to six World Series with Robinson, all against the Yankees. Teams: Pittsburgh Pirates, Kansas City Royals, California Angels. Give me a break, he has so damn many of them now, who can keep them all straight? -- Schoenfield, Teams Seven-time All-Star (2006, '10-14, '16), two Gold Gloves ('10, '12), five Silver Sluggers ('06, '10-13), Career stats* In 20 World Series contests, he batted .321 with a .375 OBP. The switch-hitting Vidro donned Expos and Nationals uniforms for 10 of his 12 Major League seasons, and he slashed .301/.363/.459 with an .821 OPS, 1,280 hits, 550 RBIs and 115 home runs during his tenure. On top of his defense, Frisch was fast as lightning, leading the league in SBs three times. 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. These are the second basemen with the best fielding percentages in major league history. 17. .300/.371/.443, OPS -- .814, Hits -- 2,724, HRs -- 210, RBIs -- 1,134, It took Pat Gillick about only three hours -- not even enough time to write up a press release -- to trade for Alomar, who became the cornerstone of the Blue Jays' back-to-back World Series champs in 1992-93. Blue Jays: Roberto Alomar, 1991-95Key fact: Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2011Over Alomars five seasons in Toronto, he led his team to two World Series championships while earning an All-Star nod and Gold Glove Award every single year. Last season was a breakout one for the 26-year-old Marte, as he finished sixth in the Majors in fWAR among position players with a 7.1 mark, trailing only Mike Trout, Alex Bregman, Christian Yelich, Cody Bellinger and Marcus Semien. How close was it? 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. He was traded to the San Francisco Giants, where he won a World Series in 2010. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. He pretty much got the job done offensively, too. 4. 1/9 Tommy Edman, St. Louis Cardinals - 96. Philadelphia Phillies (1896-1900), Philadelphia A's ('01-02, '15-16), Cleveland Bronchos ('02), Cleveland Naps ('03-14), Honors In 2008, the Dominican-American received his U.S. citizenship in a ceremony before a Tigers-Indians game. Brewers top 5 >, Cardinals: Rogers Hornsby, 1915-26, '33Key fact: .359 average ranks first all-time in Cardinals historyHornsby was a feisty player on and off the field who fine-tuned his life for one thing: Hitting. Frisch became a player-manager for St. Louis in 1933 and continued managing after he retired. LONG PEAK = WAR in best seven seasons. Pratt set up Wilson, and Wilson forced the biggest fumble of his career. On NBC that day, broadcaster Bob Costas proclaimed: "Roy Hobbs, The Natural, would be pleased. Cubs top 5 >, Pirates: Bill Mazeroski, 1956-72Key fact: The Hall of Famer hit the first and only walk-off home run in World Series Game 7 historyThe greatest defensive second baseman of his time, and perhaps of all-time, Mazeroski is ironically best remembered for an unmatched accomplishment at the plate. Bottom line: Joe Panik was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in 2011 and didnt get called up until the 2014 season. By that time, Carew had shifted to first base, where he would remain for the second half of his career. 7. -- Schoenfield, He won the inaugural Rookie of the Year award in 1947. Since then, nine second basemen have posted a higher career fielding percentage than "Ryno.". Teams: St. Louis Cardinals, Toronto Blue Jays, Philadelphia Phillies, Detroit Tigers, Miami Marlins. 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. Welcome to another edition of Top Ten! After a falling out with Giants manager John McGraw in 1926, he was traded to the Cardinals after the season. He had an incredible knack for getting on base and has the second-most home runs for someone his size (5-7) or shorter. 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. You might be surprised at who missed the cut. Should a below-average offensive player be in the Hall of Fame at any position other than the pitcher's? 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. The Cardinals, Giants and Braves all got rid of him in a three-year span. He batted .274 in his career, and while he didnt hit for much power -- Gantners homer off Oaklands Dave Stewart on Sept. 3, 1991, was his first in 1,762 at-bats spanning 544 games -- Gantner became a steady hand at second base, thanks in part to a strong throwing arm hed honed as a boy playing catcher. Espinal came to the Blue Jays from the Red Sox in trade for Steve Pearce back in July of 2018, one of those trades that worked out well for both teams. I suppose that makes him one of the 10 best overall second basemen in the history of MLB. He finished second in rookie-of-the-year voting that season and led the league in walks. I think so, maybe similar in style to Ichiro Suzuki, except playing a different position. He's not even the best defensive 3rd baseman to play for El Toro High School's 2009 varsity baseball team. Hornsby bounced around considerably for the rest of his career for a player of his caliber. 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. The reason that I'm telling you this is so YOU don't make the same mistake as that guy did. I was surprised Ryno didnt make it too. 3. Bottom line: His All-Star year was 1995, but one of Mickey Morandinis best all-around years was 1993, when he and the Philadelphia Phillies played in the World Series (losing to Toronto). Bottom line: A first-round draft pick in 2003 by the Toronto Blue Jays, Aaron Hill was called up in 2005. Based on Baseball Info Solutions defensive runs saved from 2003 on and total zone rating developed by Sean Smith of BaseballProjection.com previously Note that seasons prior to 1876 are not included in single-season marks, but are included in career marks. Philadelphia Phillies (1981), Chicago Cubs ('82-94, '96-97), Honors But he was immediately fired, beaten over the head with wiffle ball bats and called names because of it. 20 is one of three retired numbers in Royals history. The Sox made it to two World Series during that time in 1917 and 1919 winning the first one. JAWS (Jaffe WAR Score system) was developed by sabermetrician Jay Jaffe as a means to measure a player's Hall of Fame worthiness. Collins was a member of the legendary Connie Macks Athletics until 1915. Still, his play at second base in 1992 was good enough to break Ryne Sandbergs string of winning nine consecutive NL Gold Glove Awards. 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. Because we adjust for timeline and era, our rankings have fewer players from before 1941 than many other baseball player lists. Gehringer did everything well. Hornsby got a taste of the show in 1915 and was a regular with the Cardinals the following season. 1. 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 won the Triple Crown in 1922 and 25, won six of his seven batting titles with the Cardinals and won the first of his two MVP Awards in St. Louis. Of course, Grich won Gold Gloves back when they meant a bit more than they do today. Rangers top 5 >, Braves: Marcus Giles, 2001-06Key fact: Giles .809 OPS ranks first among all Braves second basemen (min. Kinsler spent eight years with the Rangers while Franco was in Texas for five. His 2003 and 04 seasons are the most prolific for any second baseman in franchise history. Kent was one of the best offensive second basemen of all time and arguably the position's best power hitter. Also, took HOF too long to put Lazzeri into HOF, 1991 by vets committee. The great Rogers Hornsby was the clear choice for the best second baseman of all time. Alomar made it to the big leagues at the tender age of 20 in 1988 as a Padre and retired 17 years later with the White Sox. Hall of Famer Red Schoendienst was great after being acquired midway through the 1957 world championship season, but he began being worn down by tuberculosis the next year. He took home five gold gloves in Cincinnati and led the league in OBP four times. In 1947, he was elected to the Hall of Fame by the BBWAA with 84.5% of the vote. AL Triple Crown (1901), Hall of Fame ('37), Career stats 4 -- Philadelphia (1910-11, '13), Chicago ('17), Career stats 5. Walker won the Silver Slugger Award in 2014. In 1962 he was elected to the Hall of Fame in his first year on the ballot. Teams Doerr is an "A +" offensively and he's one of the five best defensive second basemen in the history of MLB. 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. He could run, hit, hit for power, and play stellar defense. Rays top 5 >, Red Sox: Dustin Pedroia, 2006-presentKey fact: Only player to win MVP Award, Rookie of the Year Award, World Series title and Gold Glove Award within first two MLB seasonsHonestly, what a tough call this was. This week, we bring you the Top 10 at each position. The top 100 will roll out next week. Anyway, most of you know that Bill James pretty much invented the Win Shares system, which so many take as gospel. For his efforts, Marte finished fourth in the NL MVP race. -- Schoenfield, If Joe Morgan played today, he would be viewed as the ultimate Sabermetric player. And he did most of it under the most trying of circumstances. Herr played on three World Series teams and won with the Cardinals in 1982. Lajoie was a fierce competitor, often getting into it with umpires. In summary, Max Muncy rakes, and he turns it up a notch higher come playoff time. I would have Morgan at number two, right behind Hornsby. Bottom line: Jose Lind was an exceptional defensive player who won the Gold Glove Award in 1992.
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