The Ultimate Compendium for the Baseball Fan, Including All-Time Teams for Your Favorite Franchise From Yankees to Dodgers and More. Teams: St. Louis Cardinals (1974-83), New York Mets (1983-89), Cleveland Indians (1990). 2 -- Philadelphia A's (1929-30), Career stats Teams: Chicago White Sox (1956-1965, 1969-1973), Baltimore Orioles (1966-68), Gold Glove Awards: 9 (1958-62, 1964, 1966, 1968, 1970). Tigers top 5 >, Key fact: His 132 wRC+ is the highest among primary left fielders in club history, In five seasons with the Twins, Mack provided an effective and consistent combination of power, average, on-base ability and speed while playing all three outfield spots, good for a .309/.375/.479 slash line with 67 homers, 119 doubles, 24 triples and 71 stolen bases and a 17.9 fWAR in Minnesota. Yaz won the Triple Crown and AL MVP in 1967. He is also the all-time career leader in assists as a shortstop and total zone runs. Garvey was as an All-Star for the NL in eight straight seasons and while with the Dodgers would win four pennants and a World Series in 1981. Barry Bonds also had a plus arm. He is the all-time leader in defensive games and putouts among catchers. Keller compiled an AL-best .922 OPS in 1943, then missed most of the next two seasons while serving in the United States Merchant Marines. This list includes some of the best to ever play the game, including such Major League Baseball legends as Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron and Frank Robinson. His eight grand slams are also the most in franchise history, as are his 10 RBIs in a single game against the Yankees on Aug. 21, 2007. The best outfielder of the 1980s decade combined excellent range and a bazooka arm that rivaled the best ever (read: Roberto Clemente). Teams Securing a pennant or even the World Series. He batted .336/.458/.677 with 46 home runs and 123 RBIs to earn the first of five NL MVP Awards in San Francisco. During his time with the ballclub, Keller was a five-time All-Star, four-time World Series. It's been a rollercoaster couple of years for N'Golo Kante at Chelsea, but there's no disputing that he's back to his very . Jonty Rhodes features at the topmost on the list of "Top-5 best fielders of all times". In 1977, he set what was then a rookie record with 56 stolen bases, and he batted .290 en route to a third-place finish in the NL Rookie of the Year voting. Who are the best MLB center fielders of all time? He was enshrined in Cooperstown in 1989 and no Cincinnati Red will ever wear his #5 again. The contribution to championship teams (player performance in seasons where his team wins the pennant) is a small factor in most cases. He was inducted to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1979 as a first ballot member. The sixtime All-Star was a two time batting champ, but his fielding statistics were truly special. FOR ST. LOUIS: 1,298 games (1,133 starts in CF) CARDINALS STATS:.280 BA, .739 OPS, 80 HR . He also stole a record 14 bases in three World Series. Their consistency over baseballs grueling calendar has allowed them to be included among the greatest defensive players of all time. Not only as an outfielder, mind you, but at any position. -- Scott Lauber, ESPN.com Red Sox reporter, A star on the World Series-winning 1929 and '30 Philadelphia A's, they called him "Bucketfoot Al" because of his batting stance. PRIME = WAR in 5 Best Consecutive Seasons. 1-ranked left fielder of all time. Philadelphia A's (1908-09), Cleveland Naps ('10-14), Cleveland Indians ('15), Chicago White Sox ('15-20), Career stats Honors Thats short for Three True Outcomes, also known as walks, strikeouts and home runs. Baseball's All-Time Greatest Center Fielders Ranked From 1 to 100. Someday, Gordons No. Bench led the league in total zone runs as a catcher six times and caught stealing percentage three times. -- Caple, "Manny being Manny" wasn't merely the clownish contemporary riff on a Ruthian theme, his raw stats also wouldn't look out of place among the greats in whites-only era between the wars, even acknowledging his late-career suspensions for PEDs. Here's a list of my top ten defensive left fielders, these guy's all had speed, a powerful arm & knew how to read the ball both off the bat & off the wall. Baseball has had some amazing glove stories. Quick and agile Ichiro could get to balls and set-up as quickly as anyone. He was the ultimate glue guy, a personal favorite of manager Casey Stengel for good reason. The Puerto Rican flash was ahead of his time, what with his sweeping glove motions and one-handed technique, which were no-nos in his day. Mike Schmidt is one of the best hitting and fielding third basemen of the modern era. .279/.401/.419, OPS -- .820, Hits -- 3,055, HRs -- 297, RBIs -- 1,115, Runs -- 2,295 (all-time leader), SB -- 1,406 (all-time leader), "Rickey being Rickey" was a sight to behold. Who would have bet he could do all that? More so than any position I've reviewed so far, the right fielders are affected by the 1970 timeline cutoff. That gets you all-county in high school; you don't do that in the major leagues. Ty Cobb 4. The Top 10 Seattle Mariners of all Time. Keith Hernandez was welcomed into Americas living rooms on Seinfeld after a solid Major League career with three teams. Bell also ranks fifth in Range Factor per nine innings (3.18) overall. Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid watches while quarterback Patrick Mahomes warms up before the Chiefs take on the New England Patriots on Monday, October 5, 2020, at . His defensive contribution to his teams were so significant that he was inducted to the Hall of Fame in 2001 and had his #9 retired by the Pirates despite underwhelming stats at the plate. Midfielders may play an exclusively right back role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. He was selected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1995 by the Veterans Committee. Thursday brings the top 10 infielders by position of all time, followed by pitchers and catchers on Friday. Mays is the all-time leader in putouts in center field, fifth in assists, and second in double plays as a center fielder. Possessing a cannon for an arm, he terrified base runners with his pick off moves and laser throws to catch runners stealing. He was the league leader in Total Zone Runs five times. And time ran out on their season. 1. Al Kaline spent his entire career with the Detroit Tigers, which earned him the nickname Mr. Tiger. News on all your favorite celebs, reality TV, and movies. However, we also adjust for era, integration and level of competition, and missed playing time due to factors beyond the control of the player. Philadelphia A's (1924-32, '40-41, '44), Chicago White Sox ('33-35), Detroit Tigers ('36), Washington Senators ('37-38), Boston Bees ('39), Cincinnati Reds ('39), Boston Red Sox ('43), Honors His great first step, speed and knowledge of the tendencies of his own teams pitchers and opposing hitters allowed him to get to everything hit his way. He did not have the career of his father, but who did? 7 Cubs pitchers combine for no-hitter vs Machado, Padres, Jays 'playing it safe' after Guerrero tweaks knee, Top moments from Brady, Manning, Jordan and other athletes hosting 'Saturday Night Live', Fantasy baseball rankings, projections, strategy and cheat sheets, PitchCom-tipping: Loud device leaks Twins calls, Eflin's first start after $40M deal impresses Rays, Rangers' Leclerc to miss WBC with neck injury, Rockies' Rodgers may need surgery, '23 at risk, Rojas to withdraw from WBC, stay with Dodgers. His career, you may have heard, was cut a little short after all. For others, it's the situation. Here's how WBC offenses stack up with MLB's best, Las Vegas prepared to give A's 'better opportunity', Female minor league manager shadows Lovullo, Paxton (hamstring) unlikely for start of season, Jays' Guerrero to miss WBC with inflamed knee, Rangers, LHP Smith agree to 1-year, $1.5M deal, 7 Cubs combine for 1st spring no-no since 2017, Scherzer tries to test pitch clock limits, gets balk. Ill tell you, hes one of the great hitters Ive ever seen, said Brewers broadcaster Bob Uecker. -- Kahrl, Teams But despite sitting out those two seasons, he still easily ranks first among Braves left fielders in bWAR. After winning the National League MVP in 2018 and finishing runner-up in 2019, Yelich slashed just . Cubs top 5 >, Key fact: Is only player ever to have at least a share of the league lead in home runs seven years in a row, Simply put, Kiner is one of the greatest sluggers in the Pirates long history. 1 overall pick in Aprils . At 35, Alex Gordon is a good bet to rank second when all is said and done. Although not always earning the recognition of home run hitters or ace pitchers, excell. But nobody was a more complete package than this gold standard at the hot corner. -- Lauber, Pops hit 475 home runs but as produtive as he was, Pops was known for his team leadership. His defensive skills were so highly regarded that his glove was known as the place where triples go to die. The three-time World Series champion was named MVP in 1912 and won the batting title in 1916. "Motormouth" played so shallow in the field, he could almost shake hands with the second-base umpire. 17 Reasons why Jordan is greater than Lebron. Baseball's Best @ 150, The Book That Counts Down the Best Players, Pitchers, And Fielders in Baseball History at the 150th Anniversary of the Major Leagues (1871-2020). -- Caple, Still judged for his inclusion in the Black Sox scandal, and still condemned for it. 4 jersey will be retired. The best left fielder of the millennium ranks behind only Barry Bonds and Carl Yastrzemski on the career Total Zone Runs list. Cleveland Indians (1993-2000), Boston Red Sox ('01-08), Los Angeles Dodgers ('08-10), Chicago White Sox ('10), Tampa Bay Rays ('11), Honors Ozzie Smith is generally regarded as the greatest defensive player of all time. Dangerous on the basepaths, Raines led Major League Baseball in stolen bases in 1981 and 84. Remember, kids, head up and glove down. Fantasy baseball: Which prospects have fantasy value in 2023? Gil McDougald's fielding percentage and Range Factor per nine innings exceeded the league average at each of three positions. But Bonds is among the greatest players of all time, with 762 home runs, a career OPS of 1.051. While good fielders, neither is known primarily for his defensive skills. The year after, he hit 40 homers with 120 RBIs, leading the NL. Dave Winfield also won 7, but 5 of his were when he was playing primarily right field. Magee ranks first among Modern Era Phillies left fielders in runs (898), doubles (337), triples (127), on-base percentage (.371) and stolen bases (.387); second in hits (1,647), RBIs (885) and batting average (.299); fourth in home runs (75) and OPS (.818) and eighth in slugging percentage (.447). Left field has been the position of some of baseball's greatest players, including Ted Williams, Stan Musial, Carl Yastrzemski, and Frank Robinson, and was one of the primary positions on a . FROM. We all know left field is a hitters position. The calmness with. Williams ended his MLB career with 426 homers, 434 doubles, 2,711 hits and a .290/.361/.492 slash line. This may not look too poor except the league's outfielders are at .986 during the same time. In the 2019 season, 35 percent of all plate appearances ended in one of the three, a recent trend that meant even fewer balls in the field of play, which meant fewer chances for a highlight-reel play that could make the hairs on our arms stand at attention. In 1966, the National League All-Star team fielded a lineup with arguably the greatest outfield ever to appear in a baseball game: Willie Mays, Roberto Clemente, and Hank Aaron. RANK. Well-renowned for his passing, Gerson is often considered as one of the best passers in World Cup history. He also leads the club in total steals (409), as well as hits (1,480), batting average (.296) and triples (105). The Big Puma ranks fourth in franchise history in games played; second in homers (326); third in runs scored (1,008), RBIs (1,090), doubles (375) and extra-base hits (727); and fifth in total hits (1,548). He posted a .609 OBP one year. He led outfielders in assists five times and led right fielders in fewest errors committed seven times. Bottom line: His dWar number is skewed by misspent time in center field. He could beat you with a walk, two stolen bases and a sacrifice fly or with a towering home run. We've already tackled catchers, first basemen, second basemen, third basemen and shortstops. His defensive skills earned him the nickname The Wizard of Oz. During his 19 year career he appeared in 15 All-Star Games and earned 13 Gold Glove Awards. Records are made to be broken, but MLB's all-time hit king might never lose his crown. Eddie Rosario - Minnesota Twins Age 27 The 27-year old Rosario has been a steady 30+ doubles / 20+ home runs guy for the last. He also helped the Red Sox to their first world series title in 86 years. Don't think so. Yankees top 5 >, Key fact: Is the only player in MLB history to hit 50 homers and 50 doubles in a single season, Belle may not have left Cleveland on the greatest terms, but theres no denying the contributions that he made to the club during its run in the 1990s. A five-time All-Star, "King Kong" Keller completed his Yankees career with a slash line of .286/.410/.518, slugging 184 homers with 723 RBIs in 1,066 games. His untimely death while on a humanitarian aid trip to Nicaragua came after a baseball career during which his feats on the baseball diamond matched up to his generosity off of it. (Bonds routinely sat in on the pitchers pre-game meeting where they discussed how they were going to pitch to that days opponents.) Paul Blair's home run thievery in the final game of the 1966 World Series sweep was one of the greatest plays ever in postseason play, but because it came in the pre-YouTube days, it was never recognized as such. Get Jay Jaffe's book The Cooperstown Casebook where he outlines who should and shouldn't be in the Hall of Fame based on his JAWS metric used here.. Mariners top 5 >, Rangers: Rusty Greer (1994-2002)Key fact: Tied for fourth in franchise history (min. For all of his on field accomplishments, Bonds remains an underrated defensive player. He became the first Tiger to earn a $100,000 salary. Brooks was a two time World Series Champion and was named World Series MVP in 1970. Richie Ashburn played the majority of his career before they awarded Gold Glove awards for elite fielders. Here is our list of the 25 best outfielders of all time: 25. Giants top 5 >, Padres: Gene Richards (1977-83)Key fact: Ranks among Padres' top five in average, hits, runs, triples, steals and position-player WARHistorically, the Padres outfield thump has come from right field. "The Curacao Kid" ranks second in Total Zone Runs (253) in baseball history. This is, quite simply, an amazing list of power, defensive prowess, great arms, speed and high averages. Raines Sr. belongs in the Hall of Fame. 9. -- Schoenfield, The last player to hit .400, Teddy Ballgame batted .334 with 521 home runs despite missing five seasons while serving in two wars And when he homered in his last at-bat, there went the greatest hitter who ever lived. -- Kahrl, Teams Embed from Getty Images. Just three Marlins left-handed hitters have topped 30 home runs in a season -- Floyd in 2001, Carlos Delgado in '05 (33) and Mike Jacobs in '08 (32). 1 left fielder for each club, as chosen by MLB.com's beat reporters. Some might put an asterisk next to his name, but the performance was the best ever at left field or power production. As fast as he was, somehow those stirrup socks made him look even faster. Regarded as one of Italy's greatest ever midfielders, Tardelli was the cornerstone of Juventus' successful side of the late 70s and early 80s, winning five Scudettos during his time in Turin. 1 among White Sox left fielders and ranks fifth overall behind Hall of Famers Luke Appling, Frank Thomas, Eddie Collins and Nellie Fox. No first baseman won more Gold Gloves (11) in his career. OK, weve got your crazy right here. Thats right more than Ozzie Smith even. While Gonzalez is best remembered for his base hit off Mariano Rivera that won the 2001 World Series for the D-backs, he also ranks second in franchise history among D-backs position players with 30 bWAR, trailing only Paul Goldschmidt. Minosos 41.4 bWAR sits No. -- Kahrl, Teams And he pulled it off in only eight seasons as a regular. -- Kahrl, Teams Barry Bonds is Major League Baseball's all-time home run leader and the only player to win more than three MVP awards he ended up with seven but is that enough to declare the infamous,. This marked the first and only time a player eclipsed 50 in both homers and doubles. ABOUT MISSOURI. Ibanez leads all Mariners left fielders and ranks among the franchise's overall top 10 in games (1,110), hits (1,077), homers (156), doubles (216), extra-base hits (392), RBIs (612), runs (540), walks (367) and slugging percentage (.466). Because we adjust for timeline and era, our rankings have fewer players from before 1941 than many other baseball player lists. Marlins top 5 >, Key fact: Caught final out of 1969 World Series, One of the engines of the 1969 Miracle Mets, Jones hit .340 in 137 games that season, starting in left field for 119 of them. Weve been examining the best three-year peaks of defensive play by Giant players, as measured by baseball-reference.coms rfield. Ed Delahanty Delahanty was one of the first great hitters in the game's history. Big personalities? Tweet Email Comment Next The Clooney Garage: Inside George Clooney's Insane Car Collection Related Topics Baseball His #33 is retired by the Pittsburgh Pirates and he was honored as part of the first class inducted to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1936. In baseballs rich history there have been many players that have excelled in the defensive aspects of the game. The Man of Steal swiped an astonishing 130 bags in 1982, which remains a single-season record in the Modern Era (since 1900), and became MLB's all-time stolen-base king in '91. He led the league in putouts from a right fielder and fielding percentage five times. The players on this list have been recognized as multiple time Gold Glove winners, distinguishing themselves as members to baseballs elite defensive players. Left Field JAWS Leaders. He is regarded as the " the best defensive fielder of all time" by the former Australian Captain Ricky Ponting. Rangers top 5 >, Braves: Rico Carty (1963-72)Key fact: Ranks first among Braves left fielders in bWAR (23.2)Nearly 50 years after Carty played his final game for Atlanta, theres still reason to wonder how great his career might have been had he not missed 1968 with tuberculosis and '71 with a fractured right knee cap. A five-time NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) and a 12-time NBA All-Star, he was the centerpiece of the Celtics dynasty that won 11 NBA championships during his 13-year career. 5. AJ Pollock is one of the best left fielders in baseball right now. His best work was done in the outfield where he earned seven Gold Glove Awards. Reds top 5 >, Key fact: Had 30 bWAR with D-backs, second most among position players in franchise history, The acquisition of Gonzalez from the Tigers in exchange for outfielder Karim Garcia on Dec. 28, 1998, received little attention at the time, but it would go down as one of the best trades in franchise history.