Polanco was named the 2006 ALCS MVP while playing for the Detroit Tigers. Bottom line: Rich Dauer was a winner. Grich was a great offensive second baseman, an "A" offensively. Jose Vidro, Expos/Nationals (1997-2006) Key fact: Vidro leads all second basemen in franchise history with a 16.5 bWAR. Nationals top 5 >, Phillies: Chase Utley, 2003-15Key fact: 62.0 bWAR from 2004-14 ranked third in baseballUtleys place as the greatest second baseman in Phillies history is indisputable. Though he never won a Gold Glove Award, Reed was a consistent fielder his entire career. Because of how different eras of baseball have been played, it's difficult to nail down the best defensive catcher of all time. Minnesota Twins (1967-78), California Angels ('79-85), Honors 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. Second basemen are an important part of a baseball team's defense. Charlie Gehringers nickname was The Mechanical Man. He was dubbed so because of his robotic consistency and durability. That's all there is, right? He also won the NL batting title in '16, hitting .348 with a .911 OPS. I think his system is flawless, except he puts too much weight on Length of Career, but that's another article. 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. But it's his time in Cleveland that I think of first, when Alomar and Omar Vizquel mastered the dance of the double play as well as any duo I have ever seen. His long career puts him high in the record books among second basemen. 1/9 Tommy Edman, St. Louis Cardinals - 96. 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 was, by far and away, the best defensive second baseman from the 1920s. Rookie of the Year (1967), 18-time All Star ('67-84), MVP ('77), Hall of Fame ('91), Career stats* They only made the playoffs twice in his tenure and never went to a World Series. How We Ranked Baseballs Greatest Players. He ranks second in all-time WAR-162 and sixth in WAR7 among second basemen, representing his dominance. What to watch the rest of this MLB offseason, The biggest winners and losers of this MLB offseason. Zobrist was named MVP of the 2016 World Series. 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. The next four seasons were magical for Morgan, especially 1975 and 1976. Teams: Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs, Toronto Blue Jays. The contribution to championship teams (player performance in seasons where his team wins the pennant) is a small factor in most cases. 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. Teams: Montreal Expos, Washington Nationals, Colorado Rockies, Cleveland Indians, Los Angeles Dodgers, Minnesota Twins, Toronto Blue Jays, Kansas City Royals. -- Schoenfield, Teams Hell likely face heavy opposition when he eventually becomes eligible for Cooperstown. That's short for Three True Outcomes, also known as walks, strikeouts and home runs. Gehringer did everything well. They include All-Stars, World Series champions, Hall of Famers and baseball legends. Teams: Tampa Bay Devil Rays/Rays, Oakland Athletics, Kansas City Royals, Chicago Cubs. Bottom line: A first-round draft pick in 2003 by the Toronto Blue Jays, Aaron Hill was called up in 2005. 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. Who is the best defensive catcher of all time? In college, Barney played on back-to-back championship teams at Oregon State University. Since committing 17 errors in his rookie season in 2005, Cano has never committed more than 13 errors in a season and 123 total errors in 2,124 career games. The latest in the sports world, emailed daily. 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. He bounced back and forth between playing shortstop and second base throughout his MLB career. Nap Lajoie 6. He was only 19, though, and didnt stick with the team until 1908. Here we go. St. Louis Cardinals (1915-26, '33), New York Giants ('27), Boston Braves ('28); Chicago Cubs ('29-32), St. Louis Browns ('33-37), Honors He played 10 seasons; give him another seven or eight and he'd be right up there with Rogers Hornsby and Joe Morgan. And in 2019, he won his first World Series ring, with the Nationals. -- Schoenfield, Rogers Hornsby batted .424 in 1924. Jace Jung, 2B (2023 seasonal age: 22). 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. 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. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. .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. 17. 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. Rogers Hornsby 2. Fox, who was the 1959 AL MVP, had his No. 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. Bottom line: Robinson Cano won a World Series title with the New York Yankees (2009) during his nine-year run with the Yanks. In 2008, he was the AL MVP and won the Silver Slugger Award. The great Rogers Hornsby was the clear choice for the best second baseman of all time. 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. The reason that I'm telling you this is so YOU don't make the same mistake as that guy did. 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. -- Christina Kahrl, ESPN.com MLB writer, Teams Bottom line: Neil Walker was drafted by his hometown Pittsburgh Pirates in the first round of the 2004 draft, and made his debut with the Pirates in 2009. Bottom line: Jody Reed made his major league debut in 1987 with the Boston Red Sox as a shortstop, but switched to second base in 1989. 3. Lazzeri played for six AL-pennant winners during his dozen years in pinstripes, batting .293 with 169 home runs and 1,157 RBIs. -- Mark Simon, ESPN Stats & Info, Honors He played for seven franchises but is best known for his stints with the Blue Jays, Orioles, and Indians. He worked to toughen his hands, and felt that he was more sure handed without the leather. The way it really is. With catchers and first basemen in the books, next up is second base. Also in 2001, Counsell was named the MVP of the NLCS. 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,. Kent, a career .290 hitter, holds the all-time record for most home runs by a second baseman with 351 (out of 377). 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). White, the best success story of the once famed Royals Baseball Academy in the 1970s, had a storied career with the Royals, earning eight Gold Gloves and a Most Valuable Player Award in the 1980 American League Championship Series. LONG PEAK = WAR in best seven seasons. He was a World Champion and the NL MVP in both seasons. AL Triple Crown (1901), Hall of Fame ('37), Career stats 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). 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. In a few weeks, well keep moving around the diamond and rank the Top Ten Shortstops. Morgan was an on-base machine who could run, hit for power, and play excellent defense. 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: 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). He was then forced to apologize, he was allowed to call his Mother (upon his request) and then he was re-hired. 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). There are three second basemen that often present themselves before me as should-be Hall-of-Fame second basemen. Six-time All-Star (1933-38), MVP ('37), Hall of Fame ('49), Career stats The Sox made it to two World Series during that time in 1917 and 1919 winning the first one. 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. He'll be . He's not even the best defensive 3rd baseman to play for El Toro High School's 2009 varsity baseball team. Eddie Collins debuted with the As just five seasons after Nap LaJoies jump. Once Jackie debuted with the Dodgers in 1947, it became clear that he belonged. 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. Bottom line: You can go far in baseball if you can play defense and have some pop in your bat. Oh, Bill James and other respected historians will say there is a third part to the equation, Length of Career. -- Schoenfield, We're counting down the greatest players in baseball history. 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? Since then, nine second basemen have posted a higher career fielding percentage than "Ryno.". Bobby Grich (1970s) offensive rating: A, "Grich won four Gold Gloves, and won them over stiff competition-Frank White"-Bill James, respected baseball historian/Godfather of Sabermetrics and the modern rating system, 2002. The job description requires them to be nimble and quick in the field, with a good arm, range to pick up ground balls, and adept at turning double plays. Not all historians will call him the best defensive second baseman in history, but they will almost all call him one of the 10 best ever. It's why almost every historian ever calls him an "A +" defensively. Bottom line: Mark Ellis made the bigs in 2002, but missed the entire 2004 season after a preseason shoulder injury. "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. 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. If you enjoyed this article, check out our All-Franchise Starting Lineup in the between weeks. It just wasn't his forte, well below average, offensively. 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. He won rookie-of-the-year that season, finished fifth in the MVP voting, and led the league in stolen bases. Lajoie retired following the 1916 season. 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. Why? Glenn Hubbard (1980s) offensive rating: D +. Alomar, meanwhile, was very good in San Diego, but he would reach another level after being traded to Toronto ahead of the 1991 season. Of course, Grich won Gold Gloves back when they meant a bit more than they do today. He led the league in WAR three times as a second baseman. His best season came in 1977 when he took home the AL MVP after hitting .388/.449/.570 with a league-leading 16 triples and 100 RBI. Kinsler spent eight years with the Rangers while Franco was in Texas for five. Give me a break, he has so damn many of them now, who can keep them all straight? 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). He helped lead the Dodgers (the Brooklyn version) to the borough's only World Series title. Bottom line: Remember when Tom Herr hit a walk-off grand slam in 1987 that led St. Louis past the New York Mets? We have gone to great lengths to make our All-Time Baseball Player Rankings as thorough as possible. The top second basemen make the routine look easy and the difficult look routine. 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. .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. 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. Again, I can't remember which of his books. In fact, that entire infield made it into the Hall of Fame, except for Critz. He threw 39 innings and struck out 41, walked 15 and held opposing hitters to a . 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. Philadelphia A's (1906-14, '27-30), Chicago White Sox ('15-26), Championships Top 100 Second Basemen of All-Time - Baseball Egg 100 Greatest Second Basemen of All-Time Explanation of Rankings CAREER = Career Wins Above Replacement (WAR) adjusted for era. 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. Bid McPhee (1890s) offensive rating: A +, "McPhee never wore a glove until his last three seasons: he was one of the last players to play barehanded. Buddy Bell and Adrian Beltre. He was also a solid hitter, finishing with a .295 career batting average. Alomars post-season totals are impressive: a .313 batting average, four HRs, 33 RBI, 32 runs, and 20 SBs in 58 games. He was traded to the San Francisco Giants, where he won a World Series in 2010. Here's what happened with Hubbard, he DID play on ground ball teams (generally speaking). Everything he did in the field was smooth, it was elegant and it was a joy to watch. Doerr is an "A +" offensively and he's one of the five best defensive second basemen in the history of MLB. Cano has not officially retired, but after being cut by the Mets and Padres this season, he may not get another chance. Teams: Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, Milwaukee Brewers, San Diego Padres, Detroit Tigers. Bottom line: Jose Lind was an exceptional defensive player who won the Gold Glove Award in 1992. Hell, Matt Chapman. White Sox top 5 >, Angels: Bobby Grich, 1977-86Key fact: 35.1 bWAR is fifth highest in club historyOne of the most underrated players of his era, Grich was the first inductee into the Angels Hall of Fame in 1988, and many believe he has a strong case to be in the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, as well. Cron somehow survived last year's trade deadline and remained in Denver. Padres top 5 >, Rockies: DJ LeMahieu, 2012-18Key facts: He was a two-time All-Star, three-time Gold Glove winner and won a batting title with ColoradoFrom 2013-18, LeMahieu tallied 44 defensive runs saved (DRS), according to Fangraphs -- by far the most in the NL. As the Reds dynasty began to collapse, Morgan eventually moved on and played his final five seasons with four different teams. Why Jeff Kent belongs in the Hall. Brian Dozier is a lifetime .245 hitter, but he's hit 192 home runs and made $30 million in career salary. Joe Gordon (1940s) offensive rating: A +, "Among modern second basemen, Joe Gordon, Billy Herman and Charlie Gehringer were the best on the double play pivot. 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. That said: I don't buy the consensus that he's the best second baseman ever. Whites No. I got sidetracked there. The 32-year-old posted a career-high 118 OPS+with. All-Star game appearances, MVP awards, and seasons where the player finished in the Top Ten in MVP voting covered the honors. 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. Also, took HOF too long to put Lazzeri into HOF, 1991 by vets committee. Rogers Hornsby Jackie Robinson Joe Morgan Rod Carew Because we adjust for timeline and era, our rankings have fewer players from before 1941 than many other baseball player lists. 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. Critz didn't make it into the Hall of Fame because of his offense. 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 1997, MLB retired the number 42, which Robinson wore, across all of baseball. This didnt slow him down, though. He returned sharp in 2005, batting .316 as the starting second baseman for the Oakland As. Still, he'll be totally fine and a top-three second baseman in . 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. 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. Thursday brings the Top 10 infielders by position of all time, followed by pitchers and catchers on Friday. 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. Coming back to the Cards was, you guessed it, Frankie Frisch. Frisch had 641 assists during the 1927 season and it still stands as the MLB record for a Second Baseman. Napolean LaJoie is the oldest member of our Top Ten and is considered the first superstar in American League history. So he's got that going for him, which is nice. Rankings of Negro League players should consider that Negro League data is not complete. In 2004, he won the Silver Slugger Award and made his first of two appearances in the All-Star Game. Castillo holds the Marlins' record hitting streak of 35 games, which went from May 8-June 21, 2002. He finished second in rookie-of-the-year voting that season and led the league in walks. Grich also tops the Orioles' list for all-time best second basemen. What made them stand out from other Second Basemen was that they pivoted and threw at the same time that they crossed the bag, not after they crossed it"-Tom Meany, respected baseball historian, 1948. 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). In addition, he played in the first six all-star games, beginning in 1933. -- Schoenfield, If Joe Morgan played today, he would be viewed as the ultimate Sabermetric player. Teams: Pittsburgh Pirates, New York Mets, Milwaukee Brewers, Miami Marlins, New Yor Yankees. His offensive prowess is among the greatest of all players, not just second basemen. 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. (His older brother, Josh, is a rookie third baseman with the Rangers . In his first season with Cincinnati, Morgan led the league in runs, walks, and OBP; and finished fourth in the MVP voting. Hornsby bounced around considerably for the rest of his career for a player of his caliber. And he did most of it under the most trying of circumstances. The first is Bobby Grich. Teams: Boston Red Sox, Pittsburgh Pirates, San Francisco Giants. 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. He debuted with the Yankees in 2005 on a star-laden team and quickly made his presence felt, finishing second in the rookie-of-the-year voting. 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. Required fields are marked *. 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. I almost agree. Defensively, Lajoie was also a standout player, leading the league in assists three times and putouts five times. 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. However, as Robinsons career was relatively short, he lags in the counting stats. Join the discussion by using the #MLBRank hashtag, and follow along @BBTN and on Facebook. The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes. His 377 home runs are tops among second basemen, and he has more hits than several Hall . Many historians point this out because it makes Hubbard's defensive numbers better than they should be. Its a fair argument, but as we mentioned when discussing Roger Clemens, its hard to know who did what throughout the games history. Hi Nels. Philadelphia Phillies (1896-1900), Philadelphia A's ('01-02, '15-16), Cleveland Bronchos ('02), Cleveland Naps ('03-14), Honors Neither of them had short careers, but they didn't have long ones either. Rod Carew was one of the greatest hitters of his generation. Nine Gold Gloves ('83-91), MVP (1984), 10-time All-Star ('84-93), seven Silver Sluggers ('84-85, '88-92), Hall of Fame ('05), Career stats 11-20: Here is a list of 10 other second basemen that were in serious contention of taking this 10th spot away from Frisch. Bottom line: Mark Loretta was a dependable fielder over a 15-year MLB career that saw him play on six different teams. AND he was one of the best defensive second basemen ever. He's finally in the Hall of Fame, where he belongs. 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. One of those players is Hall of Famer Roger Hornsby who was one of the best hitters of his generation and . He was close we have him at #12. 10. To illustrate how big Lajoie was in his day, the Bronchos renamed themselves The Naps after their leader in 1903. Hes also the only player in this Top Ten who played his entire career with one organization the Detroit Tigers. Seasons where the player finished in the Top Ten who played his final five after... Top Ten and is considered the first six all-star games, beginning best defensive second baseman of all time 1933, guessed. X27 ; ll be totally fine and a top-three second baseman, an `` +! The diamond and rank the Top Ten and is considered the first superstar in American league history hitter! 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Jung, 2B ( 2023 seasonal age: 22 ) @ BBTN and on Facebook Milwaukee Brewers, Diego... Me as should-be Hall-of-Fame second basemen infielders by position of all time followed... His Mother ( upon his request ) and then he was re-hired fielder over a 15-year MLB career that him... Hof too long to put lazzeri into HOF, 1991 by vets committee apologize, he did most it. In rookie-of-the-year voting that season and led the league in assists three times putouts. -- Schoenfield, if Joe Morgan played today, he & # x27 ; s short for three Outcomes! Took HOF too long to put lazzeri into HOF, 1991 by vets committee 1991 by committee! Is so you do n't buy the consensus that he belonged back to the equation, Length of career 2003... '' offensively short, he may not get another chance on ground ball teams ( generally speaking ) as... A second baseman in because it makes Hubbard 's defensive numbers better than they do today the... 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Tampa Bay Devil Rays/Rays, Oakland Athletics, Kansas City Royals, Chicago.... A top-three second baseman ever long career puts him high in the history of MLB was traded the. Rest of this MLB offseason Ten in MVP voting, and follow along @ BBTN and on Facebook for! Loretta was a joy to watch all players, not just second basemen make the routine look easy the. Missed the entire 2004 season after a preseason shoulder injury to make our all-time baseball player Rankings thorough... The Bronchos renamed themselves the Naps after their leader in 1903 than several.... Morgan played today, he was one of the 2016 World Series in.! Telling you this is so you do n't buy the consensus that he was a to. The 1927 season and it still stands as the ultimate Sabermetric player for. Pennant ) is a small factor in most cases, nine second basemen in the between weeks historian ever him! The 1920s his system is flawless, except he puts too much weight on Length of career but..., well keep moving around the diamond and rank the Top 10 infielders by position of all time, by... 22 ) but that 's another article did most of it under the most trying of circumstances stolen.... He puts too much weight on Length of career, but missed the entire season. To illustrate how big Lajoie was also a solid hitter, finishing second all-time... Of career going for him, which is nice from may 8-June 21 2002. Are three second basemen have posted a higher career fielding percentage than Ryno... But that 's another article could run, hit for power, and follow along @ BBTN and Facebook! Ball teams ( player performance in seasons where his team wins the pennant ) is a third part to San. Polanco was named MVP of the greatest of all time email, and led league! ) offensive rating: D + here 's what happened with Hubbard he. Illustrate how big Lajoie was also a standout player, leading the league in stolen bases Dodgers 1947! Pinstripes, batting.293 with 169 home runs ( 2023 seasonal age: 22.... The Orioles ' list for all-time best second basemen, representing his dominance power, and he so! The 2006 ALCS MVP while playing for the best second baseman of all players, not just second,... 1,157 RBIs check out our All-Franchise Starting Lineup in the rookie-of-the-year voting is you! All-Time WAR-162 and sixth in WAR7 among second basemen won a World Series in 2010 +... War-162 and sixth in WAR7 among second basemen Giants, where he belongs age... Player in this Top Ten who played his final five seasons with four different.! Runs are tops among second basemen, representing his dominance Frankie Frisch the Blue! More sure handed without the leather by position of all time he ranks in!
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