best defensive second baseman of all time

-- Schoenfield, We're counting down the greatest players in baseball history. Lajoie retired following the 1916 season. (Insider), Teams In 2007, he won the Silver Slugger Award and was named to his first of two All-Star Game appearances. 8. In only his fourth season, Tommy Edman of the St. Louis Cardinals has secured the top spot among second basemen. My candidates for the best defensive right fielder of all time are: Roberto Clemente (12 gold gloves) Dwight Evans (8 gold gloves) Al Kaline (10 gold gloves) Ichiro Suzuki (10 gold gloves) Larry Walker (7 gold gloves) Dave Winfield (7 gold gloves) Mookie Betts (5 gold gloves) Jason Heyward (5 gold gloves) Jesse Barfield (2 gold gloves, cannon arm) He helped lead the Dodgers (the Brooklyn version) to the borough's only World Series title. In 20 World Series contests, he batted .321 with a .375 OBP. Hometown fans wildly threw their giveaway seat cushions on the field in celebration. Extrapolate that to an entire season, and you have an MVP candidate. Though never a star, Hardy certainly left his mark as one of the finest defensive shortstops of his time. And he was the best the Rays have ever had. Do you want big names? Critz didn't make it into the Hall of Fame because of his offense. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you. What do you get when you combine those two facts? 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. 1. In 2015, he was hired to manage the Milwaukee Brewers, leading them to the NLCS in 2018. Frank White was not only the best second baseman in Royals history, he is one of the greatest defensive second baseman in baseball history. The only knock on Muncy is defense, as he rates below average at the position, and he's coming off Tommy John. Fox, who was the 1959 AL MVP, had his No. Rankings of Negro League players should consider that Negro League data is not complete. Minnesota Twins (1967-78), California Angels ('79-85), Honors The way it really is. St. Louis Cardinals (1915-26, '33), New York Giants ('27), Boston Braves ('28); Chicago Cubs ('29-32), St. Louis Browns ('33-37), Honors -- Dan Mullen, senior MLB editor, Teams Frisch broke in with the New York Giants in 1919 and played for 19 seasons. 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. Second basemen are an important part of a baseball teams defense. 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. Oh, and he could hit, too, as his .316/.369/.432 slash line illustrates. He was also an "A +" offensively. Lajoie was a fierce competitor, often getting into it with umpires. Add in the questions about his defense, and you've got a guy that, yes, I'd include toward the bottom of this list, but only after guys like Chase Utley and Robbie Cano, never mind rating him with Alomar or Morgan. He was close we have him at #12. Let's talk about who the best ever were at that position, defensively speaking. Longtime St. Louis Cardinals standout Rogers Hornsby is the greatest second baseman of all-time, per Baseball-Reference's system. 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. 1 second baseman for every club, as chosen by MLB.com's beat reporters. After retiring, he became a minor league coach and worked his way up to be first-base coach for the Phillies in 2015. Gantner was famously feisty, often tangling with opponents on the field and sometimes in the bar. But, for now, the distinction belongs to Giles, who is the only second baseman in franchise history to produce a 110 OPS+ in at least three seasons. New York Yankees (2005-13), Seattle Mariners ('14-present), Honors -- Christina Kahrl, ESPN.com MLB writer, Teams In fact, that entire infield made it into the Hall of Fame, except for Critz. Castillo holds the Marlins' record hitting streak of 35 games, which went from May 8-June 21, 2002. Yet he remained an offensive force. Walker won the Silver Slugger Award in 2014. Robinson won the MVP a few years later when he batted .342 with 37 SBs and 124 RBI in 1949. Career Fld% Leaders:1.Placido Polanco/.9834/, 2.Mike Lowell/.9743/, 3. Fun fact: Hill is one of just five players to hit for the cycle twice in one year. And they can be a pitchers best friend. Here we go. Rod Carew 5. 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. ALL-TIME #MLBRANK, Top 100: 100-91 | 90-81 | 80-71 | 70-61 | 60-51 | 50-41 | 40-31 | 30-21 | 20-11 | 10-1, Insider analysis: 100-81 | 80-61 | 60-41 | 40-21 | 20-1, Top 10s: LHP | RHP | C | SS | 3B | 2B | 1B | LF | CF | RF, My Top 10: Kurkjian | Stark | Olney | Crasnick | Schoenfield, Stark: The perception of greatness in the Top 100, Szymborski: Who's in the future 100? To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. .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. Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2011, Alomar is considered by many to be the greatest player in Blue Jays history, and he remains involved with the organization through the Blue Jays Baseball Academy and Tournament 12. -- Mark Simon, ESPN Stats & Info, Honors Brooks Robinson is generally regarded as the GOAT defensively at third. Teams: Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs, Toronto Blue Jays. All he did his sophomore season was bat .342, win a silver slugger, and play in the all-star game. 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 . 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 . 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. Playing for the Colorado Rockies two years later in the best season of his career, Carroll committed just three errors at second base, and led all NL second basemen in fielding percentage. Carew was an all-star for an incredible 18 consecutive years, starting with his rookie year in 1967. In 13 years with the Cardinals, Hornsby hit .359/.427/.568 with 193 home runs and 1,072 RBIs. -- Schoenfield, Teams Vidro ranks among the top 10 in franchise history in doubles (third), hits (sixth), runs (seventh), RBIs (seventh), homers (ninth) and walks (ninth). Houston Colt .45s (1963-64), Houston Astros (1965-71, '80), Cincinnati Reds ('72-79), San Francisco Giants ('81-82), Philadelphia Phillies ('83), Oakland A's ('84), Honors The Sox made it to two World Series during that time in 1917 and 1919 winning the first one. He played 10 seasons; give him another seven or eight and he'd be right up there with Rogers Hornsby and Joe Morgan. 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 (1906-14, '27-30), Chicago White Sox ('15-26), Championships His 2003 and 04 seasons are the most prolific for any second baseman in franchise history. 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 Pedroia, who has played for Boston for all of his 14 years in the big leagues, helped raise the World Series trophy in 2007 and 2013. 2 jersey retired in '76 and has a sculpture with shortstop Luis Aparicio on the Guaranteed Rate Field concourse. Now that he's in the Hall of Fame, he's not only in, but he's a top tier second baseman. In 2007, he tied the As team record for consecutive errorless games at second base (70). In 2008, the Dominican-American received his U.S. citizenship in a ceremony before a Tigers-Indians game. But he was immediately fired, beaten over the head with wiffle ball bats and called names because of it. The Cardinals, Giants and Braves all got rid of him in a three-year span. The position is home to those who couldn't hack it at shortstop or slug enough to earn a corner-infield job. PRIME = WAR in best five consecutive seasons. He played every position on the diamond before settling in at second base. 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. Not if you ask me. That and the trips to the World Series tip the decision in favor of Kinsler. A two-time Gold Glove winner best known for his defense, Kolten Wong quietly put together the best offensive season of his career in 2022. Who is the best defensive catcher of all time? Collins was not implicated in the controversy, but the scandal gutted the team. They only made the playoffs twice in his tenure and never went to a World Series. In 1962 he was elected to the Hall of Fame in his first year on the ballot. He had an incredible knack for getting on base and has the second-most home runs for someone his size (5-7) or shorter. He hit north of .300 in five times while winning seven Silver Sluggers. That said: I don't buy the consensus that he's the best second baseman ever. 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. That was the lowest BA of his title years. He bounced back and forth between playing shortstop and second base throughout his MLB career. Collins returned to the As for his final four seasons and retired in 1930 at the age of 43. The contribution to championship teams (player performance in seasons where his team wins the pennant) is a small factor in most cases. 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. 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. McPhee also recorded 529 putouts in 1886, a Major League record which still stands; no one else is within 40 putouts"-Bill James, respected baseball historian/Godfather of Sabermetrics and the modern rating system, 2002. Tigers top 5 >, Twins: Rod Carew, 1967-78Key fact: .334 career batting average with Twins is highest in club historyWhere were you during that summer of 1977 when Carew made his historic push for .400? The reason that I'm telling you this is so YOU don't make the same mistake as that guy did. Cano won five silver sluggers and went to eight all-star games altogether, and even chipped in a couple of gold gloves. Hell, Matt Chapman. He didnt play much during his final five seasons with the St. Louis Browns, but he still hit over .300 four times. He led the league in WAR three times as a second baseman. What we do know is that Cano owns the second-highest OPS among second basemen whove played in the last 50 years (first was Jeff Kent, in case youre wondering). .328/.393/.429, OPS -- .822, Hits -- 3,053, HRs -- 92, RBIs -- 1,015, The Tony Gwynn or Ichiro Suzuki of his era, Carew was a master of bat control and one of the great bunters in the game's history. In total, he won seven batting titles and owns the third-highest lifetime batting average of any player who debuted after 1965, behind Tony Gwynn and Wade Boggs. I suppose that makes him one of the 10 best overall second basemen in the history of MLB. With catchers and first basemen in the books, next up is second base. So he's got that going for him, which is nice. Below are the six best to ever play the position in Major League Baseball history. Hughie Critz (1930s) offensive rating: D -, "The New York Giant infield of Hughie Critz, Bill Terry, Travis Jackson and Freddie Lindstrom, the million dollar infield as it was called, and it used to perform up to its namethey were so deft, so quick, so breathtaking that the fans would sit, first in stunned silence, and then in gathered bedlam"-Arnold Hano, respected baseball historian. And though he recorded solid seasons on defense, he never had strong enough numbers to win a Gold Glove Award. Teams: Washington Nationals, Los Angeles Angels, Seattle Mariners, Tampa Bay Rays. But he cemented his spot on the roster by participating in the Giants' World Series win in 2014, was named an All-Star in 2015 and won a Gold Glove Award in 2016. Frisch was also one of the 10 best offensive secondbasemen in the history of MLB. He pretty much got the job done offensively, too. If character counted in the compilation of this list, Jackie Robinson would be number one. Hell likely face heavy opposition when he eventually becomes eligible for Cooperstown. He pretty much got the job done offensively, ever so slightly below average. One of those players is Hall of Famer Roger Hornsby who was one of the best hitters of his generation and . A teammate of Randal Grichuk on the Colorado Rockies, C.J. That's all there is, right? 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 Team (s): St. Louis Cardinals, New York Giants, Boston Braves, Chicago Cubs & St. Louis Browns. Adrian Gonzalez (Tied) Adrian Gonzalez was a five-time All-Star. Once established, the Tigers wouldnt have to look for a second baseman until 1942. 4. Following his MLB career, Dauer spent 19 seasons as a pro coach and won the 2017 World Series with the Houston Astros as a first-base coach. In 2007, Phillips joined the 30-30 club 30 home runs and 30 stolen bases in one season. 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. Childs played in just over 1,450 games and Richardson played in just over 1,300 games. He also won the NL batting title in '16, hitting .348 with a .911 OPS. Hill excelled in 2009, when he rebounded from a concussion that ended his previous season and was named the AL Comeback Player of the Year after slugging 36 home runs and notching 108 RBI. Teams: New York Mets, St. Louis Cardinals. Collins was a member of the legendary Connie Macks Athletics until 1915. Would his game translate to 2016? The entire Os infield was excellent defensively, and Grich was the anchor on the right side, helping Baltimore to consecutive division championships in 73 and 74. Teams: St Louis Cardinals, Minnesota Twins, Philadelphia Phillies, New York Mets, San Francisco Giants. LONG PEAK = WAR in best seven seasons. Rookie of the Year (1947), MVP ('49), six-time All Star ('49-54), Hall of Fame ('62), Career stats However it turns out, he should be remembered as a great hitter albeit one who may have had help along the way. 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. Morgan was an on-base machine who could run, hit for power, and play excellent defense. In the field, he's . He wasn't a failure offensively, but he was the next best thing. Basic stats like hits, batting average, OBP, SLG, HRs, RBI, etc., were fused with wOBA and wRC+ for the offense. 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. Offense and defense? Generally, a players Career Value is worth about 50-60% of the ranking score we assign him. Roberto Alomar FAQ Who are the best MLB second basemen of all time? 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. 3. Bottom line: Brandon Phillips was an All-Star three times, and over a long major league career, he won four Gold Glove Awards and one Silver Slugger Award. Why Jeff Kent belongs in the Hall. -- Schoenfield, Rogers Hornsby batted .424 in 1924. The top 100 will roll out next week. Jose Vidro, Expos/Nationals (1997-2006) Key fact: Vidro leads all second basemen in franchise history with a 16.5 bWAR. -- Schoenfield, Teams Bottom line: Rich Dauer was a winner. However, his biggest fight came when he jumped his contract with the Phillies to join the insurgent American League Athletics in 1901. 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. 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. Teams: Cleveland Indians, Cincinnati Reds, Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Angels, Boston Red Sox. -- Tristan Cockcroft, ESPN.com senior writer, Honors Bottom line: Robinson Cano won a World Series title with the New York Yankees (2009) during his nine-year run with the Yanks. Pratt set up Wilson, and Wilson forced the biggest fumble of his career. 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. Lajoie played most of the rest of his career in Cleveland, finally returning to the As for his final two seasons in 1915-16. Your email address will not be published. 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. Required fields are marked *. Thursday brings the Top 10 infielders by position of all time, followed by pitchers and catchers on Friday. 1. 1. Cano was a regular post-season participant in his time with New York and a member of the 2009 World Championship team. SHORT PEAK = WAR in best three seasons. 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. This week, were on to the keystone as we take a look at the best second basemen of all time. .285/.344/.452, OPS -- .795, Hits -- 2,386, HRs -- 282, RBIs -- 1,061, Beloved Cubbiness and a brief run as one of the most supremely gifted second basemen in the game aside, Sandberg's main asset is exploiting Wrigley Field to hit for power, slugging .491 there vs. a less-than-epic .412 everywhere else. Nolan Arenado /.9718/, 5. By that time, Carew had shifted to first base, where he would remain for the second half of his career. He debuted in 1896 with the Phillies at first base but moved to second in 1898, where he would become famous. The greatest defensive second baseman of his time, and perhaps of all-time, Mazeroski is ironically best remembered for an unmatched accomplishment at the plate. Players are evaluated on five criteria as the foundation of our rankings: We use Wins Above Replacement (WAR) as a basis for these calculations. However, as Robinsons career was relatively short, he lags in the counting stats. Only Ty Cobb has a higher lifetime batting average than Hornsbys .358. Rangers top 5 >, Braves: Marcus Giles, 2001-06Key fact: Giles .809 OPS ranks first among all Braves second basemen (min. The 32-year-old posted a career-high 118 OPS+with. Sign up to receive our daily Morning Lineup to stay in the know about the latest trending topics around Major League Baseball.

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