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. He took home five gold gloves in Cincinnati and led the league in OBP four times. In fact, that entire infield made it into the Hall of Fame, except for Critz. Anthony Rendon /.9715/, 6.Brooks Robinson+ . Kent was one of the best offensive second basemen of all time and arguably the position's best power hitter. He also won rookie-of-the-year that season for the Twins. D-backs top 5 >, Dodgers: Jackie Robinson, 1947-56Key fact: Only player whose uniform number is retired across MLBA true hero, legend, trailblazer and leader -- and thats before we even get into Robinsons stats. This didnt slow him down, though. Teams: Toronto Blue Jays, Arizona Diamondback, Milwaukee Brewers, Boston Red Sox, San Francisco Giants. Despite his success in St. Louis, Hornsby was traded to the Giants after the Cardinals won the World Series in 1926. Royals top 5 >, Tigers: Charlie Gehringer, 1924-42Key fact: 78.6 career fWAR ranks fifth all-time among MLB second basemenBorn and raised in Michigan, Gehringer played his entire 19-year career in Detroit, where his consistent greatness earned him the nickname The Mechanical Man. The Hall of Famer batted .306 or better in 13 of his 16 full Major League seasons, led the league in games played four times, played at least 150 games in nine seasons, and posted a .900+ OPS eight times. Second basemen are an important part of a baseball team's defense. Give me a break, he has so damn many of them now, who can keep them all straight? Though he never won a Gold Glove Award, Reed was a consistent fielder his entire career. They only won once in 1955, Jackies second to last season. 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. Lajoie retired following the 1916 season. Santiago Espinal turned 28 last November. Gehringer made it to the World Series three times, winning a World Championship in 1935. JAWS (Jaffe WAR Score system) was developed by sabermetrician Jay Jaffe as a means to measure a player's Hall of Fame worthiness. LeMahieus 877 games and 849 starts for the Rockies at second base were more than twice as many as the next player on the list (Eric Young, 413 and 389). To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Hi Nels. 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. The first is Bobby Grich. Polanco wore his Tigers jersey. 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. He is on the short list of the greatest right-handed hitters ever. 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. 1 second baseman for every club, as chosen by MLB.com's beat reporters. Then, he played his entire 10-year major league career with the Baltimore Orioles and won a World Series in 1983. After retiring, Scott Fletcher managed in the minor leagues and later became the Colorado Rockies' infield coordinator. I think his system is flawless, except he puts too much weight on Length of Career, but that's another article. 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. -- Dan Mullen, senior MLB editor, Teams In 2008, the Dominican-American received his U.S. citizenship in a ceremony before a Tigers-Indians game. PRIME = WAR in best five consecutive seasons. When I was younger, I used to love to watch this guy play defense. Despite his personal success, Carews Twins teams did not win much. Teams: Washington Nationals, Los Angeles Angels, Seattle Mariners, Tampa Bay Rays. 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. He pretty much got the job done offensively, ever so slightly below average. Frankie Frisch was a superb athlete and probably the best defensive second baseman in the Top Ten. 1. Because of how different eras of baseball have been played, it's difficult to nail down the best defensive catcher of all time. Indians: Nap Lajoie, 1902-14Key fact: Indians' all-time leader in WARLajoie was literally the face of the organization, as the club changed its name from the Bronchos to the Naps in 1903 after Lajoie himself. In a few weeks, well keep moving around the diamond and rank the Top Ten Shortstops. Table of Contents Who are the best MLB second basemen of all time? Mariners top 5 >, Rangers: Ian Kinsler, 2006-13Key fact: Ranks in franchise top 10 in hits (1,145), runs (748), doubles (249), triples (23), home runs (156) and RBIs (539)The choice for the Rangers' best all-time second baseman is closer than most people might realize. 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. Once Jackie debuted with the Dodgers in 1947, it became clear that he belonged. 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. His signature moment arrived during his 1984 NL MVP-winning season, when he hit two homers off Bruce Sutter in a five-hit, seven-RBI outburst to help the Cubs beat St. Louis. Bottom line: Robinson Cano won a World Series title with the New York Yankees (2009) during his nine-year run with the Yanks. Hornsby began player-managing in 1925 with the Cards and continued to do so throughout most of his remaining career. Philadelphia A's (1906-14, '27-30), Chicago White Sox ('15-26), Championships Teams: Chicago Cubs, Colorado Rockies, New York Yankees. -- Schoenfield, If Joe Morgan played today, he would be viewed as the ultimate Sabermetric player. 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 AL Triple Crown (1901), Hall of Fame ('37), Career stats 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). 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). 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. He won the College World Series twice at USC. Vidro ranks among the top 10 in franchise history in doubles (third), hits (sixth), runs (seventh), RBIs (seventh), homers (ninth) and walks (ninth). Carew was an all-star for an incredible 18 consecutive years, starting with his rookie year in 1967. 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. 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. He finished second in rookie-of-the-year voting that season and led the league in walks. This move helped legitimize the AL, but Lajoies time with the As was short-lived as legal action by the NL prevented him from playing in Philadelphia for any team other than the Phillies. Who is the best defensive catcher of all time? Your email address will not be published. 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. The 26-year-old is coming off his first career Gold Glove award, making him one of the top defensive players in the league. Had Robinson played more seasons, he would have been towards the top of this list. St. Louis Cardinals (1915-26, '33), New York Giants ('27), Boston Braves ('28); Chicago Cubs ('29-32), St. Louis Browns ('33-37), Honors Polanco was named the 2006 ALCS MVP while playing for the Detroit Tigers. 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 . To illustrate how big Lajoie was in his day, the Bronchos renamed themselves The Naps after their leader in 1903. These glovemen in the middle of the infield made the routine look easy and the difficult look routine. This incident ruined fan perception of Alomar for better or for worse. Do you want big names? He's played half his innings at second base, and the rest at shortstop and various outfield positions. If character counted in the compilation of this list, Jackie Robinson would be number one. He bounced back and forth between playing shortstop and second base throughout his MLB career. 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. Teams: San Francisco Giants, New York Mets. It didnt matter where Lajoie played in the field; he was excellent everywhere. That said: I don't buy the consensus that he's the best second baseman ever. 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. In 1937, when he won the batting title, Gehringer was also the AL MVP after hitting .371/.458/.520. 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. He was a tremendous all-around athlete and played multiple sports in college, which, along with World War II, delayed his eventual career in MLB. He moved to first base halfway through his career, but would rate higher as a second baseman. Those who saw him described him as one of the best defensive players of that era. Bottm line: Freddy Sanchez overcame physical adversity to become a professional athlete, having been born with a pigeon-toed left foot and a club right foot. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. 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). Yes, he broke in as a first baseman and rarely played second base over the final four seasons of his 10-year career, but Robinson was a second baseman in four of his six All-Star seasons, including his NL MVP-winning year of 1949. Frankie Frisch was a superb athlete and probably the best defensive second baseman in the Top Ten. Just an opinion. Longtime St. Louis Cardinals standout Rogers Hornsby is the greatest second baseman of all-time, per Baseball-Reference's system. And though he recorded solid seasons on defense, he never had strong enough numbers to win a Gold Glove Award. There was a historian once that just called him an "A" instead of an "A +". Frisch became a player-manager for St. Louis in 1933 and continued managing after he retired. He was the second best defensive second baseman in the history of MLB, but he doesn't belong in the Hall of Fame with that offense. 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. 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. Frisch went to four more World Series with St. Louis, this time coming out on top in the latter two. And hes been to the All-Star Game four times. Former Yankees captains on what awaits Aaron Judge, Angelos says Orioles staying put, scolds reporter, Sources: Cubs, 1B Mancini agree on 2-year deal, Padres give 16-year-old catching prospect $5.6M, Jays bullpen coach Buschmann stepping down, Alonso: Mets on the brink of something special, Cubs to honor Sandberg, who sees issue for Sosa. Phillies top 5 >, Brewers: Jim Gantner, 1976-92Key fact: No. He was traded to the San Francisco Giants, where he won a World Series in 2010. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Once we whittled down the list, we incorporated offensive stats and honors/awards to finalize it. Teams: Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs. Answer (1 of 30): I can't quibble with the other answers to this question, other than to offer the facts that 1. Which team will make a big move? Teams: New York Yankees, Seattle Mariners, New York Mets. 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