Hubbard played much of his career for those Atlanta Braves teams that had an overabundant amount of ground ball pitchers on their team. He won an MVP in 1949. It's why almost every historian ever calls him an "A +" defensively. Carew retired after the 1985 season despite a still-productive season in which he hit .280 with a .371 OBP. 1 -- St. Louis Cardinals (1926), Career stats .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. Rod Carew was one of the greatest hitters of his generation. He owns a 79.8 WAR, which is the highest of all Tribe players, and he also is the franchise leader with 2,047 hits. 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. 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. There's a reason no one in baseball can wear No. Hornsby led the pack in nearly every category and dominated in WAR. He ranks second in all-time WAR-162 and sixth in WAR7 among second basemen, representing his dominance. 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 top second basemen make the routine look easy and the difficult look routine. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. 4. 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). Lajoie played most of the rest of his career in Cleveland, finally returning to the As for his final two seasons in 1915-16. Before we get to the players, below is some background on how the list was compiled. The BBWAA wasted no time adding him to the group at Cooperstown, electing him in his first year of eligibility in 1990. Career Fld% Leaders:1.Placido Polanco/.9834/, 2.Mike Lowell/.9743/, 3. Jeff Reboulet (1990s) offensive rating: D. A defensive specialist. Athletics top 5 >, Mariners: Bret Boone, 1992-93, 2001-05Key fact: His 141 RBIs in 2001 are the fourth most in a single season in Mariners historyA solid argument could be made for Robinson Can, as well, but Boone gets a slight nod thanks to his huge production in the 116-win season in 2001, when he hit .331/.372/.578 with 37 homers and an AL-leading 141 RBIs. 8) MLB Power Rankings: Trade candidate C.J. 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 . -- Schoenfield, We're counting down the greatest players in baseball history. St. Louis Cardinals (1915-26, '33), New York Giants ('27), Boston Braves ('28); Chicago Cubs ('29-32), St. Louis Browns ('33-37), Honors Just an opinion. That said: I don't buy the consensus that he's the best second baseman ever. San Diego Padres (1988-90), Toronto Blue Jays ('91-95), Baltimore Orioles ('96-98), Cleveland Indians ('99-2001), New York Mets ('02-03), Chicago White Sox ('03-04), Arizona Diamondbacks ('04), Honors Jackie only played 11 professional seasons, including one with the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro League, where he didnt debut until he was 26. 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. Some well-known second basemen have career fielding percentages that are just a bit outside the top 25 in baseball history. You might be surprised at who missed the cut. if u dont have Maz in the top ten,your list is bogus.NO-ONE did the double play pivot better,not to mention the only 9th inn walk off homer in a game 7 of the wrld series,not to mention ,against the highly favored New York Yanks! -- Schoenfield, He won the inaugural Rookie of the Year award in 1947. He was also a great World Series performer, winning four titles and hitting .328 in 34 career games. He threw 39 innings and struck out 41, walked 15 and held opposing hitters to a . Somehow, a quiet top-tier Hall-of-Fame second baseman because he was Ted Williams' teammate in Boston. However it turns out, he should be remembered as a great hitter albeit one who may have had help along the way. Modern measures credit him with an average of 9.5 WAR per season over a five-year period. More important than his stellar defense, though, was his ability at the plate. Those who saw him described him as one of the best defensive players of that era. I just love that old quote from Hano. The first is Bobby Grich. Career Stats (1988 2004) San Diego Padres, Toronto Blue Jays, Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Indians, New York Mets, Chicago White Sox, Arizona Diamondbacks, Career Stats (2005 2022) New York Yankees, Seattle Mariners, New York Mets, San Diego Padres, Career Stats (1919 1937) Kansas City Monarchs, Brooklyn Dodgers, Career Stats (1919 1937) New York Giants, St. Louis Cardinals, Career Stats (1967 1985) Minnesota Twins, California Angels, Career Stats (1963 1984) Houston Colt 45s/Astros, Cincinnati Reds, San Francisco Giants, Philadelphia Phillies, Oakland As, Career Stats (1924 1942) Detroit Tigers, Career Stats (1896 1916) Philadelphia Phillies, Philadelphia As, Cleveland Bronchos/Naps, Career Stats (1906 1930) Philadelphia Athletics, Chicago White Sox, Career Stats (1915 1937) St. Louis Cardinals, New York Giants, Boston Braves, Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Browns. Bottom line: You can go far in baseball if you can play defense and have some pop in your bat. 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. He helped lead the Dodgers (the Brooklyn version) to the borough's only World Series title. Eddie didnt miss a beat in Chicago, continuing his small-ball mastery in the Windy City for the next twelve seasons. Collins career would last another 23 seasons before he eventually retired in 1930. The Sox made it to two World Series during that time in 1917 and 1919 winning the first one. Astros top 5 >, Athletics: Eddie Collins, 1906-14, '27-30Key fact: His 55.9 fWAR is third highest in franchise history among position players (first among second basemen)A member of the famed $100,000 Infield" assembled by owner Connie Mack in the early 1900s, Collins was an elite hitter who went six straight seasons (1909-14) without batting lower than .324. 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. It didnt matter where Lajoie played in the field; he was excellent everywhere. Teams: Montreal Expos, Washington Nationals, Colorado Rockies, Cleveland Indians, Los Angeles Dodgers, Minnesota Twins, Toronto Blue Jays, Kansas City Royals. He played in Baltimore and New York. Teams: Tampa Bay Devil Rays/Rays, Oakland Athletics, Kansas City Royals, Chicago Cubs. Now that he's in the Hall of Fame, he's not only in, but he's a top tier second baseman. Rockies top 5 >. 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. In 1997, MLB retired the number 42, which Robinson wore, across all of baseball. Teams: Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, Milwaukee Brewers, San Diego Padres, Detroit Tigers. 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. 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. Also, took HOF too long to put Lazzeri into HOF, 1991 by vets committee. Heck, he may be number one in all of baseball when considering what he meant to the game. And he did most of it under the most trying of circumstances. 1. He wasn't a failure offensively, but he was the next best thing. 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. 20 is one of three retired numbers in Royals history. 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. 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). Yet he remained an offensive force. The reason that I'm telling you this is so YOU don't make the same mistake as that guy did. After retiring in 1997, Reed went into coaching. Teams: Milwaukee Brewers, Houston Astros, San Diego Padres, Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers. 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? Frisch was also one of the 10 best offensive secondbasemen in the history of MLB. Cano has always been an exceptional hitter, as evidenced by his career slash line of .301/.351/.489. Hell likely face heavy opposition when he eventually becomes eligible for Cooperstown. He ranks first in stolen bases; second in games played, plate appearances, triples, and runs; third in batting average; and sixth in RBI. 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. His 377 home runs are tops among second basemen, and he has more hits than several Hall . Twelve seasons field ; he was Ted Williams ' teammate in Boston I comment you! Hit.280 with a.371 OBP time in 1917 and 1919 winning the first one the award. 39 innings and struck out 41, walked 15 and held opposing hitters to a second ever. 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