He has led all shortstops in double plays turned three times and is the active leader among shortstops in range factor, fielding percentage, and total zone runs. Teams: Chicago White Sox (1956-1965, 1969-1973), Baltimore Orioles (1966-68), Gold Glove Awards: 9 (1958-62, 1964, 1966, 1968, 1970). Crawford stole 50 or more bases in five seasons with the Rays, including 60 in 2009, which is still a franchise record. Teams: Chicago White Sox (2000-11), Miami Marlins (2012), Toronto Blue Jays (2013-15). Honus Wagner is known as one of the greatest players of all time, but unfortunately he played in an era before advanced defensive statistics. -- 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. -- Schoenfield, Not only the all-time leader in stolen bases (and the single season record holder as well), Rickey also holds the record for most career runs (2,295). 1. When "Little Louie" led the new wave of Hispanic players in the bigs, the position went from 33 1/3 to 78 rpm in terms of athleticism and entertainment value. Braun ranks in the franchises all-time top five in games, runs, hits, RBIs, extra-base hits and stolen bases, and he has been the Brewers all-time home run king since breaking Younts mark on Aug. 19, 2013 exactly 20 years after Yount went deep for the final time in his career. As a right fielder, it drops down to .969 giving him a total average of .972. Willie is a 24-time All-Star, 12-time Gold Glove award winner, and two-time MVP Award winner. Top 25 best midfielders in the world 2023 - Global ranking Maddux was an eight-time All-Star, four time NL Cy Young winner, and racked up an impressive eighteen Gold Glove Awards. He played nearly 1,500 games in the field with nine different teams. Andy Flower, with Jonty Rhodes (left), steps aside from role of assistant coach with Punjab Kings. 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). Zack Greinke is the modern Greg Maddux, only with less range, surer hands (one error per 319 innings pitched) and a superior pickoff move. The Flying Dutchman also has his visage on the most expensive baseball card of all time. MLB: Ranking top 10 left fielders ever - ESPN.com Yaz had better range than many center fielders and a stronger arm than some right fielders. Baseball Left Fielder - rookieroad.com This is, quite simply, an amazing list of power, defensive prowess, great arms, speed and high averages. Andy Reid picks the greatest Patrick Mahomes play of all-time | The Tweet Email Comment Next The Clooney Garage: Inside George Clooney's Insane Car Collection Related Topics Baseball He also ranks among the top 100 in career Total Zone Runs at second base (28th), shortstop (99th) and all positions (100th). Best Defensive Outfielders of All Time | All MLB Eras | Center, Right 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. He led all outfielders in putouts nine times, range factor per game ten times, and assists three times. Teams: Toronto Blue Jays (1981-89), New York Yankees (1989-92). -- Caple, The best leadoff man in the history of the game, Rickey was a joy to watch: the deep crouch at the plate, the coiled spring taking his lead at first base, the swagger. A weak hitter with a great glove (see Gregor Blanco) will not play left on the prototypical good team. Mike Trout FAQ Who are the best MLB center fielders of all time? -- Kahrl, We're counting down the greatest players in baseball history. "The Wizard" is the all-time leader in dWAR. His career, you may have heard, was cut a little short after all. The World's Most Entertaining Car Website. .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. Try this great: second in career Defensive WAR, third in Total Zone Runs and third in Range Factor per nine innings on the all-time list. It's hard to disagree that Charlie Keller is the greatest left fielder in Yankees history. Which helped him earn the 1979 MVP award at age 39. Lets also not forget how the "Little General" revolutionized the position with his hinged glove and one-handed technique. He won one MVP award and probably should have won three. Career Leaders & Records for Defensive WAR - Baseball-Reference.com Bench led the league in total zone runs as a catcher six times and caught stealing percentage three times. 10. -- Kahrl, Teams He was an especially strong presence in Seattle's lineup from 2004-08, batting .291/.354/.477 with 113 home runs and 489 RBIs in 755 games. 1-ranked left fielder of all time. 2022 Positional Power Rankings: Left Field | FanGraphs Baseball Now heres the stat that you never hear: Over 12 seasons, Maz played 1,722 complete games (86 percent), the kind of durability (overuse?) Some had stronger arms. Matthews, too, was primarily a good hitter. His was known for his trademark tumbling skills which dazzled fans young and old. Ted Williams Carl Yastrzemski Willie Stargell Stan "The Man" Musial Luis Gonzalez Jim Rice Goose Goslin Moiss Alou Cleon Jones Gary Sheffield Mike Riley OK, weve got your crazy right here. Before Barry Bonds became a controversial, divisive figure, before he was conserving energy in left field, he was a tremendously talented five-tool player. Top-10 Pinch Hitters in MLB History - The Grueling Truth (2:29), All-Time #MLBRank: The 10 greatest left fielders, The greatest lineups ever? He led all pitchers in assists in eleven seasons, range factor among pitchers fourteen times, and had three seasons in which he did not commit an error. Carl Yastrzemskiplayed three different positions for the Boston Red Sox during his 22-year career. Sometimes, it's a combination of all of the above. -- Lauber, In one sense, the hits record made him overrated -- his career OPS+ is the same as Justin Upton or Ken Griffey SENIOR -- and he hung on way too long when he was no longer productive. He spent the majority of his career with the Texas Rangers among other teams, but a one year stint with the Florida Marlins earned him a World Series title in 2003. -- Kahrl, Teams As his speed declined, his defense faded. Not only was Mays the best center fielder, he might have been the best all-around player to play the game. Bottom line: On Opening Day in 2010, the southpaw made a kick save on a shot up the middle, quickly ran down the ball in foul territory then executed a no-look, between-the-legs, glove-handed flip to first base for the out, the most insane, off-the-charts play by a pitcher in the history of history. The Argentine midfielder was capable of carrying on his own the . 300 games) with a .305 AVG.The Rangers have three worthy candidates for the title of best left fielder in club history: Greer, Frank Howard and Al Oliver. -- Lauber, Was he one of the best pure hitters ever? abbreviation for safety in football - aboutray16-eiga.com Dude, the underappreciated superstar once gunned down a baserunner in three consecutive innings. At the age of 29, Troy Tulowitzkistill has a long MLB career ahead of him. Records are made to be broken, but MLB's all-time hit king might never lose his crown. Teams: Atlanta Braves (1996-2007), Los Angeles Dodgers (2008), Texas Rangers (2009), Chicago White Sox (2010), New York Yankees (2011-12). While good fielders, neither is known primarily for his defensive skills. 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. Even if only half of the 18 were based on merit he ranked first in Total Zone Runs 13 times and fielding percentage three times the result would be difficult to ignore. Ed Delahanty Delahanty was one of the first great hitters in the game's history. A career .300 hitter with over 2,700 hits, he matches his prowess at the plate with solid defensive play in the middle infield. Possessing a cannon for an arm, he terrified base runners with his pick off moves and laser throws to catch runners stealing. Players are evaluated on five criteria as the foundation of our rankings: We use Wins Above Replacement (WAR) as a basis for these calculations. Positions: Shortstop, second base, third base. No, not in home runs, Sluggo, but Total Zone Runs among left fielders. -- Caple, When you look at combined value metrics like WAR or Jay Jaffe's JAWS, it might surprise you to find that after LF's all-time trinity of Williams, Bonds and Henderson, Yaz is the guy who doesn't quite rise to their level, but is far better than everyone else on this list. Baseball's best left field players include some amazing legends of the game, with names like Ted Williams, Stan Musial and Carl Yastrzemski. Here is the No. Joe DiMaggio 6. He also won the 1986 NL batting title, earned a Silver Slugger Award that year and was named to seven consecutive All-Star teams. Now guess whos second to Robinson in career Total Zone Runs at the position. He also retired with the highest career fielding percentage and once went 95 consecutive games without committing an error. Welcome to All-Time #MLBRank, our ranking of the top 100 players in baseball history. .294/.385/.425, OPS -- .810, Hits -- 2,605, HRs -- 170, RBIs -- 980, The fact that he's one of only four players with at least 2,500 hits, 1,500 runs and 800 stolen bases proves he was far more than merely Rickey Henderson Lite. Rookie of the Year (1963), 17-time All-Star ('65, '67-71, '73-82, '85), MVP ('73), World Series MVP ('75), two Gold Gloves ('69, '70), Silver Slugger ('81), Championships He was elected to the Hall of Fame in '53. Astros top 5 >, Athletics: Rickey Henderson (1979-84, '89-93, '94-95, '98), Key fact: 72.7 bWAR is highest of any position player in As history, Widely considered the greatest leadoff hitter ever, Henderson had four separate stints with the A's and is the franchise's all-time leader in position-player bWAR (72.7), runs (1,270), walks (1,227) and stolen bases (867). The unquestioned best leadoff hitter of all time. William Felton Russell (February 12, 1934 - July 31, 2022) was an American professional basketball player who played as a center for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1956 to 1969. Because range was a valuable commodity at spacious Tiger Stadium, Al Kaline spent nearly 20 percent of his time in center field. -- Lauber, The numbers defy sense. Hes the all-time leader. Defensive WAR shows as much. Teams: Cleveland Indians (1972-78), Texas Rangers (1979-85, 1989), Cincinnati Reds (1985-88), Houston Astros (1988). 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. He won an NL batting title in 1918 en route to a career batting average of .317. theScore examines the most important developments and biggest talking points from Saturday's slate of action in England's top flight.Foden bouncing back in a big wayTroubled by his ankle and out . When he was the runner-up for the AL MVP Award in 1995, he led the AL with 121 runs scored and 126 RBIs and led the Majors with 50 homers, 52 doubles and a .690 slugging percentage. 20+ Best Midfielders of All Time in the Soccer World - Mental Hiking He deserves to be in the Hall of Defense at the very least. The 18 time All Star won the World Series in 1968 and was also the AL Batting Champion in 1955. He spent his entire 18-year career with the Philadelphia Phillies where he was chosen as an All-Star twelve times and won ten Gold Glove Awards. Whiteland built a double-digit lead at the pivotal moment of the third quarter then hit just enough free throws in the game's final minute to secure a 47-45 victory over Shelbyville . That's short for Three True Outcomes, also known as walks, strikeouts and home runs. Keith Hernandez was welcomed into Americas living rooms on Seinfeld after a solid Major League career with three teams. -- Caple, "Pops" was a legend long before his last great season in '79, but the high-mound '60s muted his greatness: He slugged .491 in his 20s before they lowered the mound, then .555 afterward in 1969-1979. Minosos 41.4 bWAR sits No. For most of his career, Ozzie Smith was the premier defensive shortstop in baseball. Jonty Rhodes features at the topmost on the list of "Top-5 best fielders of all times". AJ Pollock, Los Angeles Dodgers. On Opening Day in 2010, the southpaw made a kick save on a shot up the middle, quickly ran down the ball in foul territory then executed a no-look, between-the-legs, glove-handed flip to first base for the out, the most insane, off-the-charts play by a pitcher in the history of history. Oakland A's (1979-84, '89-93, '94-95, '98), New York Yankees ('85-89), Toronto Blue Jays ('93), San Diego Padres ('96-97, '01), Anaheim Angels ('97), New York Mets ('99-2000), Seattle Mariners ('00), Boston Red Sox ('02), Los Angeles Dodgers ('03), Honors Left Field JAWS Leaders | Baseball-Reference.com 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. Montreal Expos (1979-90, 2001), Chicago White Sox ('91-95), New York Yankees ('96-98), Oakland A's ('99), Baltimore Orioles ('01), Florida Marlins ('02), Honors Smith led the National League in fielding percentage among shortstops eight times, double plays turned five times, and range factor seven times. Christian Yelich, Milwaukee Brewers. 9. Mets top 5 >, Key fact: Was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2017, Raines accomplishments go far beyond his standing among the franchises left fielders. Gold Glove Awards: 8 (1958, 1960-61, 1963-67). He was enshrined in Cooperstown in 1989 and no Cincinnati Red will ever wear his #5 again. Just imagine if he hadn't lost three prime years to serve in World War II. .312/.411/.585, OPS -- .996, Hits -- 2,574, HRs -- 555, RBIs -- 1,831, Charlie Manuel often says that to know Manny is to understand him. Tim Kurkjian, Eduardo Perez and Dallas Braden weigh in on who is the greatest left fielder in MLB history. Seven-time NL All-Star (1981-87), NL Silver Slugger ('86), All-Star Game MVP ('87), Career stats Dont bet on it. Thatd be Sweet Swinging Billy Williams, who won the 1961 NL Rookie of the Year Award, made six All-Star teams, picked up a batting title (72), finished as the runner-up for the NL MVP twice and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1987. A seven-time NL MVP, 14-time All-Star and eight-time Gold Glove Award winner, Bonds holds Major League Baseballs all-time records for home runs (762) and walks (2,558) and is the only player to hit 500 home runs and steal 500 bases. 1. The criteria were a combination of Gold Glove Awards (since 1957) and metrics such as Defensive Wins Above Replacement (dWAR), Total Zone Runs (an estimate of runs saved in the field) and Range Factor per nine innings with an assist from YouTube on occasion. -- Schoenfield, Sure, there is the PED issue. 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. They are without question among the greatest baseball players of all time, contributing to their respective teams while carving out their own Major League Baseball legacy. How great does a career .228 hitter have to be to play regularly for 10 seasons? Jim Edmonds Jim Edmonds poses for a picture at Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter, Florida, on February 25, 2005. The calmness with. The Greatest Outfield in Baseball History Anyone who believes this guy was one-dimensional doesnt know Michael Jack Schmidt. The Hall of Famer leads all Expos/Nationals players in offensive WAR (48.2), runs scored (947), singles (1,163), triples (82), walks (793), runs created (1,047), stolen bases (635), stolen base percentage (85.7) and win probability added (38.9). *played in two All-Star Games in '59 and '60. Bonds spent the final 15 seasons of his career with the Giants, hitting .312/.477/.666 with 586 home runs 1,440 RBIs over 1,976 games. 25 Greatest Outfielders in Baseball History - Fueled by Sports Photo credit (Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) 10. Want a crazy stat? Rodriguez led catchers in caught stealing percentage for eight consecutive seasons and is the career leader in total zone runs among catchers. Browns vs. Chiefs: What's the Game Plan for Cleveland