-- Caple, Barry Bonds the young player was the game's greatest in his day; Barry Bonds the older man was the most feared slugger ever. Ivan Pudge Rodriguez is the epitome of the defensive catcher. Teams: Tampa Bay Rays (2006-14), Oakland Athletics (2015), Kansas City Royals (2015), Chicago Cubs (2016-19), Positions: Second base, shortstop, outfield. -- Lauber, A seven-time All-Star who stole 808 bases, Raines also played in the majors with his son, Tim Jr. Left Field JAWS Leaders. Vizquel is first all time among shortstops for games played at the position and double plays turned. Having helped lead the Rangers to three division titles in four years (1996-99) with a .315/.398/.502 batting line and 80 home runs, Greer gets the edge. Left field is located down the third baseline when viewing the field from home plate. Bob Johnson, 1933-42 He was so feared a hitter that he once was walked intentionally -- with the bases loaded. The players on this list have been recognized as multiple time Gold Glove winners, distinguishing themselves as members to baseballs elite defensive players. We all know left field is a hitters position. Which helped him earn the 1979 MVP award at age 39. Records are made to be broken, but MLB's all-time hit king might never lose his crown. How Many Good Giants Were Good Prospects? Weve been examining the best three-year peaks of defensive play by Giant players, as measured by baseball-reference.coms rfield. 1. The White Sox retired his No. Tweet Email Comment Next The Clooney Garage: Inside George Clooney's Insane Car Collection Related Topics Baseball Ty Cobb 4. What's the Dodgers' plan at shortstop? Rodriguez led catchers in caught stealing percentage for eight consecutive seasons and is the career leader in total zone runs among catchers. Pittsburgh Pirates (1986-92), San Francisco Giants ('93-2007), Honors Listen Now. Brooks Robinson's 16 Gold Gloves are the most for a non-pitcher in MLB history. He deserves to be in the Hall of Defense at the very least. Maddux was an eight-time All-Star, four time NL Cy Young winner, and racked up an impressive eighteen Gold Glove Awards. He's won six straight Gold Glove Awards, and no active pitcher has more assists (418) in his career. Tim Kurkjian, Eduardo Perez and Dallas Braden weigh in on who is the greatest left fielder in MLB history. Key fact: Bell was the first Blue Jays player to win the AL MVP Award (1987), Bell starred for the Blue Jays through the mid- and late 1980s, earning the first MVP Award in club history in 1987. Gold Glove Awards: 8 (1958, 1960-61, 1963-67). Jonty Rhodes features at the topmost on the list of "Top-5 best fielders of all times". 16 Reasons why Lebron is greater than Jordan. .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. Tigers top 5 >, Key fact: His 132 wRC+ is the highest among primary left fielders in club history, In five seasons with the Twins, Mack provided an effective and consistent combination of power, average, on-base ability and speed while playing all three outfield spots, good for a .309/.375/.479 slash line with 67 homers, 119 doubles, 24 triples and 71 stolen bases and a 17.9 fWAR in Minnesota. Robinson is 3rd all-time in fielding percentage among third baseman. -- Kahrl, We're counting down the greatest players in baseball history. No one loves a good debate quite like baseball fans, and with that in mind, we asked each of our beat reporters to rank the top five players by position in the history of their franchise, based on each player's career with that franchise. Not only was Mays the best center fielder, he might have been the best all-around player to play the game. No player not even Mantle dominated on his level for the '50s and '60s when he roamed center for the Giants and racked up two MVP awards, four home run titles, four stolen base titles, and one batting title. "The Wizard" is the all-time leader in dWAR. He is regarded as the " the best defensive fielder of all time" by the former Australian Captain Ricky Ponting. Best Midfielders of All Time Andres Iniesta Xavi Lothar Matthaus Andrea Pirlo - One of the Best Midfielders of all Time Ryan Giggs Steven Gerrard Michael Laudrup (DEN) Paul Scholes - A Great Central Midfielder Didi Frank Lampard Joshua Kimmich - A Popular Name Among the Best Defensive Midfielders Diego Maradona - All-Time Best Midfielder Only Keith Hernandez won more Gold Gloves among National Leaguers at his best position. I did not see many plays where he left his feet going forward (towards . Robinson was also recognized as an 18-time All-Star and 16-time Gold Glove Award Winner. The Big Puma ranks fourth in franchise history in games played; second in homers (326); third in runs scored (1,008), RBIs (1,090), doubles (375) and extra-base hits (727); and fifth in total hits (1,548). The best center fielder since Willie Mays combined great instincts, a quick first step and precise routes to the ball. Notable Astro Highlights: #25 Retired. A five-time All-Star, "King Kong" Keller completed his Yankees career with a slash line of .286/.410/.518, slugging 184 homers with 723 RBIs in 1,066 games. Yankees top 5 >, Key fact: Is the only player in MLB history to hit 50 homers and 50 doubles in a single season, Belle may not have left Cleveland on the greatest terms, but theres no denying the contributions that he made to the club during its run in the 1990s. Richards made a different kind of impact in left. Would you believe that hes the only shortstop among the top 10 in Range Factor per nine innings (sixth) and Total Zone Runs (seventh) in baseball history? 3 -- Cincinnati (1975, '76) Philadelphia ('80), Career stats -- Kahrl, Teams As even the Cubbies discovered, you can win a World Series with a guy like this. The 18 time All Star won the World Series in 1968 and was also the AL Batting Champion in 1955. .285/.379/.462, OPS -- .841, Hits -- 3,419, HRs -- 452, RBIs -- 1,844, Say what you want about his 3,419 hits or his 452 home runs. He is also the all-time career leader in assists as a shortstop and total zone runs. Top 20 Defensive Baseball Players of All Time, Why WCW's Ring Was So Different From WWE's, Explained, 10 Things WWE Fans Should Know About Dusty Rhodes' Life Outside Wrestling, 5 WWE Wrestlers Who Survived Bad Gimmicks (& 5 Who Had It Define Their Careers). He also stole a record 14 bases in three World Series. In two short weeks the Cleveland Browns will close the book on their disaster 2015 season. -- Caple, In the conversation because he was the NL's answer to Rickey Henderson and arguably the greatest player in Expos history, he was also one of the players robbed of his best opportunities to star in a bigger market by the owners' collusion conspiracy of the '80s. Career stats Defense is why he flew into the Hall with ease on his first try (91.7%). Midfielders may play an exclusively right back role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. The level of offensive talent at his position meant he was only selected to three All-Star Games, but Vizquel retired as the all-time leader in hits by a Venezuelan. White Sox top 5 >, Key fact: Only Angels player to record at least 2,000 hits with the club, With his smooth left-handed swing, Anderson set numerous club records during his time with the Angels, including the most hits (2,368), total bases (3,743), doubles (489), RBIs (1,292) and runs scored (1,024). Fernando Redondo. We'll run you through the top 50 below, with the likes of Javier . Bottom line: His dWar number is skewed by misspent time in center field. He's also on the short list of Total Zone Runs (fourth), Range Factor per nine innings (fifth) and jaws dropped (many) in major league history. -- Lauber, Here's how good Rickey was: Even if he never stole a base he'd be a Hall of Famer. Brock was at his best in October, hitting .391 -- second only to Pepper Martin (.418) in franchise history -- with 34 hits in 21 World Series games. - http://www.nfl.com/photoessays/0ap30000008159. 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. Pudge was named as an All-Star fourteen times and earned thirteen Gold Glove Awards. Brooks Robinson made a living off of amazing plays at third base. This is, quite simply, an amazing list of power, defensive prowess, great arms, speed and high averages. The differences seen in baseball across different eras are significant, and television and radio were not always available to document the miraculous plays of major leaguers on a daily basis. FOR ST. LOUIS: 1,298 games (1,133 starts in CF) CARDINALS STATS:.280 BA, .739 OPS, 80 HR . In the 2017 season, this valuable moveable piece was among the Total Zone Runs leaders at second base and left field. He led the American League in fielding percentage as a second basemen four times, assists twice, and committed the fewest errors as a second baseman twice. But they still have some very meaningful football left to play on Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefsand next week when the Pittsburgh Steelers visit FirstEnergy Stadium.If theTennessee Titanssomehow win their next two games, two losses by the Browns would secure them the No. Thanks to advanced statistics and extensive game logs, these spectacular performances have not gone forgotten. The. Among Cardinals who were primarily left fielders, Brock is No. The Grey Eagle was a member of the second ever Baseball Hall of Fame class and still holds the records for career outfield assists and doubles. Rose finished with 4,256 hits and he also touched home plate with a run 2,165 times. Want a crazy stat? Some might put an asterisk next to his name, but the performance was the best ever at left field or power production. Positions: Shortstop, second base, third base. .282/.360/.529, OPS -- .889, Hits -- 2,232, HRs -- 475, RBIs -- 1,540, The most feared slugger on the "We Are Family" Pirates? Some have better metrics at the position, but none come close to Willie Mays' combination of athleticism, arm strength, instincts, entertainment value and nickname. News on all your favorite celebs, reality TV, and movies. He played more games in his career than anyone else by more than an entire season. His #1 is retired by the St. Louis Cardinals and he's a Hall of Famer who helped win a World Series title in 1982. A team can hide a poor defender here and he will do minimal damage to them. Garvey was as an All-Star for the NL in eight straight seasons and while with the Dodgers would win four pennants and a World Series in 1981. He notched an impressive 283 wins and 2,461 strikeouts in his career along with a career ERA of 3.45. -- 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). 2 -- Oakland (1989), Toronto ('93), Career stats He led that 1968 team in batting average, home runs and OPS, earning one of his four All-Star selections in the process. Teams that almost certainly lessened his performance. 1 among White Sox left fielders and ranks fifth overall behind Hall of Famers Luke Appling, Frank Thomas, Eddie Collins and Nellie Fox. He. -- Schoenfield, Sure, there is the PED issue. Over his 11 seasons in Cincinnati, Foster went to five All-Star Games and was the team's biggest power threat during the Big Red Machine years. Photo: Elsa Source: Getty Images Other career achievements include over 351 OBP, 440 OPS, and 215 hits. Check out Gil's full list here! Maddux was an eight-time All-Star, four time NL Cy Young winner, and racked up an impressive eighteen Gold Glove Awards. Paul Blair's home run thievery in the final game of the 1966 World Series sweep was one of the greatest plays ever in postseason play, but because it came in the pre-YouTube days, it was never recognized as such. -- Kahrl, Honors 2 -- Philadelphia A's (1929-30), Career stats All you need to know about his defensive prowess can be seen on one epic play in the 1954 World Series opener. Ichiro Suzuki Ichiro was the 2001 MVP, an All-Star 10 times, a Gold Glove winner 10 times, the winner of three Silver Slugger awards, and a batting title winner twice. His untimely death while on a humanitarian aid trip to Nicaragua came after a baseball career during which his feats on the baseball diamond matched up to his generosity off of it. Nationals top 5 >, Key fact: Hit .331/.445/.507 with 110 runs and 123 RBIs in 1910, Were considering Modern Era players (1900 and later), so Hall of Famers Ed Delahanty and Billy Hamilton aren't included in these rankings. Regarded as the one of the best defensive right fielders of all time thanks to a legendary arm that helped him win 12 Gold Gloves, Clemente was a notorious bad-ball hitter who hit .312 lifetime . Braves top 5 >, Marlins: Cliff Floyd (1997-2002)Key fact: Was an All-Star in 2001, when he had 31 home runs with 103 RBIsAfter gaining valuable experience as a reserve on the 1997 World Series championship team, Floyd became a regular in '98 and blossomed into an All-Star in 2001. In 1966, the National League All-Star team fielded a lineup with arguably the greatest outfield ever to appear in a baseball game: Willie Mays, Roberto Clemente, and Hank Aaron. "Smooth" ranks second in TZR and 11th in Range Factor per nine innings at the position. TO. Often the accounts of their plays were passed on in daily summaries of the games, while others were lost to the ages. 344 views, 3 likes, 0 loves, 1 comments, 0 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from Field of Dreams Navojoa: Aguerridas Vs Buhas Does ex-teammate-turned-mortal enemy Pete Rose agree with us here? Eddie Rosario - Minnesota Twins Age 27 The 27-year old Rosario has been a steady 30+ doubles / 20+ home runs guy for the last. Moore was installed as the Giants leadoff hitter by Bill Terry in one of his first acts after taking over for John McGraw in 1932. More so than any position I've reviewed so far, the right fielders are affected by the 1970 timeline cutoff. -- Christina Kahrl, ESPN.com baseball writer, Honors 1. Tris Speaker was one of the greatest players in baseball history. But at his peak, he was excellent, a guy who could get on base, would play wherever his team needed him (he was a regular second base, left field, right field, third base and first base) and rarely missed a game. Before developing into the most prolific home run hitter of all time, Barry Bonds was an outfielder with amazing range. -- 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. His pitching credentials are some of the greatest of his era with 355 career wins, a 3.16 career ERA, and 3,371 career strikeouts. Teams: Chicago White Sox (1956-1965, 1969-1973), Baltimore Orioles (1966-68), Gold Glove Awards: 9 (1958-62, 1964, 1966, 1968, 1970). -- Caple, Teams 10. Baseball's Best @ 150, The Book That Counts Down the Best Players, Pitchers, And Fielders in Baseball History at the 150th Anniversary of the Major Leagues (1871-2020). Indeed, he turned the double play into an art form, sort of like a Mikhail Baryshnikovski in cleats. #Brazil squad prior a World Cup Qualifier in 1969: #CarlosAlbertoTorres #Joel #Flix # . Being shutout for nearly five minutes to start the third quarter Friday once again put the Golden Bears in chase mode. Yaz won the Triple Crown and AL MVP in 1967. In itself, that's a testament to his greatness. Teams: Chicago Cubs (1986-1990, 2004-06), Atlanta Braves (1993-2003), Los Angeles Dodgers (2006, 2008), San Diego Padres (2007-08), Gold Glove Awards: 18 (1990-2002, 2004-08). In 16 years with the Cardinals, he stole 888 bases, hit .297 and accumulated 41.8 bWAR. For true seamheads, this was absolutely rotten news. Possessing a cannon for an arm, he terrified base runners with his pick off moves and laser throws to catch runners stealing. RANK. Consistency, discipline, and work ethic are essential traits for a player to earn the coveted Gold Glove Award, awarded to elite fielders at the end of each season. N'Golo Kante. In 1977, he set what was then a rookie record with 56 stolen bases, and he batted .290 en route to a third-place finish in the NL Rookie of the Year voting. In 2002, Bonds was walked intentionally with no one on base eight times. *Honorable mentions - Ernst Ocwirk, Sergio Busquests, Edgar Davids, Dunga, Diego Simeone, Graeme Souness, Didier Deschamps. Teams: Pittsburgh Pirates (1986-92), San Francisco Giants (1993-2007). Willie Mays Mickey Mantle Ty Cobb Ken Griffey Jr. Joe DiMaggio Mike Trout 1. Thats right more than Ozzie Smith even. He was Brooklyns starting left fielder for 17 years, succeeding in both the Dead Ball and Live Ball eras. No player did so at a higher rate in the free-agent era. The adequate fielding was a bonus. *played in two All-Star Games in '59 and '60. The four time All-Star has played his entire career with the Colorado Rockies where he has won two Gold Glove Awards and three Fielding Bible Awards. He also ranks among the top 100 in career Total Zone Runs at second base (28th), shortstop (99th) and all positions (100th). Teams: Philadelphia/Kansas City Athletics (1954-1958), Cleveland Indians (1958-61) Minnesota Twins (1962-64), Los Angeles-California Angels (1964), Philadelphia Phillies (1964-65). That year, Foster posted a .320/.382/.620 slash line with a club-record -- and Major League-leading -- 52 homers and 149 RBIs, winning NL MVP honors. Teams: New York/San Francisco Giants (1956, 1958), St. Louis Cardinals (1959-1965, 1969), Philadelphia Phillies (1966-68). 17 Reasons why Jordan is greater than Lebron. Baseball's All-Time Greatest Center Fielders Ranked From 1 to 100. Get Jay Jaffe's book The Cooperstown Casebook where he outlines who should and shouldn't be in the Hall of Fame based on his JAWS metric used here.. 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. I dont think you can be any better a hitter than Ryan Braun. Brewers top 5 >, While Stan Musial played all over the outfield and could be included at any of the three positions, were going to rank him with the right fielders in a few weeks. "Campy" had no weaknesses other than the assorted hurts that went with the position. Join the discussion by using the #MLBRank hashtag, and follow along @BBTN and on Facebook. These impressive fielding statistics earned him eight Gold Gloves when combined with his hitting statistics earned him seven NL MVP Awards and fourteen All-Star appearances. PRIME = WAR in 5 Best Consecutive Seasons. Mizzou owns a 21-8 record during the 2023-24 season with an 9-7 mark in SEC play. Dave Winfield also won 7, but 5 of his were when he was playing primarily right field. And Bill White almost certainly would have one more (1956) if the award had been in existence. Ted Williams Carl Yastrzemski Willie Stargell Stan "The Man" Musial Luis Gonzalez Jim Rice Goose Goslin Moiss Alou Cleon Jones Gary Sheffield Mike Riley He won one MVP award and probably should have won three. Dude, the underappreciated superstar once gunned down a baserunner in three consecutive innings. In 1983 he left to play for San Diego and made two All-Star games as a Padre and led San Diego to their first ever pennant in 1984. "The Say Hey Kid.". His 254 assists are the most by an outfielder in the live ball era, which is nutso when you consider that, once word got around, a runner would almost rather have a lobotomy than risk embarrassment by his legendary arm. Mike Trout FAQ Who are the best MLB center fielders of all time? Honorable Mention: Rickey Henderson (29.7 fWAR) and Bobby Murcer (27.1 fWAR) The Yankees have a rich history of impactful center fielders. During his time with the ballclub, Keller was a five-time All-Star, four-time World Series. 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. Now guess whos second to Robinson in career Total Zone Runs at the position. 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. Next up are left fielders. NAME. Although not always earning the recognition of home run hitters or ace pitchers, excell. He split time between left field and first base while in Queens . Phillies top 5 >, Key facts: Won the 2007 Rookie of the Year Award and the 2011 NL MVP Award, From a statistical standpoint, only two players have generated more value to the Brewers than Braun, and both (Robin Yount and Paul Molitor) are in the Hall of Fame. Forgot how much ground he covered in his pre-roids days, didnt you? 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. Here are the ultimate left field rankings. His defensive accomplishments are remarkable: seven Gold Gloves, three Wilson Defensive Player of the Year Awards, and the ALs Rawlings Platinum Glove Award in 2014. 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. His arm strength was a half-cut below Roberto Clemente and Rocky Colavito in his day, but it was plenty strong and accurate enough. Left field has been the position of some of baseball's greatest players, including Ted Williams, Stan Musial, Carl Yastrzemski, and Frank Robinson, and was one of the primary positions on a . Smith led the National League in fielding percentage among shortstops eight times, double plays turned five times, and range factor seven times. "Mad Dog" dominated the Gold Glove Award for not one but two decades. 3.4K views, 81 likes, 24 loves, 97 comments, 6 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from quei Clube de Barcelos: quei Clube de Barcelos - FC Porto | 19. jornada It's been a rollercoaster couple of years for N'Golo Kante at Chelsea, but there's no disputing that he's back to his very . Pirates top 5 >, Key fact: Had 39.5 bWAR with Reds (16th in franchise history), After hitting .306/.364/.530 with 29 homers and a league-leading 121 RBIs in 1976, the second of Cincinnati's consecutive World Series title seasons, Foster enjoyed his best season in 77. He was a six-time All-Star and won two Gold Gloves as a member of the White Sox, topping .300 in six seasons. He was a 16-time Gold Glove winner and was a three time All-Star. 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. The ten time All-Star, eight time Gold Glove, led all second basemen in double plays turned for eight consecutive years from 1960 to 1967. The teams are set for action with an 8 p.m. tipoff on SEC Network. The son of an amateur catcher could single-handedly shut down run games. Add to that his limitless joy in playing anywhere that would play him at the end. His 27.4 bWAR is the most among all Indians left fielders and the 23rd highest in franchise history. 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. Honors -- Schoenfield, He's known primarily for taking money to throw the 1919 World Series but Jackson hit an astounding .356 for his career and batted .382 with a dozen home runs his final season. Securing a pennant or even the World Series. As a right fielder, it drops down to .969 giving him a total average of .972. It's hard to disagree that Charlie Keller is the greatest left fielder in Yankees history. If not for a tragic auto accident that ended his career prematurely, the three-time Most Valuable Player likely would have become the first black manager in the major leagues.