1. The next four seasons were magical for Morgan, especially 1975 and 1976. Carew retired after the 1985 season despite a still-productive season in which he hit .280 with a .371 OBP. 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. What do you get when you combine those two facts? 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. In 1991 he was elected to the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility with 90.5% of the vote. "Based on the distance that there was away from the goal line, I knew they were in sneak formation," Wilson said . Kinsler spent eight years with the Rangers while Franco was in Texas for five. Yet he remained an offensive force. Kent, a career .290 hitter, holds the all-time record for most home runs by a second baseman with 351 (out of 377). Pirates top 5 >, Reds: Joe Morgan, 1972-79Key fact: His 98.9 career WAR is second all-time at second base (behind only Rogers Hornsby)When Morgan was acquired from the Astros after the 1971 season in an eight-player trade, it gave the Big Red Machine the extra gear it needed to create a true dynasty. 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. -- Schoenfield, If Joe Morgan played today, he would be viewed as the ultimate Sabermetric player. However, we also adjust for era, integration and level of competition, and missed playing time due to factors beyond the control of the player. 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 Should a below-average offensive player be in the Hall of Fame at any position other than the pitcher's? After retiring, he became a minor league coach and worked his way up to be first-base coach for the Phillies in 2015. How close was it? Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Bottom line: A first-round draft pick in 2003 by the Toronto Blue Jays, Aaron Hill was called up in 2005. Sign up to receive our daily Morning Lineup to stay in the know about the latest trending topics around Major League Baseball. Teams: Colorado Rockies, Florida Marlins, Los Angeles Dodgers, Arizona Diamondbacks, Milwaukee Brewers. He could run, hit, hit for power, and play stellar defense. But it's his time in Cleveland that I think of first, when Alomar and Omar Vizquel mastered the dance of the double play as well as any duo I have ever seen. A broken finger finally forced him to wear a glove in 1896, and that year he fielded .978, a record fielding percentage for a second baseman until well into the 1900s. Bobby Doerr (1940s) offensive rating: A +. 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). His 2003 and 04 seasons are the most prolific for any second baseman in franchise history. He ranks second in all-time WAR-162 and sixth in WAR7 among second basemen, representing his dominance. Here is the No. -- Dan Mullen, senior MLB editor, Teams He seemed destined to be a Yankee for life but shocked the baseball world in 2013 when he left New York to sign a $240M contract with the Mariners. Bottom line: Rich Dauer was a winner. 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. He was, by far and away, the best defensive second baseman from the 1920s. The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user. 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. Teams: Oakland Athletics, Colorado Rockies, Los Angeles Dodgers, St. Louis Cardinals. He was a Top 10 MVP finalist five times. Below are the six best to ever play the position in Major League Baseball history. In 2015, he was hired to manage the Milwaukee Brewers, leading them to the NLCS in 2018. Oh, offensively, Hubbard pretty much got the job done, but he was slightly below average. Castillo holds the Marlins' record hitting streak of 35 games, which went from May 8-June 21, 2002. During the 2012 season, Barney committed just two errors, and tied the major league record for consecutive errorless games at second base with 141. Rogers Hornsby 2. His offensive prowess is among the greatest of all players, not just second basemen. He didnt play much during his final five seasons with the St. Louis Browns, but he still hit over .300 four times. 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.. 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. 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. Bid McPhee (1890s) offensive rating: A +, "McPhee never wore a glove until his last three seasons: he was one of the last players to play barehanded. More important than his stellar defense, though, was his ability at the plate. The Little General retired in 1984 with a career OBP of .392. Santiago Espinal turned 28 last November. He made his first of six consecutive MLB all-star games that season and led the league in stolen bases and batting average. 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). Now that he's in the Hall of Fame, he's not only in, but he's a top tier second baseman. After that season, he was traded to the Mets. "Frisch can knock down more balls with his elbows, knees, chest and head, and by dint of his fleet recovery throw out the runner, than any nine men we know"-Gordon Mackay, respected baseball historian, 1924. Zobrist was named MVP of the 2016 World Series. 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. In 2004, he scored the last-ever run for the Montreal Expos, before they relocated to Washington, D.C. I'm taking him as the best second baseman ever. 1. Because we adjust for timeline and era, our rankings have fewer players from before 1941 than many other baseball player lists. He's one of the 20 best overall second basemen in the history of MLB when you mix his offense and his defense together. Cano has not officially retired, but after being cut by the Mets and Padres this season, he may not get another chance. 11-20: Here is a list of 10 other second basemen that were in serious contention of taking this 10th spot away from Frisch. Only Ty Cobb has a higher lifetime batting average than Hornsbys .358. The top second basemen make the routine look easy and the difficult look routine. 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). However, as Robinsons career was relatively short, he lags in the counting stats. Pedroias Baseball Reference War is 51.6 compared to 51.1 for Doerr. This didnt slow him down, though. It's why he's a top tier Hall of Famer at the position. 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. Of course, Grich won Gold Gloves back when they meant a bit more than they do today. Baseball Best MLB Defensive Players of All Time By Paul Ladewski, updated on March 11, 2020 Old-Time Baseball Photos / Facebook TTO has done more to hurt defense than Daniel Murphy ever could on his worst day. I almost agree. The Tigers popped Jung with the 12th pick in last July's draft by way of Texas Tech. Not all historians will call him the best defensive second baseman in history, but they will almost all call him one of the 10 best ever. For his efforts, Marte finished fourth in the NL MVP race. Cano won five silver sluggers and went to eight all-star games altogether, and even chipped in a couple of gold gloves. Despite his success in St. Louis, Hornsby was traded to the Giants after the Cardinals won the World Series in 1926. Welcome to another edition of Top Ten! I will list them in order, from oldest to newest: Fred Dunlap (1880s), Nap Lajoie (1900s), Lonny Frey (1940s), Eddie Mayo (1940s), Gil McDougald (1950s), Jackie Robinson (1950s), Red Schoendienst (1950s), Fernando Vina (1990s), Craig Counsell (2000s)and Pokey Reese (2000s), 9. The three-time Gold Glove Award winner made the cover of Sports Illustrated in 1999 when he was with the Mets and considered by some to be part of "The Best Infield Ever" along with second baseman Edgardo Alfonzo, shortstop Rey Ordonez and third baseman Robin Ventura. 2 jersey retired in '76 and has a sculpture with shortstop Luis Aparicio on the Guaranteed Rate Field concourse. 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 All-Star game appearances, MVP awards, and seasons where the player finished in the Top Ten in MVP voting covered the honors. At that point, he was in his 40s and starting to show his age. He took home five gold gloves in Cincinnati and led the league in OBP four times. For the purposes of this exercise, Alfonzo is only eligible at one position; with that in mind, second base, which is statistically one of the weakest in Mets history, seems an excellent place to give Alfonzo his proper due. His lone All-Star appearance was 1985 the year he notched 110 RBI while hitting just eight home runs. Frank White was not only the best second baseman in Royals history, he is one of the greatest defensive second baseman in baseball history. I'm glad he's in, but what took you so long, Veteran's Committee? Teams: Pittsburgh Pirates, New York Mets, Milwaukee Brewers, Miami Marlins, New Yor Yankees. Bottom line: Joe Panik was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in 2011 and didnt get called up until the 2014 season. Do you want big names? Cano was a regular post-season participant in his time with New York and a member of the 2009 World Championship team. Who is the best defensive catcher of all time? It was probably in his Win Shares book or his Baseball Historical Abstract book, I can't remember, forgive me. 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. In a few weeks, well keep moving around the diamond and rank the Top Ten Shortstops. Bottom line: Jamey Carroll played second base, shortstop and third base during a dozen years in the bigs. Jackie Robinson 3. Despite his personal success, Carews Twins teams did not win much. -- Schoenfield, Teams What to watch the rest of this MLB offseason, The biggest winners and losers of this MLB offseason. He played for seven franchises but is best known for his stints with the Blue Jays, Orioles, and Indians. 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