Who are the best MLB center fielders of all time? 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. 9. PRIME = WAR in 5 Best Consecutive Seasons. 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. And without further ado, our list of the greatest defensive outfielders of all time, sorted by era: Tris Speaker (1907-1928) Ty Cobb (1905-1928) Fielder Jones (1896-1908) Marlins top 5 >, Key fact: Caught final out of 1969 World Series, One of the engines of the 1969 Miracle Mets, Jones hit .340 in 137 games that season, starting in left field for 119 of them. He also knew how to play the Green Monster pretty well. 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). 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. -- Tim Kurkjian, ESPN.com senior writer, For as much as we dwell on the video-arcade numbers from his final 10 seasons, sometimes we don't make enough of what he did in his first 12: .288/.408/.551, 374 HR, 417 SB, three NL MVP awards. Defensive WAR shows as much. #Brazil squad prior a World Cup Qualifier in 1969: #CarlosAlbertoTorres #Joel #Flix # . Is there a more fundamentally correct baseball player out there? Although not always earning the recognition of home run hitters or ace pitchers, excelling in the defensive elements of baseball is crucial to teams winning baseball games. And runs, are the most important stat in baseball. Sometimes, it's a combination of all of the above. He is the all-time leader in assists, double plays, and unassisted double plays by an outfielder. Rose finished with 4,256 hits and he also touched home plate with a run 2,165 times. Ted Williams Carl Yastrzemski Willie Stargell Stan "The Man" Musial Luis Gonzalez Jim Rice Goose Goslin Moiss Alou Cleon Jones Gary Sheffield Mike Riley 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). AJ Pollock, Los Angeles Dodgers. 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). Gold Glove Awards: 8 (1958, 1960-61, 1963-67). Yelich had -6 defensive runs saved in his first season as a primary left fielder in 2020, though that's far from the biggest concern of the Brewers. His 5 All-Star appearances may not be as spectacular as other members of the list, but he led the league assists as a first baseman 5 times, fielding percentage twice, and putouts four times. -- Kahrl, Teams In itself, that's a testament to his greatness. Long Peak = WAR in Best 7 Seasons. Here are some other contenders. (2:29) Tim Kurkjian, Eduardo Perez and Dallas Braden weigh in on who is the greatest left fielder in MLB history. He was Brooklyns starting left fielder for 17 years, succeeding in both the Dead Ball and Live Ball eras. Photo: Elsa Source: Getty Images Padres top 5 >, Rockies: Matt Holliday (2004-08, 18)Key fact: Led NL in average (.340), RBIs (137), hits (216) and total bases (386) in 2007Rockies fans will argue until the end of time that Holliday's 2007 performance -- a .340/.405/.607 slash line with 46 home runs and league-leading totals in hits (216), doubles (50) and total bases (386) -- should have netted him the NL MVP Award. Jim Edmonds Jim Edmonds poses for a picture at Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter, Florida, on February 25, 2005. The 18 time All Star won the World Series in 1968 and was also the AL Batting Champion in 1955. Check out Gil's full list here! Unique lists featuring pop culture, entertainment and crazy facts. 297/.355/.536 with 21 home runs, 69 RBIs, 30 walks, .892 OPS, 137 OPS+, three defensive runs saved, zero outs above average and a 3.0 fWAR. Career stats His 27.4 bWAR is the most among all Indians left fielders and the 23rd highest in franchise history. "Motormouth" played so shallow in the field, he could almost shake hands with the second-base umpire. If not for a relatively short shelf life, he might have more than one All-Star Game and two Gold Gloves on his resume. Cincinnati Reds (1963-78, '84-86), Philadelphia Phillies ('79-83), Montreal Expos ('84). In the 2019 season, 35 percent of all plate appearances ended in one of the three, a recent trend that meant even fewer balls in the field of play, which meant fewer chances for a highlight-reel play that could make the hairs on our arms stand at attention. At the age of 29, Troy Tulowitzkistill has a long MLB career ahead of him. But Bonds is among the greatest players of all time, with 762 home runs, a career OPS of 1.051. Mike Trout FAQ Who are the best MLB center fielders of all time? Bell also ranks fifth in Range Factor per nine innings (3.18) overall. The best outfielder of the 1980s decade combined excellent range and a bazooka arm that rivaled the best ever (read: Roberto Clemente). 18-time All-Star ('63, '65-79, '82-83), All-Star Game MVP ('70), MVP (1967), Triple Crown ('67), seven Gold Gloves ('63, '65, '67-69, '71, '77), Hall of Fame ('89), Career stats He was the ultimate glue guy, a personal favorite of manager Casey Stengel for good reason. For his efforts he was the recipient of ten Gold Glove Awards and appeared in 12 All-Star Games. The two-time Most Valuable Player was a natural, the first catcher to be awarded a Gold Glove in his rookie season. 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. Ed Delahanty Delahanty was one of the first great hitters in the game's history. He also won the 1986 NL batting title, earned a Silver Slugger Award that year and was named to seven consecutive All-Star teams. A career .630 OPS dwarfed his excellence in the field. Who would have bet he could do all that? 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. -- Kahrl, Teams Which helped him earn the 1979 MVP award at age 39. 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. .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. But I wouldn't put him in the top 100 players. Teams: Baltimore Orioles (1965-81), Los Angeles Dodgers (1982). TTO has done more to hurt defense than Daniel Murphy ever could on his worst day. -- Lauber, Pops hit 475 home runs but as produtive as he was, Pops was known for his team leadership. NAME. No player did so at a higher rate in the free-agent era. His best work was done in the outfield where he earned seven Gold Glove Awards. Mickey Mantle 3. Simmons remains the A's all-time leader in batting average (.356), RBIs (1,179), total bases (2,998) and extra-base hits (655). Bottom line: Roberto Alomar and his record 10 Gold Gloves originally were in this spot, but this Royals lifer got the final nod because of his impressive career metrics. Rays top 5 >, Key fact: His 121.9 fWAR ranks second in AL history to Babe Ruth, The Red Sox have three Hall of Famers at the head of their left-field class, but Williams easily stands out as the most dominant player in team history. Others are not included in those categories, but excelled in the defensive aspects of the game to such an extent that their inclusion was necessary. Gil McDougald's fielding percentage and Range Factor per nine innings exceeded the league average at each of three positions. Tim Kurkjian, Eduardo Perez and Dallas Braden weigh in on who is the greatest left fielder in MLB history. 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. And time ran out on their season. We all know left field is a hitters position. Mariners top 5 > Rangers: Rusty Greer (1994-2002) 1. He also ranks among the top 100 in career Total Zone Runs at second base (28th), shortstop (99th) and all positions (100th). .334/.380/.535, OPS -- .915, Hits -- 2,927, HRs -- 307, RBIs -- 1,828, Simply put, one of the greatest hitters of his generation. David Ortiz insists on calling him "Mr. Williams," Big Papi's nod to the greatest hitter who ever lived. I did not see many plays where he left his feet going forward (towards . 344 views, 3 likes, 0 loves, 1 comments, 0 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from Field of Dreams Navojoa: Aguerridas Vs Buhas. Dangerous on the basepaths, Raines led Major League Baseball in stolen bases in 1981 and 84. He could have won two more Gold Gloves if they had been awarded, in which case he would rank second in American League history. Former VP of Player Personnel Gil Brandt's Top 10 Defensive Ends of All Time! What's the Dodgers' plan at shortstop? Last month, he was inducted to the Baseball Hall of Fame. "The Great One" would be the first player who we would pay to watch play defense. Yaz had better range than many center fielders and a stronger arm than some right fielders. Well-renowned for his passing, Gerson is often considered as one of the best passers in World Cup history. He also leads the club in total steals (409), as well as hits (1,480), batting average (.296) and triples (105). 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. 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. Bottom line: His dWar number is skewed by misspent time in center field. Cleveland Indians (1993-2000), Boston Red Sox ('01-08), Los Angeles Dodgers ('08-10), Chicago White Sox ('10), Tampa Bay Rays ('11), Honors The Definitive List of the 7 Best Left Fielders Right Now 7. Defense is why he flew into the Hall with ease on his first try (91.7%). In his 16 year career, he had. March 03, 2023 9:51 AM. Part of the reason Rose would eventually break Ty Cobb's hit record was because of his incredible durability and longevity. Subjectively, I would go with Yaz as the best defensive left fielder of all time. Greg Maddux is widely considered to be the greatest fielding pitcher of all-time. This is a good formation. Worthy of this list as well as the Hall of Fame. He led all left fielders in range factor per game five times, assists six times, and is the all-time leader in putouts by a left fielder. He is the all-time leader among third basemen in games played, putouts, assists, double plays turned, and total zone runs. But he posted a .291/.357/.387 slash line across seven seasons, and he still ranks in the franchise's top five in batting average, runs, position-player WAR, hits, triples and stolen bases. 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. Mariners top 5 >, Rangers: Rusty Greer (1994-2002)Key fact: Tied for fourth in franchise history (min. Keith Hernandez was welcomed into Americas living rooms on Seinfeld after a solid Major League career with three teams. More so than any position I've reviewed so far, the right fielders are affected by the 1970 timeline cutoff. Don't think so. Generally, a players Career Value is worth about 50-60% of the ranking score we assign him. Regardless, he makes everybody's short list of the greatest right-handed hitters of all-time. He was a 16-time Gold Glove winner and was a three time All-Star. Who is the best left fielder in MLB? The MLB now awards the Roberto Clemente Award annually to the player with outstanding baseball skills combined with personal involvement in community work. This week, we bring you the top 10 at each position, starting in the outfield. Jim Kaat is regarded as one of the greatest fielding pitchers of all time. Bottom line: This guy never played a postseason game, so unlike Brooks Robinson in the 1970 World Series, Buddy Bell never had a chance to showcase his skills in front of a national audience. Jonty Rhodes features at number one on our list of "Best fielders in world cricket." He was described by Ricky Ponting as "The best defensive fielder of all-time." This probably had some truth to it, because he could stop runs inside the 30-yard circle, like no other fielders could. Greg Maddux is widely considered to be the greatest fielding pitcher of all-time. Dave Winfield also won 7, but 5 of his were when he was playing primarily right field. Teams: San Diego Padres (1978-81), St. Louis Cardinals (1982-96). 1 left fielder for each club, as chosen by MLB.com's beat reporters. Hernandez also delivered the iconic Seinfeld line I am Keith Hernandez, perhaps making up for him missing out on Cooperstown. Mays is the all-time career leaders in putouts by an outfielder and games played by a center fielder. Before developing into the most prolific home run hitter of all time, Barry Bonds was an outfielder with amazing range. Cardinals top 5 >, Key fact: Had 4,262 total bases with Cubs, second to only Ernie Banks in club history, There is no debate over who should be the Cubs No. 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). 4 jersey will be retired. -- Christina Kahrl, ESPN.com baseball writer, Honors 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). JAWS (Jaffe WAR Score system) was developed by sabermetrician Jay Jaffe as a means to measure a player's Hall of Fame worthiness. "Smooth" ranks second in TZR and 11th in Range Factor per nine innings at the position. 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. Some of the players on this list came long before Web Gems were a daily part of our national pastime. No one did it so well for so long. He is considered to be one of the greatest five tool players of all time. Many who have known Manny would disagree. Christian Yelich, Milwaukee Brewers. -- 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. He ranks third in Gold Gloves and fourth in Total Zone Runs among shortstops. While Bobby Veach has a strong case as one of the Tigers' great run producers of the Dead Ball Era, Horton's legacy as a hometown hero and clutch performer in the Tigers' 1968 World Series have secured his place in franchise history. He earned two of the best nicknames in baseball history because of his prowess with the glove, the Human Vacuum Cleaner and Mr. Truth is, few ever played the field with more flair and confidence. 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. "Campy" had no weaknesses other than the assorted hurts that went with the position. We'll run you through the top 50 below, with the likes of Javier . Giants top 5 >, Padres: Gene Richards (1977-83)Key fact: Ranks among Padres' top five in average, hits, runs, triples, steals and position-player WARHistorically, the Padres outfield thump has come from right field. Christian Yelich, Milwaukee Brewers. Indians top 5 >. He won nine consecutive Gold Glove Awards and eleven total for his career. Thats right more than Ozzie Smith even. His #6 was retired by the Detroit Tigers and in 1980 he was enshrined in Cooperstown as a first ballot Hall of Famer. His arm strength was a half-cut below Roberto Clemente and Rocky Colavito in his day, but it was plenty strong and accurate enough. Teams: New York/San Francisco Giants (1956, 1958), St. Louis Cardinals (1959-1965, 1969), Philadelphia Phillies (1966-68). (2:29). He blew open Game 2 of the NL Championship Series with a late two-run homer, hit a key leadoff double in the eighth inning of World Series Game 5, then scored the go-ahead run in the Mets title-clinching 5-3 victory. Baseball's All-Time Greatest Center Fielders Ranked From 1 to 100. Blue Jays top 5 >, Key fact: Only O's player to rank among top 10 in homers (209, eighth) and steals (307, first), Before he grew into a slugging center fielder, Anderson was the Orioles everyday and amply productive left fielder. Fernando Redondo. Not only was Mays the best center fielder, he might have been the best all-around player to play the game. He was enshrined in Cooperstown in 1989 and no Cincinnati Red will ever wear his #5 again. 10-time AL All-Star (1980, '82-88, '90-91), AL Gold Glove ('81), three AL Silver Sluggers ('81, '85, '90), AL MVP ('90), Hall of Fame (2009), Championships 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. Willie Mays 24-time All-Star (second-most in MLB history) Angels top 5 >, Key fact: His .959 OPS with the Astros is the second highest in franchise history, Berkman is one of the three greatest offensive players in Astros history, joining Hall of Famers Jeff Bagwell and Craig Biggio. During his time with the ballclub, Keller was a five-time All-Star, four-time World Series. His defensive skills were so highly regarded that his glove was known as the place where triples go to die. The three-time World Series champion was named MVP in 1912 and won the batting title in 1916. The adequate fielding was a bonus. In ranking the top 25, many great players were left off the list including Hall of Famers Andre Dawson, Jim Rice, Al Simmons, Duke Snider, Dave Winfield, Lou Brock and others. He did not have the career of his father, but who did? Three-time AL All-Star (1933-35), Hall of Fame ('53), Championships Teams: Texas Rangers (1991-2002, 2009), Florida Marlins (2003), Detroit Tigers (2004-08), New York Yankees (2008), Houston Astros (2009), Washington (2010-11), Gold Glove Awards: 13 (1992-2001, 2004, 2006-07). 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. The 18 greates Coaches in College Football History. That's short for Three True Outcomes, also known as walks, strikeouts and home runs. The sixtime All-Star was a two time batting champ, but his fielding statistics were truly special. Only Keith Hernandez won more Gold Gloves among National Leaguers at his best position. He led that 1968 team in batting average, home runs and OPS, earning one of his four All-Star selections in the process. Left Field JAWS Leaders. Anyone who believes this guy was one-dimensional doesnt know Michael Jack Schmidt. -- Kahrl, We're counting down the greatest players in baseball history. Teams: St. Louis Cardinals (1974-83), New York Mets (1983-89), Cleveland Indians (1990). Gordons 98 outfield assists are tied for the most in MLB since 2010. He also helped the Red Sox to their first world series title in 86 years. 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. Without the award, the evidence for Ashburns defensive greatness relies on his defensive statistics, which were virtually unparalleled during his 15-year career. 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. The top 100 will roll out next week. Some of the players on this list have been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame and are considered among the games greatest players. As fast as he was, somehow those stirrup socks made him look even faster. For true seamheads, this was absolutely rotten news. 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). He is also the all-time career leader in assists as a shortstop and total zone runs. The talented footballer was voted UEFA Men's Player of the Year. 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. Now heres the stat that you never hear: Over 12 seasons, Maz played 1,722 complete games (86 percent), the kind of durability (overuse?) 'The Progress & Freedom Fou He made up for a relatively weak throwing arm with a very quick release and a patented spin move down the left field line to hold runners to a single. BOSTON (AP) Mikal Bridges was considered a defensive star and complementary offensive player in Phoenix before abruptly having his five-year run there ended when he was shipped to Brooklyn as . Brooks Robinson's 16 Gold Gloves are the most for a non-pitcher in MLB history. Teams He led second basemen in assists eight times and putouts five times. 344 views, 3 likes, 0 loves, 1 comments, 0 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from Field of Dreams Navojoa: Aguerridas Vs Buhas -- Lauber, Was he one of the best pure hitters ever? He's won six straight Gold Glove Awards, and no active pitcher has more assists (418) in his career. 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). In the 2017 season, this valuable moveable piece was among the Total Zone Runs leaders at second base and left field. -- Lauber, You know the quote: Williams once supposedly said, "All I want out of life is that when I walk down the street folks will say, 'There goes the greatest hitter that ever lived.' In Pirates history, only Willie Stargell -- whom we ranked as the Bucs best first baseman of all time -- has hit more home runs (475) than Kiners 301, and only six Pirates have driven in more runs than his 801. 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. " It has been 56 since he last played; nobody has passed him yet (although Barry Bonds came close). These rankings are for fun and debate purposes only, and fans were able to participate in Twitter polls to vote for their favorites. .356/.423/.517, OPS -- .940, Hits -- 1,772, HRs -- 54, RBIs -- 785, None other than Babe Ruth said Jackson was "the greatest natural hitter I ever saw." Photo credit (Getty Images) 2. 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. RANK. Thats short for Three True Outcomes, also known as walks, strikeouts and home runs. The players on this list have been recognized as multiple time Gold Glove winners, distinguishing themselves as members to baseballs elite defensive players. Barry Bonds is Major League Baseball's all-time home run leader and the only player to win more than three MVP awards he ended up with seven but is that enough to declare the infamous,. 100 Greatest Left Fielders of All-Time ALL-TIME TOP 100 LISTS CATCHER FIRST BASE SECOND BASE SHORTSTOP THIRD BASE LEFT FIELD CENTER FIELD RIGHT FIELD PITCHER Baseball's All-Time Greatest Left Fielders Ranked From 1 to 100 CAREER = career war Long Peak = WAR in Best 7 Seasons SHORT PEAK = WAR in Best 3 Seasons Join the discussion by using the #MLBRank hashtag, and follow along @BBTN and on Facebook. This marked the first and only time a player eclipsed 50 in both homers and doubles. Moore was a four-time All-Star who lost three seasons at the peak of his career to serve in World War II. 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. *Honorable mentions - Ernst Ocwirk, Sergio Busquests, Edgar Davids, Dunga, Diego Simeone, Graeme Souness, Didier Deschamps. ABOUT MISSOURI. Rodriguez led catchers in caught stealing percentage for eight consecutive seasons and is the career leader in total zone runs among catchers. A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Two-time MVP (1946, '49), two Triple Crowns ('42, '47), 19-time All-Star ('40-42, '46-51, '53-60*), Hall of Fame ('66). He also had a .992 OPS over 29 postseason games with Houston. However, we also adjust for era, integration and level of competition, and missed playing time due to factors beyond the control of the player. He notched an impressive 283 wins and 2,461 strikeouts in his career along with a career ERA of 3.45.
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