But he stole 1,406 of them, the most ever, and scored the most runs in MLB history. 2 -- Philadelphia A's (1929-30), Career stats -- 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). Answer (1 of 21): The first player that comes to mind would be Suzuki Ichiro, who could throw seeds all the way to the third-base bag from rightfield. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in '53. The White Sox retired his No. 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 . -- Caple, Still judged for his inclusion in the Black Sox scandal, and still condemned for it. A career .300 hitter with over 2,700 hits, he matches his prowess at the plate with solid defensive play in the middle infield. And Williams never posted a .609 OBP. For some, a great grab is when a fielder reaches over the wall or does an acrobatic move. He posted a .609 OBP one year. The adequate fielding was a bonus. Right field really does have it all. Without the award, the evidence for Ashburns defensive greatness relies on his defensive statistics, which were virtually unparalleled during his 15-year career. Players are evaluated on five criteria as the foundation of our rankings: We use Wins Above Replacement (WAR) as a basis for these calculations. 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. Weve been examining the best three-year peaks of defensive play by Giant players, as measured by baseball-reference.coms rfield. Does ex-teammate-turned-mortal enemy Pete Rose agree with us here? He played more games in his career than anyone else by more than an entire season. Baseball has had some amazing glove stories. As his speed declined, his defense faded. -- 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. Nine AL Silver Sluggers (1995, '99-06), 12-time AL All-Star ('95, '98-08), World Series MVP (2004), Career stats We'll run you through the top 50 below, with the likes of Javier . 1. Honorable Mention: Rickey Henderson (29.7 fWAR) and Bobby Murcer (27.1 fWAR) The Yankees have a rich history of impactful center fielders. 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. Moore was a four-time All-Star who lost three seasons at the peak of his career to serve in World War II. 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. See, the career leader in Total Zone Runs at the position had a certain mystique about him, an unmatched flair and grace and passion that set him apart from the rest. Yet its hard to deny Johnny Bench's combination of strength, athleticism, smarts and leadership behind the plate. A team can hide a poor defender here and he will do minimal damage to them. Truth is, few ever played the field with more flair and confidence. 1 overall pick in Aprils . 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. The MLB now awards the Roberto Clemente Award annually to the player with outstanding baseball skills combined with personal involvement in community work. 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. Indians top 5 >. -- 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. Midfielders may play an exclusively right back role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. 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. 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). However, we also adjust for era, integration and level of competition, and missed playing time due to factors beyond the control of the player. Mike Schmidt is the only third baseman among the top 10 in Gold Gloves (second), Range Factor per nine innings (seventh) and Total Zone Runs (ninth). -- Kahrl, Teams Want a crazy stat? PRIME = WAR in 5 Best Consecutive Seasons. Some of the players on this list have been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame and are considered among the games greatest players. Ashburn has remained one of the best Phillies center fielders of all time and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1995. After winning the National League MVP in 2018 and finishing runner-up in 2019, Yelich slashed just . Subjectively, I would go with Yaz as the best defensive left fielder of all time. 1. -- Schoenfield, The last player to hit .400, Teddy Ballgame batted .334 with 521 home runs despite missing five seasons while serving in two wars And when he homered in his last at-bat, there went the greatest hitter who ever lived. Yaz led all outfielders in assists seven times, total zone runs four times, and putouts as a left fielder four times. Age During 2022 Season: 34. Williams not only had a .344 average for his career, but he also blasted 522 home runs despite missing nearly five full seasons serving in World War II and the Korean War. -- Schoenfield, Charlie Hustle played at least 500 games games in five positions, but he was always best at the plate. The Top 10 Boston Celtics of all Time. -- Lauber, The numbers defy sense. Roberto Alomar was a fixture on the Toronto Blue Jays World Series winning teams and would go on to have an impact on several other exciting teams. Mariners top 5 >, Rangers: Rusty Greer (1994-2002)Key fact: Tied for fourth in franchise history (min. This marked the first and only time a player eclipsed 50 in both homers and doubles. Vizquel is first all time among shortstops for games played at the position and double plays turned. Rockies top 5 >. Just imagine if he hadn't lost three prime years to serve in World War II. 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. -- Kahrl, Teams And none led the league in Total Zone Runs more times (eight). He was enshrined in Cooperstown in 1989 and no Cincinnati Red will ever wear his #5 again. He was inducted to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1983 as a first ballot member. 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,. Ibanez leads all Mariners left fielders and ranks among the franchise's overall top 10 in games (1,110), hits (1,077), homers (156), doubles (216), extra-base hits (392), RBIs (612), runs (540), walks (367) and slugging percentage (.466). Robinson is 3rd all-time in fielding percentage among third baseman. CAREER = career war. -- Lauber, Here's how good Rickey was: Even if he never stole a base he'd be a Hall of Famer. Tim Kurkjian, Eduardo Perez and Dallas Braden weigh in on who is the greatest left fielder in MLB history. Clementes defensive skills were virtually unparalleled, with Roberto earning 12 Golden Gloves and 15 All-Star appearances. In baseballs rich history there have been many players that have excelled in the defensive aspects of the game. -- Kahrl, Teams Check out Gil's full list here! Quick and agile Ichiro could get to balls and set-up as quickly as anyone. 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. 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 . We feel its important to acknowledge that baseball is harder to play today than it was 25 years ago, and 50 years ago, and so on. He won one MVP award and probably should have won three. 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. He is the all-time leader among third basemen in games played, putouts, assists, double plays turned, and total zone runs. At the age of 29, Troy Tulowitzkistill has a long MLB career ahead of him. Tweet Email Comment Next The Clooney Garage: Inside George Clooney's Insane Car Collection Related Topics Baseball 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. Three-time AL All-Star (1933-35), Hall of Fame ('53), Championships Yaz won the Triple Crown and AL MVP in 1967. No player did so at a higher rate in the free-agent era. He notched an impressive 283 wins and 2,461 strikeouts in his career along with a career ERA of 3.45. Known for his intensity, he won two batting titles while hitting .334 in his career and drove in 100-plus runs his first 11 seasons. that almost certainly lessened his performance. -- Schoenfield, Sure, there is the PED issue. Teams: Baltimore Orioles (1965-81), Los Angeles Dodgers (1982). Maddux had his #31 retired by both the Chicago Cubs and Atlanta Braves. He won nine consecutive Gold Glove Awards and eleven total for his career. 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. *played in two All-Star Games in '59 and '60. 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. Now guess whos second to Robinson in career Total Zone Runs at the position. 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. One of the five greatest left-handed hitters in MLB history, "Stan the Man" helped the Cardinals to win World Series titles in 1942, 1944 and 1946. In addition to breaking Hank Aarons home run record, he also is the all-time leader in total zone runs from a left fielder. Career stats Big personalities? Hernandez also delivered the iconic Seinfeld line I am Keith Hernandez, perhaps making up for him missing out on Cooperstown. Who's the greatest left fielder of all-time? Part of the reason Rose would eventually break Ty Cobb's hit record was because of his incredible durability and longevity. He was so feared a hitter that he once was walked intentionally -- with the bases loaded. 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. 3. Carl Yastrzemskiplayed three different positions for the Boston Red Sox during his 22-year career. Brooks was a two time World Series Champion and was named World Series MVP in 1970. Teams: Cleveland Indians (1972-78), Texas Rangers (1979-85, 1989), Cincinnati Reds (1985-88), Houston Astros (1988). 'The Progress & Freedom Fou Teams: Atlanta Braves (1996-2007), Los Angeles Dodgers (2008), Texas Rangers (2009), Chicago White Sox (2010), New York Yankees (2011-12). Bottom line: His dWar number is skewed by misspent time in center field. He was Brooklyns starting left fielder for 17 years, succeeding in both the Dead Ball and Live Ball eras. Magee ranks first among Modern Era Phillies left fielders in runs (898), doubles (337), triples (127), on-base percentage (.371) and stolen bases (.387); second in hits (1,647), RBIs (885) and batting average (.299); fourth in home runs (75) and OPS (.818) and eighth in slugging percentage (.447). 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. Dave Kingman had two separate stints with the Mets, navigating the Shea Stadium grass from 1975-1977 and 1981-1983. 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 . Philadelphia A's (1908-09), Cleveland Naps ('10-14), Cleveland Indians ('15), Chicago White Sox ('15-20), Career stats RANK. Next up are left fielders. Too bad he wasn't able to play longer because he finished just 73 hits shy of 3,000. Christian Yelich, Milwaukee Brewers. He was selected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1995 by the Veterans Committee. He. He was an important force in the heart of the lineup for the World Series-winning '91 squad. He is the all-time leader in assists, double plays, and unassisted double plays by an outfielder. He also had a .992 OPS over 29 postseason games with Houston. 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 . Richards would depart before the Padres 1984 run to the NL pennant. If only the world had seen more of Jackson, whose association with the Black Sox scandal cut short his career at age 32. That's short for Three True Outcomes, also known as walks, strikeouts and home runs. While Gonzalez is best remembered for his base hit off Mariano Rivera that won the 2001 World Series for the D-backs, he also ranks second in franchise history among D-backs position players with 30 bWAR, trailing only Paul Goldschmidt. He was the league leader in Total Zone Runs five times. "Motormouth" played so shallow in the field, he could almost shake hands with the second-base umpire. .298/.444/.607, OPS -- 1.051, Hits -- 2,935; HRs -- 762 (all-time leader), RBIs -- 1,996; BBs -- 2,558 (all-time leader); IBBs -- 688 (all-time leader), He is, after Babe Ruth and Ted Williams, the greatest hitter ever. 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. 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. Frank White also is 10th in double plays turned. FOR ST. LOUIS: 1,298 games (1,133 starts in CF) CARDINALS STATS:.280 BA, .739 OPS, 80 HR . Hard to imagine he played for seven -- count 'em, seven -- teams. Brooks Robinson made a living off of amazing plays at third base. Ken Griffey Jr. 5. Rose finished with 4,256 hits and he also touched home plate with a run 2,165 times. "Charlie Hustle" was durable and one of baseball's greatest hitters. 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. Willie Mays 24-time All-Star (second-most in MLB history) 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 Gold Glove Awards: 7 (1963, 1965, 1967-69, 1971, 1977). In itself, that's a testament to his greatness. Indeed, he turned the double play into an art form, sort of like a Mikhail Baryshnikovski in cleats. This definition appears very frequently and is found in the following Acronym Finder categories: Slang/chat, popular culture. Hes the all-time leader. 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 *Honorable mentions - Ernst Ocwirk, Sergio Busquests, Edgar Davids, Dunga, Diego Simeone, Graeme Souness, Didier Deschamps. In two short weeks the Cleveland Browns will close the book on their disaster 2015 season. 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. Because range was a valuable commodity at spacious Tiger Stadium, Al Kaline spent nearly 20 percent of his time in center field. "Mad Dog" dominated the Gold Glove Award for not one but two decades. Mays, who finished with 660 HR, 3,283 hits, and 12 Gold Gloves, was the best of the three and the greatest center fielder of all time. 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. -- Kahrl, Honors Ibanez leads all Mariners left fielders and ranks among the franchise's overall top 10 in games (1,110), hits (1,077), homers (156), doubles (216), extra-base hits (392), RBIs (612), runs (540), walks (367) and slugging percentage (.466). -- Christina Kahrl, ESPN.com baseball writer, Honors Thursday brings the top 10 infielders by position of all time, followed by pitchers and catchers on Friday. 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) -- 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. The Ultimate Compendium for the Baseball Fan, Including All-Time Teams for Your Favorite Franchise From Yankees to Dodgers and More. Here are the ten greatest defensive midfielders of all time. Suspended forever after his age-32 season, since we don't have the back slope of his career to judge him fully, not someone I'd rank among these others. As central midfielders often go across boundaries, with mobility and passing ability, they are often referred to as deep-lying midfielders, play-makers, box-to-box midfielders, or holding midfielders. Dangerous on the basepaths, Raines led Major League Baseball in stolen bases in 1981 and 84. 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.