greatest defensive left fielders of all time

100 Greatest Center Fielders of All-Time - The Baseball Scholar Philadelphia A's (1924-32, '40-41, '44), Chicago White Sox ('33-35), Detroit Tigers ('36), Washington Senators ('37-38), Boston Bees ('39), Cincinnati Reds ('39), Boston Red Sox ('43), Honors He's won six straight Gold Glove Awards, and no active pitcher has more assists (418) in his career. Kante is a winner / Sebastian Frej/MB Media/GettyImages. Photo: Elsa Source: Getty Images March 03, 2023 9:51 AM. 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. -- 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. Dangerous on the basepaths, Raines led Major League Baseball in stolen bases in 1981 and 84. And runs, are the most important stat in baseball. Well-renowned for his passing, Gerson is often considered as one of the best passers in World Cup history. FOR ST. LOUIS: 1,298 games (1,133 starts in CF) CARDINALS STATS:.280 BA, .739 OPS, 80 HR . The Argentine midfielder was capable of carrying on his own the . That gets you all-county in high school; you don't do that in the major leagues. 2 -- Oakland (1989), Toronto ('93), Career stats 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. 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. Carl Yastrzemskiplayed three different positions for the Boston Red Sox during his 22-year career. The Puerto Rican flash was ahead of his time, what with his sweeping glove motions and one-handed technique, which were no-nos in his day. Reds top 5 >, Key fact: Had 30 bWAR with D-backs, second most among position players in franchise history, The acquisition of Gonzalez from the Tigers in exchange for outfielder Karim Garcia on Dec. 28, 1998, received little attention at the time, but it would go down as one of the best trades in franchise history. Teams: Los Angeles-California Angeles (1964-69), Chicago White Sox (6970) Kansas City Royals (1971-72). .334/.380/.535, OPS -- .915, Hits -- 2,927, HRs -- 307, RBIs -- 1,828, Simply put, one of the greatest hitters of his generation. Richie Ashburn played the majority of his career before they awarded Gold Glove awards for elite fielders. He also retired with the highest career fielding percentage and once went 95 consecutive games without committing an error. The Tigers have won their last two games . That's short for Three True Outcomes, also known as walks, strikeouts and home runs. He won one MVP award and probably should have won three. 1 among White Sox left fielders and ranks fifth overall behind Hall of Famers Luke Appling, Frank Thomas, Eddie Collins and Nellie Fox. Some might put an asterisk next to his name, but the performance was the best ever at left field or power production. Ted Williams Carl Yastrzemski Willie Stargell Stan "The Man" Musial Luis Gonzalez Jim Rice Goose Goslin Moiss Alou Cleon Jones Gary Sheffield Mike Riley Best all time left fielder for every MLB team - MLB.com Matthews, too, was primarily a good hitter. Check out Gil's full list here! No argument here. 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. Left Field JAWS Leaders. If only the world had seen more of Jackson, whose association with the Black Sox scandal cut short his career at age 32. He will be eligible for Hall of Fame induction in 2017. But nobody was a more complete package than this gold standard at the hot corner. No Gavin Lux -- big problem. 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. 10 greatest midfielders of all time - Sportskeeda Age During 2022 Season: 34. 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). Before he was the first baseman on the Giants pennant-winning teams of 1951 and 1954, Whitey Lockman was an outfielder, and a good one, too, but by 1951 Leo Durocher had him trade positions with Monte Irvin. His best work was done in the outfield where he earned seven Gold Glove Awards. 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. 2 -- Philadelphia A's (1929-30), Career stats Although not always earning the recognition of home run hitters or ace pitchers, excell. 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 . Some of the players on this list came long before Web Gems were a daily part of our national pastime. At 35, Alex Gordon is a good bet to rank second when all is said and done. As a left fielder he has a .979 fielding percentage. 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. -- 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. This Day in Giants History, February 20, 1895: John Montgomery Ward Hates the Reserve Clause, This Day in Giants History: December 3, 1960, Constructing a Team from Players Who Have Been Both Senators/Twins and Giants, Elysian Fielders Constructing a Team from Players Who Have Been Both Senators/Twins and Giants, Constructing a Team of Players Who Have Been Both Braves and Giants, Elysian Fielders The General Managers: John McGraw, 1919-32, The General Managers: John McGraw, 1902-12, Baseball's Great Experiment: Jackie Robinson and His Legacy, The Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract, The Numbers Game: Baseball's Lifelong Fascination With Statistics. Lets also not forget how the "Little General" revolutionized the position with his hinged glove and one-handed technique. MLB: Ranking top 10 left fielders ever - ESPN.com 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. The on-field portion of the NFL scouting combine rolls on with Day 2 of the action gearing up Friday as special teams players and defensive backs get set for measurements, testing and on-field drills. Yaz won the Triple Crown and AL MVP in 1967. The players on this list have been recognized as multiple time Gold Glove winners, distinguishing themselves as members to baseballs elite defensive players. 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). Browns vs. Chiefs: What's the Game Plan for Cleveland 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. MLB: Ranking top 10 right fielders ever - ESPN.com 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. The 20 Greatest Athletes of all Time Ben Zobrist also spent time at shortstop and right field in his career. He also leads the club in total steals (409), as well as hits (1,480), batting average (.296) and triples (105). 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. ABOUT MISSOURI. He split time between left field and first base while in Queens . 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. Indeed, he turned the double play into an art form, sort of like a Mikhail Baryshnikovski in cleats. Because we adjust for timeline and era, our rankings have fewer players from before 1941 than many other baseball player lists. -- Kahrl, Teams 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). But despite sitting out those two seasons, he still easily ranks first among Braves left fielders in bWAR. -- 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.' Saving a perfect game or no-hitter. Ted Williams Boston Red Sox With Red Sox: 19 seasons Best season: 1941 (10.4 WAR, .406/.553/.735, 37 homers, MVP runner-up) Sorry, Barry. Jim Kaat is regarded as one of the greatest fielding pitchers of all time. "Pops," of course. The unquestioned best leadoff hitter of all time. -- Christina Kahrl, ESPN.com baseball writer, Honors The son of an amateur catcher could single-handedly shut down run games. Baseball Best MLB Defensive Players of All Time By Paul Ladewski, updated on December 5, 2022 Old-Time Baseball Photos / Facebook TTO has done more to hurt defense than Daniel Murphy ever could on his worst day. For this calculation, we use a replacement level on defense is the league average. His great first step, speed and knowledge of the tendencies of his own teams pitchers and opposing hitters allowed him to get to everything hit his way. Al Kaline spent his entire career with the Detroit Tigers, which earned him the nickname Mr. Tiger. 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. that almost certainly lessened his performance. In baseball, the left fielder is a defensive position that is responsible for covering the left third of the outfield. Defensive WAR shows as much. Relying on positioning and reading hitters proved inadequate to maintain the standards hed set. Three-time AL All-Star (1933-35), Hall of Fame ('53), Championships "Campy" had no weaknesses other than the assorted hurts that went with the position. In 16 years with the Cardinals, he stole 888 bases, hit .297 and accumulated 41.8 bWAR. Seven-time MVP (1990, '92-93, 2001-04), 14-time All-Star ('90, '92-98, '00-04, '07), eight Gold Gloves ('90-94, '96-98), 12 Silver Sluggers ('90-94, '96-97, '00-04), Career stats 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. At the age of 29, Troy Tulowitzkistill has a long MLB career ahead of him. 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. Twins top 5 >, White Sox: Minnie Minoso (1951-57, '60-61, '64, '76, '80), Key fact: First black player in franchise history, Minoso debuted for the White Sox on May 1, 1951, hitting a home run on the first pitch he saw against the Yankees, and was a beloved staple of the organization long after he retired. 5 greatest Brazilian midfielders of all-time - Sportskeeda 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. Andy Reid picks the greatest Patrick Mahomes play of all-time | 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. Big numbers? 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. -- Caple, The last .400 hitter, decorated veteran, the pull hitter so great the shift couldn't stop him, Williams' legend as the patron saint of the art of hitting is unchallengeable. His 253 hits with the A's in 1925 remains the single-season Major League record for a right-handed batter. 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 could beat you with a walk, two stolen bases and a sacrifice fly or with a towering home run. It is the most memorable part of a legacy that saw Jones hit .291 with 93 homers and 91 steals over 12 years as a Met. -- 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. 10. WSVX News - Shelby County Post Yet its hard to deny Johnny Bench's combination of strength, athleticism, smarts and leadership behind the plate. 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. Mike Trout FAQ Who are the best MLB center fielders of all time? During his Hall of Fame career, Kaline received 10 Gold Glove awards for his work in Right and Center field. Athletics top 5 >, Mariners: Raul Ibanez (1996-2000, '04-08, '13)Key fact: Ranks among Mariners' top 10 in games, hits, homers, RBIs and runsLeft field traditionally has been a revolving door for the Mariners, but Ibanez provided some stability during his three stints with the team. Yaz excelled at playing balls off of Fenways Green Monster and for his efforts has had his #8 retired by the Boston Red Sox. Here are some other contenders. Teams: Tampa Bay Rays (2006-14), Oakland Athletics (2015), Kansas City Royals (2015), Chicago Cubs (2016-19), Positions: Second base, shortstop, outfield. The Best Players of the Last 50 Years - Part VIII - Left Fielders Who are the best MLB center fielders of all time? Mickey Mantle 3. He led all outfielders in putouts nine times, range factor per game ten times, and assists three times. (Bonds routinely sat in on the pitchers pre-game meeting where they discussed how they were going to pitch to that days opponents.) He was Brooklyns starting left fielder for 17 years, succeeding in both the Dead Ball and Live Ball eras. 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. Maddux had his #31 retired by both the Chicago Cubs and Atlanta Braves. 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). Ty Cobb 4. Robinson was also recognized as an 18-time All-Star and 16-time Gold Glove Award Winner. 4 jersey will be retired. Seven-time All-Star ('64-66, '71-73, '78), World Series MVP (1979), MVP ('79), Hall of Fame ('88), Championships News on all your favorite celebs, reality TV, and movies. 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. Widely considered to be the greatest catcher in the history of baseball, Johnny Bench was a key member of the Big Red Machine teams that won four National League pennants and two World Series titles. All-time, I would say that you would find a consensus of 6 right fielders that stand above the crowd by most opinions - Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron, Frank Robinson, Mel Ott, Roberto Clemente, and Al Kaline.Of those 6, 4 (Aaron, Robinson, Clemente, and Kaline) debuted in the mid-1950's and . He is the all-time leader in assists, double plays, and unassisted double plays by an outfielder. He was so feared a hitter that he once was walked intentionally -- with the bases loaded. He is the last player to hit .400 in a season -- back in 1941. Welcome to All-Time #MLBRank, our ranking of the top 100 players in baseball history. (2:29) Tim Kurkjian, Eduardo Perez and Dallas Braden weigh in on who is the greatest left fielder in MLB history. Fielding errors were a rarity in the careers of these players. The World's Most Entertaining Car Website. He also won the 1986 NL batting title, earned a Silver Slugger Award that year and was named to seven consecutive All-Star teams. 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. Best left fielders in A's history - mlb.com Subjectively, I would go with Yaz as the best defensive left fielder of all time. Eddie Rosario - Minnesota Twins Age 27 The 27-year old Rosario has been a steady 30+ doubles / 20+ home runs guy for the last. Here's how WBC offenses stack up with MLB's best, Las Vegas prepared to give A's 'better opportunity', Female minor league manager shadows Lovullo, Paxton (hamstring) unlikely for start of season, Jays' Guerrero to miss WBC with inflamed knee, Rangers, LHP Smith agree to 1-year, $1.5M deal, 7 Cubs combine for 1st spring no-no since 2017, Scherzer tries to test pitch clock limits, gets balk. Simmons remains the A's all-time leader in batting average (.356), RBIs (1,179), total bases (2,998) and extra-base hits (655). Teams: New York/San Francisco Giants (1951-52, 1954-1972), New York Mets (1972-73). Williams ended his MLB career with 426 homers, 434 doubles, 2,711 hits and a .290/.361/.492 slash line. Now guess whos second to Robinson in career Total Zone Runs at the position. Dave Kingman had two separate stints with the Mets, navigating the Shea Stadium grass from 1975-1977 and 1981-1983. 25 Greatest First Basemen in Baseball History - Fueled by Sports The adequate fielding was a bonus. The two-time Most Valuable Player was a natural, the first catcher to be awarded a Gold Glove in his rookie season. I explained my methodology here, and weve previously looked at catchers, first-, second and third basemen, and shortstops. TTO has done more to hurt defense than Daniel Murphy ever could on his worst day. 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. He was inducted into the Angels Hall of Fame in '16 and remains active with the organization. #Brazil squad prior a World Cup Qualifier in 1969: #CarlosAlbertoTorres #Joel #Flix # . He also stole a record 14 bases in three World Series. " It has been 56 since he last played; nobody has passed him yet (although Barry Bonds came close). Teams: Toronto Blue Jays (1981-89), New York Yankees (1989-92). 25 Greatest Outfielders in Baseball History - Fueled by Sports The only 3 left fielders with 4 or more Gold Gloves are Barry Bonds (8), Alex Gordon (7, so far), and Yastrzemski (7). Joe DiMaggio 6. Join the discussion by using the #MLBRank hashtag, and follow along @BBTN and on Facebook. Ivan Pudge Rodriguez is the epitome of the defensive catcher. Weve been examining the best three-year peaks of defensive play by Giant players, as measured by baseball-reference.coms rfield. Best Defensive Outfielders of All Time | All MLB Eras | Center, Right Jesse Barfield ranks 16th in Total Zone Runs at any position. Vizquel is first all time among shortstops for games played at the position and double plays turned. Ted Williams - Boston Red Sox (1939-1942; 1946-1960) (2:29), All-Time #MLBRank: The 10 greatest left fielders, The greatest lineups ever? Teams: Cleveland Indians (1972-78), Texas Rangers (1979-85, 1989), Cincinnati Reds (1985-88), Houston Astros (1988). How great does a career .228 hitter have to be to play regularly for 10 seasons? 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. When the last out settled into his glove a half-inning later, Jones had to leap the left-field fence to avoid a mob of Mets fans streaming onto the field. 2 -- Pittsburgh (1971, '79), Career stats For true seamheads, this was absolutely rotten news. A weak hitter with a great glove (see Gregor Blanco) will not play left on the prototypical good team. And none led the league in Total Zone Runs more times (eight). Teams: Chicago White Sox (1956-1965, 1969-1973), Baltimore Orioles (1966-68), Gold Glove Awards: 9 (1958-62, 1964, 1966, 1968, 1970). Securing a pennant or even the World Series. 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 The six-time All-Star led the NL in homers every year from 1946-52, and he hit 35 or more homers every season from 47-53. Former VP of Player Personnel Gil Brandt's Top 10 Defensive Ends of All Time! Maddux was an eight-time All-Star, four time NL Cy Young winner, and racked up an impressive eighteen Gold Glove Awards. The sixtime All-Star was a two time batting champ, but his fielding statistics were truly special. Which helped him earn the 1979 MVP award at age 39. No one did it so well for so long. Hes also the all-time leader in Total Zone Runs from here to Funkstown. 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. Willie is a 24-time All-Star, 12-time Gold Glove award winner, and two-time MVP Award winner. Not only as an outfielder, mind you, but at any position. In the 2017 season, this valuable moveable piece was among the Total Zone Runs leaders at second base and left field. He also helped the Red Sox to their first world series title in 86 years. Mariners top 5 > Rangers: Rusty Greer (1994-2002) Tweet Email Comment Next The Clooney Garage: Inside George Clooney's Insane Car Collection Related Topics Baseball abbreviation for safety in football - aboutray16-eiga.com 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. "Mad Dog" dominated the Gold Glove Award for not one but two decades. A. Indians top 5 >. Without that, he'd be far beyond 500 career home runs, and get far more credit on this list.