Let's begin with the long ball. Pratt set up Wilson, and Wilson forced the biggest fumble of his career. He wasn't a failure offensively, but he was the next best thing. He had power (career high 42 home runs) and his defensive metrics are better than his reputation, although in this case maybe you want to refer to the eyewitness accounts. 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. He was also an "A +" offensively. Hometown fans wildly threw their giveaway seat cushions on the field in celebration. 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. Now that he's in the Hall of Fame, he's not only in, but he's a top tier second baseman. Fox, who was the 1959 AL MVP, had his No. Add in the questions about his defense, and you've got a guy that, yes, I'd include toward the bottom of this list, but only after guys like Chase Utley and Robbie Cano, never mind rating him with Alomar or Morgan. Some will balk at Canos inclusion on the list, given his two suspensions for PED use. Welcome to All-Time #MLBRank, our ranking of the top 100 players in baseball history. D-backs top 5 >, Dodgers: Jackie Robinson, 1947-56Key fact: Only player whose uniform number is retired across MLBA true hero, legend, trailblazer and leader -- and thats before we even get into Robinsons stats. Let's talk about who the best ever were at that position, defensively speaking. He didn't reach the majors until he was 28, but hit .311/.409/.474 and was one of the most exciting players ever with his daring dashes on the bases. After a falling out with Giants manager John McGraw in 1926, he was traded to the Cardinals after the season. -- Schoenfield, We're counting down the greatest players in baseball history. Castillo holds the Marlins' record hitting streak of 35 games, which went from May 8-June 21, 2002. Kent slashed .297/.368/.535 and averaged 29 home runs and 115 RBIs over his six years in San Francisco. This week, were on to the keystone as we take a look at the best second basemen of all time. 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 2007, he won the Silver Slugger Award and was named to his first of two All-Star Game appearances. Team (s): St. Louis Cardinals, New York Giants, Boston Braves, Chicago Cubs & St. Louis Browns. After retiring, Loretta joined the San Diego Padres as a special assistant. Teams: Colorado Rockies, Florida Marlins, Los Angeles Dodgers, Arizona Diamondbacks, Milwaukee Brewers. He's not even the best defensive 3rd baseman to play for El Toro High School's 2009 varsity baseball team. In 20 World Series contests, he batted .321 with a .375 OBP. "Based on the distance that there was away from the goal line, I knew they were in sneak formation," Wilson said . Ozzie Albies might soon be considered the franchises best. 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. During the Yankees' 2009 championship season, Cano hit 20 home runs and notched 204 hits (first among all second basemen that year). The great Rogers Hornsby was the clear choice for the best second baseman of all time. Teams: New York Mets, St. Louis Cardinals. Yankees top 5 >. .311/.409/.474, OPS -- .883, Hits - 1,518, HRs -- 137, RBIs - 734, Here's the thing about Robinson: His legacy as one of the most important individuals in U.S. cultural history has obscured that he was an amazing player. If character counted in the compilation of this list, Jackie Robinson would be number one. Adrian Gonzalez (Tied) Adrian Gonzalez was a five-time All-Star. That puts him in a class with the game's all-time greats. Three years later, he became the first American League second baseman to hit 40 homers in a season, finishing with 42 overall. After losing the 1914 World Series, Mack broke up the As and sold Collins to the White Sox for $50k. He managed in the minor leagues for the New York Yankees for three years, and in 2011, he was named manager of the year at the helm of the Arizona League Dodgers. Fun fact: Hill is one of just five players to hit for the cycle twice in one year. So he's got that going for him, which is nice. That and the trips to the World Series tip the decision in favor of Kinsler. You get Glenn Hubbard's defensive numbers, off the chart. Marlins top 5 >, Mets: Edgardo Alfonzo, 1995-2001Key fact: His .318 average with runners in scoring position is highest in Mets historyAlfonzo might be the trickiest Met to rank because he appeared in 524 career games for the team at second base and 515 at third, spending three full seasons as the starter at each position. Brooks Robinson and Scott Rolen. It might be the only number as big as the game itself. Joe Morgan 4. He led the league in WAR three times as a second baseman. The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes. He pretty much got the job done offensively, too. This didnt slow him down, though. Despite his personal success, Carews Twins teams did not win much. Its a fair argument, but as we mentioned when discussing Roger Clemens, its hard to know who did what throughout the games history. In 1937, when he won the batting title, Gehringer was also the AL MVP after hitting .371/.458/.520. Still, he'll be totally fine and a top-three second baseman in . 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. But, for now, the distinction belongs to Giles, who is the only second baseman in franchise history to produce a 110 OPS+ in at least three seasons. Gantner was famously feisty, often tangling with opponents on the field and sometimes in the bar. And they can be a pitcher's best friend. .328/.393/.429, OPS -- .822, Hits -- 3,053, HRs -- 92, RBIs -- 1,015, The Tony Gwynn or Ichiro Suzuki of his era, Carew was a master of bat control and one of the great bunters in the game's history. Walker won the Silver Slugger Award in 2014. Mets top 5 >, Nationals: Jos Vidro, 1997-2004 (Expos/Nationals)Key fact: Vidro leads all second basemen in franchise history with a 16.5 bWARThe switch-hitting Vidro played for the Expos and Nationals for 10 of his 12 Major League seasons, slashing .301/.363/.459 with an .821 OPS, 1,280 hits, 550 RBIs and 115 home runs during that time. His defensive rating on Fangraphs leads all second basemen all-time with over 1,000 plate appearances. Twins top 5 >, White Sox: Nellie Fox, 1950-63Key fact: Won 1959 AL MVP AwardA strong and accurate case could be made for Fox or Eddie Collins as the top White Sox second baseman, and while Collins overall numbers are a little better, its Fox who gets the nod for having made a greater impact on the franchise overall. 17. Modern measures credit him with an average of 9.5 WAR per season over a five-year period. He played in over 2,000 games. He won 10 Gold Gloves while, oh by the way, hitting .300 with speed AND power. 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). -- Schoenfield, He won the inaugural Rookie of the Year award in 1947. And in 2013, he coached the Israeli national team in the World Baseball Classic. Nicknamed "The Frenchman," Nap Lajoie was one of the best hitters and second basemen of the early part of the 20th century. Dauer held two American League single-season fielding records for a second baseman, including 86 consecutive errorless games and 425 straight errorless games, both in 1978. During the 2012 season, Barney committed just two errors, and tied the major league record for consecutive errorless games at second base with 141. Teams: St Louis Cardinals, Minnesota Twins, Philadelphia Phillies, New York Mets, San Francisco Giants. Bottom line: In 2012, Darwin Barney won the Gold Glove Award the first by a Chicago Cubs second baseman since Ryne Sandberg won nine in a row (1983-91). However, that same year, Lind committed a fielding error in the ninth inning of the seventh game of the NLCS that led to a come-from-behind win for the Atlanta Braves. Alomar won back-to-back World Series titles with Toronto in 1992 and 1993 but never made it back to the Fall Classic with the Orioles or Indians despite four playoff appearances. In summary, Max Muncy rakes, and he turns it up a notch higher come playoff time. SHORT PEAK = WAR in best three seasons. He ranks second in all-time WAR-162 and sixth in WAR7 among second basemen, representing his dominance. You might be surprised at who missed the cut. Heck, he may be number one in all of baseball when considering what he meant to the game. 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. He has been mythologized, but if anything, he was exceptionally -- and an exceptional -- human. Because of how different eras of baseball have been played, it's difficult to nail down the best defensive catcher of all time. But Bill James presented this conclusion, Jody Reed is second all time in the history of MLB in defensive Win Shares per season for a second baseman, behind only Bill Mazeroski. The switch-hitter from Puerto Rico signed as an amateur free agent when he was 15 years old, and eventually went to two World Series with the St. Louis Cardinals (2006 and 2011) as the teams third-base coach. 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. Acquired in a blockbuster trade that sent the popular Matt Williams to the Indians in 1996, Kent teamed up with Barry Bonds to give the Giants their most fearsome power duo since the Willie Mays-Willie McCovey era. I hate to bring up Bill James again (actually, I love it), but he came to an amazing conclusion on Bill Mazeroski, too. Polanco was named the 2006 ALCS MVP while playing for the Detroit Tigers. Nolan Arenado /.9718/, 5. That was the lowest BA of his title years. He played every position on the diamond before settling in at second base. As an up the middle position, defense was a more significant factor for second base than first base, though offense was still the primary driver. The pinnacle years for both came during the '75 and 76 World Series championship seasons for the Reds, as Morgan earned consecutive NL MVP Awards. More important than his stellar defense, though, was his ability at the plate. 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. The Tigers popped Jung with the 12th pick in last July's draft by way of Texas Tech. Pedroia, who has played for Boston for all of his 14 years in the big leagues, helped raise the World Series trophy in 2007 and 2013. In 2015, he was hired to manage the Milwaukee Brewers, leading them to the NLCS in 2018. Teams: Oakland Athletics, Colorado Rockies, Los Angeles Dodgers, St. Louis Cardinals. I just love that old quote from Hano. No player in history has a higher single-season batting average with as many plate appearances as Hornsby had in 1924. He also won rookie-of-the-year that season for the Twins. Also, took HOF too long to put Lazzeri into HOF, 1991 by vets committee. Brewers top 5 >, Cardinals: Rogers Hornsby, 1915-26, '33Key fact: .359 average ranks first all-time in Cardinals historyHornsby was a feisty player on and off the field who fine-tuned his life for one thing: Hitting. If you enjoyed this article, check out our All-Franchise Starting Lineup in the between weeks. He played in Baltimore and New York. "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. Philadelphia Phillies (1981), Chicago Cubs ('82-94, '96-97), Honors And hes been to the All-Star Game 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. 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). He returned sharp in 2005, batting .316 as the starting second baseman for the Oakland As. He went to four consecutive World Series with the club from 1921 through 1924, coming out a winner in the first two. He was a World Champion and the NL MVP in both seasons. Cano won five silver sluggers and went to eight all-star games altogether, and even chipped in a couple of gold gloves. He's an A + offensive second baseman, too. Alomar made it to the big leagues at the tender age of 20 in 1988 as a Padre and retired 17 years later with the White Sox. -- David Schoenfield, ESPN.com senior writer, Cano can do it all: He hits for both average and power, tied with Rogers Hornsby among second basemen for the most seasons (five) with at least a .300 batting average and 25 home runs. Morgan was an on-base machine who could run, hit for power, and play excellent defense. He was one of the most dominant second basemen of the '90s, helping the Astros win four division titles in five years (1997-99 and 2001), while also leading them to the postseason in 04 and the World Series in 05. Bottom line: The Cubs picked up DJ LeMahieu in the second round of the 2009 draft, but he shined in the major leagues after being traded to Colorado. Astros top 5 >, Athletics: Eddie Collins, 1906-14, '27-30Key fact: His 55.9 fWAR is third highest in franchise history among position players (first among second basemen)A member of the famed $100,000 Infield" assembled by owner Connie Mack in the early 1900s, Collins was an elite hitter who went six straight seasons (1909-14) without batting lower than .324. Table of Contents Who are the best MLB second basemen of all time? Hi Nels. The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network. 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. There it is. 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. 7. He was, by far and away, the best defensive second baseman from the 1920s. Kent was one of the best offensive second basemen of all time and arguably the position's best power hitter. 6. .320/.404/.480, OPS -- .884, Hits -- 2,839, HRs -- 184, RBIs -- 1,427, They called him The Mechanical Man, a tribute to his consistency. That's a heck of a fact that Bill James presents. Either way, Bill James comes to this conclusion on Mazeroski: his 113 defensive career Win Shares is 1st all time in the history of MLB for a second baseman. He won rookie-of-the-year that season, finished fifth in the MVP voting, and led the league in stolen bases. 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