.279/.401/.419, OPS -- .820, Hits -- 3,055, HRs -- 297, RBIs -- 1,115, Runs -- 2,295 (all-time leader), SB -- 1,406 (all-time leader), "Rickey being Rickey" was a sight to behold. Subjectively, I would go with Yaz as the best defensive left fielder of all time. The calmness with. Former VP of Player Personnel Gil Brandt's Top 10 Defensive Ends of All Time! PRIME = WAR in 5 Best Consecutive Seasons. 1 left fielder for each club, as chosen by MLB.com's beat reporters. 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. MLB's 10 Greatest Left Fielders of All Time Marcel Smith November 26, 2008 10. -- Kahrl, Teams Forgot how much ground he covered in his pre-roids days, didnt you? Bob Johnson, 1933-42 His defensive accomplishments are remarkable: seven Gold Gloves, three Wilson Defensive Player of the Year Awards, and the ALs Rawlings Platinum Glove Award in 2014. Richie Ashburn played the majority of his career before they awarded Gold Glove awards for elite fielders. Not only was Mays the best center fielder, he might have been the best all-around player to play the game. I did not see many plays where he left his feet going forward (towards . -- Kahrl, Honors 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. .344/.482 (all-time leader)/.634, OPS -- 1.116, Hits -- 2,654; HRs -- 521, RBIs -- 1,839, The player How Many Good Giants Were Good Prospects? 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. 'The Progress & Freedom Fou "Pops," of course. Oakland A's (1979-84, '89-93, '94-95, '98), New York Yankees ('85-89), Toronto Blue Jays ('93), San Diego Padres ('96-97, '01), Anaheim Angels ('97), New York Mets ('99-2000), Seattle Mariners ('00), Boston Red Sox ('02), Los Angeles Dodgers ('03), Honors -- Schoenfield, He's known primarily for taking money to throw the 1919 World Series but Jackson hit an astounding .356 for his career and batted .382 with a dozen home runs his final season. Orioles top 5 >, Key fact: Had four All-Star selections with Rays, the most in franchise history, In his nine seasons with Tampa Bay, Crawford displayed the athleticism and talent that made him a coveted three-sport athlete and a highly regarded prospect. For true seamheads, this was absolutely rotten news. Dodgers top 5 >, Key fact: He is Major League Baseballs all-time home run leader, with 762, After spending the first seven years of his career with the Pirates, Bonds signed with the Giants ahead of the 1993 season and sparked the revitalization of the franchise. (2:29) Tim Kurkjian, Eduardo Perez and Dallas Braden weigh in on who is the greatest left fielder in MLB history. COLUMBUS - Scoring lulls hindered Shelbyville all season. The teams are set for action with an 8 p.m. tipoff on SEC Network. Anyone who believes this guy was one-dimensional doesnt know Michael Jack Schmidt. But with the Rays' best defensive alignment being Arozarena in left, Kevin Kiermaier in center field, and Margot in right field, Meadows figures to see a lot more at-bats as the designated hitter. 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). Greg Maddux is widely considered to be the greatest fielding pitcher of all-time. The Hall of Famer leads all Expos/Nationals players in offensive WAR (48.2), runs scored (947), singles (1,163), triples (82), walks (793), runs created (1,047), stolen bases (635), stolen base percentage (85.7) and win probability added (38.9). He also had a .992 OPS over 29 postseason games with Houston. As a left fielder he has a .979 fielding percentage. Honus Wagner is known as one of the greatest players of all time, but unfortunately he played in an era before advanced defensive statistics. 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. He was a six-time All-Star and won two Gold Gloves as a member of the White Sox, topping .300 in six seasons. Schmidt was a three time NL MVP and was the 1980 World Series MVP, where he led the Phillies to victory. Does ex-teammate-turned-mortal enemy Pete Rose agree with us here? Mariners top 5 > Rangers: Rusty Greer (1994-2002) Vizquel is first all time among shortstops for games played at the position and double plays turned. "The Say Hey Kid.". Sign up to receive our daily Morning Lineup to stay in the know about the latest trending topics around Major League Baseball. Richards would depart before the Padres 1984 run to the NL pennant. 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. The Ultimate Compendium for the Baseball Fan, Including All-Time Teams for Your Favorite Franchise From Yankees to Dodgers and More. 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. Maddux had his #31 retired by both the Chicago Cubs and Atlanta Braves. Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid watches while quarterback Patrick Mahomes warms up before the Chiefs take on the New England Patriots on Monday, October 5, 2020, at . 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 also appeared in 18 All-Star games, earning the honor in all but four of his Major League seasons. Some had stronger arms. Right field really does have it all. If not for a relatively short shelf life, he might have more than one All-Star Game and two Gold Gloves on his resume. 9 in 1983, and a sculpture of Minoso was unveiled at Guaranteed Rate Field in 2004. His untimely death while on a humanitarian aid trip to Nicaragua came after a baseball career during which his feats on the baseball diamond matched up to his generosity off of it. Elegance personified on the field of play. -- Lauber, Was he one of the best pure hitters ever? Bell also ranks fifth in Range Factor per nine innings (3.18) overall. Smith led the National League in fielding percentage among shortstops eight times, double plays turned five times, and range factor seven times. Baseball has had some amazing glove stories. N'Golo Kante. TO. Overall, Holliday had a .319 average with 130 homers over six seasons with the Rockies. He committed the fewest errors by a pitcher twice, range factor per nine innings twice, and assists once. Andy Flower, with Jonty Rhodes (left), steps aside from role of assistant coach with Punjab Kings. As even the Cubbies discovered, you can win a World Series with a guy like this. Long Peak = WAR in Best 7 Seasons. Teams: Los Angeles-California Angeles (1964-69), Chicago White Sox (6970) Kansas City Royals (1971-72). Sometimes, it's a combination of all of the above. Arozarena and Meadows split left field duties almost evenly in 2021 and that duo should take on the majority of starts there again this season. Being shutout for nearly five minutes to start the third quarter Friday once again put the Golden Bears in chase mode. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in '53. -- Caple, Still judged for his inclusion in the Black Sox scandal, and still condemned for it. Someday, Gordons No. 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, We're counting down the greatest players in baseball history. As opposed to the puss arm who couldnt throw out Sid Bream with the 1992 NLCS on the line. Moore was installed as the Giants leadoff hitter by Bill Terry in one of his first acts after taking over for John McGraw in 1932. A premium defender in front of the Green Monster and another star who saw the low-scoring '60s cut into his prime seasons. Tim Kurkjian, Eduardo Perez and Dallas Braden weigh in on who is the greatest left fielder in MLB history. He did not have the career of his father, but who did? 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. He was so feared a hitter that he once was walked intentionally -- with the bases loaded. Note: All stats are through the 2019 MLB season. Teams: Chicago Cubs (1986-1990, 2004-06), Atlanta Braves (1993-2003), Los Angeles Dodgers (2006, 2008), San Diego Padres (2007-08), Gold Glove Awards: 18 (1990-2002, 2004-08). Here are the ultimate left field rankings. 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. Thanks to advanced statistics and extensive game logs, these spectacular performances have not gone forgotten. He is regarded as the " the best defensive fielder of all time" by the former Australian Captain Ricky Ponting. Yaz led all outfielders in assists seven times, total zone runs four times, and putouts as a left fielder four times. Before Barry Bonds became a controversial, divisive figure, before he was conserving energy in left field, he was a tremendously talented five-tool player. 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. He is also the all-time career leader in assists as a shortstop and total zone runs. He ranks third in Gold Gloves and fourth in Total Zone Runs among shortstops. The son of an amateur catcher could single-handedly shut down run games. A career .300 hitter with over 2,700 hits, he matches his prowess at the plate with solid defensive play in the middle infield. Photo: Elsa Source: Getty Images 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. Teams: Baltimore Orioles (1964-76), New York Yankees (1977-80), Cincinnati Reds (1979). He is considered to be one of the greatest five tool players of all time. Ed Delahanty Delahanty was one of the first great hitters in the game's history. The 18 time All Star won the World Series in 1968 and was also the AL Batting Champion in 1955. Jim Edmonds Jim Edmonds poses for a picture at Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter, Florida, on February 25, 2005. The only 3 left fielders with 4 or more Gold Gloves are Barry Bonds (8), Alex Gordon (7, so far), and Yastrzemski (7). Next up are left fielders. He is the career leader in putouts by a pitcher. Some of the players on this list came long before Web Gems were a daily part of our national pastime. -- Kahrl, Teams FOR ST. LOUIS: 1,298 games (1,133 starts in CF) CARDINALS STATS:.280 BA, .739 OPS, 80 HR . He led the league in putouts from a right fielder and fielding percentage five times. 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. 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. The Man of Steal swiped an astonishing 130 bags in 1982, which remains a single-season record in the Modern Era (since 1900), and became MLB's all-time stolen-base king in '91.