Consistency, discipline, and work ethic are essential traits for a player to earn the coveted Gold Glove Award, awarded to elite fielders at the end of each season. Jonty Rhodes features at the topmost on the list of "Top-5 best fielders of all times". 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. "Mad Dog" dominated the Gold Glove Award for not one but two decades. 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 became the first Tiger to earn a $100,000 salary. Thatd be Sweet Swinging Billy Williams, who won the 1961 NL Rookie of the Year Award, made six All-Star teams, picked up a batting title (72), finished as the runner-up for the NL MVP twice and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1987. Yaz's greatest achievement might have been succeeding Ted Williams in left field at Fenway Park in 1961 and playing at a Hall-of-Fame level for the next 23 years. Yaz had better range than many center fielders and a stronger arm than some right fielders. Jorginho is a technically gifted defensive midfielder who prefers playing as a focal point and controlling the tempo of play. A weak hitter with a great glove (see Gregor Blanco) will not play left on the prototypical good team. Weve been examining the best three-year peaks of defensive play by Giant players, as measured by baseball-reference.coms rfield. He led the league in putouts from a right fielder and fielding percentage five times. "Pops," of course. Welcome to All-Time #MLBRank, our ranking of the top 100 players in baseball history. 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. 5 best Fielders of all time - Cricket Keeda Sports The top 100 will roll out next week. Vizquel is first all time among shortstops for games played at the position and double plays turned. What's the Dodgers' plan at shortstop? 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. Dont bet on it. Hes the all-time leader. -- Kahrl, Teams Anyone who believes this guy was one-dimensional doesnt know Michael Jack Schmidt. He won nine consecutive Gold Glove Awards and eleven total for his career. Mizzou Meets LSU in Season's Final Road Game He also played the Green Monster at Fenway Pahk like it was his rec room wall. The Top 21 Offensive Linemen in NFL History. During his time with the ballclub, Keller was a five-time All-Star, four-time World Series. Would you believe that hes the only shortstop among the top 10 in Range Factor per nine innings (sixth) and Total Zone Runs (seventh) in baseball history? 1 among White Sox left fielders and ranks fifth overall behind Hall of Famers Luke Appling, Frank Thomas, Eddie Collins and Nellie Fox. 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. 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. Top 6 Best MLB Center Fielders of All Time - rookieroad.com 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. Not only as an outfielder, mind you, but at any position. 3. Elite center fielders for the Cardinals - STLtoday.com 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. Who is the best right fielders of all time? Explained by Sharing Culture 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. Here's a list of my top ten defensive left fielders, these guy's all had speed, a powerful arm & knew how to read the ball both off the bat & off the wall. 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. 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. His 27.4 bWAR is the most among all Indians left fielders and the 23rd highest in franchise history. Mike Schmidt is one of the best hitting and fielding third basemen of the modern era. Ed Delahanty Delahanty was one of the first great hitters in the game's history. The Ultimate Compendium for the Baseball Fan, Including All-Time Teams for Your Favorite Franchise From Yankees to Dodgers and More. Honors 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. Join the discussion by using the #MLBRank hashtag, and follow along @BBTN and on Facebook. .344/.482 (all-time leader)/.634, OPS -- 1.116, Hits -- 2,654; HRs -- 521, RBIs -- 1,839, The player Barry Bonds Bill Terry Gary Matthews Gregor Blanco Jo-Jo Moore John McGraw, Leo Durocher, Monte Irvin, Whitey Lockman. TTO has done more to hurt defense than Daniel Murphy ever could on his worst day. Does ex-teammate-turned-mortal enemy Pete Rose agree with us here? Positions: Shortstop, second base, third base. He ranks third in Gold Gloves and fourth in Total Zone Runs among shortstops. Subjectively, I would go with Yaz as the best defensive left fielder of all time. 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. Here is the No. In the 2017 season, this valuable moveable piece was among the Total Zone Runs leaders at second base and left field. .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. 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. The talented footballer was voted UEFA Men's Player of the Year. 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 Football fans have ranked the 50 greatest defenders in - GiveMeSport Sign up to receive our daily Morning Lineup to stay in the know about the latest trending topics around Major League Baseball. -- Caple, The best leadoff man in the history of the game, Rickey was a joy to watch: the deep crouch at the plate, the coiled spring taking his lead at first base, the swagger. 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. Last month, he was inducted to the Baseball Hall of Fame. .282/.360/.529, OPS -- .889, Hits -- 2,232, HRs -- 475, RBIs -- 1,540, The most feared slugger on the "We Are Family" Pirates? Who is the best left fielder in MLB? The Best Players of the Last 50 Years - Part VIII - Left Fielders A team can hide a poor defender here and he will do minimal damage to them. While good fielders, neither is known primarily for his defensive skills. But despite sitting out those two seasons, he still easily ranks first among Braves left fielders in bWAR. (Bonds routinely sat in on the pitchers pre-game meeting where they discussed how they were going to pitch to that days opponents.) -- Lauber, His 1967 season goes down as one of the best ever: He won the Triple Crown, hitting .326/.418/.622 with 44 home runs in a pitcher's era, but most famously carried the Impossible Dream Red Sox to the pennant, hitting .417 with nine home runs and 26 RBIs in September. 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. Best fielders in world cricket: The top 10 ever Midfielder - Wikipedia Dave Winfield also won 7, but 5 of his were when he was playing primarily right field. Baseball's All-Time Greatest Center Fielders Ranked From 1 to 100. Rangers top 5 >, Braves: Rico Carty (1963-72)Key fact: Ranks first among Braves left fielders in bWAR (23.2)Nearly 50 years after Carty played his final game for Atlanta, theres still reason to wonder how great his career might have been had he not missed 1968 with tuberculosis and '71 with a fractured right knee cap. Joe DiMaggio 6. Without that, he'd be far beyond 500 career home runs, and get far more credit on this list. In his 16 year career, he had. Zack Greinke is the modern Greg Maddux, only with less range, surer hands (one error per 319 innings pitched) and a superior pickoff move. The White Sox retired his No. Key facts: Three-time All-Star, seven-time Gold Glove Award winner, This was pretty much a no-brainer. Records are made to be broken, but MLB's all-time hit king might never lose his crown. Age During 2022 Season: 34. He won the 2021 Champions League and Club World Cup with Chelsea and the 2020 Euros with Italy. 1. Statistic Description: Defensive Wins Above Replacement for position players A defensive measure of wins above replacement, but given only the defensive stats of the player and his position adjustment. Big numbers? That year, Foster posted a .320/.382/.620 slash line with a club-record -- and Major League-leading -- 52 homers and 149 RBIs, winning NL MVP honors. Is there a more fundamentally correct baseball player out there? He played more games in his career than anyone else by more than an entire season. that almost certainly lessened his performance. -- Scott Lauber, ESPN.com Red Sox reporter, A star on the World Series-winning 1929 and '30 Philadelphia A's, they called him "Bucketfoot Al" because of his batting stance. Honorable Mention: Rickey Henderson (29.7 fWAR) and Bobby Murcer (27.1 fWAR) The Yankees have a rich history of impactful center fielders. The Phillies Jimmy Rollins took that home, but the Rockies vanquished the Phils in the NL Division Series -- and Holliday went on to earn NLCS MVP honors. His arm strength was a half-cut below Roberto Clemente and Rocky Colavito in his day, but it was plenty strong and accurate enough. Here are the ultimate left field rankings. 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. Pingback: Elysian Fielders The Best Defensive Right Fielders, (c) Copyright 2013-15 ElysianFielders.com, This Day in Giants History: September 25, 1986, Elysian Fielders The Best Defensive Right Fielders, This Day in Giants History, February 27, 1962: Saran Wrap for Candlestick Park. Bobby Knoop and Bill Mazeroski are the only second basemen to lead the league in Total Zone Runs, Range Factor per nine innings and double plays turned as many as four times each. "The Cat" was nearly as quick as he was strong no catcher had a higher caught stealing percentage in MLB history and his ability to call games and handle pitchers was widely known. Don't think so. Possessing a cannon for an arm, he terrified base runners with his pick off moves and laser throws to catch runners stealing. As even the Cubbies discovered, you can win a World Series with a guy like this. The son of an amateur catcher could single-handedly shut down run games. The 20 Greatest Athletes of all Time "Campy" had no weaknesses other than the assorted hurts that went with the position. Teams: Cleveland Indians (1972-78), Texas Rangers (1979-85, 1989), Cincinnati Reds (1985-88), Houston Astros (1988). Maybe other gamblers should have paid him to make sure the White Sox won that series. The players on this list have been recognized as multiple time Gold Glove winners, distinguishing themselves as members to baseballs elite defensive players. Houston Astros All-Time Rankings: Left Field -- Kahrl, Teams 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.