The Best Players at Each Position
The Breakdown by Position
of the True Hall of Famers
There are ninety-one (91) 20th century position players
who have HOF numbers according to the NEWS HOF
Monitor. Here is the distribution by position.
Third
Base
-
7
Shortstop
-
11
Left
Field
-
17
Center
Field
-
10
Right
Field
-
14
Catcher
-
6
Designated
-
1
Are you surprised
by these numbers at all? I know
I was. There are seventeen left
fielders and only ten center fielders?
I always had the impression that there were more great center fielders
than left fielders. But that
is probably because if you look at the top ten players of all time, four
are center fielders (Ty Cobb, Willie Mays, Mickey Mantle and Tris Speaker)
and three are left fielders (Barry Bonds, Ted Williams and Stan
Musial).
There are only six
catchers with HOF numbers? That
surprised me a bit also. What
this may indicate is that the Win Shares system (as good as it is) may favor
offense to some extent over defense.
But, of course, we already know that this statement is probably true
for any system that claims to measure both offense and
defense.
In this chapter
and the next, I will present the top twenty-five (25) players at each position
who played in the major leagues during the 20th
century. For each position,
I will indicate which players have HOF numbers and which do
not. I will also list any Hall
of Famer who played the position even if he is not among the top
25. If you do not find a player
who you feel should be among the top 25 at a particular position, please
check the appendices at the back of the book to see if he is listed
there. If he is not, I would
appreciate hearing about it.
The Right Fielders with HOF Numbers
As indicated above,
there are fourteen right fielders who played during the 20th century
who have HOF numbers according to the NEWS
monitor. Here they are.
All numbers include
the 2006 season.
Bold print = Hall of Famer
Italic = active player in 2006
CWS = Career Win
Shares
CV = Core Value
(sum of win shares for 10 best seasons)
NEWS = Career
Value
=
CV
+ .25(CWS - CV)
CWS
CV
NEWS
1.
Babe
Ruth
(1914-1935)
756
460
534
2.
Hank
Aaron
(1954-1976)
643
356
428
3.
Mel Ott
(1926-1947)
528
335
383
4.
Frank
Robinson
(1956-1976)
519
316
367
5.
Sam
Crawford
(1899-1917)
446
303
339
6.
Paul
Waner
(1926-1945)
423
304
334
7.
Reggie
Jackson
(1967-1987)
444
296
333
8.
Al
Kaline
(1953-1974)
443
268
312
9.
Dave
Winfield
(1973-1995)
415
259
298
10. Roberto Clemente
(1955-1972)
377
269
296
11. Tony
Gwynn
(1982-2001)
398
269
294
12. Willie
Stargell
(1962-1982)
370
263
290
13. Harry
Heilmann
(1914-1932)
356
267
289
14. Elmer
Flick
(1898-1910)
291
280
283
Note the balance
of era within this group. Six
of the right fielders played during the first half of the 20th century and
eight of them during the second half.
And in looking at this list of outstanding right fielders, I assume
that the least well known of the group would be three of those who played
early in the century: Sam Crawford, Elmer Flick and Harry
Heilmann. And there may be some
surprise that Roberto Clemente is not ranked higher than
#10.
The Other Right Fielders in the Top 25
Here are the other
eleven players who round out the top 25 right fielders.
CWS
CV
NEWS
15. Rusty
Staub
354
254
279
16. Bobby
Bonds
302
264
274
17. Ken
Singleton
302
260
271
18. Sammy
Sosa
313
255
270
19. Reggie
Smith
325
250
269
20. Willie
Keeler
333
246
268
21. Dave
Parker
327
248
268
22. Enos
Slaughter
323
246
265
23. Jack
Clark
316
247
264
24. Dwight
Evans
347
234
262
25. Andre
Dawson
340
234
261
Here are five right
fielders who are in the Hall of Fame but who did not make it into the top
25 at the position.
Kiki
Cuyler
292
244
256
Sam
Rice
327
228
253
Harry Hooper
321
221
246
Chuck
Klein
238
217
222
Ross
Youngs
206
206
206
As you can see, there are seven right fielders who are in the Hall
of Fame and who do not have HOF numbers.
And, of course, there are some names on this list which frequently
surface when fans talk about players who deserve to be in the Hall: Rusty
Staub, Dave Parker, Andre Dawson, etc.
But, as you can see, they do not quite measure up in the NEWS
system.
The following right fielders were on the ballot for the 2007
Veteran’s Committee – even though none of them has HOF numbers:
Bobby Bonds, Rocky Colavito, Roger Maris and Tony
Oliva. Colavito, Maris
and Oliva are not among our top 25.
Here are their numbers.
CWS
CV
NEWS
Rocky
Colavito
273
243
251
Tony
Oliva
245
234
237
Roger Maris
223
209
213
Andre Dawson, Dave Parker, Paul O’Neill and Jose Canseco were
all on the 2007 BBWAA ballot.
Dawson got 56.7% of the vote and, therefore, still has a chance to
be elected. Parker got just
11.4% and appears to have no chance.
And both O’Neill and Canseco failed to get the 5% needed to continue
on the ballot. Neither Canseco
nor O’Neill are among our top 25 right
fielders. Here are their
numbers.
CWS
CV
NEWS
Jose Canseco
272
206
223
Paul
O’Neill
259
201
216
Sammy Sosa is supposed to play again in 2007 so he may yet reach the
280 mark. But even if he does,
will the “steroid cloud” hanging over his name ever allow him to
be elected to the Hall?
The Left Fielders with HOF
Numbers
CWS
CV
NEWS
1.
Barry
Bonds
(1986-
)
686
427
492
2.
Stan
Musial
(1941-1963)
604
378
435
3.
Ted
Williams
(1939-1960)
555
394
434
4. Pete
Rose
(1963-1986)
547
307
367
5. Rickey
Henderson
(1979-2003)
535
308
365
6.
Carl
Yastrzemski
(1961-1983)
488
286
337
7.
Gary
Sheffield
(1988-
)
402
305
329
8.
Fred
Clarke
(1894-1915)
400
273
305
9. Tim
Raines
(1979-2002)
390
275
304
10. Billy
Williams
(1959-1976)
374
279
303
11. Al
Simmons
(1924-1944)
375
276
301
12. Manny
Ramirez
(1993-
)
334
282
295
13. Sherry
Magee
(1904-1919)
354
272
293
14. Zack
Wheat
(1909-1927)
380
264
293
15. Joe
Jackson
(1908-1920)
294
290
291
16. Goose Goslin
(1921-1938)
355
263
286
17. Lou
Brock
(1961-1979)
348
264
285
It is interesting to note that every right fielder with HOF numbers
is in the Hall of Fame while only nine of the seventeen left fielders with
the numbers has been inducted into the
Hall. Of course, Bonds, Sheffield
and Ramirez are still active. And
Pete Rose and Joe Jackson are banned from the
Hall. Tim Raines may have a
hard time being elected despite his great numbers since he was never a marquee
player – just a solid and outstanding
performer. And the same could be said for Gary Sheffield (not to
mention the stain left from the “steroids
question”). Sherry Magee
can only be elected by the Veteran’s Committee – and he was not
even on the ballot for 2007.
Look at the balance by era.
Six of these left fielders played the bulk of their careers before
1950, nine played after 1950 and two essentially bridged the
half-century
mark
(Stan Musial and Ted Williams).
I think it is fair to say that many followers of the game have some
difficulty with the idea that Barry Bonds may be a “better player”
than Stan Musial or Ted Williams.
And I think it is important to point out that the NEWS score simply
indicates that Bonds has put some very impressive numbers in the record book
during his career. How much
of that achievement is due to the effect of natural talent and how much to
chemicals is still being debated.
The Other Left Fielders
in the top 25
CWS
CV
NEWS
18. Joe
Medwick
312
267
278
19. Jimmy
Sheckard
339
257
278
20. Frank
Howard
297
260
270
21. Minnie
Minoso
283
258
264
22. Tommy
Leach
328
246
267
23.
Jose
Cruz
313
232
252
24. Heinie
Manush
285
236
248
25. Bob
Johnson
287
231
245
Jim Rice
282
233
245
There are two left fielders who are in the Hall of Fame but who did
not make it into the top 25.
Ralph
Kiner
242
242
242
Chick
Hafey
186
176
179
As you can see, there are four left fielders who are in the Hall of
Fame who do not meet the NEWS benchmark.
Joe Medwick, at 278, came very
close. And, of course, Ralph
Kiner played for only ten seasons but he has many supporters for his place
in the
Hall.
Jim Rice got 63.5% of the vote from the BBWAA 2007 ballot so it is
a good bet that he is on his way to being elected to the Hall fairly
soon. Albert Belle got only
3.5% of the vote and will not be on the ballot
again. Jim Rice just made our
list of the top 25 left fielders but, of course, Albert Belle did
not. Here are Belle’s
numbers.
CWS
CV
NEWS
Albert
Belle
243
237
239
Minnie Minoso was on the ballot for the Veteran’s Committee but,
of course, no one has been elected by that group since the Hall of Famers
themselves took over the voting.
The Center Fielders with
HOF Numbers
There are ten center fielders who have HOF numbers according to the
NEWS monitor.
CWS
CV
NEWS
1. Ty
Cobb
(1905-1928)
722
419
495
2. Willie
Mays
(1951-1973)
642
389
452
3. Mickey
Mantle
(1951-1968)
565
399
441
4. Tris
Speaker
(1907-1928)
630
388
449
5. Joe
DiMaggio
(1936-1951)
387
325
341
6. Duke
Snider
(1947-1964)
352
289
305
7. Ken Griffey
Jr
(1989-
)
367
278
300
11. Earl
Averill
(1929-1941)
280
268
271
16. Larry
Doby
(1947-1959)
268
257
260
17.
Kirby
Puckett
(1984-1995)
281
247
256
Earlier we saw that all of the fourteen right fielders who had HOF
numbers are in fact in the Hall of Fame.
Here we see that nine of the ten center fielders with the numbers
are in the Hall. And I feel
confident in saying that Junior Griffey will be inducted easily when he is
eligible. Only four of these
players played the bulk of their games before 1950 while six played mostly
in the second half of the century.
Of course, as you can see, Earl Averill, Larry Doby and Kirby Puckett
do not have a NEWS score of 280.
They have HOF numbers by virtue of the SAG (255/1800)
criterion. That is, each of
them has a NEWS score of 255 despite having played less than 1800
games. As you may recall, only eleven players have ever done
this and all are in the Hall of Fame.
(Joe DiMaggio and Elmer Flick are the only players with less than
1800 games played who have a score above 280).
The top four center fielders (Ty Cobb, Willie Mays, Tris Speaker and
Mickey Mantle) are among the top ten players of all
time. That is, of course, the
most players from one position in the top
ten. Since I am a life-long
Willie Mays fan, I was hoping that he would turn out to be the top center
fielder. But Ty Cobb’s
numbers speak for themselves. (I
would still take Willie any day!!)
The Other Center Fielders
in the Top 25
Here are the other fifteen players who are among the top 25 center
fielders of the 20th century.
CWS
CV
NEWS
8. Jimmy
Wynn
305
269
278
9. Richie
Ashburn
329
257
275
10. Max
Carey
351
245
272
12. Vada
Pinson
321
252
269
13. Edd
Roush
314
250
266
14. Bernie
Williams
311
248
264
15. Jim
Edmonds
274
250
256
18. Willie
Davis
322
230
255
21. Al Oliver
305
222
243
23. Fred
Lynn
280
225
239
24.
Steve
Finley
296
213
234
25.
Andruw
Jones
232
229
230
There are three center fielders who are in the Hall but who did not
make our list of the top 25.
CWS
CV
NEWS
Hack
Wilson
224
220
221
Earle
Combs
227
217
220
Lloyd
Waner
245
207
217
As you can see, there are a total of six center fielders in the Hall
who do not have HOF numbers according to the NEWS
monitor. And Jimmy Wynn is the
highest ranking center fielder below the 280 cut-off (that really surprised
me).
Dale Murphy was
on the ballot for the 2007 BBWAA election but he only got 9.2% of the
vote. It does not look like
he has any real chance of election.
Eric Davis was also on the ballot but got only three votes and will
not appear again. Here are his
numbers.
CWS
CV
NEWS
Eric
Davis
224
192
200
Vada Pinson, Curt
Flood and Al Oliver were all on the 2007 ballot for the Veteran’s
Committee. They got 19.5%, 17.1%
and 17.1% of the vote, respectively, so none of them seems to have any hope
of being elected. Here are
Flood’s numbers.
CWS
CV
NEWS
Curt
Flood
221
209
212
Of course, neither Eric Davis nor Curt Flood are among our top 25 center
fielders.
Having looked at the top outfielders, we will take a look at the top
infielders and catchers in the next chapter.
