Top Ten By Position - episode two

If you missed it, we kicked off the Top Ten By Position series with NFL kick/punt returners. We could continue with football, or we could spin the Wheel Of Positions!

All 36 pro sports positions are listed (if kick returners comes up we'll re-spin) .... 

.... and today's position is...

Before we start the countdown of post-integration Left Fielders, here's a quick look at some stars who just missed the cut. (All cards pictured are in my collection unless otherwise noted.)

Just Missed The Cut

Lance Berkman played a little more first base than left field but he is listed as a left fielder on Baseball-Reference (and if I leave him out we're looking at George Foster or Matt Holliday). His OPS+ of 144 is 7th among qualifying left fielders, fueled by a career on-base % of .406 that would place him 4th. 

Both Berkman and Lou Brock compiled a career .293 batting average; though Brock's on-base and slugging are much lower, his record-setting speed helped him reach over 3,000 career hits. A two-time World Series champ and Hall of Famer, Lou finished second in NL MVP voting after setting a (modern) single-season record with 118 swipes in 1974. 

Minnie Minoso started his Hall of Fame career in the Negro leagues and collected his last major league hit at age 52. In between, the 13-time All-Star collected over 2,000 major league hits, three Gold Gloves, and finished fourth in AL MVP voting four times - including his "rookie" season. 

Luis Gonzalez had a dream season in 2001, but his career was far from a one year wonder. "Gonzo" led the NL with 206 hits and batted a career high .336 in 1999, earning him the first of five All-Star selections. His 596 career doubles are third all-time among all left fielders, and he ranks 8th among integration era left fielders with 1,439 RBI, 1,412 runs scored, and 2,591 hits. 

I hope you like Red Sox because half of this top ten manned the Green Monster at some point in their career, starting with... 

#10 - Jim Rice

Jim Rice is considered a lower-tier Hall of Famer, not just by fans and experts but by the BBWAA who took fifteen years to elect him. His career WAR of 47.7 is lower than Luis Gonzalez (but higher than Lou Brock) and he was often overshadowed by better pure hitters in Boston. Looking at the back of his baseball card tells a different story. Rice led the AL in home runs three times, finished top-5 in MVP voting six times, and topped the majors in total bases three times. His 4,129 career total bases is a higher mark than such legends as Wade Boggs, Joe Morgan, and Joe DiMaggio. Oh, and he literally saved a young fan's life.

#9 - Ralph Kiner

Ralph Kiner places just ahead of Jim Rice in career WAR and just below him in home runs during a career that was six seasons shorter. Yet Kiner also needed the full 15 years for election to Cooperstown. In one decade's worth of work, the six-time All-Star led the NL in slugging and OPS three times while smacking 369 home runs. Hall of Fame voters were stuck on his career hit total of 1,451 (a total lower than such luminaries as Brett Gardner and Richie Zisk) for far too long. A 162-game average of 41 homers is impressive in any era. What's more, Kiner's sustained reign as his league's home run king is unmatched in baseball history. Not even Babe Ruth led his league in long balls for seven straight seasons, as Kiner did from 1946 (his rookie season) to 1952.
 

#8 - Willie Stargell 

Pittsburgh might have Boston beat for overall greatness at this position. Including Hall of Famer Fred Clarke (who played in the dead ball era) the Pirates can claim four of the all-time greatest. The only one to play his entire career in the Steel city is Willie Stargell, who hit every one of his 475 home runs (fourth among LFs) while wearing black and yellow. "Pops" finished top-3 in NL MVP voting each year from 1971-73, finally winning the award - along with World Series MVP honors - in 1979. 

Dishonorable Mention: Albert Belle

Similar to Ralph Kiner, Albert Belle produced a lot of power in just ten full major league seasons. A five-time Silver Slugger winner and five-time All-Star, Belle was runner-up to Mo Vaughn in the 1995 AL MVP race after smashing 50 home runs and 52 doubles in a 144-game season. Belle's career was cut short by a degenerative hip and his slugging prowess was constantly overshadowed by his degenerate behavior - from corking his bat to forearm-slamming Fernando Vina to harrassing trick-or-treaters. His boorish behavior got even worse in retirement. Sigh... This is going to become a recurring segment isn't it?

#7 - Tim Raines

We're not even halfway through the countdown and already hit our third left fielder who earned enshrinement into Cooperstown in his final year of eligibiity (does the BBWAA just hate left fielders, or what?) Tim Raines won a batting title, a Silver Slugger, and two World Series rings in his 23-year career, compiling 2,605 hits (7th among post-'47 left fielders), 1,571 runs scored (6th), and 113 triples (3rd). His 808 stolen bases are good for fifth all-time among all players in all eras - and no one with half that total had a more successful steal rate than the 84.7% Raines posted.

#6 - Billy Williams

A consistent and durable performer, Billy Williams rarely missed a game during his peak years in Chicago, where he belted 20 or more home runs in thirteen consecutive seasons. The National League Rookie of the Year in 1961, Williams finished second in NL MVP voting twice - in 1970, when he led the majors in hits and runs, and in 1972, when he led the majors with a .333 batting average. Unfortunately Williams only played in three career playoff games (and didn’t record a hit in nine plate appearances.) Fortunately, he only needed six years on the BBWAA ballot to be elected as a Hall of Famer.

 

Honorable Mention: Monte Irvin

Leaving out pre-integration stars risks leaving out Negro league greats as well as white major leaguers. Monte Irvin won three batting titles as a member of the Newark Eagles, and would certainly rank somewhere on this list if he were allowed to ply his trade in MLB. Joining the Giants as a 30 year-old in 1949, Irvin played in two World Series, earned All-Star honors in 1952, and finished third in NL MVP voting the year prior after leading the league in RBI with 121. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1973.
 

#5 - Carl Yasztrzemski 

The Red Sox' all-time leader in games played, hits, and total bases, Cal Yastzresmki ranks fourth among all left fielders in career WAR (96.4) and first at his position with 3,419 base hits.* An 18-time All-Star and first-ballor Hall of Famer, Carol posted a major-league leading 12.5 WAR in his MVP/triple crown season of 1967, leading the Red Sox to their first World Series appearance in 21 years. Yatstremski won three batting titles and seven gold gloves - more than any left fielder on this list so far. The only thing keeping him from a top-4 slot on this countdown are some iconic sluggers, including one who preceeded him and one who succeeded him as left fielders at Fenway. 

*baseball-refernece has Pete Rose ahead of him, but I don't count Rose as a left fielder. 

#4 - Manny Ramirez

Manny Ramirez manned right field in Cleveland through much of the 1990s, then moved to Boston in 2001 and made his home in front of (and inside) the Green Monster. He was an adventure defensively, he had zero speed, and he got popped for using PEDs twice. (Also, he could be a real jerk sometimes) But boy could Man-Ram rake. Only one left fielder mashed more homers than Manny's 555. Only three drove in more runs, and only two had a higher slugging percentage than Ramirez' career mark of .585. His 154 OPS+ (also 3rd all-time among LFs) is one reason why I've ranked him ahead of Yaz. Another reason: Manny is just 35 extra-base hits shy of Carl's career total despite four thousand fewer plate appearances. 

#3 - Ted Williams

I've gone back and forth on this ranking for a week. Ted Williams? Third? Are you sure?!? The Greatest Hitter Who Ever Lived(TM) ranks second all-time at his position in WAR, behind only a PED cheat. He's third in home runs behind only two PED cheats. Two left fielders rank ahead of him in RBI - one is a cheater, and both played far more games than Ted. Am I punishing him for being an indifferent fielder? No. Am I punishing him for missing four years due to military service? Hell no. Ted Williams is simply stuck behind two of the most uniquely talented all-around ballplayers of all time. But neither of them - not even the cheater - hit .406 in a season, or had a streak of reaching base safely in 84 straight games (take that, Joe DiMaggio) or batted .388 at age 38. Third place? Really? Are you sure?

#2 - Rickey Henderson

Yeah, I'm sure. Because Rickey Henderson did it all. Ted Williams might scoff at Rickey's seven seasons batting .300 or better(something Ted did every single season except one) but Rickey had more stolen bases in a month than Ted did in two decades. Only Carl Yastrzemski has more base hits among left fielders than Rickey's 3,055. No one at any position in the history of the game has scored more runs than Rickey or stolen more bases. Rickey also has an AL MVP award and a Gold Glove to go along with his three Silver Sluggers and two World Series rings. He is the greatest natural(we think/hope) talent ever to roam left field.
 

#1 - Barry Bonds

Let's not forget that once upon a time, Barry Bonds was .. kinda skinny. A bit slimmer than even Ken Griffey, Jr. - and arguably a better all-around player. He won seven Gold Gloves, three MVPs, stole over 400 bases, led the league in walks five times and WAR six times ... all before mega-dosing on PEDs (allegedly.. 😒)

What Bonds did from 1998 on is unfathomable. Four consecutive MVP seasons in his late thirties. Single season records for walks, slugging percentage, on-base percentage.. and, of course, home runs. Some fans want to see Bonds inducted into Cooperstown because he was a Hall of Famer before gorging on PEDs (allegedly.. 😒) Perhaps his pre-1998 career would be worthy of induction. He wouldn't be in the top three on this list, but he would not have been #1 on my list of greatest non-Hall of Famers. 

He would have been... I don't know, Frank Robinson maybe? But Barry's inflated ego would not allow him to accept being anything less than the greatest - even if few fans acknowledge him as the true 🐐

Do you have a favorite left fielder? Is there a left fielder you would rank higher or lower? 

I hope you'll join me for our next position group top ten countdown next week.



Thanks for reading!

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