THE FIRST BASEMEN
Here are the Top 100 First
Basemen
of All-Time. I think that the best part about this is just seeing
the rankings and then being able to debate them! I mean, maybe you
think so-and-so is ranked too high, or maybe this player is better
than this player was. Hopefully you are able to think about some
names of players you hadn't for awhile and this is fun!
|
Rank
|
Player
|
Year Born
|
Total
|
|
1
|
Lou Gehrig
|
1903
|
170.71
|
|
2
|
Jimmie Foxx
|
1907
|
154.63
|
|
3
|
Dick Allen
|
1942
|
154.62
|
|
4
|
Jeff Bagwell
|
1968
|
154.01
|
|
5
|
Will Clark
|
1964
|
152.08
|
|
6
|
Frank Thomas
|
1968
|
150.31
|
|
7
|
Willie McCovey
|
1938
|
147.14
|
|
8
|
Mark McGwire
|
1963
|
145.81
|
|
9
|
Jason Giambi
|
1971
|
142.86
|
|
10
|
Johnny Mize
|
1913
|
140.42
|
|
11
|
Harmon Killebrew
|
1936
|
140.07
|
|
12
|
Eddie Murray
|
1956
|
139.62
|
|
13
|
Albert Pujols
|
1980
|
139.08
|
|
14
|
Dan Bouthers
|
1858
|
136.01
|
|
15
|
Roger Connor
|
1857
|
134.02
|
|
16
|
Hank Greenberg
|
1911
|
133.25
|
|
17
|
Jim Thome
|
1970
|
132.97
|
|
18
|
Rafael Palmiero
|
1964
|
132.05
|
|
19
|
Don Mattingly
|
1961
|
132.03
|
|
20
|
Tony Perez
|
1942
|
131.66
|
|
21
|
Keith Hernandez
|
1953
|
131.20
|
|
22
|
John Olerud
|
1968
|
130.05
|
|
23
|
Norm Cash
|
1934
|
129.21
|
|
24
|
Orlando Cepeda
|
1937
|
128.41
|
|
25
|
Bill Terry
|
1898
|
127.62
|
|
26
|
Todd Helton
|
1973
|
127.41
|
|
27
|
Frank Chance
|
1877
|
127.25
|
|
28
|
Fred McGriff
|
1963
|
127.00
|
|
29
|
Carlos Delgado
|
1972
|
125.54
|
|
30
|
George Sisler
|
1893
|
122.70
|
|
31
|
Cap Anson
|
1852
|
122.68
|
|
32
|
Boog Powell
|
1941
|
120.93
|
|
33
|
Dolph Camilli
|
1907
|
118.80
|
|
34
|
Mark Grace
|
1964
|
118.68
|
|
35
|
Jack Fournier
|
1889
|
117.85
|
|
36
|
Bob Watson
|
1946
|
117.53
|
|
37
|
Cecil Cooper
|
1949
|
117.50
|
|
38
|
Steve Garvey
|
1948
|
117.23
|
|
39
|
Gil Hodges
|
1924
|
116.66
|
|
40
|
Ryan Klesko
|
1971
|
115.93
|
|
41
|
Mickey Vernon
|
1918
|
115.66
|
|
42
|
John Mayberry
|
1949
|
115.13
|
|
43
|
Jim Bottomley
|
1900
|
114.86
|
|
44
|
Mo Vaughan
|
1967
|
114.47
|
|
45
|
Ed Konetchy
|
1885
|
113.80
|
|
46
|
Hal Trosky
|
1912
|
111.26
|
|
47
|
Roy Siervers
|
1926
|
111.14
|
|
48
|
Bill White
|
1934
|
110.62
|
|
49
|
Ted Kluszewski
|
1924
|
110.42
|
|
50
|
Wally Joyner
|
1962
|
109.68
|
|
51
|
Andres Galarraga
|
1961
|
109.63
|
|
52
|
Kent Hrbek
|
1960
|
109.59
|
|
53
|
Mike Hargrove
|
1949
|
109.48
|
|
54
|
Phil Cavaretta
|
1916
|
109.13
|
|
55
|
Frank McCormick
|
1911
|
108.22
|
|
56
|
Elbie Fletcher
|
1916
|
108.04
|
|
57
|
Harry Davis
|
1873
|
107.66
|
|
58
|
Rudy York
|
1913
|
107.61
|
|
59
|
Alvin Davis
|
1960
|
106.53
|
|
60
|
Ron Fairly
|
1938
|
106.22
|
|
61
|
Lee May
|
1943
|
104.83
|
|
62
|
Jake Daubert
|
1884
|
104.83
|
|
63
|
John Kruk
|
1961
|
104.63
|
|
64
|
Jake Beckley
|
1867
|
104.02
|
|
65
|
George Scott
|
1944
|
103.72
|
|
66
|
Norm Siebern
|
1933
|
102.18
|
|
67
|
Joe Adcock
|
1927
|
101.83
|
|
68
|
Cecil Fielder
|
1963
|
101.72
|
|
69
|
Joe Judge
|
1894
|
101.69
|
|
70
|
Phil Nevin
|
1971
|
101.32
|
|
71
|
Fred Tenney
|
1871
|
101.18
|
|
72
|
Ferris Fain
|
1921
|
101.08
|
|
73
|
Andre Thornton
|
1949
|
100.93
|
|
74
|
George Kelly
|
1895
|
100.92
|
|
75
|
Tino Martinez
|
1967
|
100.70
|
|
76
|
Eric Karros
|
1967
|
100.23
|
|
77
|
Ripper Collins
|
1904
|
100.11
|
|
78
|
Jason Thompson
|
1954
|
100.07
|
|
79
|
Joe Kuhel
|
1906
|
99.74
|
|
80
|
Henry Larkin
|
1860
|
99.67
|
|
81
|
Stuffy McInnis
|
1890
|
98.74
|
|
82
|
Chris Chambliss
|
1948
|
98.40
|
|
83
|
Jim Gentile
|
1934
|
98.32
|
|
84
|
Hal Chase
|
1883
|
97.59
|
|
85
|
Lu Blue
|
1897
|
97.29
|
|
86
|
Wes Parker
|
1939
|
96.32
|
|
87
|
Sean Casey
|
1974
|
95.88
|
|
88
|
Earl Torgeson
|
1924
|
95.68
|
|
89
|
Gus Suhr
|
1906
|
95.43
|
|
90
|
Charlie Hickman
|
1876
|
94.99
|
|
91
|
Derrek Lee
|
1975
|
94.85
|
|
92
|
Bill Buckner
|
1949
|
94.51
|
|
93
|
Mike Sweeney
|
1973
|
94.38
|
|
94
|
Don Mincher
|
1938
|
94.19
|
|
95
|
Dan Driessen
|
1951
|
93.84
|
|
96
|
George H. Burns
|
1893
|
93.35
|
|
97
|
Bill Skowron
|
1930
|
93.26
|
|
98
|
Fred Merkle
|
1888
|
93.12
|
|
99
|
Fred Luderus
|
1885
|
91.80
|
|
100
|
Dan McGann
|
1871
|
90.97
|
|
101
|
George McQuinn
|
1910
|
90.97
|
|
102
|
Whitey Lockman
|
1926
|
90.80
|
|
103
|
Wally Pipp
|
1893
|
90.78
|
|
104
|
Vic Power
|
1927
|
89.61
|
|
105
|
Pete O'Brien
|
1958
|
88.23
|
|
106
|
Bruce Bochte
|
1950
|
87.75
|
|
107
|
J.T. Snow
|
1968
|
87.66
|
|
108
|
Tommy Tucker
|
1863
|
87.39
|
|
109
|
Charlie Grimm
|
1898
|
86.24
|
|
110
|
Eddie Robinson
|
1920
|
85.85
|
|
111
|
Jack Doyle
|
1869
|
83.10
|
|
112
|
Tony Clark
|
1972
|
82.85
|
|
113
|
Deron Johnson
|
1938
|
82.00
|
|
114
|
Joe Pepitone
|
1942
|
81.30
|
|
115
|
Paul Konerko
|
1976
|
80.20
|
|
116
|
David Segui
|
1966
|
79.36
|
|
117
|
David Ortiz
|
1975
|
76.52
|
|
118
|
Dimitri Young
|
1973
|
74.23
|
|
119
|
Doug Mientkeiwicz
|
1974
|
70.30
|
Justin's Thoughts:
The first thing that grabbed my
attention after I rated the first basemen was how well the
active and recently retired players fared in the ratings. I
think that is due in large part to the fact that defense was
much more highly valued at the position a long time ago than it
is now. Now first base is treated like a DH in the National
League while it is used as a second DH in the American League.
That wasn't always the case. There were guys who had long
careers as regular first basemen who weren't better than league
average hitters, but kept their position. That would never
happen today. The Twins just got rid of a guy who fits that
description. Guys like Hal Chase, Charlie Grimm, Deron Johnson,
Joe Pepitone, Wes Parker, Bill Buckner, and Chris Chambliss all
were regular starting first basemen for years despite not being
good hitters. I don't know why it took managers so long to
figure out that a good hit/bad glove first baseman is more
valuable than a no hit/slick fielding one. Babe Ruth never
played first base. I know that Gehrig was there, but Gehrig had
to be a better outfielder than Ruth was in the 1930's. Ruth was
a big fat guy who couldn't run by the 1930's yet he never played
first. It was understood by at least some managers as many older
players who could hit, but could no longer field their positions
were moved to first base. Harmon Killebrew, Carl Yastrzemski,
and Stan Musial all played first base at the end of their
careers. I don't know why managers only used this strategy in
cases in which the player is obviously an extremely talented
hitter. It may have had as much to do with the contract status
of these players as anything. Maybe Musial was making too much
money to sit on the bench so the manager had to put him in
somewhere. This would be worth studying if somebody were
interested.
There were 4 names on this list that really jumped out at me.
They were Albert Pujols, Will Clark, Jason Giambi, and Dick
Allen. Dick Allen had to have been giving a terrible subjective
rating by Bill James when he did his ratings. I think that it
was probably deserved since it makes no sense to rank somebody
who isn't in the Hall of Fame as one of the top 5 first basemen
who have ever lived. He must have been <a jerk> of historic
proportion to not get elected into the HOF. I still think that
he belongs. Ty Cobb and Rogers Hornsby were also jerks, but they
are in. Will Clark also surprised me. I thought that James had
him too high in his book, but I rated him higher than James did.
He was a heckuva player from 1988 until 1992. Jason Giambi had a
great run with the A's and was great with the Yankees until his
illness this year. I didn't think that he was good enough for
long enough to get this high on the list, but I was wrong.
Albert Pujols has a legitimate chance to go down as the greatest
player who has ever played this game. If he can continue doing
what he is doing until he is in his late 30's, he will have a
career that stacks up with Barry Bonds, Babe Ruth, and all of
the other great players who have played. A player usually has to
play 5 seasons at a high level before you can get a good idea of
where he will fit into this list. Pujols has only played 4 and
he still looks good. If he plays as well next year as he did
this year, he will already be in the top 5 all time. He is a
historically great hitter and he's still only 24 years old.
Seth's Thoughts:
Like Justin, I have to
agree that I am almost shocked with some of the names at or near
the top of this list. Dick Allen was very good, but #3,
at 1B, a hitter's position? Jeff Bagwell has had an absolutely
incredible career and continues to produce, but I never would
have thought he'd have the numbers to rank 4th all-time! And
again, Will Clark was remarkable for a bunch of years,
but when you think of a prototypical 1B, you don't think Will
Clark.
Another thing I look
for is where current players are ranking. There are a few 1B in
the top 10, including Bagwell, Frank Thomas and Jason
Giambi. Ryan Klesko ranking 40th was shocking!
However, the name that surprised me the most on this list was
Albert Pujols. He has only been in the big leagues for four
years, so to rank as high as he does, even considering that one
of the categories is the top FIVE consecutive seasons is
amazing. But this ranking tells us just how incredible those
first four seasons have been! Also, he has not been injured, so
his per-162 numbers are impressive too. Now, if he stays
healthy, and stays productive, he will continue to work his way
up this list. So far, he has not had a season which would
detract from any of his numbers. And, he is the youngest (ahem)
player in the rankings!
Another thing that is
interesting for me is to look at those old-time names of players
that you've only really heard stories about. There are a lot of
guys whose names you've heard so frequently, you assume that
they were great players (and yes, any of the players on this
list are great, but I mean top level all-time), and they end up
ranking below current or recent players that you didn't realize
were as good as they apparently are. On this list includes
Fred Merkle, who is best known for not running all the way
to 2B on a "game-winning" single and was ruled out on a
fielder's choice (the
game ended in a tie). Wally Pipp was, of course,
Wally Pipp'd, by Lou Gehrig, who ironically ranks #1 on
this list! Eddie Robinson is best known for leading
Grambling's football program to LOT of wins. George
Burns was best known for his role in the "Oh God, You Devil"
movies. OK, those last two aren't really those players, just
guys with the same names.
I am surprised the
Bill Buckner ranks as low as he does. I mean, he has over
2,700 hits over his 22 year career. Sure, he's known for his
error in the '86 World Series, but he was a great player. And he
ranks 92nd overall, one behind Derrek Lee.
Twins rankings:
#11 - Harmon
Killebrew
(Twins 1961-1974)
#52 - Kent Hrbek
(Twins 1981-1994)
#94- Don Mincher (Twins 1961-1966)
#104 - Vic Power
(Twins 1962-1964)
#117 - David Ortiz
(Twins 1997-2002)
#119 - Doug
Mientkiewicz
(Twins 1998-2004)
Three of these guys
play for the Twins from 1962-1964. Of course, Killebrew played
other positions, most frequently 3B, and wasn't particularly
good defensively at all of them. Power was great defensively.
So, they made it work. Kent Hrbek was really good for a
short time.
Summary:
This is a far stronger
position than catcher (no surprise), but it isn't as deep as I
thought. I think that there are great players through at least Mo
Vaughn (#44), but after that, there are a lot of very good,
all-star caliber players. There are a lot of surprises throughout
this list, but isn't that really what makes these lists fun? Now we
can debate the rankings.
Do you have any thoughts on
these first base ratings? Do you have any questions for myself or for
Justin Ahern on this ranking or how this was comprised? If
you have any thoughts, please
e-mail me, and be
sure to check back in the coming weeks for the rest of the
positions.
WEEK 9 NFL THOUGHTS
VIKINGS -
Of course, being from Minnesota, I have to start with the Vikings
loss to the Colts. My prediction for the score was 51-31 in favor of
the Colts. Well, the Colts won but it was just 31-28. I was actually
impressed! The Vikings were in the game the entire time. After
falling behind 14-0 early, the Vikings defense actually picked it
up. Well, until the fourth quarter when Peyton Manning was
remarkable!
For the Vikings, it was good to see
Onterrio Smith back (Even though he cost my fantasy team a
win!). He power/speed combination is really incredible. He's just a
bigger version of Mewelde Moore and a stronger version of
Michael Bennett. I thought Daunte was good. I would have liked
to have seen him throw more to the WRs, specifically Marcus
Robinson, but he took what was available. Jermaine Wiggins
caught 5 passes for 63 yards, the same number of receptions that
Robinson, Nate Burleson and Kelly Campbell had,
combined.
How about Burleson's 91 yards punt
return?! He is known as a possession and strength type of receiver,
but he showed an impressive burst of speed on that run! Kelly
Campbell had a 51 yard kickoff return as well. Now, he is
incredibly fast! They now have strong return men, something that can
make a huge difference in a game!
I think that Peyton Manning is
incredible. I know he struggled at times in previous seasons with
play calling in the Colts' no-huddle offense. But this year, he is
making it work. He is reading defenses well. He is picking the right
receiver. He is using all of his weapons. Reggie Wayne and
Brandon Stokely have really given him options beyond just
Marvin Harrison, and Edgerrin James still is pretty good.
The Colts offense is good, but like the
Vikings, Chiefs and Seahawks, their defensive weaknesses could come
back to haunt them!
The Vikings lead in the NFC North is
down to one game over the Lions and Packers. Next week, the Vikings
will take on the Packers in what should be a great game!
The Rest of the NFL
-
Are the San Diego Chargers for
real? Is Drew Brees really this good? I don't
know, but whatever the case, Brees and second-year TE Antonio
Gates have something working. In yesterday's 43-17 win over the
Saints, Brees threw 4 TD passes, three of them to Gates. After
catching just 24 passes all of last season, Gates in Brees' top
target with 54 catches for 602 yards and 8 TDs.
Willis McGahee is proving worthy of his lofty first-round
pick a year ago. He has now had back-to-back 100 yard games for the
Bills. He must be at 100% again because he is not only racking up
the yards, but the carries as well. 37 rushes yesterday for 132
yards. One almost has to wonder if that is too many. For anyone. Not
just a guy coming off the massive knee injuries McGahee did. What
can the Jets do without Chad Pennington? Can Quincy Carter
do well with this chance?
Remember way back last year when Carolina almost won the Super Bowl?
Yeah, they are absolutely terrible now. But why? The knee injury to
Stephen Davis? Steve Smith's broken leg? It's hard to
understand how a team can fall this far this fast!
Speaking of bad teams, how bad are the Cowboys? I guess Bill
Parcells isn't the genius everyone wants to think he is after
all. I mean, it just shows that you still need players too! And,
whoever decided that Eddie George and Vinny Testaverde
were worth picking up should be fired!!
And the Bengals beat the Cowboys 26-3, but their MVP this year
should be K Shayne Graham. Seriously, Carson Palmer
hasn't been good. Rudi Johnson hasn't been consistent.
Chad Johnson pouts a lot. Graham has been their best player, and
that's sad!
The Redskins beat the Lions 17-10. Clinton Portis is racking
up a lot of carries and coming through, finally, with a lot of
yards. However, he has been unable to get in the end zone. This
year, he has just two TDs rushing. So, Sunday, they had him throw a
pass to Laverneus Coles for a 15 yard TD. And who made the
decision to give Mark Brunell so much money!? He's terrible,
and has been for a few years!
Did anyone watch the Cardinals/Dolphins game? I actually flipped it
there a few times... not sure why! Both teams are really bad, but it
was a very good game. Rookie Larry Fitzgerald came through
big-time with a 48 yard reception followed by a 2 yard TD catch that
gave the Cardinals the one point win. Fitzgerald had five catches
for 92 yards and a TD. The Dolphins are really bad, and things won't
get better now that Dave Wannstedt will reportedly resign his
head coaching job!
OK, I thought that this whole Ben Roethlesberger thing was a
fluke. I mean, I did think he was going to be as good as Eli
Manning or Philip Rivers, but I didn't expect this from
him. (although 33 carries and 147 yards rushing from Jerome
Bettis, starting for the injured Duce Staley, helped too,
I'm sure!) And, I also figured that when the Steelers ended the
Patriots unbeaten streak last week, it too was a fluke. However,
after absolutely demolishing the previously unbeaten Eagles 27-3 on
Sunday, I don't think that the Steelers or Roethlesberger can be
considered flukes!! They just may be the real deal!
Have a day, Michael Pittman! 15 carries, 128 yards and 3 TDs.
Not a bad afternoon. The 78 yard run was very impressive! But
Brian Griese looked decent, throwing for 296 yards and 2 TDs. Of
course, it was all done against the Kansas City Chiefs defense, so I
don't know if it really counts! You also have to wonder if the
Chiefs would have completed the comeback if Priest Holmes hadn't
hurt his knee. Trent Green found Tony Gonzalez and
Eddie Kennison for over 100 yards each too. They may not be good
defensively, but you know when you watch the Chiefs, it'll be an
entertaining game!
The Giants dominated the Vikings at the Dome a week ago. Earlier in
the season, they dominated the Packers at Lambeau Field. And then
Sunday, at home no less, they got embarrassed by Anthony Thomas,
Craig Krenzel and the Chicago Bears! The former Ohio State QB
was just 8-21 for 144 yards and a touch, but the A-Train's 28
carries, 110 yards and 2 TDs really made the difference! Tiki
Barber continued his incredible season with 2 more rushing TDs.
The Seahawks wish they could play the 49ers more often! Matt
Hasselbeck threw for 285 yards and 3 TDs (2 to Darrell
Jackson), and Shaun Alexander rushed for 160 yards and 2
TDs as the 'hawks threw 42 points on the board. They can't be happy
about giving up 27 points to the '9ers though!
Just when we want to crown the Houston Texans as a legitimate team,
they play the Broncos and lose 31-13. Sure, David Carr gets a
lot of credit, but it is the Texans defense that generally has kept
them in games. But Sunday, they let Jake Plummer throw 4 TD
passes to four different receivers. Reuben Droughns rushed
for 120 yards.
The Baltimore Ravens beat the Cleveland Browns Sunday night 27-13.
With 40 points, you would have to assume the offenses did something,
right? Wrong! Cleveland's lone TD came on a Richard Alston 93 yard
kickoff return to start the game. After that, just two Phil
Dawson FGs. The Ravens got a 2 yard TD run by Jamal Lewis.
But their other TD came at the end of the game. Holding on to a 7
point lead with the Browns threatening, when Ed Reed intercepted a
Jeff Garcia pass (that arguably should have been caught) in the end
zone and returned it an NFL record 106 yards to ice the game.
Matt Stover kicked four FGs.
Having already kicked four FGs, the Patriots Adam Vinatieri
threw a 4 yard TD pass to Troy Brown to give the Patriots a
26-14 lead. That essentially ended any Rams chances. I was
surprised. I thought that New England was set up to lose for the
second straight game, but they continue to be prepared and beat a
strong offensive team in the Rams, in St. Louis. It may be no small
detail that Corey Dillon was playing again this week after
sitting out the Steelers game with an injury.
Any thoughts on Week 9, the NFL, or
anything football...
e-mail me.
NFL
"EXPERT" PICKS
Week 9 is complete, and so is
half of the season. I have to admit that I am almost embarrassed
with how I've done so far this year. There are eight more weeks to
go, but I've got a lot of room to make up, and the games are not
getting easier to pick! Mike Brasel won this week and in
doing so leapfrogged Ryan Maus to reclaim 1st place by a
game. Aaron Gleeman and David Bergner kept pace and
Michael Labuda is now in the running, along with Melissa
Olson. But, let's see. As I said, there is almost 1/2 season
left, a lot can happen! Right?
|
Thru Week
9 |
Total |
Week |
9 |
|
Over |
All |
|
|
Name |
Site |
W |
L |
Win% |
W |
L |
Win % |
|
Mike
Brasel |
Fantasy FB Guru |
10 |
4 |
71.4% |
86 |
44 |
66.2% |
|
Ryan
Maus |
Twins Chatter |
8 |
6 |
57.1% |
85 |
45 |
65.4% |
|
Aaron
Gleeman |
Aaron's BB Blog |
8 |
6 |
57.1% |
84 |
46 |
64.6% |
|
David
Bergner |
Baseball Savant |
8 |
6 |
57.1% |
83 |
47 |
63.8% |
|
Michael
Labuda |
ChiSox Daily |
9 |
5 |
64.3% |
82 |
48 |
63.1% |
|
Melissa Olson |
SethSpeaks.net |
8 |
6 |
57.1% |
81 |
49 |
62.3% |
|
Jeremy
Kovash |
Wolf Lake Mgr |
8 |
6 |
57.1% |
78 |
52 |
60.0% |
|
Vic
Quick |
KDUH-TV Sports |
8 |
6 |
57.1% |
77 |
53 |
59.2% |
|
Seth
Stohs |
SethSpeaks.net |
6 |
8 |
42.9% |
73 |
57 |
56.2% |
|
Ben
Jacobs |
Hardball Times |
7 |
7 |
50.0% |
72 |
58 |
55.4% |
|
David
Bloom |
Ya Gotta Believe |
7 |
7 |
50.0% |
70 |
60 |
53.8% |
|
John
Bonnes |
The Twins Geek |
6 |
8 |
42.9% |
69 |
61 |
53.1% |
That's it for today. I hope
you are enjoying the positional rankings. Please feel free to let me know what
you think. If you have any questions, comments or ideas
for future topics, please
e-mail me.
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