-- Dan Mullen, senior MLB editor, Teams Teams: Chicago Cubs, Colorado Rockies, New York Yankees. 10-time NL All Star (1966, '70, '72-79), All-Star MVP ('72), five NL Gold Gloves ('73-77), two-time NL MVP ('75-76), one NL Silver Slugger ('82), Hall of Fame ('90), Career stats* But he cemented his spot on the roster by participating in the Giants' World Series win in 2014, was named an All-Star in 2015 and won a Gold Glove Award in 2016. Kinsler was a star on the Rangers' two pennant-winning teams of 2010-11, but Julio Franco was also an outstanding second baseman, earning three All-Star selections and winning an AL batting title. The switch-hitting Vidro donned Expos and Nationals uniforms for 10 of his 12 Major League seasons, and he slashed .301/.363/.459 with an .821 OPS, 1,280 hits, 550 RBIs and 115 home runs during his tenure. His signature moment arrived during his 1984 NL MVP-winning season, when he hit two homers off Bruce Sutter in a five-hit, seven-RBI outburst to help the Cubs beat St. Louis. After a falling out with Giants manager John McGraw in 1926, he was traded to the Cardinals after the season. -- Scott Lauber, ESPN.com Red Sox reporter, Second basemen aren't supposed to be great. In 1991 he was elected to the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility with 90.5% of the vote. Morgan is the Reds all-time leader with 406 steals, and he led the league in on-base percentage four times with the Reds. During the Yankees' 2009 championship season, Cano hit 20 home runs and notched 204 hits (first among all second basemen that year). Table of Contents Who are the best MLB second basemen of all time? Joe Morgan 4. Unfortunately for Carew, he wouldnt find much post-season success in Anaheim either. Philadelphia Phillies (1896-1900), Philadelphia A's ('01-02, '15-16), Cleveland Bronchos ('02), Cleveland Naps ('03-14), Honors Bottom line: Neil Walker was drafted by his hometown Pittsburgh Pirates in the first round of the 2004 draft, and made his debut with the Pirates in 2009. In 1996, Morandini excelled in the field, participating in 87 double plays while making just six errors good for a .990 fielding percentage. Since committing 17 errors in his rookie season in 2005, Cano has never committed more than 13 errors in a season and 123 total errors in 2,124 career games. He also won an MVP with the Cards in 1931 and made it to three all-star games after the inaugural game in 1933. Some well-known second basemen have career fielding percentages that are just a bit outside the top 25 in baseball history. You missed out on Tony Lazzeri in top ten second baseman. Theres also his seven Silver Slugger Awards, the NL MVP season of 1984 and the year he led the NL in home runs (40 in 1990). It's why he's a top-tier Hall-of-Fame second baseman, the earliest second baseman in the Hall of Fame and one of the 10 best second basemen in the history of MLB. Frisch went to four more World Series with St. Louis, this time coming out on top in the latter two. The great Rogers Hornsby was the clear choice for the best second baseman of all time. .285/.344/.452, OPS -- .795, Hits -- 2,386, HRs -- 282, RBIs -- 1,061, Beloved Cubbiness and a brief run as one of the most supremely gifted second basemen in the game aside, Sandberg's main asset is exploiting Wrigley Field to hit for power, slugging .491 there vs. a less-than-epic .412 everywhere else. Well, Grich has that, too. He ranks ninth on Fangraphs WAR for all offensive players and 12th on Baseball-Reference. 5. He was a tremendous all-around athlete and played multiple sports in college, which, along with World War II, delayed his eventual career in MLB. But it's his time in Cleveland that I think of first, when Alomar and Omar Vizquel mastered the dance of the double play as well as any duo I have ever seen. But, for now, the distinction belongs to Giles, who is the only second baseman in franchise history to produce a 110 OPS+ in at least three seasons. He was one of the most dominant second basemen of the '90s, helping the Astros win four division titles in five years (1997-99 and 2001), while also leading them to the postseason in 04 and the World Series in 05. McPhee also recorded 529 putouts in 1886, a Major League record which still stands; no one else is within 40 putouts"-Bill James, respected baseball historian/Godfather of Sabermetrics and the modern rating system, 2002. He ultimately fell short and settled for .388, but theres no doubt the 18-time All-Star, seven-time batting champion, '77 AL MVP Award winner and first-ballot Hall of Famer was one of the best pure hitters in baseball history. Brooks Robinson and Scott Rolen. We use bWAR. Nap Lajoie 6. A player with no weakness in his game. Astros top 5 >, Athletics: Eddie Collins, 1906-14, '27-30Key fact: His 55.9 fWAR is third highest in franchise history among position players (first among second basemen)A member of the famed $100,000 Infield" assembled by owner Connie Mack in the early 1900s, Collins was an elite hitter who went six straight seasons (1909-14) without batting lower than .324. Which team will make a big move? A broken finger finally forced him to wear a glove in 1896, and that year he fielded .978, a record fielding percentage for a second baseman until well into the 1900s. He's one of the 20 best overall second basemen in the history of MLB when you mix his offense and his defense together. The next four seasons were magical for Morgan, especially 1975 and 1976. On top of his defense, Frisch was fast as lightning, leading the league in SBs three times. Heck, he may be number one in all of baseball when considering what he meant to the game. Collins was a member of the legendary Connie Macks Athletics until 1915. Best Season: 2008 - .292/.380/.535 with 33 home runs, 104 RBIs, 64 walks, a .915 OPS, 6.0 offensive WAR, 3.5 defensive WAR and an 8.2 fWAR Being blocked by Placido Polanco early in his career and knee injuries at the back-half of his prime kept Utley from accumulating the type of counting statistics to make him a slam-dunk Hall of Famer. Alomar made into the Hall of Fame in his second year of eligibility after just missing on his first attempt likely due to that famous spitting incident. Blue Jays: Roberto Alomar, 1991-95Key fact: Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2011Over Alomars five seasons in Toronto, he led his team to two World Series championships while earning an All-Star nod and Gold Glove Award every single year. Once established, the Tigers wouldnt have to look for a second baseman until 1942. note-next to each player I will also list an offensive letter grade, so you know where they stand in that category, the way I see it (we can assume they are all an "A +" defensively, since they are among the top 10 all time, defensively). .328/.393/.429, OPS -- .822, Hits -- 3,053, HRs -- 92, RBIs -- 1,015, The Tony Gwynn or Ichiro Suzuki of his era, Carew was a master of bat control and one of the great bunters in the game's history. In 2004, he scored the last-ever run for the Montreal Expos, before they relocated to Washington, D.C. Hell likely face heavy opposition when he eventually becomes eligible for Cooperstown. That's short for Three True Outcomes, also known as walks, strikeouts and home runs. Of course, once they point this out, they then proceed to rate him an "A +" defensively and call him one of the best defensive second basemen of all time. If you want to know how bad things got, over Kilian's first nine starts in Iowa, he went 2-0 with a 2.06 ERA. He was then forced to apologize, he was allowed to call his Mother (upon his request) and then he was re-hired. In the field, he's smooth and effortless with a strong arm. He was the second best defensive second baseman in the history of MLB, but he doesn't belong in the Hall of Fame with that offense. Hughie Critz (1930s) offensive rating: D -, "The New York Giant infield of Hughie Critz, Bill Terry, Travis Jackson and Freddie Lindstrom, the million dollar infield as it was called, and it used to perform up to its namethey were so deft, so quick, so breathtaking that the fans would sit, first in stunned silence, and then in gathered bedlam"-Arnold Hano, respected baseball historian. -- Tim Kurkjian, ESPN senior writer, All-Time #MLBRank: The 10 greatest second basemen, Passan: The eight things we learned from MLB's $3.8 billion offseason, The first $500 million superstar? Teams For the purposes of this exercise, Alfonzo is only eligible at one position; with that in mind, second base, which is statistically one of the weakest in Mets history, seems an excellent place to give Alfonzo his proper due. At that point, he was in his 40s and starting to show his age. Baseball Best MLB Defensive Players of All Time By Paul Ladewski, updated on March 11, 2020 Old-Time Baseball Photos / Facebook TTO has done more to hurt defense than Daniel Murphy ever could on his worst day. 1/9 Tommy Edman, St. Louis Cardinals - 96. "Based on the distance that there was away from the goal line, I knew they were in sneak formation," Wilson said . A native of the Dominican Republic, he is an eight-time All-Star, won the Silver Slugger Award five times and netted two Gold Glove Awards. Much of his career came in the low-scoring 1970s, and he won seven batting titles, hit .328 lifetime and chased .400 in 1977, when he finished at .388. Teams: St. Louis Cardinals, Toronto Blue Jays, Philadelphia Phillies, Detroit Tigers, Miami Marlins. Joe Morgan had a few brief stints with the Houston Colt 45s before latching on with the now Astros in 1965. With catchers and first basemen in the books, next up is second base. Teams: New York Yankees, Seattle Mariners, New York Mets. Collins can also boast an MVP win in 1914 and six top 5 MVP finishes. What MLB insiders are saying about Shohei Ohtani, Sources: Mets, OF Pham agree to 1-yr, $6M deal, Reports: Brewers ink ex-Marlins IF/OF Anderson, Deal merges Ripken, Cooperstown youth baseball, Sources: Red Sox, Duvall agree to 1-yr., $7M deal, A's formally welcome ex-Japanese star Fujinami, Mets GM: Lineup deep even after losing Correa, Thomas, Pirates star and original Met, dies at 93, Who will get traded? Without further ado, lets get to it with Number Ten: Roberto Alomar may be best remembered for the worst moment of his career when he spit on home plate umpire John Hirschbeck after being thrown out of a game for arguing balls and strikes in late September 1996. He debuted in 1896 with the Phillies at first base but moved to second in 1898, where he would become famous. Teams: Pittsburgh Pirates, Kansas City Royals, California Angels. 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