The Top 10 greatest left fielders in the last 50 years

Today I am continuing my list of the greatest players at each position in the last 50 years with the top 10 left fielders.

Here’s the criteria.

·       Must have played at least 5 years since the 1971 season to be considered (only looking at his playing career since 1971. Previous year stats prior to 71 will not be considered).

·       Player cannot qualify for 2 positions. Will be considered based on position he played most in his career (example. Rod Carew played more games at first base then at second base. He would only make the list at first base). Using baseball reference to confirm amount of games at each position.

·       Same consideration takes place for Designated Hitter (Frank Thomas being an example. He played more games as a DH than at first base. He would only make the list at DH).

·       Rankings based on regular season stats, awards won (MVPS, titles, gold gloves, etc). Post season will add to consideration.

Here is my list of the top 10 greatest left fielders in the last 50 years.

1. Barry Bonds

2. Rickey Henderson

3. Albert Belle

4. Manny Ramirez

5. Willie Stargell

6. Tim Raines

7. Jim Rice

8. Ryan Braun

9. Lou Brock

10. George Foster

Comments. Performance enhanced or not, Bonds is the all-time home run king and a 7-time MVP. Henderson won an MVP and is the all-time leader in stolen bases with 14 seasons of 50 or more steals. Belle is one of the most hated players in baseball history, but consistently put up big numbers. He had 9 straight seasons of 100 or more RBI and is the only player in history to hit at least 50 home runs and 50 doubles in a season. Ramirez played more games in LF than RF. He had 9 straight seasons of 100 or more RBI. Stargell played more games in LF than at 1B. He won an MVP and finished in the top 5 voting 3 different times while leading the NL in home runs twice. Raines had 6 straight seasons of 70 or more stolen bases and won a batting title.  Rice won an MVP and finished in the top 5 voting 5 different times. Braun won an MVP had 5 straight seasons of 100 RBI. Brock broke the (then) single season steals record and had. Foster won an MVP and led the league in home runs twice.  

Honorable mention to Carl Yastrzemski, who had his best years prior to 1971 (3 batting titles and the triple crown).

Next up is the 10 greatest centerfielders in the last 50 years.

The Top 10 greatest third basemen in the last 50 years

Today I am continuing my list of the greatest players at each position in the last 50 years with the top 10 third basemen.

Here’s the criteria.

·        Must have played at least 5 years since the 1971 season to be considered (only looking at his playing career since 1971. Previous year stats prior to 71 will not be considered).

·       Player cannot qualify for 2 positions. Will be considered based on position he played most in his career (example. Rod Carew played more games at first base then at second base. He would only make the list at first base). Using baseball reference to confirm amount of games at each position.

·       Same consideration takes place for Designated Hitter (Frank Thomas being an example. He played more games as a DH than at first base. He would only make the list at DH).

·       Rankings based on regular season stats, awards won (MVPS, titles, gold gloves, etc). Post season will add to consideration.

Here is my list of the top 10 greatest third basemen in the last 50 years.

1.  Mike Schmidt

2.  Wade Boggs

3. George Brett

4. Chipper Jones

5. Bill Madlock

6. Nolan Arenado

7. Adrian Beltre

8. Scott Rolen

9. Josh Donaldson

10. Sal Bando

Comments. Schmidt is a 3-time MVP, 10-time gold glover and WS MVP. Boggs is a 5-time batting champion and has a .328 lifetime average. Brett is a 3-time batting champion, an MVP, and has the highest single season average (.390) in the last 80 years. Jones won an MVP, a batting title, and had 8 straight seasons of 100 RBI. Madlock is a 4-time batting champion. He is the only player that won at least 4 batting titles who is not in the Hall of Fame (he deserves to be in). Arenado is quickly moving up the list of great third basemen. He has played 8 seasons in the Majors, winning the gold glove every season, and finished in the top 5 MVP voting in 5 years. Beltre is a 5-time gold glove winner who finished his career with 3100 hits. Rolen is an 8-time gold glove winner. The last 2 selections were challenging. Lots of similar players. I went with Donaldson at 9, who is an MVP winner and had 3 other seasons in the top 10 voting. I selected Bando at 10. He was the captain of the 3-time championship A’s teams of the early 1970s and finished in the top 5 MVP voting 3 times.  Some players who just missed the cut were Graig Nettles, Ron Cey, Darrell Evans, and Buddy Bell.

Next up is the 10 greatest left fielders in the last 50 years.

The Top 10 greatest shortstops in the last 50 years

Today I am continuing my list of the greatest players at each position in the last 50 years with the top 10 shortstops.

Here’s the criteria.

·       Must have played at least 5 years since the 1971 season to be considered (only looking at his playing career since 1971. Previous year stats prior to 71 will not be considered).

·       Player cannot qualify for 2 positions. Will be considered based on position he played most in his career (example. Rod Carew played more games at first base then at second base. He would only make the list at first base). Using baseball reference to confirm amount of games at each position.

·       Same consideration takes place for Designated Hitter (Frank Thomas being an example. He played more games as a DH than at first base. He would only make the list at DH).

·      Rankings based on regular season stats, awards won (MVPS, titles, gold gloves, etc). Post season will add to consideration

Here is my list of the top 10 greatest shortstops in the last 50 years.

1. Alex Rodriguez

2. Cal Ripken

3. Derek Jeter

4. Robin Yount

5. Ozzie Smith

6. Nomar Garciaparra

7. Barry Larkin

8. Alan Trammel

9. Miguel Tejada

10. Bert Campaneris/Dave Concepcion

Comments. ARod played more games at shortstop than at third base. Performance enhanced or not, his first 10 years as shortstop were one of the greatest of all time (including winning a batting title and 1 of his 3 MVPs). Ripken is the all-time consecutive games leader and a 2-time MVP. Jeter is a 5-time WS champion (and WS MVP) with a lifetime .310 batting average. Yount played more games at shortstop than in centerfield and is a 2-time MVP. Smith is considered the greatest fielding shortstop of all time and won 13 gold gloves. Garciaparra won 2 batting titles and was in the top 10 MVP voting in each of the first 6 full seasons he played. Unfortunately, injuries curtailed what would have been a Hall of Fame career. Larkin won an MVP and 3 gold gloves. Trammell won 4 gold gloves and WS MVP.  Tejada won an MVP and had 5 straight seasons over 100 RBI. Finally, I could not decide between Campaneris and Concepcion, so I put them both on the list tied for 10^th. Both never put up spectacular numbers, but were integral parts of their championship teams. Concepcion appeared in 4 World Series, winning 2  with the Cincinnati Reds, and Campaneris won 3 straight World Series championship with the Oakland A’s in the early 70s. Concepcion won 5 gold gloves, and Campaneris led the league in base stealing 6 times. Both deserved to be on this list.

Next up is the top 10 third basemen in the last 50 years.

The Top 10 greatest second basemen in the last 50 years

 The top 10 second basemen in the last 50 years.

Today I am continuing my list of the greatest players at each position in the last 50 years with the top 10 second basemen.

 Here’s the criteria.

·         Must have played at least 5 years since the 1971 season to be considered (only looking at his playing career since 1971. Previous year stats prior to 71 will not be considered).

·         Player cannot qualify for 2 positions. Will be considered based on position he played most in his career (example. Rod Carew played more games at first base then at second base. He would only make the list at first base). Using baseball reference to confirm amount of games at each position.

·       Same consideration takes place for Designated Hitter (Frank Thomas being an example. He played more games as a DH than at first base. He would only make the list at DH).

·      Rankings based on regular season stats, awards won (MVPS, titles, gold gloves, etc). Post season will add to consideration

Here is my list of the top 10 greatest second basemen in the last 50 years.

1.  Joe Morgan

2. Ryan Sandberg

3. Roberto Alomar

4. Jeff Kent

5. Jose Altuve

6. Dustin Pedroia

7. Robinson Cano

8. Craig Biggio

9. Lou Whitaker

10. Chase Utley

Comments. 2-time MVP Morgan is up there as one of the top 5 greatest of all time. Sandberg won an MVP and 9 consecutive gold gloves. Alomar has the record for most gold gloves by a second basemen with 10. Kent won an MVP and was the all-time leader in home runs for a second basemen. Altuve won an MVP and is a 3-time batting champion. He is moving up the list. Pedroia had a shorter career due to injuries, but, won an MVP, 4 gold gloves and has a .299 lifetime average. Cano has a lifetime .303 average. Biggio played more games at second base than he did as catcher or centerfield. He has over 3,000 hits and is 6^th all-time in doubles. Whitaker was a constant for the Tigers and with Alan Trammel were the longest double play combination in history. Utley had 5 straight years with over 90 RBI, and who excelled in the post season with 7 home runs in the World Series.  

Next up are the top 10 Shortstops