Over the next two weeks, amNewYork Metro will be asking you, the readers, to help piece together Major League Baseball’s all-time starting lineup by voting who you think is the very best player at each position.
Each day, you will be given a list of 10 players per position where you can choose one (1) option.
Those looking to vote can submit their choices in several ways:
- Leave your choice under the corresponding article on amNewYork Metro’s Facebook and Twitter pages.
- Send your vote via email to sports editor Joe Pantorno at joseph.pantorno@metro.us
- Reach out to Pantorno on Twitter @JoePantorno
In our third installment today, we take a look at 10 of the top second basemen in MLB history.
- Check out and vote for our starting pitchers here.
- Check out and vote for our starting first basemen here.
Players up for consideration on our all-time second basemen list had to play at least 1,000 career MLB games with 60% of them coming at the position.
We were left with 155 second basemen where we put them through the AMNewYork vacuum, which included:
- Wins Above Replacement (WAR)
- Batting average
- On-base plus slugging percentage (OPS)
- Home runs
- Hits
- RBI.
Taking their ranks within each statistic, an average number was deciphered. The lower the average number was, the better their standing.
Players with additional individual accolades, positive defensive metrics, and postseason successes were given an additional boost — allowing us to come to a list of 10 players that are considered the very best at their position.
Without further ado, here is today’s ballot for you to vote on, in alphabetical order:
Roberto Alomar
Years active: 1988-2004
Teams: San Diego Padres, Toronto Blue Jays, Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Indians, New York Mets, Chicago White Sox, Arizona Diamondbacks
Stats: 67.0 WAR, .300 batting average, .814 OPS, 2,724 hits, 210 HR, 1,134 RBI
AMNY average: 11.6
Accolades: 12x All-Star, 2x World Series, 10x Gold Glove, 4x Silver Slugger, Hall of Fame
Craig Biggio
Years active: 1988-2007
Team: Houston Astros
Stats: 65.5 WAR, .281 BA, .796 OPS, 3,060 hits (25th all-time), 291 HR, 1,175 RBI
AMNY average: 14
Accolades: 7x All-Star, 4x Gold Glove, 5x Silver Slugger, Hall of Fame
Robinson Cano
Years active: 2005-Present
Teams: New York Yankees, Seattle Mariners, New York Mets
Stats: 68.0 WAR, .302 BA, .843 OPS, 2,570 hits, 324 HR, 1,272 RBI
AMNY average: 7.16
Accolades: 8x All-Star, 2x Gold Glove, 5x Silver Slugger, 1x World Series
Eddie Collins
Years active: 1906-1930
Teams: Philadelphia Athletics, Chicago White Sox
Stats: 123.9 WAR (10th all-time), .333 BA (26th all-time), .853 OPS, 3,315 hits (11th all-time), 47 HR, 1,299 RBI, 741 stolen bases (8th all-time)
AMNY average: 17.16
Accolades: 1914 AL MVP, 4x World Series, Hall of Fame
Charlie Gehringer
Years active: 1924-1942
Team: Detroit Tigers
Stats: 83.8 WAR, .320 BA, .884 OPS, 2,839 hits, 184 HR, 1,427 RBI
AMNY average: 6.6
Accolades: 1937 AL MVP, 6x All-Star, 1937 batting champion (.371 BA), 1x World Series, Hall of Fame
Rogers Hornsby
Years active: 1915-1937
Teams: St. Louis Cardinals, New York Giants, Boston Braves, Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Browns
Stats: 127.1 WAR (9th all-time), .358 BA (2nd all-time), 1.010 OPS (7th all-time), 2,930 hits, 301 HR, 1,584 RBI
AMNY average: 2
Accolades: 2x NL MVP (’25,’29), 2x Triple Crown (’22,’25), 1x World Series, 7x batting title, 3 seasons batting over .400, top career WAR, BA, OPS by 2B ever, Hall of Fame
Jeff Kent
Years active: 1992-2008
Teams: Toronto Blue Jays, New York Mets, Cleveland Indians, San Francisco Giants, Houston Astros, Los Angeles Dodgers
Stats: 55.4 WAR, .290 BA, .855 OPS, 2,461 hits, 377 HR, 1,518 RBI
AMNY average: 9
Accolades: 2000 NL MVP, 5x All-Star, 4x Silver Slugger, most HR by a 2B ever
Napoleon Lajoie
Years active: 1896-1916
Teams: Philadelphia Phillies, Philadelphia Athletics, Cleveland Indians
Stats: 107.3 WAR (17th all-time), .338 BA (18th all-time), .846 OPS, 3,243 hits (14th all-time), 82 HR, 1,599 RBI
AMNY average: 11.16
Accolades: 1901 AL Triple Crown, 3x batting title, .426 BA in 1901 is 4th-highest all-time, Hall of Fame
Joe Morgan
Years active: 1963-1984
Teams: Houston Astros, Cincinnati Reds, San Francisco Giants, Philadelphia Phillies, Oakland Athletics
Stats: 100.5 WAR (21st all-time), .271 BA, .819 OPS, 2,517 hits, 268 HR, 1,133 RBI, 689 stolen bases (11th all-time)
AMNY average: 18
Accolades: 2x NL MVP (’75, ’76), 10x All-Star, 2x World Series, 5x Gold Glove, 1x Silver Slugger, Hall of Fame
Ryne Sandberg
Years active: 1981-1997
Teams: Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs
Stats: 68.0 WAR, .285 BA, .795 OPS, 2,386 hits, 282 HR, 1,061 RBI
AMNY average: 15.3
Accolades: 1984 NL MVP, 10x All-Star, 9x Gold Glove, 7x Silver Slugger, Hall of Fame
To vote:
-
- Leave your choice under the corresponding article on amNewYork Metro’s Facebook and Twitter pages.
- Send your vote via email to sports editor Joe Pantorno at joseph.pantorno@metro.us
- Reach out to Pantorno on Twitter @JoePantorno
