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 fourth installment today, we take a look at 10 of the top third basemen in MLB history.
- Check out and vote for our starting pitchers here.
- Check out and vote for our starting first basemen here.
- Check out and vote for our starting second 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 144 third basemen, who we put through the AMNewYork vacuum, which included:
- Wins Above Replacement (WAR)
- Defensive WAR (dWAR)
- Batting average (BA)
- On-base plus slugging percentage (OPS)
- Home runs (HR)
- Hits
- Runs batted in (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:
Adrian Beltre
Years active: 1998-2018
Teams: Los Angeles Dodgers, Seattle Mariners, Boston Red Sox, Texas Rangers
Stats: 93.6 WAR, 27.2 dWAR (13th all-time), .286 BA, .819 OPS, 3,166 hits (17th all-time), 477 HR, 1,707 RBI (24th all-time)
Accolades: 4x All-Star, 5x Gold Glove, 4x Silver Slugger, 2x Platinum Glove (best fielder in MLB)
Wade Boggs
Years active: 1982-1999
Teams: Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, Tampa Bay Devil Rays
Stats: 91.4 WAR, 13.9 dWAR, .328 BA, .858 OPS, 3,010 hits (30th all-time), 118 HR, 1,014 RBI
Accolades: 12x All-Star, 2x Gold Glove, 8x Silver Slugger, 5x batting champion, 7 seasons with a batting average of .340 or better, 1x World Series, Hall of Fame
Ken Boyer
Years active: 1955-1969
Teams: St. Louis Cardinals, New York Mets, Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers
Stats: 62.9 WAR, 10.7 dWAR, .287 BA, .810 OPS, 2,143 hits, 282 HR, 1,141 RBI
Accolades: 1964 NL MVP, 11x All-Star, 4x Gold Glove, 1x World Series
George Brett
Years active: 1973-1993
Teams: Kansas City Royals
Stats: 88.6 WAR, 2.2 dWAR, .305 BA, .857 OPS, 3,154 hits (18th all-time), 317 HR, 1,596 RBI
Accolades: 1980 AL MVP, 13x All-Star, 1x Gold Glove, 3x Silver Slugger, 3x batting champion, batted .390 in 1980, 1x World Series, Hall of Fame
Chipper Jones
Years active: 1993-2012
Teams: Atlanta Braves
Stats: 85.3 WAR, -0.9 dWAR, .303 BA, .930 OPS, 2,726 hits, 468 HR, 1,623 RBI
Accolades: 1999 NL MVP, 8x All-Star, 2x Silver Slugger, 2008 NL batting title (.364 BA), 1x World Series, Hall of Fame
Eddie Mathews
Years active: 1952-1968
Teams: Boston/Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves, Houston Astros, Detroit Tigers
Stats: 96.2 WAR, 5.6 dWAR, .271 BA, .885 OPS, 2,315 hits, 512 HR, 1,453 RBI
Accolades: 12x All-Star, 2x World Series, 9-straight seasons of 30+ home runs (1953-1961), Hall of Fame
Brooks Robinson
Years active: 1955-1977
Teams: Baltimore Orioles
Stats: 78.4 WAR, 39.1 dWAR (3rd all-time), .267 BA, .723 OPS, 2,848 hits, 268 HR, 1,357 RBI
Accolades: 1964 AL MVP, 18x All-Star, 16x Gold Glove, 2x World Series, 1970 World Series MVP, Hall of Fame
Scott Rolen
Years active: 1996-2012
Teams: Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals, Toronto Blue Jays, Cincinnati Reds
Stats: 70.1 WAR, 21.2 dWAR, .281 BA, .855 OPS, 2,077 hits, 315 HR, 1,287 RBI
Accolades: 1997 NL Rookie of the Year, 7x All-Star, 8x Gold Glove, 1x Silver Slugger, 1x World Series
Ron Santo
Years active: 1960-1974
Teams: Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox
Stats: 70.5 WAR, 8.7 dWAR, .277 BA, .826 OPS, 2,254 hits, 342 HR, 1,138 RBI
Accolades: 9x All-Star, 5x Gold Glove, Hall of Fame
Mike Schmidt
Years active: 1972-1989
Teams: Philadelphia Phillies
Stats: 106.9 WAR (19th all-time), 18.4 dWAR, .267 BA, .908 OPS, 2,234 hits, 548 HR (16th all-time), 1,506 RBI
Accolades: 3x (1980, ’81, ’86) NL MVP, 12x All-Star, 10x Gold Glove, 6x Silver Slugger, 1x World Series, 1980 World Series MVP, Hall of Fame
