When I say that no other infield position outside of first base has had such top-end batting talent, I mean it. That's not to say that 2B has not seen its fair share of exceptional fielders, far from it. Mazeroski, Frank White, Willie Randolph, and Nellie Fox all had over 100 TZR at the position, and DJ LeMahieu has been phenomenal there throughout his career, recording back-to-back seasons of 14 and 18 DRS in 2017 and 2018. However, compared to the Hot Corner or shortstop, the top-end guys at those positions are just better fielders than what we find at second. However, what that position has that those other ones lack is a treasure trove of hitting talent, especially at the very top. With all that being said, let's look into the ten best second basemen MLB has seen, starting with the most recent.
10. Robinson Cano: Cano's career is marred by PEDs, there's no denying that. He was suspended for the entire 2021 season and he only had 104 plate appearances in 2022, having a .373 OPS. Unsurprisingly, he has not played on any MLB team this year, and it's probably safe to say that his career is done. However, as poor as he last looked, and his steroids history notwithstanding, Cano was an absolute force in his prime, easily the best infielder the Yankees had from the late 2000s to mid-2010s. Aside from a weird 2008 in which he was a bad hitter and a terrible fielder (leading to 0.2 bWAR and -2.1 WAA), between 2007-2014, his lowest bWAR was 4.5 and he had five seasons with at least 6.0 bWAR in that eight year span. As a rookie in 2005, he was one of the worst fielders in baseball, but 2007, 2012, and 2012, he had DRS (Defensive Runs Saved) totals of 23, 16, and 15, respectively, and he even led the AL in dWAR in 2007 with 2.8.
However, where Cano really shined was in the batter's box. In a 9-year span, Cano had an OPS+ of at least 130 seven times: 2010-2014, 2016, and 2018 (though he had only 348 PAs that year). He reached a .500 SLG seven times in his career, and the 39 home runs he hit in 2016 rank sixth all-time among players who played at least 50% of their games at second. Cano also had seven seasons with a waaWL% (basically how a team of otherwise average players would perform if the had this player on their team) of at least .520, a very good total, especially in a period of only ten years from 2007-2016. He also had a very underrated 2014 season hitting-wise. While at first glance a .836 OPS seems only mildly impressive, he did this in a low-offensive year for the AL while playing in a pitcher's park, Safeco Field, for the Mariners. His OPS+ was 142, the third-highest of his career. His two best years, however, were with NYY, in 2010 and 2012. He had 8.1 and 8.4 bWAR, respectively, and OPS+ marks of 141 and 148. His 2010 waaWL% was a then career high of .532, only to surpass that in 2012 at .535. In both seasons, he had sound arguments to win MVP (though in 2010, Josh Hamilton took home the honor, and deservedly, in my opinion). Over his best seven years, he averaged 6.5 bWAR/650 PAs and his average OPS+/wRC+ was a very impressive 140.5. He was a terrific hitter who could also play good defense, and deserves a spot in the Top 10 here with 68.1 bWAR for his career.
9. Chase Utley: Utley is not a popular figure among NY Mets fandom, and it's safe to say that his hard-nosed attitude over his 16-year career probably rubbed a player or two the wrong way. His career bWAR is a very good, but not incredible, 64.5, and his OPS+ was 117. His best OPS in a season was 146, so similar to Cano, but unlike the guy in the #10 spot, Utley only reached that figure in one season, 2007, and he *only* had four years with an OPS+ of at least 130. When it comes to his prime, he had a 134.5 OPS+/wRC+ for his seven best hitting seasons. This ranks a very respectable 16th all-time among second basemen, but it's not uncharted territory. However, it should be noted that he had four seasons with at least 28 home runs, and his best hitting season, 2007, was one in which he missed 30 games, so had he played more games, I'm sure his totals would look more impressive that year and his rate stats probably elevated for his prime. Still though, while he was a very good hitter, there's not really anything here that would lend anyone to believe that his five-year stretch from 2005-2009 would be one of the best baseball has ever seen from a middle infielder. His slash line was .301/.388/.535 for a 135 OPS+. Impressive, to be sure, but historic? Hardly.
In order to fully appreciate Utley's incredible peak, sabermetrics are a necessity. While his bat was good, what really separates the Phillies star from others was all the other things he did on the diamond. Let's start with his baserunning. Utley may not be the first player who comes to mind when one things of elite guys on the basepaths, but his efficiency was second-to-none. He was great at taking the extra base, as for his career, he took it 54% of the time, contrasted with the MLB average of 40%. His career stolen base percentage was 88%, a phenomenal number. In 2009, he stole 23 bases and wasn't caught, setting the record for most stolen bases in a season without getting caught stealing at least once since 1947. He ran hard and smart, so it should be no surprise that he added an estimated 45 runs just from being a baserunner. Now when defense comes into the equation, Utley's value skyrockets; from 2004-2010, he was probably the best defensive second basemen in baseball history. Yes, better than Frank White, Bill Mazeroski, or perennial Gold Glove winners Roberto Alomar and Ryne Sandberg. He accrued a ridiculous 102 DRS from 2005-2009, but embarrassingly, was never awarded a Gold Glove. All these factors combined to his bWAR for those five seasons being a hearty 39.7, good for a .540 waaWL%. In 2008 and 2009, he came in the silver medalist position to Albert Pujols based on bWAR, and had it not been for the two best seasons in Prince Albert's career, Utley would have deserved two MVPs. Over a seven year span, Utley averaged 7.3 bWAR/650 PAs. At his best, he was a top-4 player in baseball, a special player, and one who slides into the ninth spot on my Top 10.
8. Charlie Gehringer: When one thinks of nicknames befitting of personality, "The Mechanical Man" for Charlie Gehringer has to rank among the top contenders. However, while his demeanor might have been as rote and boring as they come, his performance on the diamond was anything but. Taking up the mantle of the best offensive 2B in the AL after Eddie Collins, Gehringer had a relatively slow start to his career. Through his first five seasons, he posted a 107 OPS+ with 9.6 bWAR. Those are solid numbers, but nothing special. His sixth season, in 1929, would be his breakout, though. He had a 139 OPS+ while leading the AL in hits, runs scored, doubles, triples, and stolen bases. He had a 5.9 bWAR to go along with a then career-high .520 waaWL%. He posted a triple slash line of .339/.405/.532, good for a 139 OPS+, and this was just the start of a great career that would see him post 10 seasons with at least 5 bWAR and 8 of at least at .520 waaWL%. The only real issue he had in 1929 was some pretty terrible defense with -11 TZR, but he would rectify that in 1930, increasing it to a +7 and raising his bWAR to 6.6. His waaWL% also went up by a not-so-small amount to .526, so even though his OPS+ declined slightly to 134, he was a better player. Like the previous season, this would not be his peak, not by a long shot.
Gehringer would regress slightly over the next couple seasons, but in 1933, he would commence the start of 5-year stretch that would see him hit .347/.428/.513 over 3515 PAs while accruing 40.4 bWAR at a .538 waaWL%, one of the best, most consistent stretches a middle infielder has ever had. The first year, 1933, saw Gehringer post 18 TZR, the highest of his career, and led to his getting 2.3 dWAR on the season, the most of his career. His offense wasn't too shabby either, with an .862 OPS for a 126 OPS+. What's most impressive about that number is that it was his worst offensive season from '33-'37, and when you consider that he still had 5.6 oWAR and 7.3 bWAR on the season, that is nothing to scoff at. The next two years would be materially better, with Gehringer getting a .450 OBP in 1934 and a .967 OPS for the season, good for a 149 OPS+. He achieved a personal-best 8.9 bWAR, and the next year, though his hitting dipped a little to a 138 OPS+, he still got 8.6 bWAR on the back of good baserunning and typical terrific defense (he had 11 TZR in 1934 and 14 in 1935). The following season would see him achieve the highest OPS of his career at .987, on the back of a .555 SLG from 87 extra-base hits (including an AL-best 60 doubles). His OPS+ was an exceptional 144, and his waaWL% was .535. He would finally win an MVP in 1937 with 7.8 bWAR and a .537 waaWL%, and he would also garner his first and only batting title, with a .371 average. Gehringer would cease to be a dominant force after this season, but he would still accumulate 14.6 bWAR over the next three years, and ultimately finish his career with 84.8 and an OBP at .405. As a hitter, he was really good for a second basemen, but he added value as a great baserunner and a solid fielder. There's an argument for his being top-6, but at the minimum, he's solidly in the top 10.
7. Bobby Grich: In my view, Bobby Grich is the most underrated player in the history of the MLB post-integration. There are many reasons why he doesn't get the recognition he deserves (at least the proper amount of respect I think he rightfully garnered), among them that the era he played in severely deflated his total and rate stats. Grich played from 1970-1986, a time that was effectively the second coming of the Deadball era. His home ballparks also played a role here, as he played with Baltimore from 1970-1976, and the then-California Angels from 1977-1986. In all those years, they were either decidedly pitcher's parks or neutral at the very best, so he didn't get the benefit of inflating his raw and rate stats at home. His career triple slash line is an underwhelming-at-first-glance .266/.371/.424, a .794 OPS. However, due to those aforementioned factors, his OPS+ is the same as Charlie Gehringer's 125, and unlike Gehringer or anyone else before him on the list, his personal-best in that category eclipsed 160 (but we'll get to that in the next paragraph). Grich also was a really good fielder, having 82 TZR for his career, and playing a premium defensive position yielded him a great 16.8 dWAR for his career. If that's not enough to convince you he was horribly snubbed when it came to HOF voting (off the ballot after only one year in 1992 with 2.6%), let's do a deep dive into some of his more impressive seasons.
Grich really came into his own in 1972 at the age of 23. He had played only sparingly in '70 and '71, accumulating 139 plate appearances and 1.1 bWAR. In 1972, he would accrue 6.0 bWAR on the back of a 129 OPS+ and 10 TZR. Next season, he would surpass pretty much all those totals. 1973 was the year he led the AL in position player bWAR at 8.3 with a 127 OPS+ and a stellar 29 TZR, leading to Grich winning the first of four consecutive Gold Gloves. His waaWL% was third in the AL at .533, behind only Reggie Jackson and Thurman Munson, and he was second in dWAR at 4.0, behind his teammate, Mark Belanger (either the greatest or second-greatest defensive SS of all-time). That Grich had such a high-value season while only slugging .387 is a testament to how much of a low-offensive environment the 1973 AL was and how awesome he was at getting on-base (his OBP was 14% better than the AL average). His next three years from 1974-1976 would have him continue to be the preeminent second basemen in the American League (he would have been the best in all of baseball, but there was a little guy out in Cincinnati who was tearing up the league that we will get to in the next installment), accumulating 20.7 bWAR with a 134 OPS+. He was second among AL second basemen in '74 and '75 in that metric (behind the #6 player on the list) and first in 1976. He also earned two all-star selections in that span, and then in November 1976, he would sign with the California Angels. It would be here that Grich would have his two best hitting seasons. In 1979, he had a 145 OPS+ with 30 HRs; up to that point, he had never even slugged 20 in a season. Then in 1981, he led the AL in SLG and OPS+ with .543 and 165, respectively. His bWAR pro-rated to 650 PAs: 8.8, and with a .540 waaWL%, he placed 4th in the AL. Grich ended his career in 1986 with 71.1 bWAR and 43.5 WAA, placing 8th and 6th among second basemen. Among eligible players, Grich is by far the leader in WAR, WAR7, and WAA for second basemen who aren't in the Hall, and it's a shame that he was thrown aside in voting. Hopefully, the Veteran's Committee will give him another look soon.
6. Rod Carew: In the post-WW2 era, Carew ranks in the pantheon of greats when it comes to hitting for average. Among all hitters that started their career after 1945, Carew's .328 BA is tied for second with Wade Boggs in career BA at .328 (Boggs technically ranks second at .3279, while Carew is at .3278), and once you adjust for era, Carew stays at the two spot post-integration and is 10th all-time, with Gwynn ranking fifth. The term "pure hitter" is a fundamentally subjective term, but if you’re someone who likes batting average, it’s hard to say that Carew is not one of the best ever. He had nine seasons with at least a .330 BA where he accrued 400 or more PAs. Keep in mind that he played his career in what was the equivalent of the second deadball era, where the average BA in the AL was .257; his .328 career average was 28% higher than his league during that time, and that’s including the DH which began in the AL in 1973. Carew also had 445 doubles and 112 triples, so while not monstrous XBH power, he was a decent threat to get a two-bagger and the occasional three-spot. His 131 career OPS+ ranks sixth among second basemen with at least 3,000 career PAs. (It should be noted that Carew played first base for more games than he did second. However, his best seasons – save 1977 – came at 2B, so I’ve included him there for ranking purposes.) Apart from hitting, Carew was also great at taking the extra base while running, having a career percentage of 58% compared to the league average of 45%.
When we dive into Carew’s best seasons, one thing that jumps out is his extraordinary BABIP. Calculated as (Hits – HRs)/(ABs – HRs – SOs – SFs), Carew had some otherworldly seasons. For his career, he had a .359 BABIP when the league average was .281, 28% better than the league. For BA and BABIP, that’s extraordinarily high, and he actually ranks second all-time in era-adjusted BABIP, behind only Ty Cobb. Carew had a .408 BABIP in 1977 and a .415 mark in an injury-shortened 1970. He had ten other seasons with at least a .350 BABIP. While some of that is luck, when one is able to do something at that high a level over a period of nearly two decades, there is a large degree of skill involved. To compare him to other hitters he’s often mentioned with, Tony Gwynn had an era-adjusted BABIP of 31st all-time, and Pete Rose ranks 89th ever. Simply put, Carew was awesome at “hitting them where they ain’t.” To go deeper into his best seasons, 1977 is obviously peak Carew, when he hit .388 and had an OPS+ of 178. His bWAR of 9.7 led both leagues and his BA, OBP (.449), and OPS (1.019) did as well. He had a .545 waaWL% and it’s a top-75 season by total bWAR for a position player. That wasn’t his only great season, though. From 1973-1976, Carew had a .351/.415/.468 slash line for a 150 OPS+ with an average of 7.3 bWAR and .533 waaWL%. The best in that stretch, and second-best of his career, was 1975, when Carew had a 157 OPS+ and led both leagues in BA with a .359 mark. He had a .539 waaWL% and 7.9 bWAR, leading the AL in both those figures. For his career, Carew had a great 81.2 bWAR for his career with an impressive .519 waaWL%. Carew’s consistency was his greatest attribute. While he might not have had the peak of the top-5 second sackers, his methodical approach and superb bat-to-ball skills made him one of his era’s great hitters, and combined with his quality baserunning, Carew’s career ranks among the greats at his position.
Comments
Post a Comment