MLB has a Prime 9 series in which it ranks the top 9 players at each position. Second base was today. Here's my list in comparison to that list. My ranking of the 200 greatest players in history is here.
MLB Network List:
1. Hornsby
2. Collins
3. Morgan
4. Lajoie
5. Carew
6. Gehringer
7. Alomar
8. Sandberg
9. Grich
-I was prepared to yell about Grich not being included - and then he led off the show. They set a 1000 game minimum for positional inclusion, which is reasonable and why Robinson isn't on the list. Here's my list.
1. Hornsby
2. Lajoie
3. Collins
4. Morgan
I don't think it's particularly close between Hornsby and the other three (his OPS+ was 175) where it's really not close is between these four and everyone else; I don't know if anyone has anyone else in a top four second basemen ever group.
5. Robinson
6. Grich
7. Gehringer
8. Carew
9. Gordon
If I had the same 1000 games played positional rule, my guy Kent would be number nine and everyone would slide up one to take Jackie's slot.
7 comments
CRAIG BIGGIO!!! 3000 hits, 600 doubles, a VERY solid glove and as good of a dude as there as ever been. Bobby Grich makes it over Biggio? C'm'on!
Wait, wait wait...did you take Robbie Alomar off of the list?
I thought he should have been moved UP the list (to #2), but you're taking him off of the list?
Alomar ahead of Biggio. They had the same approximate career value (about 69 wins above replacement depending on which number you like; I combined two numbers when putting together my top 200 of all time list) but Alomar did it in 2000 fewer plate appearances. But both below Kent, for example, who didn't make my top 9 either. Kent is also right at 69 wins above replacement but in a thousand fewer plate appearances than Alomar.
Grich was 75 wins above replacement with over a thousand fewer plate appearances than Kent - meaning, he accumulated more career value than Biggio while doing it in 2/3 of the time. Grich had a better OPS+ than all of them. He's better.
The problem I have with this and other lists is their emphasis on hitting over defense. If we're talking 2B or any position for that matter both need to be considered, else the list should be named the best offensive 2B. There's no mention in the program about Hornsby's defense. The same can be said about Ruth being the all-time best RF (for me, Clemente). With that in mind Carew should be moved down the list as well and Alomar should be way up. In another program they picked Piazza for the same reason over Ivan Rodriguez as the best catcher in the 90's. BTW there was another program in which they selected the 9 best switch hitters and included Ken Singleton and ommitted Alomar. Amazing!
Grich over Alomar and Biggio? Even Sandberg? What a joke
Grich was a .266 hitter. That's brutal.
Bobby Grich over Frankie Frisch ?? Seriously ??? What a load of crap.
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