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There’s a web site called New Arena, that has listed the career best at each position. Thought this might be an interesting area of discussion, if we haven’t done it in the recent past. To start, here’s their list of the top 20 catchers.
1.) Johnny Bench
2.) Roy Campanella
3.) Yogi Berra
4.) Carleton Fisk
5.) Mike Piazza
6.) Iven Rodriguez
7.) Buster Posey
8.) Josh Gibson
9.) Gary Carter
10.) Micky Cochrane
11.) Bill Dickey
12.) Ernie Lombardi
13.) Joe Maurer
14.) Jorge Posada
15.) Yadier Molina
16.) Gabby Hartnett
17.) Ted Simmons
18.) Thurman Munson
19.) Buck Ewing
20.) Biz MackeyBuster Posey, Gary Carter, and Joe Mauer above Yadi and Simba?
For me, it is all in the criteria used. Just a list of names is not very interesting to me. Is there a formula or at least clear logic behind this or is it just someone’s opinion?
I probably move Cochrane up to the 7 slot, just behind Rodriguez. I might find a spot for Roger Bresnahan somewhere as well. From reading about 19th century baseball, Buck Ewing was a terrific player and not only the best catcher of the era, but one of the greatest players at any position in that era.
When healthy Mauer was real good – he is one of those guys who had high peaks, but falls a little short in consistency. Not sure about putting Piazza so high on the list. He did have some monster seasons, but was more of a “DH” style catcher. Posey is probably a bit too high on list as well, IMHO.
Without really digging into the details, at 5 through 10 I probably go Rodriguez, Cochrane, Gibson, Ewing, Dickey, Carter. 1 through 4 look good; you could swap out Berra and Campy at 2 and 3 as Yogi had a longer career, but it is not a big deal.
Man, when you think that the Cardinals practically had Yogi handed to them, and passed, we could have had three of the top 20 catchers of all-time, including one of the top 2 or 3.
I don’t see their criteria, but they do have a lot of additional information.
http://www.newarena.com/mlb/ranked-top-20-catchers-of-all-time/2/
Top 20 third basemen –
1.) Mike Schmidt
2.) Wade Boggs
3.) Eddie Mathews
4.) George Brett
5.) Adian Beltre
6.) Ron Santo
7.) Chipper Jones
8.) Brooks Robinson
9.) Sal Bando
10. Home Run Baker
11.) Buddy Bell
12.) SCOTT ROLEN
13.) KEN BOYER
14.) Paul Molitor
15.) Edgar Martinez
16.) Greg Nettles
17.) Evan Longoria
18.) Ron Cey
19.) Darrell Evans
20.) Robin VenturaSome names you do not think of in terms of all-time greats (Buddy Bell, Darrell Evans, Robin Ventura).
Schmidt stands out as a solid number one,similar to Bench with the catchers. Santo seems too high on the list, but maybe when you dig into the numbers he was that good. Not sure he brought a lot to the table beyond the numbers though. Beltre is sort of an under-the-radar guy, but deserves to be ranked where he is. A great player.
Things I have read about Home Run Baker are similar to Buck Ewing – he was a great player; better than his reputation after those who saw and played with him had passed on. He is the only guy on the list that played before 1950.
A couple of guys who used to come up in these lists all the time for third baseman are Pie Traynor and Jimmy Collins. Traynor has lost a lot of luster in the modern stats era, not too mention that there really are no other great third baseman who played in the 1920-1950 time frame. So Traynor was always listed as among the greatest, if not the greatest, but now is probably in the 21-25 group somewhere.
Collins still could arguably be pushed into the top twenty. One intangible for Collins; he was the third baseman on the first ever World Series championship team.
Great input, Mike. As Brian pointed out, these lists are quantitative, but still involved some personal opinion. Even on a list of twenty, sometimes very good ones are left out that appear on other top 20 lists for the position.
Top 20 SS of all time –
1.) Honus Wagner
2.) Pee Wee Reese
3.) Arky Vaughn
4.) Cal Ripken, Jr.
5.) Lou Boudreau
6.) Luke Appling
7.) Derek Jeter
8.) Robin Yount
9.) Ernie Banks
10.) Joe Cronin
11.) OZZIE SMITH
12.) Luis Aparicio
13.) Omar Vizquel
14.) Barry Larkin
15.) Alan Trammel
16.) Phil Rizzuto
17.) Davey Concepcion
18.) Alex Rodriguez
19.) Normar Garicaparra
20.) Joe SewellHonorable mention – Jimmy Rollins, Maury Wills. Johnny Pesky, Bert Capenaris Larry Bowa, Dick Groat.
Who would have thought back in 1981 when the Cardinals swung the deal with San Diego that we were getting one of the greatest shortstops of all time. Not me – I thought we were trading a possible future Hall of Fame shortstop for a sort of a switch-hitting Dal Maxvill-type.
Honus Wagner is a clear-cut choice as greatest of all time. It is amazing that over one hundred years since he played his last game, no one has ever been better at the position. Wagner was similar to the modern era shortstop – a bigger guy who could hit, plus he ran well and played great defense.
I am surprised to see Alex Rodriguez is not higher on the list. Dave Concepcion is deserving of being there; always liked his game. A truly great player deserving of HOF consideration.
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