Tom Cruise proves to his 11-year old son, Connor, that he is "all man" by getting to second base with his girlfriend at a 2006 baseball game.By Will-He-M
After doing the list of First Basemen, I figured that no list could prove tougher to make. Holy Hell was I wrong. Doing this one made doing the first basemen seem like doing the Catchers List.
Of the eighteen obvious candidates for history's greatest Second Baseman, only two failed to score 1000 Runs (Tony Lazzeri and Jackie Robinson); only two failed to get 1000 RBI (Nellie Fox and Jackie Robinson); only three failed to steal 100 Bases (Bobby Doerr, Nellie Fox and Jeff Kent); and only five failed to hit 400 Doubles (Bobby Doerr, Nellie Fox, Tony Lazzeri, Bid McPhee and Jackie Robinson).
Additionally, eight candidates scored over 1500 Runs, seven had over 200 Home Runs, six had over 500 Doubles, six had over 400 Stolen Bases, four had over 3000 Hits, and three had over 1500 RBI. It wasn't easy, but here is my Top Ten List for Second Basemen.
10. Craig Biggio (Houston Astros 1988-2007)
2850 GP, 10876 AB, 1844 R, 3060 H, 668 D, 55 T, 291 RBI, 1175 RBI, 414 SB, .281 AVG, .984 FPCT
4x Gold Glove Award Winner (1994-1997)
5x Silver Slugger Award Winner (1989, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998)
7x All-Star (1991, 1992, 1994-1998)
9. Jeff Kent (Toronto Blue Jays, New York Mets, Cleveland Indians, San Francisco Giants, Houston Astros, Los Angeles Dodgers 1992-2008)
2298 GP, 8498 AB, 1320 R, 2401 H, 560 D, 47 T, 377 HR, 1518 RBI, 94 SB, .290 AVG, .980 FPCT
2000 NL MVP
4x Silver Slugger Award Winner (2000-2002, 2005)
5x All-Star (1999-2001, 2004, 2005)
8. Eddie "Cocky" Collins (Philadelphia Athletics, Chicago White Sox 1906-1930)2826 GP, 9949 AB, 1821 R, 3315 H, 438 R, 187 T, 47 HR, 1300 RBI, 744 SB, .333 AVG, .970 FPCT
1914 AL MVP
Hall of Fame 1939
7. Rodney "Rod" Carew (Minnesota Twins, California Angels 1967-1985)
2469 GP, 9315 AB, 1424 R, 3053 H, 445 D, 112 T, 92 T, 1015 RBI, 353 SB, .358 AVG, .973 FPCT
1967 Rookie of the Year Award Winner
1977 AL MVP
18x All-Star (1967-1984)
Hall of Fame 1991
6. Joe Morgan (Houston Colt .45's, Houston Astros, Cincinnati Reds, San Francisco Giants, Philadelphia Phillies, Oakland Athletics 1963-1984)
2649 GP, 9277 AB, 1650 R, 2517 H, 449 D, 96 T, 268 HR, 1133 RBI, 689 SB, .271 AVG, .981 FPCT
2x NL MVP (1975, 1976)
2x World Series Champion (1975, 1976)
10x All-Star (1966, 1970, 1972-1979)
Hall of Fame 1990
5. Ryne "Ryno" Sandberg (Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs 1981-1997)
2164 GP, 8385 AB, 1318 R, 2386 H, 403 D, 76 T, 282 HR, 1061 RBI, 344 SB, .285 AVG, .989 FPCT
1984 NL MVP
9x Gold Glove Award Winner (1983-1991)
7x Silver Slugger Award Winner (1984, 1985, 1988-1992)
10x All-Star (1984-1993)
Hall of Fame 2005
4. Jack "Jackie" Robinson (Brooklyn Dodgers 1947-1956)
1382 GP, 4877 AB, 947 R, 1518 R, 273 D, 54 T, 137 HR, 734 RBI, 197 SB, .311 AVG, .983 FPCT
1947 MLB Rookie of the Year Award Winner
1949 NL MVP
World Series Champion (1955)
6x All-Star (1949-1954)
Hall of Fame 1962
3. Roberto Alomar (San Diego Padres, Toronto Blue Jays, Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Indians, New York Mets, Chicago White Sox, Arizona Diamondbacks 1988-2004)
2329 GP, 9073 AB, 1508 R, 2724 H, 504 D, 80 T, 210 HR, 1134 RBI, 474 SB, .300 AVG, .984 FPCT
10x Gold Glove Award Winner (1991-1996, 1998-2001)
4x Silver Slugger Award Winner (1992, 1996, 1999, 2000)
2x World Series Champion (1992, 1993)
12x All-Star (1990-2001)
2. Napoleon "Nap" Lajoie (Philadelphia Phillies, Philadelphia Athletics, Cleveland Bronchos, Cleveland Naps 1896-1916)
2480 GP, 9589 AB, 1504 R, 3242 H, 657 D, 163 T, 83 HR, 1599 RBI, 380 SB, .338 AVG, .963 FPCT
Triple Crown Winner (1901)
Hall of Fame 1937
1. Rogers "Rajah" Hornsby (St. Louis Cardinals, New York Giants, Boston Braves, Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Browns 1915-1937)
2259 GP, 8173 AB, 1579 R, 2930 H, 541 D, 169 T, 301 HR, 1584 RBI, 135 SB, .358 AVG, .965 FPCT
2x Triple Crown Winner (1922, 1925)
2x NL MVP (1925, 1929)
World Series Champion (1926)
Hall of Fame 1942
[Editor's Note: This list was originally published on April 28th, 2009]
