History Unblurred: The 10 Best Defensive Second Basemen in MLB History

(Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

The econd base position is one of the most important defensive positions on the field. In fact, other than the pitcher, catcher and shortstop positions, it is probably the most important defensive position on the field.

Let's talk about who the best ever were at that position, defensively speaking.

note-next to each player I will also list an offensive letter grade, so you know where they stand in that category, the way I see it (we can assume they are all an "A +" defensively, since they are among the top 10 all time, defensively).

Here we go. History unblurred. The way it really is.

10. Frankie Frisch (1920s) offensive Rating: A +

Frisch had 641 assists during the 1927 season and it still stands as the MLB record for a Second Baseman.

He was, by far and away, the best defensive second baseman from the 1920s.

"Frisch can knock down more balls with his elbows, knees, chest and head, and by dint of his fleet recovery throw out the runner, than any nine men we know"-Gordon Mackay, respected baseball historian, 1924

Frisch was also one of the 10 best offensive secondbasemen in the history of MLB. I suppose that makes him one of the 10 best overall second basemen in the history of MLB. It's why he's a top tier Hall of Famer at the position.

11-20: Here is a list of 10 other second basemen that were in serious contention of taking this 10th spot away from Frisch. I will list them in order, from oldest to newest: Fred Dunlap (1880s), Nap Lajoie (1900s), Lonny Frey (1940s), Eddie Mayo (1940s), Gil McDougald (1950s), Jackie Robinson (1950s), Red Schoendienst (1950s), Fernando Vina (1990s), Craig Counsell (2000s) and Pokey Reese (2000s)

9. Joe Gordon (1940s) offensive rating: A +

"Among modern second basemen, Joe Gordon, Billy Herman and Charlie Gehringer were the best on the double play pivot. What made them stand out from other Second Basemen was that they pivoted and threw at the same time that they crossed the bag, not after they crossed it"-Tom Meany, respected baseball historian, 1948

He's an A + offensive second baseman, too. I guess that makes him an A + overall at Second Base. He's finally in the Hall of Fame, where he belongs. Now that he's in the Hall of Fame, he's not only in, but he's a top tier second baseman. I'm glad he's in, but what took you so long, Veteran's Committee?

8. Hughie Critz (1930s) offensive rating: D -

"The New York Giant infield of Hughie Critz, Bill Terry, Travis Jackson and Freddie Lindstrom, the million dollar infield as it was called, and it used to perform up to its name...they were so deft, so quick, so breathtaking that the fans would sit, first in stunned silence, and then in gathered bedlam"-Arnold Hano, respected baseball historian

I just love that old quote from Hano. In fact, that entire infield made it into the Hall of Fame, except for Critz.

Critz didn't make it into the Hall of Fame because of his offense. He wasn't a failure offensively, but he was the next best thing. It just wasn't his forte, well below average, offensively.

7. Bobby Grich (1970s) offensive rating: A

"Grich won four Gold Gloves, and won them over stiff competition-Frank White"-Bill James, respected baseball historian/Godfather of Sabermetrics and the modern rating system, 2002

Of course, Grich won Gold Gloves back when they meant a bit more than they do today. You know, before we realized they would float if dropped into the Hudson River, like Derek Jeter's Gold Gloves float. That wasn't very nice of me to say, I like Jeter, offensively speaking.

Grich was a great offensive second baseman, an "A" offensively. He's one of the 20 best overall second basemen in the history of MLB when you mix his offense and his defense together. That's all there is, right? Offense and defense? Oh, Bill James and other respected historians will say there is a third part to the equation, Length of Career. Well, Grich has that, too. He played in over 2,000 games.  

There are three second basemen that often present themselves before me as should-be Hall-of-Fame second basemen. The first is Bobby Grich. The other two are Cupid Childs (1890s) and Hardy Richardson (1880s). They are both missing that third part of the equation that so many respected historians like (Length of Career). Neither of them had short careers, but they didn't have long ones either. Childs played in just over 1,450 games and Richardson played in just over 1,300 games. Either way, Grich, Childs and Richardson are the three best second basemen in the history of MLB that are not in the Hall of Fame, with arguments from Davey Lopes (1970s) and Tom Daly (1890s).

6. Jeff Reboulet (1990s) offensive rating: D

A defensive specialist. When I was younger, I used to love to watch this guy play defense.

He wasn't a failure offensively, but he was certainly below average, unfortunately.

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