The Top 10 Left Fielders in Baseball's Hall of Fame

Welcome to installment No. 7 of my Cooperstown’s Best series. We are looking at the best 10 Left Fielders who are currently in Baseball’s Hall of Fame.

I tried to publish this as an article instead of a slide show; however, it was too large to format properly. I wanted to change because someone had said slideshows were crutches for bad writing.

Now, there is certainly no lack of talent to pick from this pool. Look at some of these legends: Musial, Williams (Ted and Billy), Al Simmons, Ralph Kiner, Yaz, Stargell, Zach Wheat, Ed Delahanty, etc.

There are people who read this article who think Stan Musial is the best Left Fielder ever. Then there are others who are sure that nobody was better than Teddy Ballgame.

At the end of the day, it all comes down to how they did on the field. What numbers did they produce? No doubt, some were hitters who hit for average, some for power, and then the winner will be the one who did best overall.

Willie Stargell and Stan Musial are both included on this list because they are listed that way in the Hall of Fame. Both have played quite a bit at first base.

Monte Irvin is the only Negro League player I have included in this series, because he has eight years of credible statistics in MLB.

I am glad this series is near the finish line because I think I am getting “researcher’s wrists.”

Enough preamble here—let’s get to the list.

10. Billy Leo Williams

Billy Williams was born on June 15, 1938 in Whistler, AL.

Williams played the first 16 of his 18 seasons with the Chicago Cubs, beginning in 1959. In 1975 he went to the Oakland Athletics, where he finished his career a year later.

The Alabama native, inspired by the feats of Hank Aaron, signed with the Cubs in 1956.

Williams was the National League Rookie of the Year in 1961. He finished runner-up in Most Valuable Player voting twice. He won the 1972 NL batting title with a .333 average. In 1970 he led the league in hits and runs scored.

He batted over .300 five times, hit over 20 HR 14 times, knocked in over 100 runs three times, had over 200 hits three times, and scored at least 100 runs five times. His best year was 1970, when he hit .322 with 42 HR and 129 RBI, 205 hits, and 137 runs.

Williams was named to six All-Star teams and batted .273 with one HR in 11 plate appearances.

In his only postseason appearance in 1975 with the A’s, he wore a size seven collar in three games.

Two of Williams’ greatest games came in 1968: He hit for the cycle on July 17 and hit three homers on Sept. 10.

Williams never played in a World Series. His best chance came after he was traded to Oakland for Darold Knowles, Bob Locker, and Manny Trillo after the 1974 season.

Williams was, by then, perfect for the DH role, and he helped the A's to a fifth straight divisional title. But the Red Sox kept Williams and the A's from the WS with a sweep in the LCS.

Williams retired after batting .211 in 1976 and returned to the Cubs as a coach and batting instructor. He served Oakland in the same capacity in 1983-85 and then went back to the Cubs.

On his sixth try, he was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1987. The following year, he moved into Chicago's front office.

Here are his career statistics.

AVG HITS RUNS HR RBI OPS+
.290 2711 1410 426 1475 133

9. Ralph McPherran Kiner

Ralph Kiner was born in Santa Rita, NM on Oct. 27, 1922.

Kiner played only 10 seasons in the major leagues, starting with the Pittsburgh Pirates when he came up in 1946. He was sent to the Chicago Cubs midway into the 1953 season and played there until the end of the '54 season, when he went to play for the Cleveland Indians, where he retired in 1955.

Kiner was the most prolific home run hitter in baseball during the years following WWII. His career was shortened due to a bad back; however, his HR/AB ration is only exceeded by Babe Ruth.

Kiner was sometimes mistakenly labeled a poor outfielder. He lacked speed, but he was sure-handed and had an accurate (but weak) arm.

It seemed that the better Kiner played, the more the Pirates would lose. In 1953 the Pirates decided they could lose just as easily without him as they could with him, and they traded him to the Cubs.

After his retirement, he served briefly as GM of the San Diego Padres in the Pacific Coast League and then launched a broadcasting career. Since 1962, he has done play-by-play for the Mets.

In 1975 Kiner was named to Baseball's Hall of Fame.

Kiner won seven consecutive National League HR titles, one RBI crown, led the league in walks three times, runs once, OBP once, SLG three times, OPS+ three times, and in total bases once.

He batted over .300 three times, hit over 50 HR twice, 40 three times, and over 30 twice. He also drove in over 100 runs six times and scored over 100 runs six times.

Kiner was named to six consecutive All-Star teams and batted .267 with three HR and four RBI in only 15 plate appearances. His three HR puts him fourth on the all-time All-Star list. His SLG of .933 is second best all time.

Here are his career statistics.

AVG HITS RUNS HR RBI OPS+
.279 1451 971 369 1015 149

8. Carl Michael “Yaz” Yastrzemski

Carl Yastrzemski was born in Southampton, NY on Aug. 12, 1939.

Yaz played his entire 23-year career with the Boston Red Sox, beginning in 1961 and ending in 1983.

Fresh off the Notre Dame campus, he was signed as a shortstop by the Red Sox. Yaz replaced legend Ted Williams in left field and obviously did a Hall of Fame job.

He is the only American League player to have both 400 HR and 3,000 hits. Al Kaline finished his career with 3,007 hits but only 399 HR.

Yaz is the last player to win the Triple Crown in hitting. In 1967 he became only the 14th player in MLB history to do so, batting .326 with 44 HR and 121 RBI.

He led the American League in batting in the following year with a .301 average, the lowest in MLB history. SABR analysts would have you believe that it is equivalent to Bill Terry’s .401 in 1930.

In addition, Yastrzemski was a great fielder with a strong arm who made himself expert in playing the tricky caroms off the Green Monster in Fenway Park.

In all Yastrzemski won three batting titles, one HR title, one RBI crown, led the league in hits twice, doubles three times, runs scored three times, walks twice, OBP five times, SLG three times, OPS+ four times, and in total bases twice.

Yaz was named to 18 All-Star teams and batted .294 with one HR and five RBI in only 38 plate appearances in the Midsummer Classic. He also won seven Gold Glove Awards, the 1967 Hutch Award, and was MVP of the 1970 All-Star game.

He played in two World Series. In 1967 the Red Sox lost to the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games, and in 1975 they lost to the Cincinnati Reds in seven games. His World Series stats are .352 with three HR and nine RBI in 14 games.

Yaz was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1989.

Here are his career statistics.

AVG HITS RUNS HR RBI OPS+
.285 3419 1816 452 1844 129

7. Joseph Michael “Ducky” Medwick

Ducky Medwick was born in Carteret, NJ on Nov. 24, 1911.

Medwick’s career spanned 17 years. He started with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1932, playing there until he was sold to the Brooklyn Dodgers in the 1940 season. He was traded to the New York Giants in 1943 and was traded to the Boston Braves in 1945.

He spent the 1946 years back with the Dodgers, and then in 1947 he moved back to the Cardinals, where he finished his career in 1948.

He is often remembered for the time Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis had him removed from the field during the 1934 World Series. He had slid hard into third baseman Marv Owen long before the ball even arrived. After that inning, the fans threw so much debris that the commissioner had to remove him for his own safety.

Medwick was the National League’s Most Valuable Player in 1937 when he won the batting title with a .374 average. He also won the Triple Crown by hitting 31 HR and driving in 154. He led the league in hits with 237, doubles with 56, runs scored with 111, SLG with .641, OPS+ with 180, and total bases with 406.

He batted over .300 15 times, hit over 20 HR three times, knocked in over 100 runs six times, had over 200 hits four times, and scored over 100 runs six times. In a six-year stretch from '34 to '39, Medwick batted .342 and averaged 22 HR, 136 RBI, 227 H, and 119 runs scored.

He was named to 10 All-Star teams and batted .259 with one HR and six RBI in 29 plate appearances.

In the 1934 World Series, Medwick was with the Cardinals when they beat the Detroit Tigers in seven games. In 1941 while with the Dodgers, he went to the World Series, and the Dodgers were beaten in five games by the New York Yankees. His World Series numbers are .326 BA, one HR, and five RBI in 12 games.

Medwick was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1968. He died in St. Petersburg, Fla. on March 21, 1975.

Here are his career statistics.

AVG HITS RUNS HR RBI OPS+
.324 2471 1198 205 1383 134

6. Jesse Cail “Crab” Burkett

Jesse Burkett was born in Wheeling, WV on Dec. 4, 1868.

Burkett began his 16-year career in 1890 with the New York Giants. The next year he was sent to the Cleveland Spiders, where he played until he went to the St. Louis Perfectos (the next year called the Cardinals).

He stayed in St. Louis for six years, two with the Cardinals and three with the Browns. In 1905 he was sent to the Boston Americans (ancestors of the Red Sox), where he retired that year.

A left-handed line drive hitter and clever bunter, his ability to foul pitches off was one of the reasons for the introduction of the rule making foul balls strikes.

Called "The Crab" because of his caustic barbs and constant complaining, he insulted rivals, fans, and teammates with equal venom. He was particularly sensitive to suggestions that he and Jack Glasscock, whom he resembled, were father and son, and would fight anyone who said so.

Burkett won three National League batting titles and led the league in hits all three times. He also led the league in runs twice, OBP and OPS+ once, and total bases twice.

He joined Rogers Hornsby, Ed Delahanty, and Ty Cobb as the only four men to bat .400+ three times. He also batted over .300 nine other times. He had over 200 hits six times and scored over 100 runs nine times (eight consecutively).

Burkett was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1946 by the Veterans Committee. On May 27, 1953 he died in Worcester, Mass. at the age of 84.

Here are his career statistics.

AVG HITS RUNS HR RBI OPS+
.338 2850 1720 75 952 140

5. Leon Allen “Goose” Goslin

Goose Goslin was born Oct. 16, 1900 in Salem, NJ.

Goslin began his 18-year career in 1921 with the Washington Senators, where he played until 1930, when he was sent in midseason to the St. Louis Browns.

He went back to the Senators in 1933 for one season and then on to the Detroit Tigers, where he played until going back to the Senators in 1938, where he played the one season and retired.

Clark Griffith almost didn't sign the powerful left fielder. When Griffith went to scout him in a Sally League game in South Carolina, Goslin managed to get hit on the head by a fly ball. But he also hit three HR in the game.

Goslin's career was true to that good-hit, no-field pattern. Opposing players often described the arm-waving Goslin chasing a fly ball as a bird with wings flapping, giving further meaning to his nickname.

Goslin was also responsible for the first fine levied against an umpire. In the 1935 fall classic, Goslin got into a heated discussion with Hall of Fame arbiter Bill Klem, during which Klem lost his temper and used what Goslin later described as "overripe language." Commissioner Landis then fined Klem, not Goslin.

He won the American League batting title in 1928 with a .379 average. He also won the RBI crown in 1924 when he knocked in 129. He led the league in triples twice.

He batted over .300 nine times, hit over 20 HR four times, knocked in 100+ runs 12 times, had over 200 hits twice, and scored 100+ runs seven times.

Goslin was in the 1936 All-Star game, where he managed a single, a walk, and one run scored in two plate appearances.

He was in five World Series. In 1924 the Senators beat the New York Giants in seven games. In 1925 they lost to the Pittsburgh Pirates in seven games. In 1933 they played the Giants again and lost in five games.

In 1934, while with the Tigers, they lost to the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games. In 1935 the Tigers beat the Chicago Cubs in six games.

His averages in World Series play are .287 BA, seven HR, and 19 RBI in 32 games.

Goslin spent his final years running a boat-rental concession in Bridgeton, New Jersey, his native state, and died just three days after his 1928 batting rival Heinie Manush.

He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1968 by the Veterans Committee.

Here are his career statistics.

AVG HITS RUNS HR RBI OPS+
.316 2735 1483 248 1609 128

4. Edward James ”Big Ed” Delahanty

Ed Delahanty was born in Cleveland, OH on Oct. 30, 1867.

He began his 16-year career with the Philadelphia Quakers (ancestors of the Phillies) in 1888. He played there for two seasons before going to play one season with the Cleveland Infants of the Players League.

In 1891 he went back to Philadelphia, the team now called the Phillies, where he remained until 1902, when he went to the Washington Senators to play in 1902. In 1903 he played with the Senators until his tragic death in Niagara Falls on July 2.

One of seven brothers from Cleveland, five of whom played ML baseball, Ed Delahanty was a premier 19th-century slugger.

He jumped to the Players' League in 1890 but returned to the Phillies the next year.

Delahanty won the National League batting title in 1899 when he batted .410. It was the third time in his career to bat over .400. He is one of only four men in the history of MLB to do that. The other three are Rogers Hornsby, Ty Cobb, and Jesse Burkett.

He won two HR titles and three RBI crowns, and he led the league in hits once, in doubles five times, in triples once, OBP twice, in SLG five times, in OPS+ four times, and in total bases twice.

He also batted .300+ nine times, hit 10 or more HR four times (dead ball era), knocked in at least 100 runs seven times, had over 200 hits three times, and scored over 100 runs 10 times. He also hit over 40 doubles four times.

Delahanty collected six-hit games in 1890 and '94 and had 10 consecutive hits in 1897. His four doubles in one game tied the record in 1899, and on July 13, 1896, he hit four home runs—the second man to do so—and a single in a losing cause at Chicago.

His disdain for training rules got him suspended in June 1903, and he left his club in Detroit to take a train to New York. At International Bridge near Niagara Falls, the conductor put him off the train for being drunk and disorderly.

Staggering along the tracks in the dark, he fell through an open drawbridge and was swept over the falls to his death.

He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1945 by the Veterans Committee.

Here are his career statistics.

AVG HITS RUNS HR RBI OPS+
.346 2596 1599 101 1464 152

3. Aloysius Harry Simmons “Bucketfoot Al"

Al Simmons was born in Milwaukee, WI on May 22, 1902.

He played the first nine of his 20 seasons with the Philadelphia Athletics beginning in 1924. From 1933-35 he played with the Chicago White Sox and then went to the Detroit Tigers for one season each. He played with the Washington Senators from 1937-38.

He split the 1939 season between the Boston Bees and the Cincinnati Reds. In 1940 he went back to the Athletics, went back to Boston (now called the Braves) for one year, and finished his career full circle by going back to the Athletics in 1944.

Late in his career Simmons announced his goal of attaining 3,000 base hits. He played beyond when he should have retired but still came up 73 short. Looking back, he grieved about the times he had begged off playing to nurse a hangover or left a one-sided game early for a quick shower and a night's pleasures.

Proud of his Polish ancestry, Simmons, as a grizzled coach, imparted his realization to another player from a Polish family. "Never relax on any time at bat; never miss a game you can play," he advised a young Stan Musial.

Simmons won back-to-back batting titles in 1930-31 by batting .381 and .390 respectively He also won one RBI crown, led the league in hits twice, in runs scored once, and in total bases twice.

He hit over .300 13 times, hit over 30 HR three times, had over 100 RBI 12 times (11 consecutively), hit 200+ hits six times, and scored over 100 runs six times.

From 1929-32 Simmons averaged .362 with 37 HR and 173 RBI, 242 hits, and 148 runs scored. His OPS+ for that period was 159.

Simmons was named to three All-Star teams and batted .462 with three doubles and one RBI in 13 plate appearances in the Summer Classics.

He played in three consecutive World Series with the Athletics beginning in 1929. They beat the Chicago Cubs in five games, beat the St. Louis Cardinals in six games, and lost to the Cardinals in seven games.

He was also in the 1939 series with the Cincinnati Reds when they were swept by the New York Yankees. His World Series numbers are .329 with six HR and 17 RBI in only 80 plate appearances.

Simmons was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1953 and died in Milwaukee on May 26, 1956 at the age of 53.

Here are his career statistics.

AVG HITS RUNS HR RBI OPS+
.334 2927 1507 307 1827 132

2. Stanley Frank “The Man” Musial

Stan Musial was born in Donora, PA on Nov. 21, 1920.

He played his entire career of 22 seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals, from 1941-1963.

Signed as a pitcher when he was 17, Musial was 15-8 in two seasons with Williamson, West Virginia, but the scouting report filed on the young southpaw recommended his release because he was wild and inconsistent.

The left-handed-hitting Musial had good speed and was famous for his compressed, closed batting crouch, from which he appeared to be peering at the pitcher around a corner. Preacher Roe claimed to have the best way to pitch Musial: "I throw him four wide ones, and then I try to pick him off first base."

Musial once told Roger Kahn that he hit so well because he always knew what the pitch was by seeing the rotation of the ball as it approached the plate.

In 1956 TSN named Musial its first Player of the Decade.

For one who played so long, Musial was unbelievably consistent. He smacked 1,815 hits at home and the same number on the road. His best offensive season was 1948, when he hit a career-high .376 and missed the NL Triple Crown by a single homer. He was also the first man to play more than 1,000 games each at two positions.

Musial was a three-time Most Valuable Player in the National League, came in second four times, won seven batting titles, two RBI crowns, led the league in hits six times, in runs scored five times, in doubles eight times, in triples five times, in walks once, in OBP six times, in SLG six times, in OPS+ six times, in total bases six times, and in intentional walks twice.

Musial batted over .300 17 times, hit over 20 HR 10 times, knocked in over 100 runs 10 times, had over 200 hits six times, and scored over 100 runs 10 times consecutively.

He was named to 24 All-Star teams (four years had two games) and batted .317 with six HR and 10 RBI in 72 plate appearances.

Musial was in four World Series. In his first in 1942, the Cardinals beat the New York Yankees in five games. In 1943 they lost to the Yankees in five games. In 1944 they beat the cross-town Browns in six games. In 1946 they beat the Boston Red Sox in seven games.

In World Series play Musial was .256 with one HR and eight RBI in 23 games.

Although he obviously did not always agree with umpires or managers, he did not argue calls or tactical moves. He made time for his family, fans, church, and civic organizations. A bronze statue stands in front of Busch Stadium in St. Louis as a permanent tribute to the greatest Cardinal, Stan the Man.

Musial was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1969.

Here are his career statistics.

AVG HITS RUNS HR RBI OPS+
.331 3630 1949 475 1951 159

1. Theodore Samuel “The Splendid Splinter” Williams

Ted Williams was born in San Diego, CA on Aug. 30, 1918. He played his entire 19-year career with the Boston Red Sox.

His cocky manner and disinterest in playing the outfield in spring training of 1938 led to Williams being ragged by veteran BoSox outfielders. Farmed out to the minors, the frustrated youngster blurted, "Tell them I'm going to make more money in this game than all three of them put together"—an accurate prediction.

In 1941 Williams had one of the greatest individual seasons for any ballplayer in history. At age 23 he hit .406, the last ballplayer to reach that magic figure, and won his first home run crown.

Along with the two MVP awards, he was runner-up in voting four times and finished third one other time, and he also won two Triple Crowns. He won six batting titles, four HR titles, four RBI crowns, and six times he lead the league in runs scored.

He led the league in doubles twice, in walks eight times, in OBP 12 times, SLG nine times, in OPS+ nine times, and in total bases six times.

Along with his .406 season, he batted over .300 15 times, hit over 30 HR eight times, knocked in over 100 runs nine times, and scored over 100 runs nine times.

He was named to 19 All-Star teams and batted .304 with four HR and 12 RBI in 57 plate appearances.

He was in the 1946 World Series when the Red Sox lost to the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games. Williams had five singles in 30 plate appearances.

Williams never got along with the baseball press, particularly Boston beat reporters, whom he dubbed Knights of the Keyboard. His relationship with the press became adversarial early in his career, but it reached its flash point in 1942, when his request for military deferment attracted disapproval in the press.

Following the 1942 season, which produced his first Triple Crown (.356, 36 HR, 137 RBI), Williams enlisted in naval aviation and served as a flight instructor. He missed three full seasons (age 24-26). In 1946 there was a return to normalcy, both for America and for baseball.

His 1947 Triple Crown performance produced another slap from the sportswriters, who elected Joe DiMaggio MVP by a single vote. DiMaggio had also been named MVP in 1941 when Williams hit .406, and when Williams won the Triple Crown in 1942, New York second baseman Joe Gordon was MVP.

His 1957 campaign was arguably the greatest season ever by a veteran player. He hit .388 at age 39, had 38 homers (only 87 RBI), and missed hitting .400 by five leg hits that a younger player might have had. In the second half of the season he batted .453.

Williams' charge to reach .400, 16 years after first attaining that elusive figure, captured the nation's attention, and his popularity reached an all-time high. He finished second to Mickey Mantle in the MVP balloting.

His final at-bat produced his 521st homer. A generation after retirement, Ted Williams is still regarded as the epitome of hitting. "I want people to say 'There goes Ted Williams, the greatest hitter who ever lived'," he wrote in My Turn at Bat.

He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1966, and he passed away on July 5, 2002 in Inverness, FL at age 83.

Here are his career statistics.

AVG HITS RUNS HR RBI OPS+
.344 2654 1798 521 1839 191

The Leaders for LF in the HOF in various categories are:

AVG: Ed Delahanty .346
HITS: Stan Musial 3630
RUNS: Stan Musial 1949
HR: Ted Williams 521
RBI: Stan Musial 1951
OBP: Ted Williams .482
SLG: Ted Williams .634
OPS+ Ted Williams 191
RC/YR: Ted Williams 168
FLD PCT Stan Musial .984
SB: Lou Brock 938
TOT.BASES Stan Musial 6134

Sources:

The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
Baseball-Reference
The Baseball Library
Wikipedia