The Best 11 Second Basemen of All Time

Here is where my bias toward more contemporary players comes in. Morgan did not have some of the numbers that Nap put up, but he did it under much more difficult circumstances. It's truly unfortunate that he has a career in journalism, as a potted plant could offer more intelligent analysis, but he was possibly the best baseball player of the 1970s, and certainly the best second basemen of the postwar period. A perfect ballplayer, he and Eddie Collins fit into the small category of players who did literally everything well.

4. Nap Lajoie

Truly mind-blowing stats. Even if he did do much of it before baseball was baseball.

5. Charlie Gehringer

The mechanical man. From 1928-1938, only once was he not worth at least 10 WARP. Unbelievable.

6. Jackie Robinson

See above for details.

7. Ryne Sandberg

Before doing this, I would have thought it would be Craig Biggio in the seventh spot, but Sandberg's superior defense, extra time at second base, higher peak, and lack of a miserable, unwatchable decline phase vaulted him into this position.

8. Bobby Doerr

To some degree his offensive statistics may have been inflated by Fenway, but he still played Gold Glove defense, hit .288/.362/.461/.823, and hit 223 homeruns. All that despite retiring at 33, and missing 1945 to serve in the Second World War. He could rank higher.

9. Craig Biggio

Do you ever think about how inherently racist conceptions of "scrappiness" are? Biggio is remembered for his hustle, his dirty helmet, all that shit…If he had been black, I wonder if his legacy would have been different. Think about all the players in baseball who come to mind when you think "scrappy", are they all white? Biggio was truly fantastic, and the only reasons he doesn't rank higher are the awful last few years, and his time spent in the outfield and behind the plate.

10. Bobby Grich

Easily one of the most frequently snubbed, and undervalued players in the history of the game. Bobby Grich was a truly phenomenal talent, but fell into the category of players who do the wrong things well. He played excellent defense, but because he was more of a slugger at the plate, is not remembered the way lighter-hitting, slicker-fielding, faster runners were. He never hit for a very high average, and played in an era relatively low offensive production, but he walked a tremendous amount, and had a career OBP of .371.

Furthermore, Grich was always overshadowed on his own team. He came up with the Orioles of Brooks and Frank Robinson, Boog Powell, and Jim Palmer—and then went off to the California Angels, who featured Nolan Ryan, Don Baylor, Rod Carew, Fred Lynn, and later Reggie Jackson. But he truly was an all time great, and deserves a place in the Hall of Fame.
 

11. Roberto Alomar

Fell off a cliff at the age of 34. Had he exhibited even a sub-normal, decline phase, he would easily have cleared 3000 hits, 600 doubles, 500 steals. As is, he is still an all-time great.

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