10 Professional Baseball Players You Could Beat in a Foot Race

The following 10 MLB players all come from different teams and play different positions, but they have one thing in common: They are slow. 

Expressions such as "carrying a piano down to first base" or "you could time him running the base paths with a sundial" come to mind when witnessing these otherwise fine professional athletes attempting to beat out a ground ball or steal a base.

Please enjoy the clips provided as these 10 men, presented in no particular order, show you why they made this list.

Prince Fielder

Some people are "built" to steal bases and stretch singles into doubles, while others are meant to provide power and RBI in a lineup. 

Prince Fielder falls into the latter category. The son of a portly HR hitter (Cecil Fielder), genetics have not blessed the Tigers' first baseman with the gift of speed, and the club is just fine with that.

Coming into this season, Fielder has hit at least 30 HR in each of the previous five years, and he is well on his way to continuing that streak. 

As long as he provides the club with that reliable deep threat in the order, his lack of speed will certainly be overlooked.

Jose Molina

Catchers take a beating, and Jose Molina is no exception to the rule.  As one of the gifted Molina brothers who have made an art form out of the catching position, the years have taken their toll on Jose. 

The result is typical of others at the position—he has no speed. 

Since 2007, Jose Molina has stolen four bases (shame on the catchers who allowed them)!

While his defense behind the plate is better than most, his ability to circle the bases in front of it leaves a lot to be desired.

Pablo Sandoval

Pablo Sandoval of the Giants is blessed with decent power, incredible plate coverage (he hit .315 last season and is currently at .299 in 2012) and above average fielding skills.

Unfortunately, the "Kung Fu Panda" lacks the speed to make the package complete.  Having stolen just 10 bases in his five-year career (including zero to this point in 2012), the Giants certainly won't rely on Sandoval to advance a base on his own. 

Adam Dunn

Adam Dunn leads the Major Leagues in home runs (31), walks (77) and strikeouts (152).  That would make 2012 a typical season, as every at-bat for the White Sox power hitter is an all-or-nothing ordeal. 

Dunn will touch the bases only if he hits a home run or draws a walk.  Part of that is due to his desire to swing at anything near home plate, and part of it is because of his slow, lumbering speed. 

Like others on this list, it is Dunn's threat of the long ball that keeps him as an everyday player and draws attention away from the fact that even the stubbornest of donkeys can outrun the "Dunn-key".

David Ortiz

David Ortiz of the Red Sox is known for his exceptional power and bat speed.  It is very rare that "Big Papi" will be late on a fastball over the plate.

For the legendary designated hitter, the speed of his hands doesn't equate to speed in his legs. Since 2008, Ortiz has stolen just two bases.

The Red Sox are willing to look past their veteran leader's inability to beat a sloth to first as his presence in the lineup keeps them in contention from year to year.

Jim Thome

Jim Thome has endeared himself to baseball fans in every city that he has played.  He is a throwback, corn-fed, Midwestern ball player with tree trunks for forearms and a work ethic that is unequaled.  

What the 41-year-old lacks in speed, he makes up for with intelligence and heart.  That is evident by the fact that in the last 10 years, Thome has hit 329 HR and stolen a grand total of two bases.

His SB totals will never get him into Cooperstown, but in every other area Jim Thome is a Hall of Famer. 

Miguel Cabrera

Year in and year out, Miguel Cabrera's name is among those mentioned as a candidate for the MVP award. 

The Tigers third baseman is a hitting machine with a career .317 batting average, and he is a proven run-producer, having gone eight straight seasons with 100 or more RBI. 

Over the course of his career, "Miggy" has led MLB in HR (2008), RBI (2010), AVG (2011), doubles (2011) and total bases (2008).  In short, he is the complete package. 

Well, almost "complete" that is. 

One will never mistake Cabrera for Rickey Henderson or Lou Brock.  Even though he is always among the league leaders in on-base percentage, it is not because of blinding speed.  The most SB he has ever recorded was in 2006 when he swiped nine bases. 

Chris Snyder

Another catcher on this list of the slow-of-foot is Chris Snyder of the Houston Astros.  In a nine-year career, Snyder has never stolen a base.  In fact, the defensive specialist (career .227 hitter) has only three attempted steals in those nine years.

To say Snyder is a slow runner is an understatement.

Lance Berkman

Lance Berkman is a professional hitter.

With a lifetime .296 batting average and 360 home runs over a 14-year career, Berkman has established himself as one of the great batters in the game.

As the video shows, he has been a clutch hitter for the Cardinals—even though he is in the twilight of his career.

What you won't find are videos of Berkman beating throws to first or stealing bases, as time and injuries have slowed the great switch-hitter to the point where he has just four stolen bases in the past three seasons.

CC Sabathia

CC Sabathia is an imposing figure on the mound.  At 6'7" and 290 lbs, he is one of the largest players in MLB. 

At the plate, he has been known to display power (three career HR) and little else (.238 avg with 28 strikeouts in 105 AB). 

With his size, it's difficult to imagine him doing anything fast other than throw a baseball, and at the plate that certainly is the case.  He has no career steals and one can safely predict that, other than as the beneficiary of a back-end double-steal, he never will.