Best Ever Offensive Center Fielders: Unblurring History

Michael WCorrespondent IIFebruary 27, 2009

There have been 236 center fielders in the history of MLB that have played in at least 800 games, and we will letter grade each and every one of them offensively. At a later date, we will rate them defensively.

My formula for rating players is very complicated, as most are. It is not merely an OPS+ rating—if you want that, watch the MLB network. It is an important stat, but there is much more to look at when finding the big picture.

If you're satisfied with Bill James' ratings, don't bother reading this. He'll tell you that Ray Lankford was a better overall center fielder than Bill Lange. But he rates Lange an "A+" defensively and Lankford a "B+" in his Win Shares book.

So, we know he thinks Lange was a better defensive center fielder than Lankford. I agree. Most do. Here's the problem: Lange was also a better offensive player than Lankford. Lange is an A+ and Lankford is an A. Yet still Bill James ranks Lankford higher than Lange in his historical abstract book, obviously because of Lange's short career.

Not what we wanted to know, Bill. We wanted to know who the best center fielder was.

I've got news for you, Bill James: The center fielder that was better offensively AND defensively was better, no matter how long the worst player of the two played.

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James ranks Bill Lange between 60-65 on his center field list. We could safely call that a B+. And we know Bill James calls Lange an A+ defensively because he published it in his win shares book. Trust me, Lange is an A+ offensively, too.

Haven't you ever wondered why Bill James doesn't letter grade players offensively and overall. Here's why: in a nutshell, he would say, Bill Lange A+ (defensively) plus A+ (offensively)= B+ (overall).

Doesn't make any sense does it. A+ plus A+ = B+. Huh?

Here's what Bill James basically does. Bill Lange--A+ (defensively) plus A+ (offensively) plus D- (length of career) = B+ (overall). Now that makes more sense, that's what he does.

Bill James, you're telling us who had the best "career". You're NOT telling us who the "best player" was. There's a huge difference. I don't have a huge problem with it, but change the name of your book to the best "careers" ever, because they are sure as hell not the "best players" ever. The Hall of Fame voting committee is looking for a guy like you.

Anyway, that's how and why Bill James ranks a center fielder like Ray Lankford ahead of Bill Lange. It's not that Lankford was better, it's that Lange gets a D- in the "length of career" category.

That's how history starts getting blurred. Luckily Ty Cobb had a long career. But if Cobb had only played 12 seasons, he'd be underrated too.

Don't get me wrong, I love the work that Bill James does. I don't tear down what Bill James built, I try to build upon what he already started.

The fundamental difference: I want to find the best "player", not the best "career." Don't get me wrong, you have to adjust for long careers. If a player plays 2,000 games and wasn't any good the last 200—then take out the last 200 games to find his numbers. But if a player only played in 1,100 games, don't fault his numbers for that.

You obviously can't adjust upward for that, but don't adjust downward either—don't adjust at all.

So here we go. Unblurring history. The way it really is.

The best offensive center fielders ever:

A+

1. Ty Cobb (1910s) 2. Mickey Mantle (1950s) 3. Joe DiMaggio (1940s) 4. Billy Hamilton (1890s) 5. Willie Mays (1960s) 6. Hugh Duffy (1890s) 7. Bill Lange (1890s) 8. Ken Griffey Jr. (1990s) 9. Tris Speaker (1910s) 10. Duke Snider (1950s) 11. Hack Wilson (1920s) 12. Earl Averill (1930s) 13. Benny Kauff (1910s) 14. Eric Davis (1990s) 15. Jim Edmonds (2000s) 16. Bernie Williams (1990s) 17. Carlos Beltran (2000s) 18. Larry Doby (1950s)

19. Bug Holliday (1890s) 20. Ben Chapman (1930s) 21. Cesar Cedeno (1970s) 22. Ellis Burks (1990s) 23. Mike Donlin (1900s) 24. Fred Lynn (1980s) 25. Mike Griffin (1890s) 26. Andruw Jones (2000s) 27. Ray Lankford (1990s) 28. Dale Murphy (1980s) 29. Pete Browning (1880s) 30. Jimmy Wynn (1970s) 31. Jimmy Ryan (1890s) 32. Larry Hisle (1970s) 33. Amos Otis (1970s) 34. Wally Berger (1930s) 35. George Van Haltren (1890s) 36. Kenny Lofton (1990s)

A-

37. Pete Reiser (1940s) 38. Earle Combs (1920s) 39. Kirby Puckett (1980s) 40. Edd Roush (1920s) 41. Hank Leiber (1930s) 42. Jim McTamany (1880s) 43. Andy Van Slyke (1980s) 44. George Gore (1880s) 45. Ron LeFlore (1970s) 46. Vada Pinson (1960s) 47. Lenny Dykstra (1990s) 48. Mack Jones (1960s) 49. Mike Cameron (2000s) 50. Brady Anderson (1990s) 51. Al Oliver (1970s) 52. Curt Welch (1880s) 53. Don Demeter (1960s) 54. Preston Wilson (2000s)

B+

55. Max Carey (1920s) 56. Johnny Damon (2000s) 57. Johnny Mostil (1920s) 58. Fred Snodgrass (1910s) 59. Dwayne Murphy (1980s) 60. Chili Davis (1990s) 61. Cy Williams (1920s) 62. Dom DiMaggio (1940s) 63. Bobby Thomson (1950s) 64. Lloyd Moseby (1980s) 65. Baby Doll Jacobson (1920s) 66. Andy Pafko (1950s) 67. Rick Monday (1970s) 68. Carl Everett (2000s) 69. Torii Hunter (2000s) 70. Chick Stahl (1900s) 71. Chet Lemon (1980s) 72. Willie Wilson (1980s)

73. Harry Rice (1920s) 74. Gorman Thomas (1980s) 75. Oddibe McDowell (1980s) 76. Steve Finley (1990s) 77. Roberto Kelly (1990s) 78. Ginger Beaumont (1900s) 79. Tommy Leach (1900s) 80. Johnny Frederick (1930s) 81. Brett Butler (1980s) 82. Tom Brown (1890s) 83. Billy North (1970s) 84. Dummy Hoy (1890s) 85. Vernon Wells (2000s) 86. Ruppert Jones (1980s) 87. Chad Curtis (1990s) 88. Stan Spence (1940s) 89. Jose Cardenal (1970s) 90. Steve Brodie (1890s) 91. Fred Schulte (1930s)

B-

92. Irv Noren (1950s) 93. Jimmie Hall (1960s) 94. Otis Nixon (1990s) 95. Aaron Rowand (2000s) 96. Garry Maddox (1970s) 97. Willie Davis (1960s) 98. Sam West (1930s) 99. Devon White (1990s) 100. Tommie Agee (1960s) 101. Johnny Lindell (1940s) 102. Tony Gonzalez (1960s) 103. Fielder Jones (1900s) 104. Lee Mazzilli (1980s) 105. Sam Chapman (1940s) 106. Johnny Bates (1910s) 107. Bobby Tolan (1970s) 108. Cy Seymour (1900s) 109. Gus Bell (1950s)

C+

110. Jerry Mumphrey (1980s) 111. Willie McGee (1990s) 112. Roy Thomas (1900s) 113. Marquis Grissom (1990s) 114. Jim Landis (1960s) 115. Al Bumbry (1970s) 116. Mitch Webster (1980s) 117. Eddie Milner (1980s) 118. Richie Ashburn (1950s) 119. Dave Henderson (1980s) 120. Gary Pettis (1980s) 121. Don Lock (1960s) 122. Mickey Rivers (1970s) 123. Jimmy Barrett (1900s) 124. Ken Henderson (1970s) 125. Darryl Hamilton (1990s) 126. Tom Goodwin (1990s) 127. Solly Hofman (1900s)

128. Jose Cruz (2000s) 129. Jack Smith (1920s) 130. Barney McCosky (1940s) 131. Bob Dernier (1980s) 132. Omar Moreno (1980s) 133. Mookie Wilson (1980s) 134. Randy Winn (2000s) 135. Gabe Kapler (2000s) 136. Lance Johnson (1990s) 137. Bill Bruton (1950s) 138. Johnny Grubb (1980s) 139. Juan Pierre (2000s) 140. Gerald Williams (1990s) 141. Paul Hines (1880s) 142. Mule Haas (1930s) 143. Stan Javier (1990s) 144. Cesar Tovar (1970s) 145. Marvin Benard (1990s) 146. Vince DiMaggio (1940s)

C-

147. Dode Paskert (1910s) 148. Gary Geiger (1960s) 149. Ira Flagstead (1920s) 150. Henry Cotto (1980s) 151. Jackie Brandt (1960s) 152. Corey Patterson (2000s) 153. Roy Weatherly (1940s) 154. Ping Bodie (1910s) 155. Clyde Milan (1910s) 156. Ken Landreaux (1980s) 157. Lenny Green (1960s) 158. Amos Strunk (1910s) 159. Albie Pearson (1960s) 160. Terry Moore (1940s) 161. Gary Thomasson (1970s) 162. Paul Blair (1970s) 163. Curt Flood (1960s) 164. Gary Matthews (2000s)

D+

165. Brian McRae (1990s) 166. Mike Devereaux (1990s) 167. Lloyd Waner (1930s) 168. Ned Hanlon (1880s) 169. Jim Piersall (1950s) 170. Dave Martinez (1990s) 171. Mike Kreevich (1930s) 172. Matty Alou (1960s) 173. Daryl Boston (1980s) 174. Ethan Allen (1930s) 175. Jerry Martin (1970s) 176. John Cangelosi (1990s) 177. Rebel Oakes (1910s) 178. Quinton McCracken (2000s) 179. Johnny Groth (1950s) 180. Dave May (1970s) 181. Rick Miller (1970s) 182. Jay Payton (2000s)

183. Milt Thompson (1990s) 184. Taylor Douthit (1920s) 185. Brian Hunter (1990s) 186. Juan Beniquez (1980s) 187. Ollie Pickering (1900s) 188. Vic Davalillo (1970s) 189. Terrence Long (2000s) 190. Mike Kingery (1990s) 191. Roger Repoz (1960s) 192. Mark Kotsay (2000s) 193. Jim Delsing (1950s) 194. Doug Glanville (2000s) 195. Rube Oldring (1910s) 196. Von Joshua (1970s) 197. Burt Shotton (1910s) 198. Elliott Maddox (1970s) 199. Jo-Jo White (1930s) 200. Harry Walker (1940s)

D-

201. Bill Tuttle (1950s) 202. Doc Cramer (1930s) 203. Myril Hoag (1930s) 204. Jimmy McAleer (1890s) 205. Rick Manning (1980s) 206. Cesar Geronimo (1970s) 207. Whitey Witt (1920s) 208. Jimmy Slagle (1900s) 209. Tony Scott (1970s) 210. Hy Myers (1910s) 211. Charlie Hemphill (1900s) 212. Jim Busby (1950s) 213. Marty Keough (1960s) 214. Pop Corkhill (1880s) 215. Cito Gaston (1970s) 216. Catfish Metkovich (1940s) 217. John Shelby (1980s) 218. Darren Lewis (1990s)

219. Mickey Stanley (1970s) 220. Danny Hoffman (1900s) 221. Darrin Jackson (1990s) 222. Nemo Leibold (1910s) 223. Ted Uhlaender (1960s) 224. Del Unser (1970s) 225. Ray Powell (1910s) 226. Herm Winningham (1980s) 227. Bill Virdon (1960s) 228. Pete Hotaling (1880s) 229. Rowland Office (1970s) 230. Marvell Wynne (1980s) 231. Steve Lyons (1980s) 232. Hal Jeffcoat (1950s) 233. Ty Cline (1960s) 234. Ken Berry (1960s) 235. Johnny Cooney (1930s) 236. Tuck Stainback (1940s)

There it is. History unblurred. The way it really was. Easy enough.

I'd love to hear your comments on who you think the best center fielders were, offensively speaking.

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