The Best Players in MLB History with Short Careers (Position By Position)

It seems that most of the great players in the history of MLB that had fairly short careers have been just about forgotten. They are usually highly underrated by most historians because it brings their career value down.

Some are the same caliber players as the greats of all time, and some of them should have never been forgotten.

The first time I read Bill James' book, and he had Bernie Williams rated higher than Bill Lange, it hit me, the career value thing. I can almost assure you that in his own mind James believes that Lange was a better player than Bernie, but he has him rated lower because of career value; I understand why, but it's wrong to me.

Don't get me wrong, I respect Bill James, he's the arguably the godfather of rating, and he's a genius. But I'll never be able to tell anybody that Bernie was better than Lange, unless my fingers are crossed.

Bernie was an extremely good player for a center fielder, don't get me wrong, but Lange was among the great/elite that ever stepped into center field. Lange was unquestionably better offensively and unquestionably better defensively. There's almost no argument except for length of career (career values). I have Lange ranked No. 1 on my center field short career list, by the way.

I have to go with who the better player was. That's what people are asking when they read these books, that's what they want to know. They don't want to know who had the longer career. The great/elite player was better than the extremely good player, obviously. How the hell did we ever start blurring history like that?

This is what urged me to write this article along with my discussions with Bruce Grossberg. By the way, he has a few excellent articles on this site that you have to check out, he knows his stuff.

Anyway, this will greaty lessen the importance of length of career and be a fun list of the best "short career" players of all time. They're the ones that are mainly forgotten anyway. So here's to them.

I'll use a minimum of 800 career games and a maximum of 1,200 career games.

And statistically, we'll list the career stats and we'll list the average season stats per 500 at-bats. Why 500? Everybody seems to look good with 600 at-bats, and few ever have 600 at-bats anyways. And I'll give their general defensive ranking, as I see it.

Left Field

1. Tip O’Neill (1880s)

Career Stats—1,052 G, 4,248 AB, .326 BA, .392 OB%, .458 SLG%, 161 SB, 879 R, 222 2B, 92 3B, 52 HR, 757 RBI and .917 FA.

Average Season—124 G, 500 AB, .326 BA, .392 OB%, .458 SLG%, 19 SB, 103 R, 26 2B, 11 3B, 6 HR, 89 RBI and .917 FA.

Defense—Average

O’Neill is the first player in the history of MLB to ever hit for the triple crown. There have only been 11 other players in history do it since, they’re all in the Hall of Fame. Most casual baseball fans think that hitting for the triple crown is a “sure in” for the HOF; and they’re correct, except for O’Neill.

He had two things going against him with the HOF and with historians. The first, short career. The second, he played in the American Association in the 1880s and it was looked as inferior to the National League back then by historians today. And it was, but what the hell else did they expect O’Neill to do.

I mean, the year he hit for the triple crown—he not only led the league in BA, HR and RBI to capture the crown, he also led the league in OB%, SLG%, R, 2B, 3B and hits. That’s nine of the 11 major categories, I don’t even know what you call that crown—the octagonagle crown, hell that ain’t even enough sides.

He basically led the league in everything except FA and SB—and he had 30 SB. It’s easy to argue that his 1887 season is one of the best single seasons in the history of MLB, it’s certainly on the short list.

So that season, not only did he hit for the triple crown, he also led the league in 2B, 3B and HR—no other player in the history of MLB has EVER led the league in 2B, 3B and HR during the same season, except for O’Neill that season, and it’s an achievement that many historians believe will never be duplicated.

Also, he hit .435 that season, still second on the all-time single-season list and his 167 R that season still ranks fourth on the all-time single season list, both MLB records at the time, of course. Even putting that season aside, he was a great player with a great career.

He still ranks in the top 20 all time in the history of MLB in R per AB for a career. There’s a very reasonable argument to put this guy into the HOF. In fact, there is not one player from the 1880s American Association that is in the HOF, except for his teammate Charlie Comiskey who’s not in as a player, he’s in as a “pioneer.”

Without any question what so ever, Tip O’Neill was the best Left Fielder from the 1880s—American Association or National League. There were some other good Left Fielders in the league in the 1880s, like Charley Jones. But even Charley Jones own mother didn’t think he was as good as O’Neill, come on.

So, MLB, it’s time to put a Left Fielder from the 1880s into the HOF—and if you do that it’s gotta be O’Neill, without question. Then you’ll kill two birds with one stone—you’ll get a Left Fielder from the 1880s into the Hall of Fame AND you’ll get an American Association player from the 1880s into the HOF. Sound good? Oh wait, have you seen the HOF Veterans Committee list, Tip O’Neill wasn’t even on the list.

It was a sad looking list, who’s making those anyway? Hell, all they have to do is ask me and my friend Bruce, we could make them a better looking list than that. Having said that, about half of the players on their ballot are HOF worthy, but the other half couldn’t have held Tip O’Neill’s water, and the Committee knows it. See what I mean? See why this short career stuff irritates me?

I’m not saying make a lot of exceptions, but the truly dominant ones with short careers like Tip O’Neill, Bill Lange, Smokey Joe Wood—let’s make an exception for them. By the way, there are four other players from the 1880s American Association that were also HOF worthy players; four that bring themselves to the forefront of my mind without thinking and research.

The first, Harry Stovey—First Baseman, played some Left Field, too. Stovey might be the only player from the American Association that was better than Tip O’Neill in the 1880s.

The second, Pete Browning—Center Field, he was the Louisville Slugger and he’s still in the top 15 all time in BA; I have him on my “short career” Center Field list. The third and fourth, Bob Caruthers and Dave Foutz—Starting Pitchers, they were O’Neill’s teammates.

Not only were those mid/late 1880s St. Louis teams among the great teams in history because of Tip O’Neill and that teams explosive offense, they were also great because of their extraordinary Pitching.

In particular, Caruthers and Foutz. And in case you’re wondering, yes, the Tip O’Neill Speaker of the House was named after “this” Tip O’Neill.

2. Charlie Keller (1940s)

Career Stats—1,170 G, 3,790 AB, .286 BA, .410 OB%, .518 SLG%, 45 SB, 725 R, 166 2B, 72 3B, 189 HR, 760 RBI and .980 FA.

Average Season—154 G, 500 AB, .286 BA, .410 OB%, .518 SLG%, 6 SB, 95 R, 22 2B, 9 3B, 25 HR, 100 RBI and .980 FA.

Defense—Bad

Keller missed one season because of the military and World War II and a few seasons after returning to the game he began suffering from injuries (back problems, if memory serves). He basically played his last five or six seasons hurt. The injuries were ultimately what led to his early retirement.

The first half of his career when he was healthy, he was incredible. He could knock the ball out of the park and he was a highly productive player. He ranks in the top 20 in the history of MLB in RBI per AB for a career, for ALL players. It’s a fact that surprises most fans because RBI are looked at by most with such importance.

Other than Ted Williams, Keller was the best Left Fielder from the 1940s. Putting length of career aside, he was even better than HOFer Joe Medwick, another Left Fielder from the 1940s.

Most will rate Medwick higher because of his long career, but there is no question that Keller was as good as or better than Medwick in his day to day play (putting career length aside).

I’m calling Keller bad defensively, but many argue that he was at least average and was another player that was a much better defensive player when he was healthy, just wasn’t healthy for almost half of his career. By the way, his Yankee Outfield had Joe DiMaggio in Center Field and Tommy Henrich in Right Field.

Other than that 1890s Philly Outfield with Delahanty, Hamilton and Thompson, it was probably the best Outfield in the history of MLB.   

3. Lefty O’Doul (1920s)

Career Stats—970 G, 3,264 AB, .349 BA, .413 OB%, .532 SLG%, 36 SB, 624 R, 175 2B, 41 3B, 113 HR, 542 RBI and .964 FA.

Average Season—149 G, 500 AB, .349 BA, .413 OB%, .532 SLG%, 6 SB, 96 R, 27 2B, 6 3B, 17 HR, 83 RBI and .964 FA.

Defense—Terrible

OK, I’m going to give you the quick condensed version of why O’Doul only played in @ 1,000 games; because you might be asking, how can a guy with a .349 BA have only played in 1,000 games? That .349 BA is fourth all time in the history of MLB, by the way—behind only Ty Cobb, Shoeless Joe Jackson and Rogers Hornsby.

Here’s the quick answer, simplified: O’Doul came into MLB in the late 1910s as a Relief Pitcher, he pitched four or five seasons into the early 1920s. Truth is, he was OK, but really not a very good Relief Pitcher. Plus, he started to have arm problems.

So he went back down to the Minor Leagues for five or six seasons. Why he was in the Minor Leagues he kind of gave up on Pitching and decided to learn how to hit. In 1928, he came back up to MLB, by this time he was 31 years old. He played another six or seven seasons and retired when he was 37 years old, which was fairly old for MLB back then.

Once he came back up in 1928, he was one of the best pure hitters the game has ever seen, amazing to think that he “was” basically a Relief Pitcher gone bad. He could pretty much hit the ball at will and many think of him as a great baseball mind.

Like a modern day player, he made it his business to study the pitcher’s, know what they threw, know where they threw, etc...Anyway, that how one of the best pure hitters in the history of MLB only played @ 1,000 games, didn’t “really” start playing until his was 31 years old. I love the O’Doul story, that’s the quick condensed version anyway.

There are no Left Fielders from the 1920s in the HOF, though there are four or five from the 1930s. O’Doul and Ken Williams, and maybe Bob Meusel were the best Left Fielders in the league in the 1920s, putting length of career aside.

4. Adam Dunn (2000s)

Career Stats—1,131 G, 3,871 AB, .247 BA, .381 OB%, .518 SLG%, 59 SB, 699 R, 201 2B, 8 3B, 278 HR, 672 RBI and .968 FA.

Average Season—147 G, 500 AB, .247 BA, .381 OB%, .518 SLG%, 8 SB, 91 R, 26 2B, 1 3B, 36 HR, 87 RBI and .968 FA.

Defense—Bad

This will be the last season that Dunn will be eligible for this list because he will get over 1,200 games next season. We all know that Dunn is among the best Left Fielders in the league right now and we all know that he is a much, much better offensive player than his .247 BA would lead you to believe.

He’s a highly powerful hitter who is in the top 20 all time in the history of MLB in HR per AB. He can hit the crud out of the ball, a great player. Imagine how many HR he would have if he could hit the damn ball.

5. Sam Mertes (1900s)

Career Stats—1,190 G, 4,405 AB, .279 BA, .346 OB%, .398 SLG%, 396 SB, 695 R, 188 2B, 108 3B, 40 HR, 721 RBI and .938 FA.

Average Season—135 G, 500 AB, .279 BA, .346 OB%, .398 SLG%, 45 SB, 79 R, 21 2B, 12 3B, 5 HR, 82 RBI and .938 FA.

Defense—Extremely Good

Mertes was a heck of a player. He ranks in the top 20 all time in the history of MLB in SB per AB and 3B per AB. He was a great base runner, even for a Left Fielder. Speed wasn’t the only great part of his game, he was a well rounded player who knocked in a lot of RBI to go along with his speed.

Wasn’t necessarily a powerful hitter, but he still piled up a lot of RBI. His last season in 1906, he had a bad season, his first bad season since his Rookie Season. He hung it up after that bad season. There is only one Left Fielder from the 1900s in the HOF, it’s Fred Clarke. Clarke had a long, long career and he was a heck of a player, too.

But putting length of career aside, Mertes was as good or better than the HOFer Clarke, they were about the same caliber player.

Center Field

1.     Bill Lange (1890s)

Career Stats—813 G, 3,202 AB, .330 BA, .400 OB%, .458 SLG%, 400 SB, 691 R, 134 2B, 80 3B, 39 HR, 579 RBI and .942 FA.

Average Season—127 G, 500 AB, .330 BA, .400 OB%, .458 SLG%, 63 SB, 108 R, 21 2B, 13 3B, 6 HR, 90 RBI and .942 FA.

Defense—Great/Elite

Lange quit the game early to get married. Here’s the quick condensed story. You have to remember that not only did MLB players not make a lot of $ back then, they were also looked at by the general public as—what’s the word—low life’s. Lange fell in love with a woman from a well to do family and her father made it apparently clear that she could not associate with a lowly MLB player.

Lange was at a crossroads, he walked away from the game and never returned so he could marry her. Despite lucrative offers to return to the game after he was married, he refused. The offers were so high that they would have made him the highest paid player in the league at the time, that’s how good Lange was. But he refused the offers, never returned to the game.

That’s the quick condensed story anyway. I’m actually working on a script for a Bill Lange movie. So, Billy Crystal, Kevin Costner, if you’ve still got that passion for the game like you used to have, give me a shout.

By the way, if I ever work on a second script, it’ll be about either Benny Kauff (No. 2 on my Center Field short career list) or Pete Browning (No. 5 on my Center Field short career list).

Lange played for the legendary Cap Anson for most of his career and Anson was awfully tough on Lange when he played, trying to get the best out of him. He usually did. In my opinion, Lange is the best player in the history of MLB that is not in the HOF.

He’s obviously generally highly underrated by most historians; they all know he was great, but his short career brings him way down with most rating systems because they put such a huge weight on length of career—which Lange didn’t have.

Putting career length aside (career values), he’s among the 10 best players in the history of MLB to ever step into Center Field. Lange could flat out hit, still holds the Chicago Cubs single season BA record.

A big awesome looking man for the times. He was a great pure hitter that hit the ball hard. He was also a great base runner. Lange is fifth all time in the history of MLB in SB per AB. Had over 20 SB every season. And he’s in the top 20 all time in 3B per AB. He scored a lot of R and unquestionably helped manufacture them with his great base running.

He was a great pure hitter and he knocked in a lot of RBI. He did it all well. Might have been the best defensive Center Fielder in the league in the 1890s. I’ve assembled dozens upon dozens of great quotes about Bill Lange over the last 10 years or so.

Truth is, it’s easy find a lot of quotes from historians about Bill Lange from the 1950s or before because they are usually from people that actually saw him play with their own eyes. You can find recent quotes about Bill Lange, but they’re a bit harder to find now days since he’s kind of falling into oblivion.

So here’s four quick quotes that I like—two old ones and two recent ones, we’ll start with the two old quotes: Quote No. 1—“Ty Cobb and Bill Lange always present themselves before me for comparison, and, despite all the praise they lavish on Ty Cobb, I cannot see where Lange was his inferior…if ever two men, of strangely different physical and temperamental types, were to be counted as an equal, well matched pair, these two were Ty Cobb and Bill Lange…Bill Lange is one of the greatest ballplayers the game has ever known.”—Bill Phelon, Baseball Magazine, 1915.

Quote No. 2—“I have seen all the other great Outfielders, Tris Speaker, Ty Cobb, Joe DiMaggio, I have seen them all in action and I consider Bill Lange the equal of, if not better than, all Outfielders of all time.”—Clark Griffith, respected baseball historian, 1950.

Now the recent quotes. Quote No. 3—“Bill Lange is a top tier Hall of Fame player…I personally place him in my top 20 greatest all around players of all time.”—Bill Burgess, respected baseball historian, 2005.

Quote No. 4, “Bill Lange was probably the greatest all around athlete to play MLB in the first 30 seasons of the game.”—Bill James, the godfather of modern day rating, 2001.

Of course, after Bill James lavishes his praise on Lange, he then rates him between No. 60-65 on his all time Center Field list, behind Center Fielders like Ray Lankford from the 1990s. I can almost assure you that Bill James believes that Lange was a better player than Lankford, but he has Lankford rated higher because of Lange’s short career.

It’s probably not what you were asking when you bought Bill James book, right? You probably were wondering who the best players were. Of course, you were. I’ll never be able to tell anybody that Lankford was better than Lange, unless my fingers are crossed.

Let’s start telling it like it was, let’s let it be known that Lankford was not as good as Lange. Bill James knows his stuff, but like most modern day historians, he gets caught up in his modern rating system that puts far too much weight on length of career (career values).

Don’t get me wrong, Lankford was an extremely good player, but Lange was great/elite. You’ll be happy to know, just to be safe, I checked my “stupid stint meter”, and it was just as I suspected—the great/elite player is indeed better than the extremely good player.

How the hell did we ever start blurring history like this? I know why Bill James and most historians do it, the career value thing (career length), but it’s just wrong to me. Unless they change these lists and books and start calling them, The Best Careers Ever. Because they’re sure as hell not The Best Players Ever.   

2. Benny Kauff (1910s)

Career Stats—859 G, 3,094 AB, .311 BA, .389 OB%, .450 SLG%, 234 SB, 521 R, 169 2B, 57 3B, 49 HR, 454 RBI and .960 FA.

Average Season—139 G, 500 AB, .311 BA, .389 OB%, .450 SLG%, 38 SB, 84 R, 27 2B, 9 3B, 8 HR, 73 RBI and .960 FA.

Defense—Average

Kauff quit playing early because he had to. He was banned from the game by Landis. Kauff is the only player in the history of MLB that remains banned from the game for life and wasn’t banned because of gambling.

Here’s the story, the quick condensed version—when Landis was cleaning up the league after the 1919 Black Sox scandal, he had a laundry list of other players that he wanted to kick out, too.

And he did kick out a lot of other players along with those eight White Sox players. Many who wanted to remain anonymous said in later years that Landis didn’t like Kauff, thought he was a bad apple and the next time that Kauff looked at Landis cross-eyed, he was going to kick his a*s out.

Landis had him investigated without the general public or Kauff knowing. Behind closed doors the investigators told Landis that Kauff had been offered money to throw games on more than one occasion, but Kauff always refused. They basically told Landis that Kauff was on the up and up.

He was no saint, but he wasn’t throwing games. Landis was still waiting for his chance with Kauff. He got it when Kauff was arrested for stealing a car. Landis kicked him out, banned him from the game.

Here’s the problem, Landis was acquitted of the crime, he didn’t steal the car. Landis still wouldn’t re-instate him. Kauff is still banned from MLB to this day, he’s been dead for almost 50 years, still banned.

So MLBs official stance to this day remains—Benny Kauff, banned from the game for being falsely accused of stealing a car. Some argue (and so did Landis), he was acquitted of the crime, but he still probably stole the car. I say WHO CARES—even IF he did it, is stealing a car supposed to get you banned from MLB for life?

That’s the story, the short condensed version. Many bring up Buck Weaver or Pete Rose as the biggest injustice of all the banishments, I think Kauff might have them both beat. We have to also remember that other than Ty Cobb and Tris Speaker, Kauff was the best Center Fielder in the league during the 1910s. He was a hell of a player.

He could flat out play, over a .310 BA for his career, he was the real deal. So during those banishments, MLB lost the best Left Fielder in the league with Shoeless Joe and they lost the third est Center Fielder in the league with Benny Kauff. He was arguably the biggest injustice and at least one of the best players of all the banishments.

By the way, Kauff played for the legendary John McGraw for much of his career. Also, Kauff was a real hot head on the field; he’d get real po’d, reminded me of a Cobb attitude on the field.

3. Bug Holliday (1890s)

Career Stats—930 G, 3,658 AB, .312 BA, .377 OB%, .449 SLG%, 252 SB, 735 R, 162 2B, 72 3B, 65 HR, 621 RBI and .934 FA.

Average Season—127 G, 500 AB, .312 BA, .377 OB%, .449 SLG%, 35 SB, 101 R, 22 2B, 10 3B, 9 HR, 85 RBI and .934 FA.

Defense—Bad

First of all, one of my favorite names in MLB history, sounds like an old western outlaw and a 1930s gangster got together and named a child, I love it. Holliday had a short career because of a surgery he had in 1895. Here’s the quick story: His first seven or eight seasons, he was unquestionably one of the four or five best Center Fielders in the league.

But he had his appendix removed after his seventh season and was never the same after that, we have to remember that many surgeries were pretty medieval in those days compared to today.

Either way, he never really recovered fully from having his appendix removed and was certainly not the same caliber player after that. He played another three or four seasons after the removal of his appendix before hanging it up. That’s why his career was short, he lost it, but most believe it was only because of that surgery.

That’s the short condensed story. He was on those good offensive Cincinnati Reds teams of the 1890s with HOF Second Baseman, Bid McPhee. Holliday was a great player, well rounded. He was a great pure hitter, a good base runner and he could hit for power. Offensively, there were no flaws to his game, he was the real deal.

4. Mike Donlin (1900s)

Career Stats—1,049 G, 3,854 AB, .333 BA, .386 OB%, .468 SLG%, 213 SB, 669 R, 176 2B, 97 3B, 51 HR, 543 RBI and .924 FA.

Average Season—136 G, 500 AB, .333 BA, .386 OB%, .468 SLG%, 28 SB, 87 R, 23 2B, 13 3B, 7 HR, 71 RBI and .924 FA.

Defense—Terrible

Donlin had a short career for two reasons. The first, he sat out one season because of a salary dispute. The second, he missed two seasons to act in theatre. So between those two reasons, he missed three seasons. Now, don’t go thinking he was a girly boy for acting in the theatre, it’s quite the contrary.

Donlin was a man’s man. He was a drinker, a ladies man and he’d kick you’re a*s for looking at him wrong if he felt like it. A real bad a*s. In fact, many argue that he should have been better than he was, he just fought and drank too much.

He was among the worst defensive Center Fielder of the 1900s, but he was unquestionably the best overall player for a Center Fielder in the 1900s, even with his terrible defense.

Offensively, he could flat out play. He had over a .330 BA for his career and he still ranks in the top 20 all time in the history of MLB in 3B per AB.

5. Pete Browning (1880s)

Career Stats—1,183 G, 4,820 AB, .341 BA, .403 OB%, .467 SLG%, 258 SB, 954 R, 295 2B, 85 3B, 46 HR, 659 RBI and .883 FA.

Average Season—123 G, 500 AB, .341 BA, .403 OB%, .467 SLG%, 27 SB, 99 R, 31 2B, 9 3B, 5 HR, 69 RBI and .883 FA.

Defense—Terrible

Browning and his story is an interesting one, I’ll try and give the quick condensed one. He WAS the Louisville Slugger, he knew a bat maker around town that made bats, Browning had a small hand in designing the bats.

Browning’s nickname was the Louisville Slugger since he played for Louisville in MLB, so the bat maker called the bats The Louisville Slugger—the same bats used today by most MLB players.

Browning suffered severe ear problems as a child and the medieval medical procedure was almost nothing less than a guy that called himself a Dr. going in and ripping his eardrums out with some pliers.

It virtually left Browning deaf; and maybe worse, it caused him severe pain for the rest of his life. I can’t overstate just how severe the pain was during his entire life. It caused Browning to begin drinking heavily at an early age and he was a heavy drinker for most of his life.

He actually played drunk a lot. Many people also believe that the pain drove him crazy, literally. Browning died about 10 years after he retired from MLB.

Unfortunately, much of those last 10 years were in an insane asylum. Not a very happy ending for the Louisville Slugger. That’s the quick condensed story. Browning finished his career with a .341 BA, it still ranks in the top 15 in the history of MLB.

Even with his terrible defense, he was unquestionably the best Center Fielder in the league in the 1880s and the first great Center Fielder in the history of MLB. Between being the Louisville Slugger and being in the top 15 all time in BA, there’s actually a reasonable argument that he should be in the Hall of Fame.    

Right Field

1. George Selkirk (1930s)

Career Stats—846 G, 2,790 AB, .290 BA, .400 OB%, .483 SLG%, 49 SB, 503 R, 131 2B, 41 3B, 108 HR, 576 RBI and .977 FA.

Average Season—151 G, 500 AB, .290 BA, .400 OB%, .483 SLG%, 9 SB, 90 R, 23 2B, 7 3B, 19 HR, 103 RBI and .977 FA.

Defense—Great

Selkirk had a short career because he went into the military for World War II. He lost three seasons to the War, when he got out he was almost 38 years old and didn’t return to the game. Selkirk was brought into Right Field as Babe Ruth’s replacement.

It took some time, but I checked the records of every single person that has ever walked on the face of the earth—no one was qualified to fill that position. But Selkirk didn’t do a bad job.

A well rounded player with no flaws. He was a great defensive Right Fielder, a good pure hitter, smart base runner and hit for enough power to knock in plenty of RBI.

Of the Right Fielders from the 1930s, he wasn’t quite as good as HOFer Mel Ott, but putting length of career aside, he was as good or better than HOFers Chuck Klein and Paul Waner.

2. Tommy Burns (1880s)

Career Stats—1,188 G, 4,645 AB, .300 BA, .368 OB%, .445 SLG%, 263 SB, 870 R, 224 2B, 129 3B, 65 HR, 834 RBI and .920 FA.

Average Season—128 G, 500 AB, .300 BA, .368 OB%, .445 SLG%, 28 SB, 94 R, 24 2B, 14 3B, 7 HR, 90 RBI and .920 FA.

Defense—Good

Burns really never had a bad season until his final season in 1895, had 1 bad season and hung it up. Burns was a great pure hitter, a good base runner, a good defensive Right Fielder and he hit with some power for back then, knocked in a lot of RBI. There were no flaws to the guys game. He ranks in the top 10 all time in the history of MLB in 3B per AB.

There is one Right Fielder from the 1880s that is in the Hall of Fame, King Kelly. Putting length of career aside, Burns was as good or better than Kelly—and that’s saying a lot. By the way, he’s sometimes listed as Oyster Burns instead of Tommy Burns in published writings because there was a Tom Burns that also played MLB in the 1880s.

Tom Burns played Third Base, he was good, not great like Tommy, but good. The name Oyster was a nickname for Tommy that wasn’t really used much when he played, but it’s used more now to distinguish between the two.

3. Braggo Roth (1910s)

Career Stats—811 G, 2,831 AB, .284 BA, .367 OB%, .416 SLG%, 190 SB, 427 R, 138 2B, 73 3B, 30 HR, 422 RBI and .944 FA.

Average Season—142 G, 500 AB, .284 BA, .367 OB%, .416 SLG%, 33 SB, 75 R, 24 2B, 13 3B, 5 HR, 74 RBI and .944 FA.

Defense—Terrible

There are only two Right Fielders from the 1910s that are in the HOF. Casey Stengel and Harry Hooper. Stengel is in as a Manager and no one is pretending that he was the best Right Fielder from the 1910, though he wasn’t bad. But putting career length aside, Roth was definitely a better player than Hooper. Hooper was one of those guys that had a really long career 2,300 games.

In fact, Roth might be the best Right Fielder from the 1910s. I’ve got to tell you the truth, I’m not exactly sure why Roth had such a short career. He was still young and he was still good when he stopped playing.

You know I know my history, but I’ve just never heard much about why Roth had such a short career. He was among the worst defensive Right Fielders of the 1910s, but I can’t imagine that was the reason, we are talking about Right Field—one of the least significant defensive positions on the field. Roth ranks in the top 20 in the history of MLB in 3B per AB.

Offensively, he was an extremely good player across the board, especially for the low offensive decade of the 1910s.

4. Wally Westlake (1950s)

Career Stats—958 G, 3,117 AB, .272 BA, .345 OB%, .450 SLG%, 19 SB, 474 R, 107 2B, 33 3B, 127 HR, 539 RBI and .983 FA.

Average Stats—155 G, 500 AB, .272 BA, .345 OB%, .450 SLG%, 3 SB, 76 R, 17 2B, 5 3B, 20 HR, 87 RBI and .983 FA.

Defense—Great/Elite

Westlake was basically a starter during the first half of his career, but he was a backup during the second half of his career. I’ve never quite been sure why he was a backup because he was a heck of a player.

Offensively, he could hit the crud out of the ball and he was a a fairly powerful hitter. Defensively, he was among the great/elite Right Fielders from the 1950s. Putting career length aside, overall, he was among the three or four best Right Fielders in the league from the 1950s.

5. George Harper (1920s)

Career Stats—1.073 G, 3,398 AB, .303 BA, .380 OB%, .455 SLG%, 58 SB, 505 R, 158 2B, 43 3B, 91 HR, 528 RBI and .970 FA.

Average Season—158 G, 500 AB, .303 BA, .380 OB%, .455 SLG%, 9 SB, 74 R, 23 2B, 6 3B, 13 HR, 78 RBI and .970 FA.

Defense—Extremely Good

Harper didn’t play a lot of games during his career because he bounced back and forth from MLB to the Minor Leagues early in his career. When he came back up in 1922, he came up to stay, but he was 30 years old by that time—that’s when his career really started.

In a nut shell, that’s why he didn’t play a lot of games—by the time he “really” made it to the big leagues, he was 30.

He played seven or eight seasons after that and he was a heck of a Right Fielder year in and year out, offensively and defensively. A good balanced player offensively that hit well, was a good smart base runner and hit for fair power.

There are five HOF Right Fielders from the 1920s—Babe Ruth, Harry Heilmann, Kiki Cuyler, Ross Youngs and Sam Rice. Even putting career length aside, Harper wasn’t as good as the HOFers Ruth, Heilmann, Cuyler or Youngs; but putting career length aside, he was as good as the HOFer Rice.

FIRST BASE

1. Zeke Bonura (1930s)

Career Stats--917 G, 3,582 AB, .307 BA, .380 OB%, .487 SLG%, 19 SB, 600 R, 232 2B, 29 3B, 119 HR, 704 RBI and .992 FA.                                                                      

Average Season--127 G, 500 AB, .307 BA, .380 OB%, .487 SLG%, 3 SB, 83 R, 32 2B, 4 3B, 17 HR, 98 RBI and .992 FA.

Defense--Great/Elite

Following the 1940 season, Bonura went into the military for World War II. He spent 5 years in the military and never returned to the game when he got out. He was a great player, but not up there with the great/elite First Basemen of all time, if you take career length out of the equation, he's probably around No. 30 all time, which is still great.

Also, he was one of the great/elite defensive First Basemen of the 1930s. My friend Bruce brought up Dave Orr the other day, man was Orr great in the 1880s, played just under 800 games so he's not on the list. If he had played 800 games, he'd be in this spot, not Bonura.

2. Henry Larkin (1880s)

Career Stats--1,184 G, 4,718 AB, .303 BA, .380 OB%, .440 SLG%, 129 SB, 925 R, 259 2B, 114 3B, 53 HR, 836 RBI and .971 FA.

Average Season--126 G, 500 AB, .303 BA, .380 OB%, .440 SLG%, 14 SB, 98 R, 28 2B, 12 3B, 6 HR, 89 RBI and .971 FA.

Defense--Terrible

Larkin is sixth all time in the history of MLB in 3B per AB for a First Baseman. He's eighth all time in the history of MLB in R per AB for a First Baseman. Not bad, huh?

3. Joe Harris (1920s)

Career Stats--970 G, 3,035 AB, .317 BA, .404 OB%, .472 SLG%, 36 SB, 461 R, 201 2B, 64 3B, 47 HR, 517 RBI and .989 FA.

Average Season--159 G, 500 AB, .317 BA, .404 OB%, .472 SLG%, 6 SB, 76 R, 33 2B, 10 3B, 8 HR, 85 RBI and .989 FA.

Defense--Average

Harris was a great pure hitter. He's seventh all time in the history of MLB in 2B per AB for a First Baseman. He's ninth all time in the history of MLB in 3B per AB for a First Baseman. Harris missed one season because of the military and World War I. He did return after the War.

He played one season after the War, then he was banned from the game by Landis. Now, Harris wasn't crooked, he was banned because he played in another professional league that was trying to compete with MLB. Landis didn't like it, so he banned him.

Harris didn't play for three seasons, until Landis finally reinstated him. So between the military and the banishment, he missed four seasons. That's why his career was fairly short. There are four Hall of Fame First Basemen from the 1920s that Harris played in--Bill Terry, George Sisler, Jim Bottomley and George Kelly.

I can tell you this, putting length of career aside, he was about the same caliber player as those four Hall of Famers, actually unquestionably better than George Kelly. By the way, when Harris was in the military and missed that season during World War I, he broke both of his legs and fractured his skull.

Some suggest that he was about 70 percent of what he should have been for most of his career because of that. If that's true I'd have loved to seen what he would have been without that.

4. John Jaha (1990s)

Career Stats--826 G, 2,775 AB, .263 BA, .369 OB%, .465 SLG%, 36 SB, 470 R, 126 2B, 5 3B, 141 HR, 490 RBI and .993 FA.

Average Season--148 G, 500 AB, .263 BA, .369 OB%, .465 SLG%, 6 SB, 84 R, 23 2B, 1 3B, 25 HR, 88 RBI and .993 FA.

Defense--Extremely Good

Jaha was kind of a poor mans McGwire, except he didn't eat as many "vitamins"--and he could play defense. At least I've never heard those "vitamin" talks about Jaha. He could hit the crud out of the ball. He retired early because of injuries and actually played his last three or four seasons hurt. He was a heck of a player.

5. Jim Gentile (1960s)

Career Stats--936 G, 2,922 AB, .260 BA, .368 OB%, .486 SLG%, 3 SB, 434 R, 113 2B, 6 3B, 179 HR, 549 RBI and .990 FA.

Average Season--161 G, 500 AB, .260 BA, .368 OB%, .486 SLG%, 1 SB, 75 R, 19 2B, 1 3B, 31 HR, 95 RBI and .990 FA.

Defense--Good

He was a powerful hitter. Other than Harmon Killebrew and Willie McCovey, he was probably the best HR hitting First Baseman from the 1960s. 

Second Base

1. Yank Robinson (1880s)

Career Stats--978 G, 3,428 AB, .241 BA, .375 OB%, .324 SLG%, 272 SB, 697 R, 148 2B, 44 3B, 16 HR, 399 RBI and .887 FA.

Average Season--142 G, 500 AB, .241 BA, .375 OB%, .324 SLG%, 39 SB, 101 R, 21 2B, 6 3B, 2 HR, 58 RBI and .887 FA.

Defense--Terrible

Robinson was a much better offensive player than his BA would lead you to believe. His .375 OB% helped make up for that. So for a sub-par hitter, he got on base a lot; and you didn't want him on base if you were the other team because he was a terror on the bases. One of the best baserunners in history for a Second Baseman.

He's in the top 20 all time in the history of MLB in SB per at bat and R per AB--for ALL positions. Robinson was part of those great St. Louis Browns teams of the 1880s (now the Cardinals of course). Some still bring up that 1887 St. Louis team that he was on as one of the 10 best teams in the history of MLB.

Being on that great team certainly helped him score all of those R, but he definitely helped manufacture them himself with his great/elite baserunning, too. Robinson stopped playing early because he was ill with TB.

Unfortunately, he passed away only a couple years after he stopped playing MLB.

2. Bump Wills (1970s)

Career Stats--831 G, 3,030 AB, .266 BA, .335 OB%, .360 SLG%, 196 SB, 472 R, 128 2B, 24 3B, 36 HR, 302 RBI and .979 FA.

Average Season--136 G, 500 AB, .266 BA, .335 OB%, .360 SLG%, 32 SB, 77 R, 21 2B, 4 3B, 6 HR, 50 RBI and .979 FA.

Defense--Extremely Good

Some people forget that Wills was among the best Second Basemen in the league during the late 1970s, early 1980s. His father was Maury Wills, the great Shortstop from the 1960s. Looks like the apple didn't fall far from the tree on this one.

Wills retired early for reasons that are unknown to me, to tell you the truth. He was still good, don't know why he retired so young. He played more professional baseball over in Japan after he retired from MLB.

3. Odell Hale (1930s)

Career Stats--1,062 G, 3,701 AB, .289 BA, .352 OB%, .441 SLG%, 57 SB, 551 R, 240 2B, 51 3B, 73 HR, 573 RBI and .959 FA.

Average Season--144 G, 500 AB, .289 BA, .352 OB%, .441 SLG%, 8 SB, 74 R, 32 2B, 7 3B, 10 HR, 77 RBI and .959 FA.

Defense--Bad

Three Hall of Fame Second Basemen from the 1930s that Hale played in: Charlie Gehringer, Tony Lazzeri and Billy Herman. Putting length of career aside, Hale was better than Herman, though not nearly as good as Gehringer and Lazzeri.

4. Gene DeMontreville (1890s)

Career Stats--922 G, 3,615 AB, .303 BA, .340 OB%, .373 SLG%, 228 SB, 537 R, 130 2B, 35 3B, 17 HR, 497 RBI and .948 FA.

Average Season--128 G, 500 AB, .303 BA, .340 OB%, .373 SLG%, 32 SB, 75 R, 18 2B, 5 3B, 2 HR, 69 RBI and .948 FA.

Defense--Average

He could flat out play.

5. Brian Roberts (2000s)

Career Stats--976 G, 3,858 AB, .284 BA, .355 OB%, .416 SLG%, 226 SB, 619 R, 262 2B, 32 3B, 61 HR, 364 RBI and .987 FA.

Average Season--127 G, 500 AB, .284 BA, .355 OB%, .416 SLG%, 29 SB, 80 R, 34 2B, 4 3B, 8 HR, 47 RBI and .987 FA.

Defense--Extremely Good

We all know he's among the four or five best Second Basemen in the league right now, so it shows how good the five in front of him were. Roberts is obviously still playing and will get over 1,200 games in a couple years.

He's a good base runner and he hits an overabundant amount of 2B, he's up there all time in 2B per AB.  

Shortstop

1. Ray Chapman (1910s)

Career Stats--1,051 G, 3,785 AB, .278 BA, .358 OB%, .377 SLG%, 238 SB, 671 R, 162 2B, 81 3B, 17 HR, 364 RBI and .939 FA.

Average Season--138 G, 500 AB, .278 BA, .358 OB%, .377 SLG%, 31 SB, 88 R, 21 2B, 11 3B, 2 HR, 48 RBI and .939 FA.

Defense--Average

Chapman is the only player in the history of MLB to die from an on the field injury. He was hit in the head while up to bat in 1920, days later, he died from his injury. It was a tragedy for everyone, including MLB. Baseball was dealing with the Black Sox scandal from the year before and now this.

Also, Chapman was the best Second Baseman of the 1910s, not that it mattered, but he wasn't just any player, he was the star Second Baseman in MLB. When he died, his replacement was Joe Sewell and most remember that Sewell ended up having a Hall of Fame career.

When Chapman died, things changed. MLB outlawed the spit ball, they used several balls during a game to keep them "white" because many felt that Chapman never saw the ball, Pitcher's liked to dirty the ball back then, and it was legal.

So many changes in MLB were directly and indirectly linked to the death of Chapman.

2. Carlos Guillen (2000s)

Career Stats--1,128 G, 4,048 AB, .290 BA, .360 OB%, .448 SLG%, 71 SB, 663 R, 237 2B, 46 3B, 104 HR, 572 RBI and .966 FA.

Average Season--139 G, 500 AB, .290 BA, .360 OB%, 448 SLG%, 9 SB, 82 R, 29 2B, 6 3B, 13 HR, 71 RBI and .966 FA.

Defense--Bad

Guillen is still playing and this will be the last season that he's eligible for this list as he will be over 1,200 games after next season. One of the five or six best Shortstops in the league. And the league is chalked full of good Shortstops right now.

He's one of the five or six best, even with his bad defense. He's not terrible at defense, he's bad--and close to average truthfully. Very underrated offensive player for a Shortstop by the casual fan.

3. Glenn Wright (1920s)

Career Stats--1,119 G, 4,153 AB, .294 BA, .328 OB%, .447 SLG%, 38 SB, 584 R, 203 2B, 76 3B, 94 HR, 723 RBI and .941 FA.

Average Season--135 G, 500 AB, .294 BA, .328 OB%, .447 SLG%, 5 SB, 70 R, 24 2B, 9 3B, 11 HR, 87 RBI and .941 FA.

Defense--Average

There were four Hall of Fame Shortstops from the 1920s that Wright played in the league with. Setting length of career aside, he was the same caliber player as three of the four, Joe Sewell, Dave Bancroft and Travis Jackson and he was better than Rabbit Maranville.

Maranville had a long, long career, which historians love. But setting career length (career value) aside, he could play with all of those guys day in and day out.

4. John Valentin (1990s)

Career Stats--1,105 G, 3,917 AB, .279 BA, .360 OB%, .454 SLG%, 47 SB, 614 R, 281 2B, 17 3B, 124 HR, 558 RBI and .972 FA.

Average Season--142 G, 500 AB, .279 BA, .360 OB%, .454 SLG%, 6 SB, 79 R, 36 2B, 2 3B, 16 HR, 72 RBI and .972 FA.

Defense--Great

Valentin was the real deal, offensively and defensively. I used to love watching that guy play. Starting suffering injuries late in his career, tried to re-hab in the minors, but never made it back up. Started coaching after reluctantly retiring. Valentin is in the top 20 all time in the history of MLB in 2B per AB.

An amazing fact that hardly anyone knows. In the 1990s at Shortstop, putting length of career aside--he wasn't up there with Barry Larkin, but he was right around the same caliber player as Julio Franco and Cal Ripken, that's saying a lot.

Yes, I believe when you take away length of career (career value), Larkin was a slightly better day to day player than Ripken. Don’t get me wrong, Ripken was the real deal. Larkin will be in the HOF next year, he was the real deal, too.

5. Jimmy Rollins (2000s)

Career Stats--1,150 G, 4,636 AB, .286 BA, .352 OB%, .412 SLG%, 259 SB, 788 R, 227 2B, 53 3B, 83 HR, 418 RBI and .966 FA.

Average Stats--124 G, 500 AB, .286 BA, .352 OB%, .412 SLG%, 28 SB, 85 R, 24 2B, 6 3B, 9 HR, 45 RBI and .966 FA.

Defense--Average

Rollins is still playing and this will be his last year on this list as he will get over the 1,200 games mark next season also. I think Rollins is slightly overrated. Do I think he's good? Yes, I've got him as one of the five best Shortstops in history with less than 1,200 games don't I.

But he's still slightly overrated when I think of the fact that a lot of casual fans think he's the best Shortstop in the league. It's simply not true. I think he's overrated defensively also. I think he's average, most think he's great.

I don't think he's bad, but I'll stick with average for now. The guy can play, don't get me wrong.

Third Base

1. John McGraw (1890s)

Career Stats--1,099 G, 3,924 AB, .334 BA, .466 OB%, .410 SLG%, 436 SB, 1,024 R, 121 2B, 70 3B, 13 HR, 462 RBI and .898 FA.

Average Season--141 G, 500 AB, .334 BA, .466 OB%, .410 SLG%, 56 SB, 131 R, 16 2B, 9 3B, 2 HR, 59 RBI and .898 FA.

Defense--Average

Those aren't misprints folks. He really had a .334 BA, it's the best BA in the history of MLB for a Third Baseman. His .466 OB% is fourth all time, for ALL players. Those SB, he's in the top 10 all time in SB per AB, for ALL players. The R, he's third all time in R per AB, for ALL players. McGraw is in the Hall of Fame, officially as a Manager. He should have went in as a Player/Manager (he’s the only player on any of these lists that’s in the HOF, by the way).

I don't care if he only played 1,100 games, they're dominant numbers, to say the least. Putting his short career aside, he's as good as any Third Baseman in the history of MLB. I think McGraw and Schmidt were the best Third Basemen ever.

In fact, most historians will still rank McGraw in the top 15 or 20, even with his short career, whi