Baseball's Hall of Fame or Hall of Shame (8 page)

THIRD BASEMEN (13)

Mike Schmidt/George Brett

Their status as the two greatest third basemen in baseball history clearly establishes Schmidt and Brett as legitimate Hall of Famers.

Mike Schmidt is generally thought to have been the greatest all-around third baseman in major league history. His 548 career home runs are not only a record for third basemen, but place him among the all-time leaders. His 1,595 runs batted in tie him with Brett for the most by a third baseman, and his .527 slugging percentage is a record for players at the position. Schmidt led the National League in home runs a record eight times, runs batted in four times, on-base percentage three times, slugging percentage five times, and walks four times. His 10 Gold Gloves are a record for National League third basemen. In addition, he won three N.L. Most Valuable Player Awards and, from 1980 to 1986, was considered to be not only the best third baseman in the game, but one of the five best players in baseball. Schmidt was arguably the very best player in the game in both 1980 and 1981. In the first of those seasons, he won the first of his three MVP Awards by leading the Phillies to the N.L. pennant and world championship. That year, he led the league with 48 home runs and 121 runs batted in, while batting .286 and scoring 104 runs. In the following strike-shortened season, Schmidt once again led the league in both homers (31) and RBIs (91), while batting .316 and winning his second consecutive MVP Award.

George Brett may well have been the greatest hitting third baseman of all-time. He certainly was one of the two or three best hitters, and one of the five best players in the American League from 1976 to 1990. He is the only player to win batting titles in three different decades, having accomplished the feat in 1976, 1980 and 1990. His mark of .390 in 1980 stands as the highest average of any player since Ted Williams hit .406 in 1941. He finished his career with 317 home runs, 1,595 runs batted in, a .305 batting average, 137 triples, and 201 stolen bases, and his 665 doubles and 3,154 hits are both records for third basemen. In addition to being a three-time batting champion, Brett led the league in hits, triples, and slugging three times each, doubles twice, and on-base percentage once. He batted over .300 eleven times, hit more than 20 homers eight times, and drove in more than 100 runs four times. Brett had his finest season in 1980 when he was named the A.L.’s Most Valuable Player for leading the Royals to the pennant with a .390 batting average, 24 home runs, and 118 runs batted in.

With the possible exception of Mike Schmidt, Brett was the finest player in the game that season. Brett was also among the top two or three players in the game in both 1979 and 1985. In 1979, he hit 23 homers, knocked in 107 runs, batted .329, and finished with 20 triples, 212 hits, and 119 runs scored. In 1985, Brett hit 30 homers, knocked in 112 runs, batted .335, scored 108 runs, and finished second to Don Mattingly in the MVP voting. In all, Brett finished in the top five of the balloting four times during his career.

Eddie Mathews/Brooks Robinson/
Pie Traynor/Wade Boggs

These four men are the other third basemen whose Hall of Fame credentials would not be questioned by anyone.

Although not necessarily regarded as such, at the time of his retirement in 1968, Eddie Mathews was the greatest third baseman to have ever played in the major leagues. His 512 career home runs (later surpassed by Schmidt), and his 1,453 runs batted in (also surpassed by Schmidt as well as Brett) were both records for third basemen at that time. He also finished his career with 1,509 runs scored and an on-base percentage of .378 (both third all-time among third basemen), and a slugging percentage of .509 (second only to Schmidt). Primarily because he played on the same team as the great Hank Aaron for most of his career, Mathews is perhaps the most overlooked superstar in the history of the game. There is little doubt, though, that he was the best third baseman in the National League from 1953 to 1961, when he hit more than 30 home runs in each season. In fact, in most of those seasons, he was the best third baseman in baseball, and one of the five or six best players in the National League. He led the league in home runs twice, hitting over 40 four times, and in walks four times, drawing more than 100 bases on balls in five different seasons. He also knocked in more than 100 runs five times and batted over .300 three times. A perennial All-Star, twice during his career Mathews finished runner-up in the league MVP voting.

Brooks Robinson was the greatest fielding third baseman in baseball history. Although he did not possess a particularly strong throwing arm, and was a very slow runner, Robinson’s quickness and superb reflexes helped him to revolutionize third base play. He holds major league records for third basemen with highest fielding average (.971), most putouts (2,697), most assists (6,205), and most double plays (618). He led American League third basemen in fielding 11 times, and in putouts and assists eight times each.

In addition, Robinson was a solid hitter, hitting over 20 homers six times, driving in more than 100 runs twice, and batting over .300 twice. He finished his career with 268 home runs, 1,357 runs batted in, and 2,848 hits. A 15-time All-Star and 16-time Gold Glove winner, Robinson also fared well in the league MVP voting, winning the award in 1964 and finishing in the top five four other times. In that 1964 season, Robinson hit 28 homers, knocked in a league-leading 118 runs, and batted a career-high .317. From 1960 to 1972, with the exception of the 1961, 1969, and 1970 seasons, when Harmon Killebrew played mostly third base and had some of his finest seasons for the Twins, Robinson was clearly the best third baseman in the American League. In some of those seasons (although he faced stiff competition from National Leaguers such as Eddie Mathews, Ken Boyer, and Ron Santo), he was rated the best third baseman in the game.

Although he is not as highly regarded as he once was, Pie Traynor is generally considered to have been the greatest third baseman of the first half of the twentieth century. Therefore, even though he never led the National League in any major offensive category, he has to be considered a legitimate Hall of Famer. Traynor’s .320 career batting average, 1,273 runs batted in, and 164 triples top all other major league third basemen who played during the first half of the century. Although he hit only 58 home runs during his career, Traynor was a productive hitter, knocking in more than 100 runs seven times and batting over .300 ten times. He also stole more than 20 bases twice and struck out only 278 times in more than 7,500 career at-bats.

Traynor was also a good fielder. He led National League third basemen in putouts seven times, in chances five times, and in double plays four times.

Wade Boggs was not your prototypical Hall of Fame third baseman, in the mold of some of the other great players at that position. He wasn’t the home run hitter that Mike Schmidt or Eddie Mathews was. He didn’t drive in runs the way Schmidt, Mathews, or George Brett did. He wasn’t the great fielder that Brooks Robinson, Ray Dandridge, or Schmidt was. However, he could hit for average and get on base, two things he did better than any other third baseman in baseball history.

Boggs’ 18-year major league career included stints with the Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, and Tampa Bay Devil Rays, and ended with him leading all other third basemen in career batting average (.328) and on-base percentage (.415). He also collected 3,010 base hits, the second highest total of any third baseman, next to Brett’s 3,154, and finished with 1,513 runs scored and 578 doubles, also second to Brett among third basemen.

Boggs led the American League in batting five times, including four straight seasons, from 1985 to 1988. He compiled batting averages over .350 five times during his career, hitting as high as .368 in 1985. He also led the league in runs scored, doubles, and walks twice each, and in on-base percentage six times. Although he never knocked in more than 89 runs in any season, Boggs scored more than 100 seven times. This was the direct result of his propensity for getting on base via either the base hit or base on balls. Seven times during his career Boggs collected more than 200 hits, and four times he drew more than 100 walks.

Boggs’ two finest seasons came in 1985 and 1987. In the first of those years, in addition to batting .368, he collected a career-high 240 base hits, scored 107 runs, and drove in 78 others. Boggs’ most productive season came in 1987, though, when he set career highs in home runs (24) and runs batted in (89), while batting .363 and scoring 108 runs.

Although never considered to be either the best player in baseball or the best in his own league, Boggs was the game’s top third baseman in virtually every season, from 1983 to 1991. He was also among the five best players in the game in 1983, and from 1985 to 1988, never batting below .357 in any of those seasons. Boggs was selected to the A.L. All-Star Team 12 straight times between 1985 and 1996, and also placed in the top ten in the league MVP voting in each of the four seasons he won the batting title between 1985 and 1988. While he was a defensive liability early in his career, he worked hard on improving his fielding and turned himself into an above-average third baseman. A valid case could be made for him being among the five greatest third basemen in baseball history. If not, he was certainly in the top ten.

Frank “Home Run” Baker/Jimmy Collins

Neither Frank Baker nor Jimmy Collins was a truly great player or among the five or six best players of his time. In addition, even though each man spent 14 seasons in the big leagues, neither accumulated the number of at-bats that you might expect from a typical Hall of Famer (Baker had just under 6,000 and Collins had just under 6,800). However, each man was clearly the best third baseman of his era, and they were the two best players at their position over the first fifty years of major league baseball.

Although Frank “Home Run” Baker hit only 96 home runs during his career, he may well have been the finest long-ball hitter of the Deadball Era. Playing for Connie Mack’s Philadelphia Athletics, Baker led the American League in home runs four straight years, from 1911 to 1914. He also led the league twice in runs batted in and once in triples, and he still holds the A.L. record for most triples by a rookie with his total of 19 in 1909. Baker finished his career with a .307 batting average and 235 stolen bases, including a career-high 40 thefts in 1912. In fact, that 1912 season was Baker’s best as he led the league in home runs and runs batted in (with a career-high of 130), and also batted .347, a record for A.L. third basemen that stood until 1980 when George Brett batted .390. Baker finished in double-digits in home runs five times (quite a lot for those days), knocked in over 100 runs three times, batted over .300 six times, scored more than 100 runs twice, and stole more than 20 bases five times.

After a contract dispute with team owner and manager Connie Mack caused Baker to sit out the 1915 season, he was never quite the same player. However, in the six seasons prior (1909-1914), Baker had already established himself as the finest third baseman to play major league ball up to that point, earning him a place in Cooperstown.

Jimmy Collins’ position as a legitimate Hall of Famer is a bit more tenuous than that of Baker since his overall numbers were slightly less impressive. In 600 more career at-bats, he hit fewer home runs, drove in virtually the same number of runs, stole fewer bases, compiled a lower batting average (.294 to Baker’s .307), and finished with considerably lower on-base and slugging percentages. In addition, his major league career started in 1895, which means his first six seasons were spent hitting under much more favorable conditions. He also didn’t do as well as Baker in the various criteria being used here to evaluate Hall of Famers. He only led his league once in a major offensive category—to Baker’s seven—and, while neither player was ever considered to be the best player in baseball, a case could be made for Baker having been among the game’s five or six best players from 1909 to 1914. The same could not be said for Collins at any point during his career.