You decide MLB’s all-time starting nine: 3rd Basemen

3rd basemen
Adrian Beltre (left) and Mike Schmidt (right). Photo: Reuters, Wikimedia Commons

Editor’s note: This story first appeared on AMNY.com.

Over the next two weeks, Metro Philly and AMNewYork will be asking you, the readers, to help piece together Major League Baseball’s all-time starting lineup by voting who you think is the very best player at each position. 

Each day, you will be given a list of 10 players per position where you can choose one (1) option. 

Those looking to vote can submit their choices in several ways

In our fourth installment today, we take a look at 10 of the top third basemen in MLB history. 

Players up for consideration on our all-time third basemen list had to play at least 1,000 career MLB games with 60% of them coming at the position.

We were left with 144 third basemen, who we put through the Metro vacuum, which included:

  • Wins Above Replacement (WAR)
  • Defensive WAR (dWAR)
  • Batting average (BA)
  • On-base plus slugging percentage (OPS)
  • Home runs (HR)
  • Hits
  • Runs batted in (RBI)

Taking their ranks within each statistic, an average number was deciphered. The lower the average number was, the better their standing. 

Players with additional individual accolades, positive defensive metrics, and postseason successes were given an additional boost — allowing us to come to a list of 10 players that are considered the very best at their position.

Without further ado, here is today’s ballot for you to vote on, in alphabetical order:

Adrian Beltre

Years active: 1998-2018

Teams: Los Angeles Dodgers, Seattle Mariners, Boston Red Sox, Texas Rangers

Stats: 93.6 WAR, 27.2 dWAR (13th all-time), .286 BA, .819 OPS, 3,166 hits (17th all-time), 477 HR, 1,707 RBI (24th all-time)

Accolades: 4x All-Star, 5x Gold Glove, 4x Silver Slugger, 2x Platinum Glove (best fielder in MLB)

 

Wade Boggs

Years active: 1982-1999

Teams: Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, Tampa Bay Devil Rays

Stats: 91.4 WAR, 13.9 dWAR, .328 BA, .858 OPS, 3,010 hits (30th all-time), 118 HR, 1,014 RBI

Accolades: 12x All-Star, 2x Gold Glove, 8x Silver Slugger, 5x batting champion, 7 seasons with a batting average of .340 or better, 1x World Series, Hall of Fame

 

Ken Boyer

Years active: 1955-1969

Teams: St. Louis Cardinals, New York Mets, Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers

Stats: 62.9 WAR, 10.7 dWAR, .287 BA, .810 OPS, 2,143 hits, 282 HR, 1,141 RBI

Accolades: 1964 NL MVP, 11x All-Star, 4x Gold Glove, 1x World Series

 

George Brett

Years active: 1973-1993

Teams: Kansas City Royals

Stats: 88.6 WAR, 2.2 dWAR, .305 BA, .857 OPS, 3,154 hits (18th all-time), 317 HR, 1,596 RBI

Accolades: 1980 AL MVP, 13x All-Star, 1x Gold Glove, 3x Silver Slugger, 3x batting champion, batted .390 in 1980, 1x World Series, Hall of Fame

 

Chipper Jones

Years active: 1993-2012

Teams: Atlanta Braves

Stats: 85.3 WAR, -0.9 dWAR, .303 BA, .930 OPS, 2,726 hits, 468 HR, 1,623 RBI

Accolades: 1999 NL MVP, 8x All-Star, 2x Silver Slugger, 2008 NL batting title (.364 BA), 1x World Series, Hall of Fame

 

Eddie Mathews

Years active: 1952-1968

Teams: Boston/Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves, Houston Astros, Detroit Tigers

Stats: 96.2 WAR, 5.6 dWAR, .271 BA, .885 OPS, 2,315 hits, 512 HR, 1,453 RBI

Accolades: 12x All-Star, 2x World Series, 9-straight seasons of 30+ home runs (1953-1961), Hall of Fame

 

Brooks Robinson

Years active: 1955-1977

Teams: Baltimore Orioles

Stats: 78.4 WAR, 39.1 dWAR (3rd all-time), .267 BA, .723 OPS, 2,848 hits, 268 HR, 1,357 RBI

Accolades: 1964 AL MVP, 18x All-Star, 16x Gold Glove, 2x World Series, 1970 World Series MVP, Hall of Fame

 

Scott Rolen

Years active: 1996-2012

Teams: Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals, Toronto Blue Jays, Cincinnati Reds

Stats: 70.1 WAR, 21.2 dWAR, .281 BA, .855 OPS, 2,077 hits, 315 HR, 1,287 RBI

Accolades: 1997 NL Rookie of the Year, 7x All-Star, 8x Gold Glove, 1x Silver Slugger, 1x World Series

 

Ron Santo

Years active: 1960-1974

Teams: Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox

Stats: 70.5 WAR, 8.7 dWAR, .277 BA, .826 OPS, 2,254 hits, 342 HR, 1,138 RBI

Accolades: 9x All-Star, 5x Gold Glove, Hall of Fame

 

Mike Schmidt

Years active: 1972-1989

Teams: Philadelphia Phillies

Stats: 106.9 WAR (19th all-time), 18.4 dWAR, .267 BA, .908 OPS, 2,234 hits, 548 HR (16th all-time), 1,506 RBI

Accolades: 3x NL MVP (1980, ’81, ’86), 12x All-Star, 10x Gold Glove, 6x Silver Slugger, 1x World Series, 1980 World Series MVP, Hall of Fame