• The Greatest Fielding 1B Of All-Time Is…

    Posted by on December 7th, 2012 · Comments (6)

    First, start with this list -

    Rk Player Rfield From To Age G
    1 Keith Hernandez 117 1974 1990 20-36 2088
    2 John Olerud 102 1989 2005 20-36 2234
    3 Mark Teixeira 90 2003 2012 23-32 1497
    4 George Scott 84 1966 1979 22-35 2034
    5 Wally Pipp 80 1913 1928 20-35 1872
    6 Mark Grace 76 1988 2003 24-39 2245
    7 Todd Helton 74 1997 2012 23-38 2123
    8 Bill Terry 73 1923 1936 24-37 1720
    9 Pete O’Brien 69 1982 1993 24-35 1567
    10 Vic Power 68 1954 1965 26-37 1627
    11 Frank McCormick 62 1934 1948 23-37 1534
    12 Tino Martinez 60 1990 2005 22-37 2023
    13 Bill White 57 1956 1969 22-35 1673
    14 Jeff Bagwell 55 1991 2005 23-37 2150
    15 Wally Joyner 54 1986 2001 24-39 2033
    16 High Pockets Kelly 52 1915 1932 19-36 1623
    17 Fred Tenney 52 1901 1911 29-39 1319
    18 Frank Chance 51 1901 1914 24-37 1115
    19 Ed Konetchy 50 1907 1921 21-35 2085
    20 Gil Hodges 48 1943 1963 19-39 2072
    21 Bill Skowron 45 1954 1967 23-36 1658
    22 Casey Kotchman 43 2004 2012 21-29 933
    23 George Stovall 43 1904 1915 26-37 1414
    24 Sid Bream 42 1983 1994 22-33 1088
    25 Chick Gandil 41 1910 1919 22-31 1147
    26 Norm Cash 39 1958 1974 23-39 2089
    27 Doug Mientkiewicz 38 1998 2009 24-35 1087
    28 Kevin Young 38 1992 2003 23-34 1205
    29 Wes Parker 36 1964 1972 24-32 1288
    30 Elbie Fletcher 36 1934 1949 18-33 1415
    31 Lu Blue 36 1921 1933 24-36 1615
    32 Joe Judge 35 1915 1934 21-40 2173
    33 Daric Barton 34 2007 2012 21-26 484
    34 Don Mattingly 34 1982 1995 21-34 1785
    35 Phil Todt 34 1924 1931 22-29 957
    36 Adrian Gonzalez 32 2004 2012 22-30 1176
    37 James Loney 32 2006 2012 22-28 926
    38 John Ganzel 32 1901 1908 27-34 654
    39 Lyle Overbay 31 2001 2012 24-35 1324
    40 Chris Chambliss 31 1971 1988 22-39 2175
    Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
    Generated 12/7/2012.

    .
    And, then, sort it by Fielding Runs/Game and you get this leader board:

    Rk Player Rfield From To Age G Rfield/G
    1 Daric Barton 34 2007 2012 21-26 484 0.0702
    2 Mark Teixeira 90 2003 2012 23-32 1497 0.0601
    3 Keith Hernandez 117 1974 1990 20-36 2088 0.0560
    4 John Ganzel 32 1901 1908 27-34 654 0.0489
    5 Casey Kotchman 43 2004 2012 21-29 933 0.0461
    6 Frank Chance 51 1901 1914 24-37 1115 0.0457
    7 John Olerud 102 1989 2005 20-36 2234 0.0457
    8 Pete O’Brien 69 1982 1993 24-35 1567 0.0440
    9 Wally Pipp 80 1913 1928 20-35 1872 0.0427
    10 Bill Terry 73 1923 1936 24-37 1720 0.0424
    11 Vic Power 68 1954 1965 26-37 1627 0.0418
    12 George Scott 84 1966 1979 22-35 2034 0.0413
    13 Frank McCormick 62 1934 1948 23-37 1534 0.0404
    14 Fred Tenney 52 1901 1911 29-39 1319 0.0394
    15 Sid Bream 42 1983 1994 22-33 1088 0.0386
    16 Chick Gandil 41 1910 1919 22-31 1147 0.0357
    17 Phil Todt 34 1924 1931 22-29 957 0.0355
    18 Doug Mientkiewicz 38 1998 2009 24-35 1087 0.0350
    19 Todd Helton 74 1997 2012 23-38 2123 0.0349
    20 James Loney 32 2006 2012 22-28 926 0.0346
    21 Bill White 57 1956 1969 22-35 1673 0.0341
    22 Mark Grace 76 1988 2003 24-39 2245 0.0339
    23 High Pockets Kelly 52 1915 1932 19-36 1623 0.0320
    24 Kevin Young 38 1992 2003 23-34 1205 0.0315
    25 George Stovall 43 1904 1915 26-37 1414 0.0304
    26 Tino Martinez 60 1990 2005 22-37 2023 0.0297
    27 Wes Parker 36 1964 1972 24-32 1288 0.0280
    28 Adrian Gonzalez 32 2004 2012 22-30 1176 0.0272
    29 Bill Skowron 45 1954 1967 23-36 1658 0.0271
    30 Wally Joyner 54 1986 2001 24-39 2033 0.0266
    31 Jeff Bagwell 55 1991 2005 23-37 2150 0.0256
    32 Elbie Fletcher 36 1934 1949 18-33 1415 0.0254
    33 Ed Konetchy 50 1907 1921 21-35 2085 0.0240
    34 Lyle Overbay 31 2001 2012 24-35 1324 0.0234
    35 Gil Hodges 48 1943 1963 19-39 2072 0.0232
    36 Lu Blue 36 1921 1933 24-36 1615 0.0223
    37 Don Mattingly 34 1982 1995 21-34 1785 0.0190
    38 Norm Cash 39 1958 1974 23-39 2089 0.0187
    39 Joe Judge 35 1915 1934 21-40 2173 0.0161
    40 Chris Chambliss 31 1971 1988 22-39 2175 0.0143

    Is Tex that much better than Donnie Baseball?  The numbers here suggest it…

    Filed under Baseball History,Greatest Fielding,Season Finders · ·

    Comments on The Greatest Fielding 1B Of All-Time Is…

    1. KPOcala
      December 7th, 2012 | 1:06 pm

      Obviously the fielding numbers for first basemen fielding is BS……Total BS.
    2. Garcia
      December 7th, 2012 | 1:36 pm

      And all I can think of is, poor Wally Pipp.
    3. #15
      December 7th, 2012 | 1:39 pm

      @ KPOcala:

      I generally agree with you on fielding stats, but to be sure, Tex’s glove (and arm in the case of spinning 3-6-3 double plays) is great and a big plus for the Yankees. I think it might be the difference in 5-10 games a year compared to say… Giambi.
    4. MJ Recanati
      December 7th, 2012 | 2:09 pm

      #15 wrote:

      I think it might be the difference in 5-10 games a year compared to say…Giambi.

      5-10 games might be overstating it because that would mean roughly 50-100 runs saved and I can’t imagine any 1B has that much of a defensive impact.

      But, yes, there’s no doubt that Teixeira’s glove has value and the improvement from Giambi to Teixeira has helped Jeter/Rodriguez and the pitching staff.
    5. Raf
      December 8th, 2012 | 11:59 am

      Mattingly ranked lower than I ever would’ve thought on both lists. Olderud higher. Never would’ve thought I’d see Teix ranked above Keith Hernandez.
    6. KPOcala
      December 8th, 2012 | 11:06 pm

      During Mattingly’s time, every announcer from every network, every writer from any respectable baseball mag, and probably book agreed that Mattingly if he wasn’t the best ever, then Keith Hernandez was the man. I mean Tino was good, Grace, Joyner, all good. But they were never mentioned as “great” first basemen. And Barton’s numbers are only through age 26. Let’s wait until he’s 36 before he get’s put on the top of the list. Again, it shows how poor first base metrics are. And for that matter, I’m not sold on any of them, really…They ARE interesting, but so is ball lightning….

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