• The Greatest Fielding LF Of All-Time Is…

    Posted by on December 14th, 2012 · Comments (0)

    First, start with this list -

    Rk Player Rfield From To Age G
    1 Barry Bonds 175 1986 2007 21-42 2986
    2 Luis Gonzalez 88 1990 2008 22-40 2591
    3 Carl Crawford 79 2002 2012 20-30 1396
    4 Jimmy Sheckard 71 1901 1913 22-34 1772
    5 Bernard Gilkey 68 1990 2001 23-34 1239
    6 Fred Clarke 67 1901 1915 28-42 1373
    7 Zack Wheat 54 1909 1927 21-39 2410
    8 Goose Goslin 50 1921 1938 20-37 2287
    9 Joe Medwick 45 1932 1948 20-36 1984
    10 Matty McIntyre 38 1901 1912 21-32 1072
    11 Roy White 34 1965 1979 21-35 1881
    12 Bobby Veach 30 1912 1925 24-37 1822
    13 Minnie Minoso 27 1949 1980 23-54 1835
    14 Duffy Lewis 24 1910 1921 22-33 1459
    15 Morrie Arnovich 22 1936 1946 25-35 590
    16 Ken Williams 21 1915 1929 25-39 1398
    17 Mike Greenwell 18 1985 1996 21-32 1269
    18 Bob Johnson 18 1933 1945 27-39 1863
    19 Joe Vosmik 18 1930 1944 20-34 1414
    20 Hal Lee 16 1930 1936 25-31 752
    21 Pat Duncan 11 1915 1924 21-30 727
    22 Willie Hogan 10 1911 1912 26-27 238
    23 Eric Tipton 9 1939 1945 24-30 501
    24 George Stone 9 1903 1910 26-33 848
    25 Tommy Dowd 8 1901 1901 32-32 138
    Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
    Generated 12/14/2012.

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

    Rk Player Rfield From To Age G Rfield/G
    1 Barry Bonds 175 1986 2007 21-42 2986 0.0586
    2 Tommy Dowd 8 1901 1901 32-32 138 0.0580
    3 Carl Crawford 79 2002 2012 20-30 1396 0.0566
    4 Bernard Gilkey 68 1990 2001 23-34 1239 0.0549
    5 Fred Clarke 67 1901 1915 28-42 1373 0.0488
    6 Willie Hogan 10 1911 1912 26-27 238 0.0420
    7 Jimmy Sheckard 71 1901 1913 22-34 1772 0.0401
    8 Morrie Arnovich 22 1936 1946 25-35 590 0.0373
    9 Matty McIntyre 38 1901 1912 21-32 1072 0.0354
    10 Luis Gonzalez 88 1990 2008 22-40 2591 0.0340
    11 Joe Medwick 45 1932 1948 20-36 1984 0.0227
    12 Zack Wheat 54 1909 1927 21-39 2410 0.0224
    13 Goose Goslin 50 1921 1938 20-37 2287 0.0219
    14 Hal Lee 16 1930 1936 25-31 752 0.0213
    15 Roy White 34 1965 1979 21-35 1881 0.0181
    16 Eric Tipton 9 1939 1945 24-30 501 0.0180
    17 Bobby Veach 30 1912 1925 24-37 1822 0.0165
    18 Duffy Lewis 24 1910 1921 22-33 1459 0.0164
    19 Pat Duncan 11 1915 1924 21-30 727 0.0151
    20 Ken Williams 21 1915 1929 25-39 1398 0.0150
    21 Minnie Minoso 27 1949 1980 23-54 1835 0.0147
    22 Mike Greenwell 18 1985 1996 21-32 1269 0.0142
    23 Joe Vosmik 18 1930 1944 20-34 1414 0.0127
    24 George Stone 9 1903 1910 26-33 848 0.0106
    25 Bob Johnson 18 1933 1945 27-39 1863 0.0097

    Interesting results.  I think this list tells us two things.  First, if a guy is an excellent fielding outfielder, his team is eventually going to give him more time in CF or RF than in LF.  And, second, other than a few exceptions, most times, a guy who mostly plays LF all the time is not typically a great defensive player.

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

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