As with all my All-Time Top 10 lists, this is a re-release from last January.
I made some changes and added images from statsoldier.com. If you haven’t gone over there yet, make sure to do so as soon as possible. Plenty of fun stuff to do!
For now, here is my Top 10 First Basemen of All-Time. Keep an eye out for all my Second Base rankings coming out next week.
10. Jeff Bagwell
Key Stats: .297 AVG, 449 HR, 1,529 RBI, .948 OPS, 200 SB
bWAR: 79.9
WAR7: 48.3
JAWS: 64.1
Accolades: Rookie of The Year, 1x MVP, 3x Silver Slugger, 1x Gold Glove
Why: When I did this list last year, Freddie Freeman had this spot. Over that time, I began to appreciate Bagwell’s numbers more. Since I used WAR7 and JAWS as reference numbers, it was inconsiderate of me to leave Bagwell off this list. He was receiving MVP votes into his 30s, where other players (Eddie Murray being one) dropped off after hitting the big 3-0.
9. Cap Anson
Key Stats: .334 AVG, 97 HR, 2,075 RBI
bWAR: 94.4
WAR7: 41.8
JAWS: 68.1
Defensive WAR: 5.0 (2nd all-time among 1B)
Accolades: Pioneering 19th-century star, 5 NL Pennants as player-manager
Why: Cap Anson was baseball’s first superstar. He was a manager/player and ran his team like an army. As a teetotaler myself, I admire his ban on alcohol. He is fourth in bWAR among all first basemen and one of the better defenders. He is one of two players from the early days of baseball that I have on this list, and it was actually the amount that Anson played that puts him here at #9. His career spanned 27 seasons! With 3,000 more ABs than Connor, I decided to put him at 9.
8. Roger Connor
Key Stats: .316 AVG, 138 HR, 1,323 RBI
bWAR: 84.3
WAR7: 47.0
JAWS: 65.6
Defensive WAR: 6.3 (best all-time among 1B)
Why: Connor was Babe Ruth before there was Babe Ruth. He was baseball’s home run king for 23 seasons before the Babe broke it in 1921. He also happens to have the most dWAR of any first baseman in history. He also won two National League Championships, and his counterpart Cap Anson won ZERO.
7. Johnny Mize
Key Stats: .312 AVG, 359 HR, 1,337 RBI, .959 OPS
bWAR: 70.6
WAR7: 48.4
JAWS: 59.5
Accolades: 10x All-Star, 5x World Series Champion
Note: Lost three prime years to WWII
Why: We now get into some mid-century players, starting with Johnny Mize. Mize’s numbers are slightly deflated due to losing three of his prime seasons to military service during World War II. He is 5th in WAR7 amongst first basemen and only trails Lou Gehrig in WS rings.
6. Miguel Cabrera
Key Stats: .306 AVG, 511 HR, 1,881 RBI, .901 OPS
Accolades: 2 MVPs, Triple Crown (2012), 12x All-Star, 7x Silver Slugger, 1x World Series
bWAR: 67.1
WAR7: 44.8
JAWS: 56.0
Why: I changed my list while writing and moved Miguel Cabrera back a spot. You will see a little bit of why below, but as I dug deeper, I just forgot how bad Miguel Cabrera’s drop-off was. Once he hit 34, he fell off a cliff and accumulated -2.6 bWAR over his last six seasons. In that time, he was able to crawl over 3,000 hits and 500 home runs, but it was ugly. If he were to have retired after 2016, he would have finished with a .321 BA and a .961 OPS. Alright, enough negative talk. His 2009-2013 numbers are just insane. Outside of Pujols, Bonds, Trout, and maybe Judge, it was the most remarkable stretch I have ever seen. I feel comfortable with him here, and I think most people would agree that it is a fair spot.
5. Hank Greenberg
Key Stats: .313 AVG, 331 HR, 1,276 RBI, 1.017 OPS
Accolades: 2x MVP, 2x World Series Champion, 4x All-Star
bWAR: 55.5
WAR7: 46.5
JAWS: 51.0
Note: Lost four and a half seasons to WWII
Why: Similar to Mize, WWII shortened Greenberg’s career, yet his peak performance places him firmly among the all-time greats. His two MVP awards and his ability to dominate offensively in a relatively short career speak volumes about his talent. Could you criticize this and say he doesn’t have the counting stats to be #5? Sure. But the dude was the first MLB player to sign up and go fight the Nazis. He also served longer than any other MLB player. So yeah, Jeff Bagwell can step aside.
4. Frank Thomas
Key Stats: .301 AVG, 521 HR, 1,704 RBI, .974 OPS
bWAR: 73.8
WAR7: 45.4
JAWS: 59.6
Accolades: 2 MVPs, 5x All-Star, 4x Silver Slugger
Why: The Big Hurt dominated the 1990s offensively and was one of baseball’s most consistent on-base machines. While he lacks any significant defensive number, he stands out for being a dominant power hitter in a time when most sluggers were taking something a little extra. He was serviceable until he hit 40 and then walked away from baseball. I think #4 is a more than fair spot for Thomas. I can see some people wanting Cabrera here, but again, Cabrera fell off a cliff where Thomas didn’t.
3. Jimmie Foxx
Key Stats: .325 AVG, 534 HR, 1,922 RBI, 1.038 OPS
bWAR: 101.5
WAR7: 57.9
JAWS: 75.1
Accolades: 3 MVPs, 9x All-Star, 2x World Series Champion, Triple Crown (1933)
Why: Foxx was Gehrig’s greatest rival and perhaps the only one who could match his offensive prowess. What is super interesting about Foxx is that in the three years he won MVP, he also led in the league in WAR. While that might seem ordinary today, it was not common back in the day. If you follow our main account, you will see me breaking down WAR leaders by decade, and every decade, you see fewer and fewer MVPs. Foxx is the exception.
2. Albert Pujols
Key Stats: .296 AVG, 703 HR, 2,218 RBI, .918 OPS
bWAR: 101.5
WAR7: 61.7
JAWS: 81.6
Accolades: 3 MVPs, 2x World Series Champion, 11x All-Star, 2x Gold Glove
Why: If you know me, you know my opinion on players who took steroids. So, I am simply going to drop this post below and add that Pujols was Top 3 in WAR in 04 and 03, was 2nd in MVP voting in 02, and won ROY in 01.
1. Lou Gehrig
Key Stats: .340 AVG, 493 HR, 1,995 RBI, 1.080 OPS
bWAR: 113.7
WAR7: 67.6
JAWS: 90.7
Accolades: 2 MVPs, 7x All-Star, Triple Crown (1934), 6x World Series Champion
Why: First in WAR, first in WAR7, and first in JAWS. There is no debate here.
Willie McCovey is left off this list, really?