Top 10 Third Basemen Of All Time
A Blog By Dean
I feel pretty good about this list. I don’t think there is anything too controversial that people are going to be up in arms about.
10B. Nolan Arenado
Key Stats: .285 AVG, 341 HR, 1,132 RBI, .857 OPS, 1,600+ H (as of 2024)
bWAR: 56.7
WAR7: 44.3
JAWS: 50.5
Accolades: 8× All-Star, 10× Gold Glove, 5× Silver Slugger
Why: People think Nolan Arenado fell off a cliff for some reason. That is incorrect. Falling off a cliff is when Miguel Cabrera turned 34 and went from a 6.4 bWAR player to a -0.9 bWAR player. Is Arenado a top 10 third baseman of all time if he retires today? Probably not. He ranks 21st in WAR, 13th in WAR7, and 18th in JAWS.
Look, I want to try to give current players some love where I can. If I think they can crack the Top 10 by the time they retire, I will put them here. Arenado has 10x Gold Gloves, 6x Platinum Gloves, and 5x Silver Slugger. Awards. He also has a 4.96 MVP share, which places him 5th All-Time.
You could argue for other current players: Manny Machado and Jose Ramirez. I decided to throw Arenado in here as he is a better defender than both and has been on par with them regarding hitting for his career.
10A. Frank "Home Run" Baker
Key Stats: .307 AVG, 96 HR, 987 RBI, .805 OPS, 1,838 H
bWAR: 62.8
WAR7: 46.7
JAWS: 54.7
Accolades: 4× Home Run Leader (1911–1914), 3× World Series Champion
Why: When a man named Home Run Baker can be put on a Top 10 list. You put him on that list. He was part of the first “Murderer’s Row” for the Yankees. This included Baker, Wally Pipp, Ping Bodie, and Roger Peckinpaugh.
In the years he led the league in home runs, he hit 11,10,12 and 9, respectively. Home Run Baker, indeed.
9. Ron Santo
Key Stats: .277 AVG, 342 HR, 1,331 RBI, .826 OPS, 2,254 H
bWAR: 70.5
WAR7: 53.8
JAWS: 62.2
Accolades: Hall of Fame (2012), 9× All-Star, 5× Gold Glove
Why: Santo is a player who probably never hit any milestone numbers previously required to make the Hall. However, he ranks 4th in WAR7 and 7th in JAWS. He was one of the best players in the league from 1963-1969. During these years, he was an on-base machine, leading the league four times in walks and twice in OBP.
I think Santo’s spot on this list is secured for the foreseeable future. None of the current third basemen came close to Santo's peak.
8. Paul Molitor
Key Stats: .306 AVG, 234 HR, 1,307 RBI, .817 OPS, 3,319 H
bWAR: 75.6
WAR7: 39.7
JAWS: 57.7
Accolades: Hall of Fame (2004), 7× All-Star, World Series MVP (1993)
Why: Molitor played all over the diamond, but the majority of his games took place at 3B. If it wasn’t for Robin Yount being hard-headed, we might have seen Molitor on the Top 10 SS list. Instead, we have him here. Three thousand hits and a .300 AVG would be enough to check the box but throw a WS MVP and 4x Silver Sluggers, and the pot is sweetened. Molitor has the worst WAR7 on this list by far. However, he ranks Top 10 in WAR and JAWS. Couple that with his 20 years of production, and you will make my list.
7. Chipper Jones
Key Stats: .303 AVG, 468 HR, 1,623 RBI, .930 OPS, 2,726 H
bWAR: 85.3
WAR7: 46.8
JAWS: 66.0
Accolades: Hall of Fame (2018), 8× All-Star, NL MVP (1999), 2× Silver Slugger
Why: I got a lot of flack for my placing of Chipper Jones, so I went back and looked at the numbers and made sure to reflect on them. Frankly, this is the best spot for him. He didn’t hit like Boggs or Brett, he didn’t have the power like Mathews/Beltre/Schmidt, and he didn’t have the glove of Robinson. If I asked 100 fans to rank 2-7 on this list, we would get as many variations as possible mathematically.
6. Wade Boggs
Key Stats: .328 AVG, 118 HR, 1,014 RBI, .858 OPS, 3,010 H
bWAR: 91.4
WAR7: 56.1
JAWS: 73.8
Accolades: Hall of Fame (2005), 12× All-Star, 5× AL Batting Champion, 2× Gold Glove
Why: Boggs was a hitting savant, capturing five batting titles and finishing with a career .328 average. His exceptional on-base skills and ability to spray the ball to all fields made him a perennial All-Star. Defensively, he was reliable, earning two Gold Gloves later in his career. His baseball reference is covered in bold numbers. However, he never won an MVP and could not win a World Series before being a traitor and joining the Yankees.
In terms of pure hitting, he is the best on this list.
5. George Brett
Key Stats: .305 AVG, 317 HR, 1,596 RBI, .857 OPS, 3,154 H
bWAR: 88.6
WAR7: 53.1
JAWS: 70.8
Accolades: Hall of Fame (1999), 13× All-Star, AL MVP (1980), 3× Batting Champion, World Series Champion (1985)
Why: Brett is 5th in WAR/WAR7/ and JAWS for third base. He is 6th in WAA and 3rd in MVP share with 3.69.
You can argue between him and Boggs for who was the best pure hitter, but take a second and look at George Brett’s 1980 season, where he batted .390. He leads the league in BA, OBP, SLG, and OPS. The only other MVP in the American League to do that since was Joe Mauer and Miguel Cabrera. His .390 AVG is second-best since 1941, trailing Tony Gwynn’s 1994 season, where he batted .394.
Many new-age baseball fans, like Skippsviewbrett, probably only know George Brett from the Pine Tar Game, which is a shame.
4. Adrián Beltré
Key Stats: .286 AVG, 477 HR, 1,707 RBI, .819 OPS, 3,166 H
bWAR: 93.6
WAR7: 49.3
JAWS: 71.5
Accolades: 4× All-Star, 5× Gold Glove, 4× Silver Slugger
Why: Sometimes late at night, I wonder what could have been if the Red Sox had tried to sign Adrian Beltre long-term in 2010. Beltre is one of the best players ever past the age of 30. He accumulated 52.2 bWAR from age 30-39. Now, that isn’t the 80 bWAR that Mays put up during that age span, but its pretty dang good.
3. Eddie Mathews
Key Stats: .271 AVG, 512 HR, 1,453 RBI, .885 OPS, 2,315 H
bWAR: 96.1
WAR7: 52.2
JAWS: 74.2
Accolades: Hall of Fame (1978), 12× All-Star, 2× World Series Champion
Why: Mathews was one of the best players in baseball for a decade, and then he began to fade away at the age of 31. You would think with him being ranked this high he was the best player on his team. However, for you millenial Tik Tokers who don’t know, Mathews made one of the greatest one two punches ever as he hit next to Hank Aaron. While teammates, they hit 863 home runs. This is second only to Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig.
These lists are tough, and many think just because of his 96.1 bWAR that Mathews should be ranked 2nd. However, this is not a power hitter list, it is a thirdbaseman list.
2. Brooks Robinson
Key Stats: .267 AVG, 268 HR, 1,357 RBI, .723 OPS, 2,848 H
bWAR: 78.4
WAR7: 45.8
JAWS: 62.1
Accolades: 1x AL MVP, Hall of Fame (1983), 18× All-Star, 16× Gold Glove, 2x WS, 1xWorld Series MVP (1970)
Why: I know I am going to get a lot of hate for this pick, and I already have on X. To me, Brooks Robinson is the greatest defender of all-time. You can argue that Smith has more dWAR, but Robinson’s 16 Gold Gloves is only eclipsed by Greg Maddux. There is also this idea that Robinson was a terrible hitter. While he was never a power hitter like Schmidt or Mathews, he has more hits and just as good an average as both.
Eddie Mathews was a better power hitter than Robinson. Brooks was the better third baseman and this is my Top 10 Thirdbaseman of All-Time.
1. Mike Schmidt
Key Stats: .267 AVG, 548 HR, 1,595 RBI, .908 OPS, 2,234 H
bWAR: 106.9
WAR7: 58.8
JAWS: 82.8
Accolades: Hall of Fame (1995), 3× NL MVP (1980, 1981, 1986), 12× All-Star, 10× Gold Glove, 6× Silver Slugger, World Series Champion (1980), World Series MVP (1980)
Why: Like all the positons I have covered so far, the #1 spot was undisputed. It is Mike Schmidt. He is 1st in WAR, WAR7, JAWS, MVPs, WAR/162, WAA, and HRs. For 13 years straight years, he accumulated 6.0 or more bWAR a year. All three seasons he won MVP, he also won Gold Glove and Silver Slugger. Two of those years, he led the league in WAR, which again was uncommon for the time. One of my biggest life regrets is trading away a Mike Schmidt MLB Showdown card. I will never live it down!
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Could Jose Ramirez pass Arenado?