The 25 Left Fielders With the Best Careers
March 25, 2008 by Michael Hoban · 16 Comments
Here are the 25 left fielders who had the best careers during the 20 th century (as measured by the NEWS HOF Gauge).
For a left fielder, a NEWS score of 280 is required to say that he has obvious
All numbers include the 2007 season.
Bold print = Hall of Famer
Italic = active player in 2007
CWS = Career Win Shares
CV =Core Value (sum of win shares for 10 best seasons)
NEWS = Career Value =CV+.25(CWS – CV)
| Player | Years | CWS | CV | NEWS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1.
|
Barry Bonds | 1986- |
707 | 427 | 497 |
|
2.
|
Stan Musial
|
1941-1963 | 604
|
378
|
435
|
|
3.
|
Ted Williams | 1939-1960 | 555 | 394 | 434 |
|
4.
|
Pete Rose | 1963-1986 | 547 | 307 | 367 |
|
5.
|
Rickey Henderson | 1979-2003 | 535 | 308 | 365 |
|
6.
|
Carl Yastrzemski | 1961-1983 | 488 | 286 | 337 |
|
7.
|
Gary Sheffield | 1988- | 418 | 305
|
333 |
|
8.
|
Fred Clarke | 1894-1915 | 400 | 273 | 305 |
|
9.
|
Tim Raines | 1979-2002 | 390 | 275 | 304 |
|
10.
|
Billy Williams | 1959-1976 | 374 | 279 | 303 |
|
11.
|
Al Simmons | 1924-1944 | 375 | 276 | 301 |
|
12.
|
Manny Ramirez
|
1993- | 349 | 282 | 299 |
|
13.
|
Sherry Magee | 1904-1919 | 354 | 272 | 293 |
|
14.
|
Zack Wheat | 1909-1927 | 380 | 264 | 293 |
|
15.
|
Joe Jackson | 1908-1920 | 294 | 290 | 291 |
|
16.
|
Willie Stargell | 1962-1982 | 370 | 263 | 290 |
|
17.
|
Goose Goslin | 1921-1938 | 355 | 263 | 286 |
|
18.
|
Lou Brock | 1961-1979 | 348 | 264 | 285 |
It is interesting to note that every right fielder with
Look at the number of players by era. Six of these left fielders played the bulk of their careers before 1950, ten played after 1950 and two essentially bridged the half-centurymark (Stan Musial and Ted Williams).
The NEWS Gauge suggests that Stan Musial and Ted Williams had careers that put them into a virtual dead heat for second place among the left fielders. And I think it is fair to say that many followers of the game have some difficulty with the idea that Barry Bonds may be a “better player†than Musial or Williams.Having seen all three play, I myself have trouble with that concept.
It is important to point out that the NEWS score simply indicates that Bonds has put some very impressive numbers into the record book during his career. How much of that achievement is due to the effect of natural talent and how much to chemicals is still being debated.
If Bonds does not make it into the Hall, then I feel that Gary Sheffield will not either. Despite his impressive numbers, the “steroid cloud†hangs over his career as well.
Look at how close the career numbers of Pete Rose and Rickey Henderson are according to the NEWS gauge. Is this surprising?I cannot really decide.
Tim Raines may have a hard time being elected to the Hall despite his great numbers since he was never a marquee player – just a solid and outstanding performer. He got only 24% of the vote in the 2008 BBWAA election – so his chances do not appear to be too strong at present.But he has time so we can hope that more of the writers who vote will do their homework.
And what about Sherry Magee – the real “forgotten star†among these players. How many current fans have ever even heard of the guy?He can only be elected by the Veteran’s Committee – and he was not even on the ballot for 2007.
And did you ever think that Fred Clarke was this good a player? Fred who?
Here are the numbers for the seven other left fielders who had the best careers.
| Player | CWS | CV | NEWS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
19.
|
Joe Medwick
|
312
|
267 | 278 |
|
20.
|
Jimmy Sheckard | 339 | 257 | 278 |
|
21.
|
Frank Howard | 297 | 260 | 270 |
|
22.
|
Minnie Minoso | 283 | 258 | 264 |
|
23.
|
Tommy Leach | 328 | 246 | 267 |
|
24.
|
Jose Cruz | 313 | 232 | 252 |
|
25.
|
Heinie Manush
|
285
|
236 | 248 |
Are some of these players also legitimate Hall of Famers? That, of course, is a matter of opinion.And debating issues like this is what many fans enjoy.
There are two left fielders who are in the Hall of Fame but who did not make it into the top 25.
| Player | CWS | CV | NEWS |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Ralph Kiner
|
242
|
242 | 242 |
|
Chick Hafey
|
186 | 176 | 179 |
As you can see, there are a total of four left fielders who are in the Hall of Fame who do not meet the NEWS benchmark of 280 for a left fielder: Joe Medwick, Heinie Manush, Ralph Kiner and Chick Hafey. Joe Medwick, at 278, came very close.And, of course, Ralph Kiner played for only ten seasons but he has many supporters for his place in the Hall.But Chick Hafey?How on earth did he ever get elected?
Jim Rice got 72% of the vote on the BBWAA 2008 ballot and appears to be on the verge of being elected to the Hall of Fame. He is in fact the left fielder with the 27 th best career according to the NEWS Gauge.Luis Gonzalez is just ahead of him and he is tied with Bob Johnson.
| Player | CWS | CV | NEWS |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Luis Gonzalez
|
310
|
226
|
247 |
|
Bob Johnson
|
287 | 231 | 245 |
|
Jim Rice
|
282 | 233 | 245 |
Does Jim Rice have
For more information on the NEWS
Michael, I meant to write this earlier, when you did your story on right field:
Any stat that shows that Rusty Staub was a better player than Tony Oliva has a major flaw.
BJ,
Thanks for the comment.
You have to read more carefully what a stat is really suggesting. The NEWS Gauge is NOT saying that “Staub was a better player than Oliva.” That depends on your definition of “better player.”
What the NEWS is suggesting is that Rusty Staub had a “better career” than Tony Oliva – in fact, a much better career. And I believe that is indisputable.
No, I believe it is VERY disputable. For eight years, there was no more feared hitter in the AL than Tony Oliva…not Killebrew, not Yaz, not F-Rob. Just because a guy hung around for 20 years does NOT make his “career” any better than a guy who was healthy for only eight or nine, but won three batting titles, and managed to remain effective despite legs that were completely shot for another 5.
Your NEWS Gauge weighe too heavily…FAR to heavily…on longevity. Tony Oliva was undeniably a better hitter and outfielder than many of the guys ahead of him on your list, and I’ll still take his “career” 8-year peak over ANY of the guys in front of him at that position.
The Hall of Fame should NOT be about “Hall of Long Careers”, it should be about the best players. Pure and simple. And Tony Oliva was one of the best outfielders of his time for quite a stretch…eight years.
And his peak, btw, was almost as long as Sandy Koufax’ entire career (Koufax makes the Hall on five productive years, but Oliva can’t make it on eight? What is that all about?)
With all due respect to Rusty Staub, he wouldn’t have cracked the Minnesota Twins starting lineup when he broke in, and wouldn’t have cracked it until he’d been in the league 7 or 8 years, i.e. when the Twins fell from the top of the league in the early 70’s. To say his career was better than Tony Oliva’s?
Sorry, I’m not buying it. Ever.
BJ,
You wrote “Your NEWS Gauge weighe too heavily…FAR to heavily…on longevity. Tony Oliva was undeniably a better hitter and outfielder than many of the guys ahead of him on your list, and I’ll still take his “career” 8-year peak over ANY of the guys in front of him at that position.”
The NEWS Gauge includes only 25% of win shares beyond the ten best seasons. The more common criticism of this is that I DO NOT GIVE ENOUGH CREDIT FOR LONGEVITY.
I always find it interesting when a fan argues for a “peak” of 5,6,7,8 years because this suits his player best. Oliva played for 15 seasons – some of them quite short. For his ten best, he averaged 23.4 win shares per season – quite good. But Staub averaged 25.4 for his ten best – much better. There is no comparison there – and we are NOT talking longevity.
Tony Oliva was an outstanding player for a number of years. But not enough years to have had a Hall of Fame career.
Perhaps a better “career” comparison would be with Kirby Puckett. Oliva played in 1676 games while Puckett played in 1783. Not too much difference. But Puckett’s NEWS score of 256 is significantly better than Oliva’s 237.
8 outstanding years does not make a “great career.” Just ask Don Mattingly or Dale Murphy.
“8 outstanding years does not make a “great career.†Just ask Don Mattingly or Dale Murphy.”
Then by your own admission, Sandy Koufax has no business in the Hall of Fame.
BJ,
Ah, now you want to compare apples to oranges? There is really no valid way to compare position players to pitchers.
But, since you mention Koufax. There are only five pitchers in the 20th century who pitched in fewer than 2400 innings and still attained a NEWS score of 180. All five have HOF numbers according to the NEWS Gauge. Here they are.
Addie Joss
Sandy Koufax
Hoyt Wilhelm
Goose Gossage
Dizzy Dean
With the election of Gossage, all 5 are in the Hall of Fame – where they belong.
Michael – Nice article.
One nitpick – Tommy Leach only played 74 games in LF, while he played almost 1,000 at 3B and 1,000 in CF, so he really doesn’t belong in the list of LFers.
Obviously, I have to find a better website that indicates exactly where the games in the outfield were played. Any suggestions?
baseball-reference.com splits OF games played by position.
Prof. Hoban, I was wondering where Amos Otis ranked. He represents one of the worst signings in Pirate history, but before he was completely washed up, was a pretty good player for a pretty long time.
Rock Raines for the Hall Of Fame… pass it on!
I have to add one more thing. This is the 12th comment on a post talking about a position played by Barry Bonds and Pete Rose… and it’s the first one to mention both of them.
I find that almost amazing! :)
John,
You are correct in saying that Amos Otis was a pretty good player for a pretty long time. His NEWS score is 249 which places him among the top 25 center fielders of the century. That will be my next article.
Brian,
You wrote “I have to add one more thing. This is the 12th comment on a post talking about a position played by Barry Bonds and Pete Rose… and it’s the first one to mention both of them.”
The NEWS Gauge has Bonds ranked as the #1 career by a left fielder and Rose as #4. I guess nobody has a problem with that. Can that be?
I wish, that on Pete Rose’s deathbed, I can be allowed by his bedside and ‘boo’ him just one more time.
He was, is, and ever shall be, the horse’s ass standard by which all other horse’s asses are measured.
As much as I loathe Barry Bonds, he’s still not as low as Pete in my book.
Not to say both weren’t great ballplayers, but every day that Pete is not in the HOF is another day filled with sunshine and blue skies.
Not that I’m carrying a grudge or anything… :)
Isn’t it ironic that Pete would be in the Hall if no one ever hired him as a manager?