Next up, we got the first corner infielder of this series, the first basemen.
If you want to check out my Top 10 catchers list, you should do so in order to know how this will work.
What does a first baseman do exactly? Well, his job to retrieve ground balls and throws from other infielders. Also, if you’re a pitcher, you do not want to mess around with one because, if you leave a pitch over the middle of the plate, they can make you pay an enormous price by hitting the ball out of the ballpark. When you talk about first basemen, these 10 fulfill all of these qualities and more. Without much further ado, let’s get into number 10 on this list.
10. Mark McGwire
Yes, a lot of his career was riddled with PEDs. But, he was part of an era that transcended the way people think about baseball today. Take for example, the 1998 Home Run Chase between him and Cubs RF Sammy Sosa. The way those two would go back and forth every game kept fans invested in baseball and left them wanting more and more every day that summer. As the story goes, McGwire would win the race with 70 HR’s and Sosa came in second with 66. Later on, both of them would test positive for performance-enhancing drugs and their careers went downhill because of it. But, as a baseball fan, you have to be in awe of how they could both capture a country and even the entire world with how they hit homers. But, let’s remember, this article isn’t about the Home Run Chase. It’s about the Top 10 first basemen from the last 6 decades. So, let’s get into his stats. He has a career average of .263, 583 HR’s, 1,414 RBI’s, .982 OPS and a 62.2 WAR. For his accolades, he has won a Rookie of the Year award, 3 Silver Sluggers, a Gold Glove award (which is surprising because he dominated the batter’s box during his career), and a World Series ring in 1989 with the Oakland Athletics.
9. Eddie Murray
If you don’t know what a switch hitter is, it’s a player who hits both left-handed and right-handed. So, in other words, if he’s facing a right-handed pitcher, for example, he bats left-handed. If he’s facing a left-handed pitcher, he bats right-handed. Some of the greatest switch-hitters of all-time that come to mind are Mickey Mantle and Chipper Jones (which I’ll highlight more as this series goes on). However, when Murray played, he was right up there with them. He has a career .287 average, 504 HR’s, 1,917 RBI’s, .836 OPS, and a 68.7 WAR. In terms of his accolades, he won a Rookie of the Year award in 1977, 3 Silver Slugger awards, 3 Gold Glove awards, a World Series ring in 1983, and went to 8 All-Star Games. And although he never won an MVP award, he was Top 5 in the voting 6 times. All of those numbers and accolades got Murray into the Hall of Fame in 2003 along with a guy I talked about in the Top 10 catchers article, Gary Carter.
8. Joey Votto
When I think of Joey Votto, I think of one word. Unorthodox. Not just because he’s from Canada (which actually has a lot of great talent in that country), but it’s because the man can get on base with ease. In 8 of his 14 seasons in the big leagues, he has an on-base percentage (OBP) of .400 or more. In 6 seasons, he walks 100 or more times. This conveys that he has an eagle eye at the plate. Let’s see how his career OBP (.419) and walks (1,217) stack up against the best of the best. He is 18th all time in OBP and 57th all time in walks. Now, I know that’s a big gap, but I’m going to still give this man his respect. So far in his 14 year career in the Majors, he has a career average of .304, 295 HR’s, 966 RBI’s, .937 OPS and a 62.1 WAR. For his accolades, he won an MVP in 2010, a Gold Glove the next year, and went to 6 All-Star Games.
7. Harmon Killebrew
Throughout the 50’s and 60’s, the style of baseball then was a preview to the style of baseball today. It was either swinging for the fences or striking out. Killebrew played a major part in that shift in eras. In fact, he spent 12 seasons in the Top 5 of HR’s, and was #1 in 6 seasons. He was also 12th all-time in HR’s with 573. Along with that, he had a career .256 average, 1,584 RBI’s, .884 OPS, and a 60.4 WAR. For his accolades, he won an MVP in 1969 and went to 13 All-Star Games. After his career, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1984 with Luis Aparicio and Don Drysdale.
6. Jim Thome
Speaking of pure power hitters, Thome is one of the people that you think of when you think of hitting homers. He is in the 600 HR club with 612. Only 9 players, including Thome, have ever reached that total. He has one of the sweetest swings ever and seems to flick a ball 500 or more feet. But, he’s not just a power hitter, he’s a clutch hitter too. If the game is tied or within a run, he has a combined 419 HR’s, 1,235 RBI’s, 1,720 hits, 333 doubles, 3,350 total bases, an average of .275 and an OPS of .940. He has a career 72.9 WAR. Even though he’s one of the best hitters ever, he is a below average defender, according to his -3 defensive runs saved. Finally, for his accolades, he went to 5 All-Star Games and a Silver Slugger in 1996. In 2018, he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2018.
5. Willie McCovey
Along with Thome, McCovey was feared by many pitchers in his era. Part of it was because of his bulky 6’4, 198 lbs frame stepping into the left-hand side of the batter’s box. But, the other part was that he could hit absolute moonshots. He hit a career 521 HR’s, which is tied for 20th all time with another first baseman on this list. He also has a career average of .270, 1,555 RBI’s, a .889 OPS, 147 OPS+, 2,211 hits, and a 64.5. For his accolades, he won a Rookie of the Year, an MVP in 1969, went to 6 All-Star Games and in one of them, he won an All-Star Game MVP. All of that is put together in a Hall of Fame induction in 1986, where he was the only one to be inducted. It must be well deserved because he was that potent of a hitter at the plate.
4. Jeff Bagwell
When he played, Bagwell had one of the most unconventional batting stances ever. In the box, he would hold a squat and move his bat around. Then, once the pitcher is about to release the ball toward the strike zone, he loads back and moves the top of his bat forward. Finally, he would unleash his lightning quick bat speed and hit long HR’s. However, his stance is just one of many great components of his game. Another component that I have to highlight here is how fast he is. Of all the first basemen on this list, Bagwell has more stolen bases then any of them, with 202. Now, let’s look at his other career stats. He had a .297 average, 449 HR’s, 1,529 RBI’s, .948 OPS, 2,314 hits, and a 79.9 WAR. For his awards and accolades, he won a Rookie of the Year award, an MVP award in 1994, a Gold Glove award, a 3x Silver Slugger award winner and a 4x All-Star. All of that was put together in an Hall of Fame induction in 2017.
3. Frank Thomas
Originally, I was going to put somebody else at this spot but I decided not to. Because that somebody is better than the “Big Hurt” at defense. But, that doesn’t take away from just how lethal he was in the batter’s box. He had one of the more atypical swings in baseball history, but it definitely got the job done. Over his career, he had a career .301 average, 521 HR’s, 495 doubles, 2,468 hits, a .974 OPS and a 73.8 WAR. For his accolades, he has won 2 MVP awards in 1993 and 1994, a Batting Title, 4 Silver Slugger awards and has gone to 5 All-Star Games. Because of his greatness, he got inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2014 with 2 of the 3 pitchers (from the same team) who took the baseball world by storm in the 90’s, Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine.
2. Miguel Cabrera
Yes, I decided to put Miggy in this spot instead of Thomas. And you can see why. Even though he started out as a third baseman, you can argue that he’s one of the greatest first basemen of all time, not just in the last several decades. In his career at first base up to this point, he has a .317 average, 227 HR’s, 795 RBI’s, 291 doubles, a .946 OPS and a 51.3 WAR. But, that’s just the half of it. He won a Triple Crown in 2012. It’s one of the rarest rewards in not just baseball history, but sports history. It’s when a player leads either the American League (AL), National League (NL) or the Majors in batting average, home runs, and RBI’s. In this case, he led the AL with an average of .330 and led the majors in HR’s (44) and RBI’s (139). What’s rare about it is that he’s one of 16 to ever accomplish that feat. He’s also the first one in 45 years to win a Triple Crown. With about a month to spare in the season, he had a .329 average, 33 HR’s and 109 RBI’s. Think about it; that’s a really good year for the average pro ballplayer. But, Miguel Cabrera did that for 5 months. Think about how legendary that is. Get this, it doesn’t stop there. Along with that Triple Crown, he’s a 2x MVP winner, 5x Silver Slugger winner, a 7x All-Star, and a 4x Batting Average Champion. Again, that’s just as a first baseman alone. He could be a 2nd or 3rd ballot Hall of Famer just based off of his first base accolades, but when you pile on those third baseman stats and accolades as well, he’s a sure-fire first ballot Hall of Famer. Even after all of that hype, there is still someone better than him at #1.
1. Albert Pujols
His nickname is “The Machine” for a reason. Now, you might not think that because of his disappointing stint with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. But, when you look at his years with the St. Louis Cardinals, that’s where “The Machine” really comes into effect. In his 11 years with the Redbirds, he was probably one of the most terrifying presences in the box. Just like I mentioned at the top, if you leave a pitch over the middle of the strike zone, he can capitalize on that opportunity. If there was one moment to describe his Cardinal tenure, it would be this. It’s Game 5 of the 2005 NLCS. He’s facing Brad Lidge, the most shutdown closer in 2004 and 2005. Lidge leaves a hanging off-speed pitch over the middle of the plate. And what does Pujols do but crush it out to left center field. But, let’s widen the lens a bit. From 2001-2011, he had a .328 average, 445 HR’s, 1,329 RBI’s, 455 doubles, 2,073 hits, a 1.307 OPS, and a 86.6 WAR. Based on those numbers alone, he’s easily one of the best Cardinals of all-time, and there are a lot of great players that came through that organization. Furthermore, he received most of his awards and accolades as a member of the Redbirds. He won a Rookie of the Year in 2001, 3 MVPs, 6 Silver Sluggers, 2 Gold Gloves, a Batting Title in 2003, an NLCS MVP, went to 10 All-Star Games, and won 2 World Series rings. To further widen the lens, he’s the active leader in games, plate appearances, at bats, runs, hits, doubles, home runs, RBI’s, walks, and total bases. Oh, and one more thing, he just passed Willie Mays for 5th on the all-time home run list. I think it’s safe to say that Pujols is one of the best hitters ever, and not just from first base!