2017-69
36. Jacques Fournier (1923-1925)
After Sisler the best first baseman in baseball was Jacques Fournier. Fournier was a Lou Gehrig type, a big, strong left-handed power hitter:
First
|
Last
|
YEAR
|
Rank
|
HR
|
RBI
|
Avg
|
OPS
|
Value
|
Jack
|
Fournier
|
1923
|
1
|
22
|
102
|
.351
|
.999
|
27.24
|
George
|
Kelly
|
1923
|
2
|
16
|
103
|
.307
|
.814
|
22.06
|
Jim
|
Bottomley
|
1923
|
3
|
8
|
94
|
.371
|
.960
|
21.31
|
Joe
|
Hauser
|
1923
|
4
|
17
|
94
|
.307
|
.873
|
20.10
|
Earl
|
Sheely
|
1923
|
5
|
4
|
88
|
.296
|
.759
|
19.49
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Jack
|
Fournier
|
1924
|
1
|
27
|
116
|
.334
|
.965
|
29.44
|
George
|
Kelly
|
1924
|
2
|
21
|
136
|
.324
|
.902
|
23.84
|
Earl
|
Sheely
|
1924
|
3
|
3
|
103
|
.320
|
.837
|
21.11
|
Joe
|
Hauser
|
1924
|
4
|
27
|
115
|
.288
|
.874
|
20.78
|
Jim
|
Bottomley
|
1924
|
5
|
14
|
111
|
.316
|
.862
|
20.47
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Jack
|
Fournier
|
1925
|
1
|
22
|
130
|
.350
|
1.015
|
26.70
|
Jim
|
Bottomley
|
1925
|
2
|
21
|
128
|
.367
|
.992
|
24.59
|
George
|
Kelly
|
1925
|
3
|
20
|
99
|
.309
|
.821
|
21.57
|
George
|
Grantham
|
1925
|
4
|
8
|
52
|
.326
|
.906
|
20.60
|
Earl
|
Sheely
|
1925
|
5
|
9
|
111
|
.315
|
.831
|
20.21
|
Fournier was a good-looking, self-confident guy who had been raised in a family of some means. In those years the Dodger players stayed during spring training two to a room in a not-very-good hotel in Clearwater, Florida, but according to Ira Smith (Baseball’s Famous First Basemen) Fournier stayed by himself in a much better hotel. He was usually seen around town with some smokescreen, an actress or a model, and he talked to reporters about running for the Senate after he was out of baseball, although I don’t think he ever did.
The other thing I always think about in re Fournier is that the White Sox may have pitched their team history into a 40-year funk by a bad decision on Fournier. Fournier was the White Sox first baseman from 1914 to 1916, and he was good for two years. In 1914, just 24 years old, Fournier hit .311 and had the highest OPS of any major league first baseman. In 1915 he hit .322, upped his OPS by almost 100 points with the aid of 18 triples, and had an OPS 87 points higher than any other major league first baseman. I have him rated as the #2 first baseman of 1915.
In 1916 he had an off season; I don’t know if he was injured or what, but he had a bad year. The White Sox sold Fournier to a Pacific Coast League team and purchased Chick Gandil from Washington to play first base for them. Gandil wasn’t the hitter than Fournier had been in 1914-1915 or would be in the 1920s, but he was a better fielder, which was the thing in that era.
In 1917 the White Sox won the pennant. The switch from Fournier to Gandil was widely praised by the press, cited as one of the key reasons the White Sox won the pennant. I think this is a superstitious interpretation of history. If A happens and then B happens, people will always write than A caused B, whether there was any actual connection or not. The White Sox moved from second in 1916 to first in 1917 primarily because Eddie Cicotte pitched 187 innings with a 1.78 ERA, second-best in the league, in 1916, but 347 innings with a 1.53 ERA, best in the league, in 1917; otherwise it was pretty much the same team.
But the switch from Fournier to Gandil led to a long term disaster. Gandil arranged the fix of the 1919 World Series; he was the guy who knew the gamblers and carried the money. So if they don’t make that switch from Fournier to Gandil in 1917, here’s what happens, maybe:
1) They win the pennant anyway in 1917,
2) Fournier has a Hall of Fame career,
3) The 1919 team doesn’t throw the World Series,
4) The 1920 team wins the American League again,
5) Some other team becomes the center of the gambling scandals, and
6) The White Sox remain an upper-echelon American League team for the next 20 years.
Fournier fought his way back to the major leagues and became the #1 first baseman in the major leagues, but he lost what should have been his best years, when he should have been the cleanup hitter on perhaps the best team in baseball.
37. The Lou Gehrig Years (1926-1938)
Lou Gehrig was the best first baseman in baseball from 1926 until 1937. These are the rankings:
First
|
Last
|
YEAR
|
Rank
|
HR
|
RBI
|
Avg
|
OPS
|
Value
|
Lou
|
Gehrig
|
1926
|
1
|
16
|
112
|
.313
|
.969
|
30.06
|
Jim
|
Bottomley
|
1926
|
2
|
19
|
120
|
.299
|
.870
|
24.35
|
George
|
Grantham
|
1926
|
3
|
8
|
70
|
.318
|
.890
|
22.52
|
George H.
|
Burns
|
1926
|
4
|
4
|
114
|
.358
|
.889
|
19.49
|
Joe
|
Judge
|
1926
|
5
|
7
|
92
|
.291
|
.808
|
19.10
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Lou
|
Gehrig
|
1927
|
1
|
47
|
175
|
.373
|
1.240
|
38.12
|
Jim
|
Bottomley
|
1927
|
2
|
19
|
124
|
.303
|
.896
|
26.05
|
Bill
|
Terry
|
1927
|
3
|
20
|
121
|
.326
|
.907
|
23.47
|
Joe
|
Judge
|
1927
|
4
|
2
|
71
|
.308
|
.783
|
18.50
|
Lu
|
Blue
|
1927
|
5
|
1
|
42
|
.260
|
.748
|
17.73
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Lou
|
Gehrig
|
1928
|
1
|
27
|
142
|
.374
|
1.115
|
39.38
|
Jim
|
Bottomley
|
1928
|
2
|
31
|
136
|
.325
|
1.030
|
26.36
|
George
|
Grantham
|
1928
|
3
|
10
|
85
|
.323
|
.894
|
24.74
|
Bill
|
Terry
|
1928
|
4
|
17
|
101
|
.326
|
.912
|
24.53
|
Del
|
Bissonette
|
1928
|
5
|
25
|
106
|
.320
|
.940
|
23.11
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Lou
|
Gehrig
|
1929
|
1
|
35
|
126
|
.300
|
1.013
|
36.15
|
Jimmie
|
Foxx
|
1929
|
2
|
33
|
117
|
.354
|
1.088
|
30.70
|
Bill
|
Terry
|
1929
|
3
|
14
|
117
|
.372
|
.941
|
26.28
|
Dale
|
Alexander
|
1929
|
4
|
25
|
137
|
.343
|
.977
|
23.47
|
Jim
|
Bottomley
|
1929
|
5
|
29
|
137
|
.314
|
.959
|
22.38
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
First
|
Last
|
YEAR
|
Rank
|
HR
|
RBI
|
Avg
|
OPS
|
Value
|
Lou
|
Gehrig
|
1930
|
1
|
41
|
174
|
.379
|
1.194
|
37.46
|
Jimmie
|
Foxx
|
1930
|
2
|
37
|
156
|
.335
|
1.066
|
32.57
|
Bill
|
Terry
|
1930
|
3
|
23
|
129
|
.401
|
1.071
|
29.62
|
Eddie
|
Morgan
|
1930
|
4
|
26
|
136
|
.349
|
1.014
|
23.86
|
Dale
|
Alexander
|
1930
|
5
|
20
|
135
|
.326
|
.878
|
19.92
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Lou
|
Gehrig
|
1931
|
1
|
46
|
184
|
.341
|
1.108
|
36.42
|
Jimmie
|
Foxx
|
1931
|
2
|
30
|
120
|
.291
|
.947
|
31.48
|
Bill
|
Terry
|
1931
|
3
|
9
|
112
|
.349
|
.926
|
29.24
|
Eddie
|
Morgan
|
1931
|
4
|
11
|
86
|
.351
|
.961
|
22.03
|
George
|
Grantham
|
1931
|
5
|
10
|
46
|
.305
|
.851
|
20.63
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Lou
|
Gehrig
|
1932
|
1
|
34
|
151
|
.349
|
1.072
|
37.57
|
Jimmie
|
Foxx
|
1932
|
2
|
58
|
169
|
.364
|
1.218
|
36.79
|
Bill
|
Terry
|
1932
|
3
|
28
|
117
|
.350
|
.962
|
29.95
|
Ripper
|
Collins
|
1932
|
4
|
21
|
91
|
.279
|
.802
|
19.32
|
Eddie
|
Morgan
|
1932
|
5
|
4
|
68
|
.293
|
.804
|
19.02
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Jimmie
|
Foxx
|
1933
|
1
|
48
|
163
|
.356
|
1.153
|
37.62
|
Lou
|
Gehrig
|
1933
|
2
|
32
|
139
|
.334
|
1.030
|
37.12
|
Bill
|
Terry
|
1933
|
3
|
6
|
58
|
.322
|
.798
|
26.50
|
Ripper
|
Collins
|
1933
|
4
|
10
|
68
|
.310
|
.816
|
21.70
|
Joe
|
Kuhel
|
1933
|
5
|
11
|
107
|
.322
|
.851
|
20.64
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
First
|
Last
|
YEAR
|
Rank
|
HR
|
RBI
|
Avg
|
OPS
|
Value
|
Lou
|
Gehrig
|
1934
|
1
|
49
|
165
|
.363
|
1.172
|
38.62
|
Jimmie
|
Foxx
|
1934
|
2
|
44
|
130
|
.334
|
1.102
|
33.77
|
Hank
|
Greenberg
|
1934
|
3
|
26
|
139
|
.339
|
1.005
|
26.81
|
Bill
|
Terry
|
1934
|
4
|
8
|
83
|
.354
|
.878
|
26.28
|
Ripper
|
Collins
|
1934
|
5
|
35
|
128
|
.333
|
1.008
|
25.25
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Lou
|
Gehrig
|
1935
|
1
|
30
|
119
|
.329
|
1.049
|
36.43
|
Jimmie
|
Foxx
|
1935
|
2
|
36
|
115
|
.346
|
1.096
|
30.48
|
Hank
|
Greenberg
|
1935
|
3
|
36
|
170
|
.328
|
1.039
|
29.53
|
Ripper
|
Collins
|
1935
|
4
|
23
|
122
|
.313
|
.915
|
23.44
|
Zeke
|
Bonura
|
1935
|
5
|
21
|
92
|
.295
|
.849
|
22.63
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Lou
|
Gehrig
|
1936
|
1
|
49
|
152
|
.354
|
1.174
|
36.12
|
Jimmie
|
Foxx
|
1936
|
2
|
41
|
143
|
.338
|
1.071
|
27.52
|
Johnny
|
Mize
|
1936
|
3
|
19
|
93
|
.329
|
.979
|
25.22
|
Zeke
|
Bonura
|
1936
|
4
|
12
|
138
|
.330
|
.908
|
24.31
|
Hal
|
Trosky
|
1936
|
5
|
42
|
162
|
.343
|
1.026
|
21.56
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Lou
|
Gehrig
|
1937
|
1
|
37
|
159
|
.351
|
1.116
|
32.47
|
Johnny
|
Mize
|
1937
|
2
|
25
|
113
|
.364
|
1.021
|
31.26
|
Hank
|
Greenberg
|
1937
|
3
|
40
|
183
|
.337
|
1.105
|
30.16
|
Jimmie
|
Foxx
|
1937
|
4
|
36
|
127
|
.285
|
.929
|
27.01
|
Dolph
|
Camilli
|
1937
|
5
|
27
|
80
|
.339
|
1.034
|
24.92
|
Jimmie Foxx in ’38 hit 50 homers and drove in 175 runs:
First
|
Last
|
YEAR
|
Rank
|
HR
|
RBI
|
Avg
|
OPS
|
Value
|
Jimmie
|
Foxx
|
1938
|
1
|
50
|
175
|
.349
|
1.166
|
30.92
|
Hank
|
Greenberg
|
1938
|
2
|
58
|
146
|
.315
|
1.122
|
30.86
|
Johnny
|
Mize
|
1938
|
3
|
27
|
102
|
.337
|
1.036
|
30.74
|
Dolph
|
Camilli
|
1938
|
4
|
24
|
100
|
.251
|
.879
|
26.00
|
Hal
|
Trosky
|
1938
|
5
|
19
|
110
|
.334
|
.948
|
25.08
|
38. Summarizing the Greatest First Basemen from 1900 to 1938
Lou Gehrig was clearly the greatest first baseman of this era. The chart below has Hall of Famers highlighted in blue and bold face, as we have done before. The totals for Beckley, Tenney, and Hickman include seasons before 1900. Mize, Greenberg, and Frank McCormick were still in mid-career in 1938, so we left them out of the chart below, but included Foxx’s values post-1938 because he was nearer the end of his career:
Rank
|
First
|
Last
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
YOPDI
|
From
|
To
|
1
|
Lou
|
Gehrig
|
11
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
117
|
1923
|
1939
|
2
|
Jimmie
|
Foxx
|
2
|
9
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
90
|
1925
|
1945
|
3
|
George
|
Sisler
|
6
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
67
|
1915
|
1930
|
4
|
Frank
|
Chance
|
6
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
62
|
1898
|
1914
|
5
|
Harry
|
Davis
|
0
|
7
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
50
|
1895
|
1917
|
6
|
Hal
|
Chase
|
3
|
1
|
2
|
0
|
3
|
48
|
1905
|
1919
|
7
|
Jack
|
Fournier
|
3
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
45
|
1912
|
1927
|
8
|
Jim
|
Bottomley
|
0
|
4
|
1
|
0
|
2
|
34
|
1922
|
1937
|
9
|
Ed
|
Konetchy
|
1
|
2
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
31
|
1907
|
1921
|
10
|
Bill
|
Terry
|
0
|
0
|
6
|
2
|
0
|
28
|
1923
|
1936
|
11
|
Wally
|
Pipp
|
0
|
1
|
4
|
2
|
0
|
27
|
1913
|
1928
|
12
|
George
|
Kelly
|
0
|
2
|
1
|
2
|
0
|
22
|
1915
|
1932
|
13
|
Joe
|
Judge
|
0
|
2
|
0
|
1
|
3
|
19
|
1915
|
1934
|
13
|
Fred
|
Merkle
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
4
|
1
|
19
|
1907
|
1926
|
15
|
Stuffy
|
McInnis
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
18
|
1909
|
1927
|
16
|
Dots
|
Miller
|
0
|
1
|
2
|
0
|
1
|
16
|
1909
|
1921
|
16
|
Jake
|
Stahl
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
15
|
1903
|
1913
|
18
|
Doc
|
Hoblitzell
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
14
|
1908
|
1918
|
19
|
Fred
|
Tenney
|
4
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
12
|
1894
|
1911
|
20
|
Vic
|
Saier
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
11
|
1911
|
1919
|
21
|
Jake
|
Beckley
|
0
|
2
|
4
|
1
|
3
|
10
|
1888
|
1907
|
21
|
Jake
|
Daubert
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
2
|
2
|
10
|
1910
|
1924
|
21
|
Charlie
|
Hickman
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
1
|
1
|
10
|
1897
|
1908
|
Charlie Hickman is the player identified in some old Encyclopedias as "Piano Legs" Hickman. As was true in the other groups, the YOPDI score matches up very well with Hall of Fame selection, but in this group the Hall of Fame line is drawn more at 60 points than at 80. In the hit-or-miss group. . .well, in the "hit" portion of the hit-or-miss group we have four players: Jim Bottomley, Bill Terry, Jack Beckley and George Kelly.
One can certainly make an argument, with regard to Bill Terry and perhaps to Bottomley, that this method is not fair to them because they happened to be competing in an exceptional group of players. Bill Terry is being compared head to head to Lou Gehrig and Jimmie Foxx and Hank Greenberg. It is hardly an ordinary collection of first basemen. It’s an extraordinary case.
OK, not arguing the point. Bottomley’s best seasons are mostly before Gehrig and Foxx, so it is harder to make that case for him. If I was selecting a new Hall of Fame, I certainly could do without Bottomley, and possibly without Bill Terry as well, although Terry was an exceptionally good player.
Beckley was not a truly dominant player, but he has a different argument; he was very good for a long period of time. He got almost to 3,000 career hits. It’s a different case. And George Kelly. . .well, as I have said before, I just think his was an absurd selection. George Kelly was not anywhere near being a Hall of Fame player, and he does not belong in the Hall of Fame.
There is actually a flaw on this list, which I will acknowledge now and deal with at more length later, which is that "Boots" Grantham was excluded from the list, since I had him marked as a career second baseman. He actually should be on the list above. . .will explain later.
In terms of peak value, these are the highest Peak Values among first basemen from 1900 to 1938:
Rank
|
First
|
Last
|
YEAR
|
Peak
|
|
Rank
|
First
|
Last
|
YEAR
|
Peak
|
1
|
Lou
|
Gehrig
|
1928
|
39.38
|
|
26
|
Ray
|
Grimes
|
1922
|
23.37
|
2
|
Jimmie
|
Foxx
|
1933
|
37.62
|
|
27
|
Jake
|
Stahl
|
1909
|
23.28
|
3
|
Frank
|
Chance
|
1906
|
32.69
|
|
28
|
Del
|
Bissonette
|
1928
|
23.11
|
4
|
Johnny
|
Mize
|
1937
|
31.26
|
|
29
|
Vic
|
Saier
|
1914
|
22.98
|
5
|
Hank
|
Greenberg
|
1938
|
30.86
|
|
30
|
Dots
|
Miller
|
1913
|
22.97
|
6
|
George
|
Sisler
|
1920
|
30.34
|
|
31
|
Fred
|
Tenney
|
1902
|
22.67
|
7
|
Bill
|
Terry
|
1932
|
29.95
|
|
32
|
Wally
|
Pipp
|
1916
|
22.18
|
8
|
Jack
|
Fournier
|
1924
|
29.44
|
|
33
|
Dan
|
McGann
|
1905
|
22.00
|
9
|
Harry
|
Davis
|
1906
|
28.79
|
|
34
|
Joe
|
Judge
|
1920
|
21.99
|
10
|
Jim
|
Bottomley
|
1928
|
26.36
|
|
35
|
Fred
|
Luderus
|
1913
|
21.43
|
11
|
Dolph
|
Camilli
|
1938
|
26.00
|
|
36
|
Earl
|
Sheely
|
1924
|
21.11
|
12
|
Hal
|
Chase
|
1915
|
25.72
|
|
37
|
Gus
|
Suhr
|
1936
|
20.88
|
13
|
Ed
|
Konetchy
|
1910
|
25.64
|
|
38
|
Lew
|
Fonseca
|
1929
|
20.81
|
14
|
Ripper
|
Collins
|
1934
|
25.25
|
|
39
|
Joe
|
Hauser
|
1924
|
20.78
|
15
|
Hal
|
Trosky
|
1938
|
25.08
|
|
40
|
Jake
|
Beckley
|
1900
|
20.73
|
16
|
Fred
|
Merkle
|
1912
|
25.04
|
|
41
|
Joe
|
Harris
|
1923
|
20.66
|
17
|
Stuffy
|
McInnis
|
1912
|
24.67
|
|
42
|
Joe
|
Kuhel
|
1933
|
20.64
|
18
|
Zeke
|
Bonura
|
1936
|
24.31
|
|
43
|
Chick
|
Gandil
|
1913
|
20.55
|
19
|
Charlie
|
Hickman
|
1903
|
23.97
|
|
44
|
Tim
|
Jordan
|
1906
|
20.39
|
20
|
Eddie
|
Morgan
|
1930
|
23.86
|
|
45
|
George H.
|
Burns
|
1918
|
20.31
|
21
|
Doc
|
Hoblitzell
|
1911
|
23.85
|
|
46
|
Jim
|
Nealon
|
1906
|
20.24
|
22
|
George
|
Kelly
|
1924
|
23.84
|
|
47
|
Kitty
|
Bransfield
|
1908
|
20.24
|
23
|
Jake
|
Daubert
|
1915
|
23.79
|
|
48
|
John
|
Anderson
|
1905
|
20.22
|
24
|
Babe
|
Borton
|
1915
|
23.49
|
|
49
|
Jiggs
|
Donahue
|
1905
|
20.00
|
25
|
Dale
|
Alexander
|
1929
|
23.47
|
|
50
|
Claude
|
Rossman
|
1908
|
20.00
|
In this group, an automatic Hall of Fame selection requires a Peak Value of around 30. Below that, Hall of Fame selection is a matter of either luck, or of having something else to tilt the vote in your direction.
39. The Mize-Musial-Hodges-Musial Era (1939-1958)
Basically, from 1938 to 1958, the #1 first baseman in baseball is either Johnny Mize, Stan Musial or Gil Hodges. The count actually is seven years as #1 for Musial, five years for Mize, four for Hodges, and one each for Phil Cavaretta and Augie Galan (during World War II), and one each for Mickey Vernon and Ted Kluszewski. Musial switches between the outfield and first base. When he is in the outfield he ranks first at his outfield spot, or maybe second behind Ted Williams; when he is at first base he ranks first at first.
First
|
Last
|
YEAR
|
Rank
|
HR
|
RBI
|
Avg
|
OPS
|
Value
|
Johnny
|
Mize
|
1939
|
1
|
28
|
108
|
.349
|
1.070
|
32.12
|
Jimmie
|
Foxx
|
1939
|
2
|
35
|
105
|
.360
|
1.158
|
30.29
|
Hank
|
Greenberg
|
1939
|
3
|
33
|
112
|
.312
|
1.042
|
27.68
|
Dolph
|
Camilli
|
1939
|
4
|
26
|
104
|
.290
|
.933
|
27.21
|
Hal
|
Trosky
|
1939
|
5
|
25
|
104
|
.335
|
.994
|
25.27
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Johnny
|
Mize
|
1940
|
1
|
43
|
137
|
.314
|
1.039
|
31.94
|
Dolph
|
Camilli
|
1940
|
2
|
23
|
96
|
.287
|
.926
|
27.08
|
Jimmie
|
Foxx
|
1940
|
3
|
36
|
119
|
.297
|
.993
|
25.15
|
Hal
|
Trosky
|
1940
|
4
|
25
|
93
|
.295
|
.920
|
24.60
|
Frank
|
McCormick
|
1940
|
5
|
19
|
127
|
.309
|
.850
|
24.01
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Johnny
|
Mize
|
1941
|
1
|
16
|
100
|
.317
|
.941
|
30.58
|
Dolph
|
Camilli
|
1941
|
2
|
34
|
120
|
.285
|
.962
|
27.66
|
Elbie
|
Fletcher
|
1941
|
3
|
11
|
74
|
.288
|
.878
|
22.20
|
Frank
|
McCormick
|
1941
|
4
|
17
|
97
|
.269
|
.740
|
21.24
|
Jimmie
|
Foxx
|
1941
|
5
|
19
|
105
|
.300
|
.917
|
19.81
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Johnny
|
Mize
|
1942
|
1
|
26
|
110
|
.305
|
.901
|
31.54
|
Dolph
|
Camilli
|
1942
|
2
|
26
|
109
|
.252
|
.843
|
25.27
|
Elbie
|
Fletcher
|
1942
|
3
|
7
|
57
|
.289
|
.810
|
21.58
|
Frank
|
McCormick
|
1942
|
4
|
13
|
89
|
.277
|
.721
|
20.29
|
Mickey
|
Vernon
|
1942
|
5
|
9
|
86
|
.271
|
.725
|
20.21
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
First
|
Last
|
YEAR
|
Rank
|
HR
|
RBI
|
Avg
|
OPS
|
Value
|
Mickey
|
Vernon
|
1943
|
1
|
7
|
70
|
.268
|
.744
|
22.46
|
Nick
|
Etten
|
1943
|
2
|
14
|
107
|
.271
|
.775
|
22.07
|
Rudy
|
York
|
1943
|
3
|
34
|
118
|
.271
|
.893
|
21.92
|
Frank
|
McCormick
|
1943
|
4
|
8
|
59
|
.303
|
.758
|
21.41
|
Elbie
|
Fletcher
|
1943
|
5
|
9
|
70
|
.283
|
.791
|
20.74
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Phil
|
Cavarretta
|
1944
|
1
|
5
|
82
|
.321
|
.841
|
24.68
|
Frank
|
McCormick
|
1944
|
2
|
20
|
102
|
.305
|
.853
|
23.96
|
Nick
|
Etten
|
1944
|
3
|
22
|
91
|
.293
|
.865
|
22.78
|
Ray
|
Sanders
|
1944
|
4
|
12
|
102
|
.295
|
.812
|
21.85
|
Rudy
|
York
|
1944
|
5
|
18
|
98
|
.276
|
.792
|
21.34
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Augie
|
Galan
|
1945
|
1
|
9
|
92
|
.307
|
.864
|
28.92
|
Phil
|
Cavarretta
|
1945
|
2
|
6
|
97
|
.355
|
.949
|
27.79
|
Nick
|
Etten
|
1945
|
3
|
18
|
111
|
.285
|
.824
|
21.11
|
Ray
|
Sanders
|
1945
|
4
|
8
|
78
|
.276
|
.760
|
19.57
|
Frank
|
McCormick
|
1945
|
5
|
10
|
81
|
.276
|
.729
|
19.16
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Stan
|
Musial
|
1946
|
1
|
16
|
103
|
.365
|
1.021
|
39.69
|
Johnny
|
Mize
|
1946
|
2
|
22
|
70
|
.337
|
1.013
|
29.65
|
Hank
|
Greenberg
|
1946
|
3
|
44
|
127
|
.277
|
.977
|
27.62
|
Mickey
|
Vernon
|
1946
|
4
|
8
|
85
|
.353
|
.910
|
25.17
|
Johnny
|
Hopp
|
1946
|
5
|
3
|
48
|
.333
|
.827
|
20.90
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
First
|
Last
|
YEAR
|
Rank
|
HR
|
RBI
|
Avg
|
OPS
|
Value
|
Stan
|
Musial
|
1947
|
1
|
19
|
95
|
.312
|
.902
|
34.27
|
Johnny
|
Mize
|
1947
|
2
|
51
|
138
|
.302
|
.998
|
29.65
|
Jackie
|
Robinson
|
1947
|
3
|
12
|
48
|
.297
|
.810
|
20.79
|
George
|
McQuinn
|
1947
|
4
|
13
|
80
|
.304
|
.832
|
20.37
|
Roy
|
Cullenbine
|
1947
|
5
|
24
|
78
|
.224
|
.823
|
18.00
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Johnny
|
Mize
|
1948
|
1
|
40
|
125
|
.289
|
.959
|
26.69
|
Ferris
|
Fain
|
1948
|
2
|
7
|
88
|
.281
|
.808
|
18.51
|
Eddie
|
Waitkus
|
1948
|
3
|
7
|
44
|
.295
|
.764
|
16.06
|
Earl
|
Torgeson
|
1948
|
4
|
10
|
67
|
.253
|
.770
|
15.66
|
Eddie
|
Robinson
|
1948
|
5
|
16
|
83
|
.254
|
.715
|
15.28
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Gil
|
Hodges
|
1949
|
1
|
23
|
115
|
.285
|
.813
|
19.34
|
Ferris
|
Fain
|
1949
|
2
|
3
|
78
|
.263
|
.754
|
19.17
|
Johnny
|
Mize
|
1949
|
3
|
19
|
64
|
.263
|
.794
|
18.75
|
Eddie
|
Robinson
|
1949
|
4
|
18
|
78
|
.294
|
.840
|
18.14
|
Mickey
|
Vernon
|
1949
|
5
|
18
|
83
|
.291
|
.801
|
17.05
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Stan
|
Musial
|
1950
|
1
|
28
|
109
|
.346
|
1.034
|
36.53
|
Earl
|
Torgeson
|
1950
|
2
|
23
|
87
|
.290
|
.885
|
26.29
|
Walt
|
Dropo
|
1950
|
3
|
34
|
144
|
.322
|
.961
|
22.69
|
Gil
|
Hodges
|
1950
|
4
|
32
|
113
|
.283
|
.875
|
22.10
|
Eddie
|
Robinson
|
1950
|
5
|
21
|
86
|
.295
|
.846
|
19.75
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
First
|
Last
|
YEAR
|
Rank
|
HR
|
RBI
|
Avg
|
OPS
|
Value
|
Gil
|
Hodges
|
1951
|
1
|
40
|
103
|
.268
|
.901
|
24.18
|
Eddie
|
Robinson
|
1951
|
2
|
29
|
117
|
.282
|
.866
|
21.69
|
Earl
|
Torgeson
|
1951
|
3
|
24
|
92
|
.263
|
.812
|
19.88
|
Mickey
|
Vernon
|
1951
|
4
|
9
|
87
|
.293
|
.781
|
19.51
|
Ferris
|
Fain
|
1951
|
5
|
6
|
57
|
.344
|
.921
|
19.45
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Gil
|
Hodges
|
1952
|
1
|
32
|
102
|
.254
|
.886
|
24.83
|
Ted
|
Kluszewski
|
1952
|
2
|
16
|
86
|
.320
|
.892
|
22.70
|
Eddie
|
Robinson
|
1952
|
3
|
22
|
104
|
.296
|
.848
|
21.38
|
Mickey
|
Vernon
|
1952
|
4
|
10
|
80
|
.251
|
.746
|
21.32
|
Ferris
|
Fain
|
1952
|
5
|
2
|
59
|
.327
|
.867
|
19.63
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Gil
|
Hodges
|
1953
|
1
|
31
|
122
|
.302
|
.943
|
25.61
|
Mickey
|
Vernon
|
1953
|
2
|
15
|
115
|
.337
|
.921
|
25.33
|
Ted
|
Kluszewski
|
1953
|
3
|
40
|
108
|
.316
|
.950
|
25.05
|
Dee
|
Fondy
|
1953
|
4
|
18
|
78
|
.309
|
.835
|
17.82
|
Joe
|
Adcock
|
1953
|
5
|
18
|
80
|
.285
|
.787
|
17.43
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ted
|
Kluszewski
|
1954
|
1
|
49
|
141
|
.326
|
1.049
|
28.86
|
Gil
|
Hodges
|
1954
|
2
|
42
|
130
|
.304
|
.952
|
26.25
|
Mickey
|
Vernon
|
1954
|
3
|
20
|
97
|
.290
|
.850
|
23.67
|
Joe
|
Adcock
|
1954
|
4
|
23
|
87
|
.308
|
.885
|
19.66
|
Dee
|
Fondy
|
1954
|
5
|
9
|
49
|
.285
|
.725
|
16.91
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
First
|
Last
|
YEAR
|
Rank
|
HR
|
RBI
|
Avg
|
OPS
|
Value
|
Stan
|
Musial
|
1955
|
1
|
33
|
108
|
.319
|
.974
|
29.20
|
Ted
|
Kluszewski
|
1955
|
2
|
47
|
113
|
.314
|
.967
|
24.53
|
Gil
|
Hodges
|
1955
|
3
|
27
|
102
|
.289
|
.877
|
23.82
|
Vic
|
Power
|
1955
|
4
|
19
|
76
|
.319
|
.859
|
21.61
|
Mickey
|
Vernon
|
1955
|
5
|
14
|
85
|
.301
|
.835
|
20.82
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Stan
|
Musial
|
1956
|
1
|
27
|
109
|
.310
|
.908
|
27.44
|
Gil
|
Hodges
|
1956
|
2
|
32
|
87
|
.265
|
.861
|
22.39
|
Ted
|
Kluszewski
|
1956
|
3
|
35
|
102
|
.302
|
.898
|
20.03
|
Joe
|
Adcock
|
1956
|
4
|
38
|
103
|
.291
|
.934
|
19.84
|
Vic
|
Wertz
|
1956
|
5
|
32
|
106
|
.264
|
.874
|
19.82
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Stan
|
Musial
|
1957
|
1
|
29
|
102
|
.351
|
1.034
|
27.43
|
Gil
|
Hodges
|
1957
|
2
|
27
|
98
|
.299
|
.877
|
21.93
|
Vic
|
Wertz
|
1957
|
3
|
28
|
105
|
.282
|
.857
|
21.19
|
Ed
|
Bouchee
|
1957
|
4
|
17
|
76
|
.293
|
.864
|
19.64
|
Dale
|
Long
|
1957
|
5
|
21
|
67
|
.298
|
.875
|
18.55
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Stan
|
Musial
|
1958
|
1
|
17
|
62
|
.337
|
.950
|
21.79
|
Orlando
|
Cepeda
|
1958
|
2
|
25
|
96
|
.312
|
.854
|
18.86
|
Vic
|
Power
|
1958
|
3
|
16
|
80
|
.312
|
.822
|
18.72
|
Gil
|
Hodges
|
1958
|
4
|
22
|
64
|
.259
|
.764
|
17.92
|
Joe
|
Cunningham
|
1958
|
5
|
12
|
57
|
.312
|
.945
|
17.85
|
In 1958 no major league first baseman drove in 100 runs—the first time that had happened since 1919.
40. The Cardinal First Basemen
The St. Louis Cardinals won 106 games in 1942, 105 games in 1943, 105 in 1944, 95 in 1945, 98 in 1946, 89 in 1947, 85 in 1948 and 96 in 1949. The Cardinals won almost 100 games a year through the 1940s, but I left out a phrase there. The Cardinals won almost 100 games a year despite having given away the best baseman in baseball. Johnny Mize was the best first baseman in baseball through most of that period, when he wasn’t in the Army. Mize was the best first baseman in baseball in 1939-1941, but after the 1941 season the Cardinals traded him to the Giants for $50,000 and three players, none of whom was really very good. Had they not done that, the Cardinals of the 1940s might have been the greatest team of all time.
The Cardinal farm system in that era was, of course, phenomenally productive, probably the greatest farm system ever. They thought they could replace Mize with another first baseman just as good, and they could, bringing up Stan Musial in 1943, but since Musial could play the outfield just as well, it begs the question of how many pennants the Cardinals might have won if they had had both Musial AND Mize, which they could have had.
From 1921 to 1970, a span of a half-century, the Cardinals had one of the best first basemen in baseball almost every year, although sometimes they had the great first baseman playing left field and some other weenie playing first. The Cardinals had Jacques Fournier at first base in 1921-22; these are not his best seasons but he does rank among the better first basemen. They Cardinals had Jim Bottomley at first in 1923, 1925, 1926, 1927, 1928, 1929 and 1930; he ranks in the top five in all of those seasons, and ranks second in several of them. They replaced Bottomley with Ripper Collins in mid-season, 1931; Collilns ranks in the top five in 1933, 1934, 1935 and 1936. Johnny Mize came up in 1936 and immediately makes the top five, so in 1936 the Cardinals actually have TWO of the top five first baseman, Mize and Collins. They will again in 1958.
Mize ranks second in 1937, third in 1938, and passes Jimmie Foxx to become the best first baseman in baseball as soon as Gehrig is gone. Mize remains the best first baseman in baseball in 1940 and 1941, is traded to New York for pretty much nothing, and is replaced by Johnny Hopp in 1943. Hopp doesn’t have quite enough pop, but he is replaced by Ray Sanders, who hits .295 with 102 RBI in 1944, ranking as the #4 first baseman in baseball in 1944 and 1945. Sanders is replaced by Stan Musial, who ranks as the best first baseman in baseball in 1946, 1947, 1950, 1955, 1956, 1957 and 1958. In 1958, again, they have two of the best first baseman in baseball, in Musial and Joe Cunningham. The Cardinals in 1959 have a lousy team, but they have three tremendous left fielder/first basemen: Musial, Bill White and Joe Cunningham. White comes into the infield and ranks among the best first basemen in 1963, 1964 and 1965.
In the late 1950s the Cardinals were a mess, couldn’t figure out what they wanted to do with their talent, but Joe Cunningham hit .318 in 1957, .312 in 1958 and .345 in 1959, with huge numbers of walks giving him on base percentages consistently near .450. The Cardinals had Musial and White, both left fielder/first basemen, so they couldn’t figure out what to do with Cunningham, and eventually they gave him away, too.
After Bill White lost a step the Cardinals traded him to Philadelphia and brought in Orlando Cepeda. Cepeda won a Most Valuable Player Award for them in 1967, and rates among the top first basemen in baseball in 1967 and 1968. In spring training, 1969, they traded Cepeda for Joe Torre; Torre drove in 101 runs and was among the best first basemen in baseball in 1969. After that season they traded for Dick Allen and put Allen at first base, sending Torre back behind home plate and then later to third base; Allen ranked as the #3 first baseman in the majors in 1970. So the Cardinals had a top-ranked first baseman from 1921 to 1970, in ten different men—Fournier, Bottomley, Collins, Mize, Sanders, Musial, Bill White, Orlando Cepeda, Joe Torre and Dick Allen, and we should also mention Joe Cunningham, who should have been a first baseman and who was a tremendous player although he never quite got the opportunity to shine.
In 1970 the Cardinals played Dick Allen half-time at first base and some at third base, although Allen’s defense at third was getting ugly by then, but they had a left-handed hitting rookie named Joe Hague, who had a very good minor league career and an excellent rookie season as an outfielder/first baseman. After the 1970 season they traded Allen to the Dodgers and went with Hague at first base. This should have worked out but didn’t. Hague stopped hitting for some reason; his only good year was his rookie year, so that ended the 50-year streak. Joe Torre moved back to first base, but wasn’t the same player anymore. The Cardinals didn’t have another good first baseman until Keith Hernandez came along at the end of the 1970s.
41. Robinson and Allison, McCovey and Cepeda, Cash and Gentile
In 1959, 1960 and 1964 the highest-ranking first basemen were drop-in first basemen, outfielders who were playing first base for a year for one reason or another. When a team has awkward-fitting pieces, somebody always gets pushed to first base, because first base is where the "give" is; teams always figure if we can’t put you anywhere else we can put you at first base. The Reds in the late 1950s had outfielders coming out of their ears; they had Gus Bell, Wally Post, Frank Robinson, Curt Flood and Vada Pinson—all good players. They traded Flood to St. Louis and moved Frank Robinson to first base for two years. It didn’t exactly work. Eventually they got a real first baseman, Gordy Coleman, platooned Post and Bell, put Pinson in center and Frank Robinson in right, and won the pennant (1961).
The Minnesota Twins had a similar problem; they had outfielders coming out of their ass. Bob Allison was a tremendous player, a 30-homer, 100-walk kind of player who was also a good baserunner and a good outfielder. In 1963 Jimmie Hall, as a rookie center fielder, hit 33 home runs, and then the next year they had Tony Oliva, who hit .323 as a rookie with 43 doubles and 32 homers. That’s three outfielders, and then they had Harmon Killebrew, who couldn’t exactly play first base but couldn’t exactly play anywhere else, either, but who had to be in the lineup because he could hit 48 homers every year, and then they had Don Mincher, too; he was a tremendous talent who never got an honest shot at playing time because of all of these other guys. In the mix of all of this Bob Allison wound up playing mostly first base in 1964 and rates as the #1 first baseman of 1964 although he wasn’t really a first baseman.
San Francisco came up with two Hall of Fame first basemen at the same time, Orlando Cepeda and Willie McCovey; one of them had to play the outfield and neither one of them could, so that was a problem. They also had way more outfielders than they could use—Willie Mays, three Alou brothers, Leon Wagner, Willie Kirkland, Jose Cardenal and others.
Norm Cash and Jim Gentile both broke into the lineup in mid-season, 1960, and played very well in 1960, then had monster years in 1961, Cash hitting .361 with 41 homers, 132 RBI and Gentile hitting .302 with 46 and 141. I have Cash rated as the number one first baseman of 1961 and second in 1962. What anyone from my generation will remember is that after his monster season in 1961 he had a horrible year in 1962, dropping 118 points in batting average from .361 to .243.
But here’s what people at the time didn’t understand, but we would now. If you focus on his three true outcomes, Cash in 1962 was the same player he was in 1961—almost exactly the same player, to an unusual extent. In 1961 he had 672 plate appearances, 124 walks, 85 strikeouts, 41 homers. In 1962 he had almost exactly the same ratios—629 plate appearances, 104 walks, 82 strikeouts, 39 homers. The only thing that REALLY happened to him between those two seasons was that he hit in phenomenally good luck in 1961, and phenomenally bad luck in 1962. A baseball fan now would understand that, but in 1962 the whole concept of a player hitting .361 one year and .243 the next when his underlying skills were the same would have seemed bizarre.
Anyway, my point is that there is really no #1 first baseman in this era, although there are mountains of talent there with Cepeda, McCovey, Cash, Gentile, Frank Robinson, Harmon Killebrew, Bob Allison and Don Mincher. There’s tremendous talent at the position, but no #1. Probably it would be more accurate to describe this as the Orlando Cepeda era than to ascribe it to any other one player.
First
|
Last
|
YEAR
|
Rank
|
HR
|
RBI
|
Avg
|
OPS
|
Value
|
Frank
|
Robinson
|
1959
|
1
|
36
|
125
|
.311
|
.975
|
25.42
|
Orlando
|
Cepeda
|
1959
|
2
|
27
|
105
|
.317
|
.878
|
22.83
|
Roy
|
Sievers
|
1959
|
3
|
21
|
49
|
.242
|
.788
|
20.49
|
Joe
|
Adcock
|
1959
|
4
|
25
|
76
|
.292
|
.874
|
18.65
|
Dick
|
Stuart
|
1959
|
5
|
27
|
78
|
.297
|
.911
|
18.09
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Frank
|
Robinson
|
1960
|
1
|
31
|
83
|
.297
|
1.002
|
27.22
|
Roy
|
Sievers
|
1960
|
2
|
28
|
93
|
.295
|
.930
|
22.25
|
Norm
|
Cash
|
1960
|
3
|
18
|
63
|
.286
|
.903
|
20.78
|
Jim
|
Gentile
|
1960
|
4
|
21
|
98
|
.292
|
.903
|
20.72
|
Bill
|
Skowron
|
1960
|
5
|
26
|
91
|
.309
|
.881
|
20.36
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Norm
|
Cash
|
1961
|
1
|
41
|
132
|
.361
|
1.148
|
33.79
|
Orlando
|
Cepeda
|
1961
|
2
|
46
|
142
|
.311
|
.970
|
28.32
|
Jim
|
Gentile
|
1961
|
3
|
46
|
141
|
.302
|
1.069
|
26.90
|
Norm
|
Siebern
|
1961
|
4
|
18
|
98
|
.296
|
.859
|
22.87
|
Dick
|
Stuart
|
1961
|
5
|
35
|
117
|
.301
|
.925
|
22.40
|
Roy
|
Sievers
|
1961
|
6
|
27
|
92
|
.295
|
.913
|
21.94
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Orlando
|
Cepeda
|
1962
|
1
|
35
|
114
|
.306
|
.865
|
27.37
|
Norm
|
Cash
|
1962
|
2
|
39
|
89
|
.243
|
.894
|
26.44
|
Norm
|
Siebern
|
1962
|
3
|
25
|
117
|
.308
|
.907
|
24.18
|
Jim
|
Gentile
|
1962
|
4
|
33
|
87
|
.251
|
.821
|
22.72
|
Bill
|
White
|
1962
|
5
|
20
|
102
|
.324
|
.868
|
22.16
|
Ron
|
Fairly
|
1962
|
6
|
14
|
71
|
.278
|
.811
|
20.04
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Orlando
|
Cepeda
|
1963
|
1
|
34
|
97
|
.316
|
.929
|
27.17
|
Norm
|
Cash
|
1963
|
2
|
26
|
79
|
.270
|
.856
|
25.03
|
Bill
|
White
|
1963
|
3
|
27
|
109
|
.304
|
.851
|
24.88
|
Dick
|
Stuart
|
1963
|
4
|
42
|
118
|
.261
|
.833
|
23.51
|
Ron
|
Fairly
|
1963
|
5
|
12
|
77
|
.271
|
.735
|
21.21
|
Jim
|
Gentile
|
1963
|
6
|
24
|
72
|
.248
|
.782
|
20.81
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Bob
|
Allison
|
1964
|
1
|
32
|
86
|
.287
|
.957
|
26.66
|
Bill
|
White
|
1964
|
2
|
21
|
102
|
.303
|
.829
|
25.30
|
Orlando
|
Cepeda
|
1964
|
3
|
31
|
97
|
.304
|
.900
|
22.96
|
Norm
|
Cash
|
1964
|
4
|
23
|
83
|
.257
|
.804
|
22.16
|
Dick
|
Stuart
|
1964
|
5
|
33
|
114
|
.279
|
.811
|
21.90
|
Ron
|
Fairly
|
1964
|
6
|
10
|
74
|
.256
|
.734
|
20.37
|
42. The Willie McCovey Era (1965-1971)
Based on 1965 performance alone, Willie McCovey would rank as the #1 first baseman in baseball, although he doesn’t make the top of the list because he had a poor year in 1964 which is weighted into his moving average. For several years after 1965 he was the best first baseman in the game, winning an MVP Award over stiff competition in 1969; a recent study showed that the 1969 NL MVP candidates were the strongest collection ever. McCovey’s 1.108 OPS in 1969 was the highest in the majors in eight years.
First
|
Last
|
YEAR
|
Rank
|
HR
|
RBI
|
Avg
|
OPS
|
Value
|
Harmon
|
Killebrew
|
1965
|
1
|
25
|
75
|
.269
|
.885
|
28.11
|
Willie
|
McCovey
|
1965
|
2
|
39
|
92
|
.276
|
.920
|
27.42
|
Norm
|
Cash
|
1965
|
3
|
30
|
82
|
.266
|
.883
|
24.38
|
Felipe
|
Alou
|
1965
|
4
|
23
|
78
|
.297
|
.819
|
23.71
|
Bill
|
White
|
1965
|
5
|
24
|
73
|
.289
|
.845
|
23.41
|
Boog
|
Powell
|
1965
|
6
|
17
|
72
|
.248
|
.754
|
22.67
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Willie
|
McCovey
|
1966
|
1
|
36
|
96
|
.295
|
.977
|
31.06
|
Felipe
|
Alou
|
1966
|
2
|
31
|
74
|
.327
|
.894
|
26.30
|
Norm
|
Cash
|
1966
|
3
|
32
|
93
|
.279
|
.829
|
24.82
|
Boog
|
Powell
|
1966
|
4
|
34
|
109
|
.287
|
.903
|
23.93
|
Donn
|
Clendenon
|
1966
|
5
|
28
|
98
|
.299
|
.878
|
22.42
|
Bill
|
White
|
1966
|
6
|
22
|
103
|
.276
|
.803
|
21.77
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Harmon
|
Killebrew
|
1967
|
1
|
44
|
113
|
.269
|
.965
|
32.63
|
Willie
|
McCovey
|
1967
|
2
|
31
|
91
|
.276
|
.913
|
30.94
|
Orlando
|
Cepeda
|
1967
|
3
|
25
|
111
|
.325
|
.923
|
27.41
|
Mickey
|
Mantle
|
1967
|
4
|
22
|
55
|
.245
|
.825
|
24.01
|
Don
|
Mincher
|
1967
|
5
|
25
|
76
|
.273
|
.854
|
23.19
|
Felipe
|
Alou
|
1967
|
6
|
15
|
43
|
.274
|
.726
|
22.86
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
First
|
Last
|
YEAR
|
Rank
|
HR
|
RBI
|
Avg
|
OPS
|
Value
|
Willie
|
McCovey
|
1968
|
1
|
36
|
105
|
.293
|
.923
|
34.83
|
Harmon
|
Killebrew
|
1968
|
2
|
17
|
40
|
.210
|
.782
|
26.03
|
Boog
|
Powell
|
1968
|
3
|
22
|
85
|
.249
|
.748
|
22.98
|
Norm
|
Cash
|
1968
|
4
|
25
|
63
|
.263
|
.816
|
21.40
|
Mickey
|
Mantle
|
1968
|
5
|
18
|
54
|
.237
|
.782
|
21.33
|
Orlando
|
Cepeda
|
1968
|
6
|
16
|
73
|
.248
|
.685
|
21.24
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Willie
|
McCovey
|
1969
|
1
|
45
|
126
|
.320
|
1.108
|
36.06
|
Dick
|
Allen
|
1969
|
2
|
32
|
89
|
.288
|
.949
|
28.54
|
Rusty
|
Staub
|
1969
|
3
|
29
|
79
|
.302
|
.952
|
27.47
|
Boog
|
Powell
|
1969
|
4
|
37
|
121
|
.304
|
.942
|
25.88
|
Joe
|
Torre
|
1969
|
5
|
18
|
101
|
.289
|
.808
|
23.99
|
Lee
|
May
|
1969
|
6
|
38
|
110
|
.278
|
.860
|
23.87
|
Norm
|
Cash
|
1969
|
7
|
22
|
74
|
.280
|
.831
|
21.67
|
Orlando
|
Cepeda
|
1969
|
8
|
22
|
88
|
.257
|
.753
|
20.28
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Willie
|
McCovey
|
1970
|
1
|
39
|
126
|
.289
|
1.056
|
31.68
|
Carl
|
Yastrzemski
|
1970
|
2
|
40
|
102
|
.329
|
1.044
|
31.29
|
Boog
|
Powell
|
1970
|
3
|
35
|
114
|
.297
|
.962
|
27.74
|
Dick
|
Allen
|
1970
|
4
|
34
|
101
|
.279
|
.937
|
26.78
|
Jim
|
Hickman
|
1970
|
5
|
32
|
115
|
.315
|
1.001
|
24.37
|
Wes
|
Parker
|
1970
|
6
|
10
|
111
|
.319
|
.850
|
23.51
|
Lee
|
May
|
1970
|
7
|
34
|
94
|
.253
|
.782
|
23.33
|
Nate
|
Colbert
|
1970
|
8
|
38
|
86
|
.259
|
.836
|
20.96
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Hank
|
Aaron
|
1971
|
1
|
47
|
118
|
.327
|
1.079
|
31.49
|
Lee
|
May
|
1971
|
2
|
39
|
98
|
.278
|
.864
|
25.08
|
Harmon
|
Killebrew
|
1971
|
3
|
28
|
119
|
.254
|
.850
|
24.34
|
Willie
|
McCovey
|
1971
|
4
|
18
|
70
|
.277
|
.876
|
23.20
|
Boog
|
Powell
|
1971
|
5
|
22
|
92
|
.256
|
.839
|
23.08
|
Nate
|
Colbert
|
1971
|
6
|
27
|
84
|
.264
|
.801
|
22.98
|
Frank
|
Howard
|
1971
|
7
|
26
|
83
|
.279
|
.840
|
22.92
|
Norm
|
Cash
|
1971
|
8
|
32
|
91
|
.283
|
.903
|
22.83
|
42. Dick Allen was great, and in the other years, somebody has to rank first.
In 1972 Dick Allen had a phenomenal season with the White Sox, winning the American League’s Most Valuable Player Award, and ranking first at the position. In 1973 Tony Perez ranks first because somebody has to; he was pretty good every year although I don’t know that he was ever actually great. In 1974 Gene Tenace ranks first despite a .211 batting average. Tenace has miscellaneous assets—110 walks, 29 homers, the A’s played in a pitcher’s park, and Tenace caught 79 games, so he was contributing more on defense than the other players rated at first base. In 1975 John Mayberry was second in the AL MVP voting, having his third and final 100-RBI season at the age of 26:
First
|
Last
|
YEAR
|
Rank
|
HR
|
RBI
|
Avg
|
OPS
|
Value
|
Dick
|
Allen
|
1972
|
1
|
37
|
113
|
.308
|
1.023
|
34.33
|
Willie
|
Stargell
|
1972
|
2
|
33
|
112
|
.293
|
.930
|
30.90
|
Tony
|
Perez
|
1972
|
3
|
21
|
90
|
.283
|
.846
|
27.53
|
Hank
|
Aaron
|
1972
|
4
|
34
|
77
|
.265
|
.904
|
25.32
|
Lee
|
May
|
1972
|
5
|
29
|
98
|
.284
|
.833
|
24.88
|
Nate
|
Colbert
|
1972
|
6
|
38
|
111
|
.250
|
.841
|
24.11
|
John
|
Mayberry
|
1972
|
7
|
25
|
100
|
.298
|
.900
|
23.75
|
George
|
Scott
|
1972
|
8
|
20
|
88
|
.266
|
.746
|
22.01
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Tony
|
Perez
|
1973
|
1
|
27
|
101
|
.314
|
.919
|
28.17
|
John
|
Mayberry
|
1973
|
2
|
26
|
100
|
.278
|
.895
|
27.37
|
Dick
|
Allen
|
1973
|
3
|
16
|
41
|
.316
|
1.006
|
25.30
|
George
|
Scott
|
1973
|
4
|
24
|
107
|
.306
|
.858
|
24.02
|
Carl
|
Yastrzemski
|
1973
|
5
|
19
|
95
|
.296
|
.870
|
23.80
|
Gene
|
Tenace
|
1973
|
6
|
24
|
84
|
.259
|
.830
|
23.14
|
Lee
|
May
|
1973
|
7
|
28
|
105
|
.270
|
.789
|
22.28
|
Willie
|
McCovey
|
1973
|
8
|
29
|
75
|
.266
|
.966
|
22.20
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Gene
|
Tenace
|
1974
|
1
|
26
|
73
|
.211
|
.778
|
24.05
|
Steve
|
Garvey
|
1974
|
2
|
21
|
111
|
.312
|
.811
|
23.63
|
Dick
|
Allen
|
1974
|
3
|
32
|
88
|
.301
|
.938
|
23.57
|
Carl
|
Yastrzemski
|
1974
|
4
|
15
|
79
|
.301
|
.859
|
23.52
|
Willie
|
McCovey
|
1974
|
5
|
22
|
63
|
.253
|
.922
|
23.05
|
John
|
Mayberry
|
1974
|
6
|
22
|
69
|
.234
|
.782
|
22.82
|
Tony
|
Perez
|
1974
|
7
|
28
|
101
|
.265
|
.791
|
22.80
|
George
|
Scott
|
1974
|
8
|
17
|
82
|
.281
|
.777
|
22.48
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
John
|
Mayberry
|
1975
|
1
|
34
|
106
|
.291
|
.963
|
25.97
|
Willie
|
Stargell
|
1975
|
2
|
22
|
90
|
.295
|
.891
|
25.94
|
Steve
|
Garvey
|
1975
|
3
|
18
|
95
|
.319
|
.827
|
24.46
|
Bob
|
Watson
|
1975
|
4
|
18
|
85
|
.324
|
.870
|
23.91
|
George
|
Scott
|
1975
|
5
|
36
|
109
|
.285
|
.857
|
23.51
|
Carl
|
Yastrzemski
|
1975
|
6
|
14
|
60
|
.269
|
.776
|
21.83
|
Joe
|
Rudi
|
1975
|
7
|
21
|
75
|
.278
|
.831
|
21.06
|
Tony
|
Perez
|
1975
|
8
|
20
|
109
|
.282
|
.816
|
20.85
|