I have a system for estimating a player’s speed.   The system is explained each year in the Baseball Handbook, pages 534-535 of the 2012 edition, so I’m not going to explain the details again.   The entire system uses six elements, but for the present study I can only use five of them.   The sixth element is defensive range, and the data base that I am using to generate the numbers here only covers offense.

                It’s good enough.    Each player’s speed is assessed on six different zero-to-ten scales, five different in the present case, and then the score for the year is the average of the six.    In this case I added another wrinkle.    I started everybody out at 5.0, and moved players away from 5.0 based on their Speed Scores and Plate Appearances.      If a first-year player only has 50 plate appearances, his "Known Speed Score" stays near 5.0.   If he has more plate appearances, we put more faith in the data.   If he’s a full-time regular, his "Known Speed Score" after each season will be based 90% or 90%+ on his data for the most recent season, but if he’s a part-time player, then his Known Speed Score for the season will be based more on his multi-year data.

                OK, who does the system say was the fastest player in the majors in, let us say, 1956?  

                If you think about it, you can see that to get that answer right requires a tremendous level of accuracy from the process.    Suppose you take the three fastest players in baseball; you decide who they are, we’ll call them A, B, and C.   Suppose the "true" speed scores for them are A--8.08, B--8.03, and C--8.01.    Suppose that our system is very, very accurate in terms of the zero to ten swing, but that it has an average error of, let’s say, .300.    Player A, who "should" be first, might be anywhere from 7.78 to 8.38, while the player who should be second could be anywhere from 7.73 to 8.33 (or worse), and the player who should be at 8.01 can be anywhere from 7.71 to 8.31 (or worse.)    That being the case, when you ask "who is the fastest player in baseball in this year?" you’re going to get the wrong answer many times more often than you get the right answer.     To get the right answer to that question, consistently, requires an extraordinary level of accuracy from the method.

                In fact, though, our system delivers the right answer, or what can credibly be argued to be the right answer, a high percentage of the time.   The system. …not trying to hype it. . ..but the Speed Scores method is remarkably accurate in most cases, unless you try to apply it based on a half-season’s data or something; then it will get a little screwy.

                The system relies on caught stealing and on grounded into double plays, data that does not exist for many seasons before 1954, so let’s start our list in 1950.   According to our system, the fastest player in baseball in 1950 was Richie Ashburn at 7.6; the slowest was Les Moss, at 2.1.

                It’s a reasonable answer.   Ashburn, who had incredible range numbers in center field, would rate even higher if we were using that element of the system. Moving forward from 1950:

 

	YEAR	Which	First	Last	Speed
	1950	Fastest	Richie	Ashburn	7.6
	1950	Slowest	Les	Moss	2.1
	1951	Fastest	Sam	Jethroe	7.8
	1951	Slowest	Les	Moss	1.6
	1952	Fastest	Sam	Jethroe	6.7
	1952	Slowest	Les	Moss	1.5
	1953	Fastest	Jim	Gilliam	7.0
	1953	Slowest	Les	Moss	1.6
	1954	Fastest	Bill	Bruton	7.5
	1954	Slowest	Les	Moss	1.6
	1955	Fastest	Bill	Bruton	7.8
	1955	Slowest	Les	Moss	1.7
	1956	Fastest	Bill	Bruton	6.9
	1956	Slowest	Les	Moss	1.6
	1957	Fastest	Bill	Bruton	7.1
	1957	Slowest	Les	Moss	1.5
	1958	Fastest	Luis	Aparicio	7.4
	1958	Slowest	Gus	Triandos	1.3
	1959	Fastest	Luis	Aparicio	7.4
	1959	Slowest	Gus	Triandos	1.4

 

                Those are all reasonable answers.   Billy Bruton was certainly known through most of his career as the fastest player in baseball, and Triandos was certainly known as the slowest.    Les Moss is before my time, but. …the system seems pretty confident in its judgment.  Moss, a catcher, stole only one base in his thirteen-year major league career, and hit only one triple over the last ten years he was in the majors.  

                On the basis of known data, we actually make Triandos at the end of his career out as the slowest player of all time, edging out Ernie Lombardi for that position.   The 1960s:

 

 

The fastest player is almost always smaller than the slowest player; I had a column in there for "weight", but I had to cut it to make room, and baseball weights are in general less reliable than the Freeh Report, anyway.   Lou Brock is listed as the fastest player of 1963, 1964, 1966 and 1967, but Zoilo Versalles is shown as faster than Brock in 1965, even though Brock had a good year in 1965 and stole 63 bases.   Some people will jump on this, arguing that if Brock was faster than Versalles in 1963, 1964, 1966 and 1967, he must have been faster than him in 1965.   But when you think about it, this is anything but true.   A million things can slow a player down a little bit—a foot injury, a toe injury, a hamstring, bad knees, a sore back, putting on ten pounds, severe fatigue, anything.   I’ve heard people refer to speed as a "constant" in baseball.    A player’s speed goes up and down over the course of the year depending on many different things.   Versalles was slowed down quite a bit in some years by what was called "lack of effort."

The 0.9 score for Triandos in 1965 and 1966 is the lowest score of all time.   The 1970s:

 

 

The fastest player is also, of course, generally younger than the slowest player.   Mickey Rivers, ten years younger than Brock, replaced Brock as the fastest player in baseball in 1975, and by the late 1970s the speed revolution was on; we had base stealers everywhere.   Willie Wilson in 1979 had a listed weight of 180 pounds; Fred Kendall, of 175—the first time that the fastest player had been larger than the slowest player.    Throughout most of baseball history the slowest player has often been a catcher, but from 1968 to 1976 this isn’t true; there are a run of years in which the slowest player is an old slugger.   And then there’s Willie Mays Aikens:

 

 

                Willie Wilson in 1980 had the highest Speed Score on record, 9.5.   Another generalization is that the slowest player almost always has more power than the fastest player.    You can guesstimate speed, then, based on age, size, defensive position and power:  if a player is young, small, a center fielder and has no power, he’s  probably fast, whereas if he is old, large, a first baseman and a power hitter, he’s probably slow.    We don’t have to do that, because we have much better information on speed, but we could approach it that way if we had to.     Since 1990 we haven’t seen many of those 9.0 speed scores:

 

 

      That’s Delino DeShields, not DeShield; I had to cut off the column to try to fit in the chart.   Is Jay Buhner an error?   Many of the "slow" guys were frankly fat.   Buhner was a trim player with a great throwing arm, not really in the mold of Cecil Fielder and Willie Mays Aikens. . .I note also that his 1.6 score is above the standard for slowest players.    The last twelve years:

 

 

          To an extent, what baseball measures is not pure speed but the ability to use one’s speed in a baseball game, the ability to make your speed play.   Peter Bourjos may be faster than Jose Reyes—some say he is—but he hasn’t shown quite the same ability to make use of his speed in a major league game.

          Over time data sets get larger and more organized.   In a few years we’ll be able to integrate into this kind of a report things like the ability to go first-to-third on a single, the ability to move up on a Wild Pitch, and the ability to score from first on a double.    That kind of information exists now but on a very limited and sporadic basis.    We can estimate speed in baseball very, very accurately without that stuff; we could do still better if we had use of more information.   That will come in time; I couldn’t have done this, what I’ve done here, five or six years ago.   One more set of charts:  The ten fastest players in baseball, 1950-2011.   There is no caught stealing data in the National League in 1950, so some of the early data might be a little off:

  

1950				1951				1952
Rank	First	Last		Rank	First	Last		Rank	First	Last
1	Richie	Ashburn		1	Sam	Jethroe		1	Sam	Jethroe
2	Bobby	Adams		2	Richie	Ashburn		2	Gil	Coan
3	Duke	Snider		3	Minnie	Minoso		3	Phil	Rizzuto
4	Sam	Jethroe		4	Lou	Klein		4	Jim	Rivera
5	Gus	Bell		5	Phil	Rizzuto		5	Pee Wee	Reese
6	Pee Wee	Reese		6	Erv	Dusak		6	Chuck	Diering
7	Eddie	Waitkus		7	Chuck	Diering		7	Erv	Dusak
8	Enos	Slaughter		8	Jackie	Robinson		8	Pete	Reiser
9	Lloyd	Merriman		9	Harry	Walker		9	Johnny	Hopp
10	Eddie	Stanky		10	Johnny	Hopp		10	Don	Lund

 

            You’ve got to admit:  Johnny Hopp is a great name for a fast player.   Harry Walker, not so much.

 

1953				1954				1955
Rank	First	Last		Rank	First	Last		Rank	First	Last
1	Jim	Gilliam		1	Bill	Bruton		1	Bill	Bruton
2	Bill	Bruton		2	Sam	Jethroe		2	Mickey	Mantle
3	Gil	Coan		3	Mickey	Mantle		3	Willie	Mays
4	Richie	Ashburn		4	Gil	Coan		4	Jim	Gilliam
5	Pee Wee	Reese		5	Jim	Busby		5	Harry	Walker
6	Jim	Rivera		6	Jim	Rivera		6	Jim	Rivera
7	Jackie	Robinson		7	Wally	Moon		7	Gil	Coan
8	Mickey	Mantle		8	Dee	Fondy		8	Johnny	Temple
9	Dee	Fondy		9	Richie	Ashburn		9	Jim	Busby
10	Hank	Thompson		10	Johnny	Temple		10	Richie	Ashburn

 

          Jim Busby—Buzz-Bee—is not a bad name for a burner.   Jethroe has a Jet in it; Ashburn has a Burn.    Don Blasingame’s nickname was "Blazer".

1956				1957				1958
Rank	First	Last		Rank	First	Last		Rank	First	Last
1	Bill	Bruton		1	Bill	Bruton		1	Luis	Aparicio
2	Jim	Rivera		2	Luis	Aparicio		2	Willie	Mays
3	Willie	Mays		3	Don	Blasingame		3	Richie	Ashburn
4	Jim	Gilliam		4	Willie	Mays		4	Jim	Rivera
5	Richie	Ashburn		5	Jim	Gilliam		5	Don	Blasingame
6	Mickey	Mantle		6	Jim	Rivera		6	Bill	Bruton
7	Gil	Coan		7	Mickey	Mantle		7	Bob	Skinner
8	Luis	Aparicio		8	Hank	Bauer		8	Jim	Gilliam
9	Minnie	Minoso		9	Chuck	Harmon		9	Jim	Landis
10	Don	Blasingame		10	Johnny	Temple		10	Dee	Fondy

 

          It is fun watching players start out near the top of the list and then fade gradually as they age.   Hank Aaron reports in one of his biographies that when he was young he had the reputation for being slow.   Somebody pointed out to him that if he would just steal a few bases people would think he was much faster, so he did; he started stealing 20, 30 bases a year when the pitcher went to sleep on him, just so people would think he was fast.    He makes the bottom of our list a couple of years:

1959				1960				1961
Rank	First	Last		Rank	First	Last		Rank	First	Last
1	Luis	Aparicio		1	Bill	Bruton		1	Maury	Wills
2	Vada	Pinson		2	Vada	Pinson		2	Jake	Wood
3	Willie	Mays		3	Luis	Aparicio		3	Luis	Aparicio
4	Jim	Rivera		4	Don	Blasingame		4	Dick	Howser
5	Tony	Taylor		5	Jim	Landis		5	Mickey	Mantle
6	Jim	Landis		6	Jim	Rivera		6	Bill	Bruton
7	Bill	White		7	Willie	Mays		7	Vada	Pinson
8	Bill	Bruton		8	Julian	Javier		8	Jim	Landis
9	Jim	Gilliam		9	Tony	Taylor		9	Marty	Keough
10	Don	Blasingame		10	Hank	Aaron		10	Hank	Aaron

 

          Last appearance for Junior Gilliam, 1959; last for Blasingame, 1960.    Mantle hangs on the list periodically until 1961; Mays—the same age as Mantle—is able to stay close to the list until 1964.

 

1962				1963				1964
Rank	First	Last		Rank	First	Last		Rank	First	Last
1	Maury	Wills		1	Lou	Brock		1	Lou	Brock
2	Jake	Wood		2	Maury	Wills		2	Willie	Davis
3	Willie	Davis		3	Luis	Aparicio		3	Maury	Wills
4	Dick	Howser		4	Jake	Wood		4	Luis	Aparicio
5	Vada	Pinson		5	Jose	Tartabull		5	Jake	Wood
6	Luis	Aparicio		6	Willie	Davis		6	Zoilo	Versalles
7	Julian	Javier		7	Vada	Pinson		7	Jose	Tartabull
8	Johnny	Callison		8	Tony	Taylor		8	Vada	Pinson
9	Lou	Brock		9	Julian	Javier		9	Bill	Bruton
10	Jose	Tartabull		10	Curt	Flood		10	Willie	Mays

 

                Billy Bruton and Willie Mays make their last appearance on the list together in 1964.

 

1965				1966				1967
Rank	First	Last		Rank	First	Last		Rank	First	Last
1	Zoilo	Versalles		1	Lou	Brock		1	Lou	Brock
2	Lou	Brock		2	Bert	Campaneris		2	Bert	Campaneris
3	Maury	Wills		3	Don	Buford		3	Joe	Morgan
4	Bert	Campaneris		4	Jose	Tartabull		4	Vada	Pinson
5	Luis	Aparicio		5	Luis	Aparicio		5	Maury	Wills
6	Joe	Morgan		6	Tommy	Harper		6	Don	Buford
7	Tommy	Harper		7	Willie	Davis		7	Tommy	Harper
8	Jose	Tartabull		8	Sonny	Jackson		8	Willie	Davis
9	Jimmy	Wynn		9	Matty	Alou		9	Jose	Tartabull
10	Willie	Davis		10	Tommie	Agee		10	Matty	Alou

 

                Having seen them play, I can tell you that Jose Tartabull was probably faster than Bert Campaneris.   Campy was very fast and a better all-around player than Tartabull; Tartabull was a little guy with no arm and no power, but he could really run.   Luis Aparicio’s last appearance on the list was 1966, although he played the better part of a decade after that. 

 

1968				1969				1970
Rank	First	Last		Rank	First	Last		Rank	First	Last
1	Lou	Brock		1	Lou	Brock		1	Bobby	Bonds
2	Bert	Campaneris		2	Bert	Campaneris		2	Willie	Davis
3	Willie	Davis		3	Cesar	Tovar		3	Cesar	Tovar
4	Joe	Morgan		4	Bobby	Bonds		4	Bert	Campaneris
5	Jose	Cardenal		5	Joe	Morgan		5	Amos	Otis
6	Cesar	Tovar		6	Willie	Davis		6	Joe	Morgan
7	Maury	Wills		7	Bobby	Tolan		7	Bobby	Tolan
8	Don	Buford		8	Maury	Wills		8	Lou	Brock
9	Vada	Pinson		9	Tommy	Harper		9	Don	Kessinger
10	Tommy	Harper		10	Horace	Clarke		10	Tommie	Agee

 

                Willie Davis—said for years to be the fastest player in baseball—never gets to #1 on the list, although he is on the list thirteen times and ranks second twice.  

1971				1972				1973
Rank	First	Last		Rank	First	Last		Rank	First	Last
1	Lou	Brock		1	Lou	Brock		1	Lou	Brock
2	Joe	Morgan		2	Joe	Morgan		2	Freddie	Patek
3	Freddie	Patek		3	Bobby	Bonds		3	Bert	Campaneris
4	Bert	Campaneris		4	Cesar	Cedeno		4	Tommy	Harper
5	Vic	Davalillo		5	Freddie	Patek		5	Garry	Maddox
6	Larry	Bowa		6	Bert	Campaneris		6	Bill	North
7	Tommy	Harper		7	Larry	Bowa		7	Bobby	Bonds
8	Ed	Stroud		8	Pat	Kelly		8	Willie	Davis
9	Roger	Metzger		9	Vic	Davalillo		9	Joe	Morgan
10	Amos	Otis		10	Dave	Nelson		10	Ralph	Garr

 

                Ralph Garr—the last great practitioner of the Baltimore chop—was called "The Road Runner"; I think the Braves licensed the use of the nickname from Warner Brothers.   Bert Campaneris hangs on the list until 1975:

 

1974				1975				1976
Rank	First	Last		Rank	First	Last		Rank	First	Last
1	Lou	Brock		1	Mickey	Rivers		1	Mickey	Rivers
2	Larry	Bowa		2	Davey	Lopes		2	Davey	Lopes
3	Bobby	Bonds		3	Lou	Brock		3	Joe	Morgan
4	Bert	Campaneris		4	Joe	Morgan		4	Al	Bumbry
5	Mickey	Rivers		5	Larry	Bowa		5	Ken Sr.	Griffey
6	Willie	Davis		6	Amos	Otis		6	Frank	Taveras
7	Ralph	Garr		7	Garry	Maddox		7	Willie	Davis
8	Tommy	Harper		8	Bake	McBride		8	Ron	LeFlore
9	Bill	North		9	Wilbur	Howard		9	Freddie	Patek
10	Cesar	Cedeno		10	Willie	Davis		10	Bill	North

 

                Larry Bowa wasn’t that fast; he just really knew how to use what speed he had in the game.

1977				1978				1979
Rank	First	Last		Rank	First	Last		Rank	First	Last
1	Frank	Taveras		1	Omar	Moreno		1	Willie	Wilson
2	Freddie	Patek		2	Garry	Templeton		2	Omar	Moreno
3	Davey	Lopes		3	Cesar	Cedeno		3	Ron	LeFlore
4	Omar	Moreno		4	Frank	Taveras		4	Garry	Templeton
5	Cesar	Cedeno		5	Bake	McBride		5	Andre	Dawson
6	Joe	Morgan		6	Gene	Richards		6	Bake	McBride
7	Bake	McBride		7	Mickey	Rivers		7	Frank	Taveras
8	Enos	Cabell		8	George	Brett		8	Davey	Lopes
9	Garry	Maddox		9	Ron	LeFlore		9	Jerry	Royster
10	Phil	Garner		10	Jose	Cruz		10	Paul	Molitor

 

                Joe Morgan is on the list from the mid-1960s until 1977.  I think in 1979 Willie Wilson hit five inside-the-park home runs; I can’t imagine what his speed score will be when we advance far enough to integrate that information into our process. George Brett makes a brief appearance on the list as a young player (1978).   There are several of those guys who do that—Nomar pops up for one year in the 1990s, and Derek Jeter.  Robin Yount is on the list in 1980.   Not true speed merchants, but just great players who could also run pretty well when they were young.  Andre Dawson appears on the list only in 1979; Molitor is there in 1979 and 1982.   Barry Larkin is on the list only in 1995.     Johnny Callison was there one year in the 1960s.

 

1980				1981				1982
Rank	First	Last		Rank	First	Last		Rank	First	Last
1	Willie	Wilson		1	Omar	Moreno		1	Willie	Wilson
2	Ron	LeFlore		2	Willie	Wilson		2	Mookie	Wilson
3	Omar	Moreno		3	Ron	LeFlore		3	Omar	Moreno
4	Rodney	Scott		4	Rickey	Henderson		4	Ron	LeFlore
5	Ken Sr.	Griffey		5	Julio	Cruz		5	Tim	Raines
6	Miguel	Dilone		6	Dave	Collins		6	Rickey	Henderson
7	Robin	Yount		7	Rodney	Scott		7	Paul	Molitor
8	Dave	Collins		8	Miguel	Dilone		8	Julio	Cruz
9	Garry	Templeton		9	Garry	Templeton		9	Lonnie	Smith
10	Al	Bumbry		10	Gene	Richards		10	Andre	Dawson

 

                Rickey Henderson, the greatest base stealer ever, is often on the list but never at the top of it, and I think that’s accurate; Rickey was fast, but it wasn’t his speed that made him what he was, but that he combined the speed with the ability to get on base twice a game.   Some guys were faster than Rickey in pure speed. 

 

1983				1984				1985
Rank	First	Last		Rank	First	Last		Rank	First	Last
1	Willie	Wilson		1	Juan	Samuel		1	Vince	Coleman
2	Rudy	Law		2	Mookie	Wilson		2	Willie	McGee
3	Tim	Raines		3	Alan	Wiggins		3	Tim	Raines
4	Omar	Moreno		4	Willie	Wilson		4	Juan	Samuel
5	Mookie	Wilson		5	Tim	Raines		5	Willie	Wilson
6	Rickey	Henderson		6	Dave	Collins		6	Rickey	Henderson
7	U.L.	Washington		7	Ryne	Sandberg		7	Gary	Redus
8	Brett	Butler		8	Brett	Butler		8	Mookie	Wilson
9	Claudell	Washington		9	Willie	McGee		9	Gary	Pettis
10	Julio	Cruz		10	Rickey	Henderson		10	Brett	Butler

 

                Juan Samuel is in a class of players with Zoilo Versalles and Jake Wood.   Not suggesting that Samuel didn’t hustle; he did.   He just had a similar skill set to Versalles.   So does Jimmy Rollins, who I guess would be the best player in the class.  Samuel becomes the 14th player to hold the #1 spot for at least one year:   Richie Ashburn, Sam Jethroe, Junior Gilliam, Billy Bruton, Luis Aparicio, Maury Wills, Lou Brock, Zoilo Versalles, Bobby Bonds, Mickey Rivers, Frank Taveras, Omar Moreno, Willie Wilson, Juan Samuel.

 

1986				1987				1988
Rank	First	Last		Rank	First	Last		Rank	First	Last
1	Vince	Coleman		1	Vince	Coleman		1	Willie	Wilson
2	Juan	Samuel		2	Willie	Wilson		2	Vince	Coleman
3	Tim	Raines		3	Gary	Redus		3	Rickey	Henderson
4	Gary	Redus		4	Tim	Raines		4	Gary	Redus
5	Rickey	Henderson		5	Eric	Davis		5	Gary	Pettis
6	Mookie	Wilson		6	Barry	Bonds		6	Brett	Butler
7	Omar	Moreno		7	Mookie	Wilson		7	Andy	Van Slyke
8	Alan	Wiggins		8	Andy	Van Slyke		8	Tim	Raines
9	Gary	Pettis		9	Milt	Thompson		9	Luis	Polonia
10	Brett	Butler		10	Lenny	Dykstra		10	Oddibe	McDowell

 

                When I was a kid I was a fan of Floyd Patterson, the boxer.    At the time it was a big deal that Patterson lost the heavyweight championship of the world and then regained it.    Patterson was—or projected himself as—sort of the opposite of Mike Tyson.   He was just kind of a shy, sweet-natured kid who happened to be quicker and stronger than almost anybody else, and somebody put boxing gloves on him and he did pretty good, but he didn’t really have the temperament of a boxer.   Later on there were a half-dozen agencies certifying different people as the heavyweight boxing champion, so there would be people who would lose a championship and then regain it or regain another one all the time.   Took all the poetry out of it. 

                Anyway, several people have lost the #1 spot and then regained it; Brock lost it and re-claimed it at least twice.   In 1963 Brock stole only 24 bases—not among the National League leaders—but still rated as the fastest player in baseball based on the other categories.

 

1989				1990				1991
Rank	First	Last		Rank	First	Last		Rank	First	Last
1	Vince	Coleman		1	Vince	Coleman		1	Vince	Coleman
2	Willie	Wilson		2	Willie	Wilson		2	Roberto	Alomar
3	Devon	White		3	Brett	Butler		3	Mike	Felder
4	Cecil	Espy		4	Cecil	Espy		4	Ray	Lankford
5	Gary	Redus		5	Otis	Nixon		5	Marquis	Grissom
6	Mike	Felder		6	Gary	Pettis		6	Devon	White
7	Dave	Martinez		7	Mike	Felder		7	Gary	Redus
8	Oddibe	McDowell		8	Gary	Redus		8	Otis	Nixon
9	Rickey	Henderson		9	Mitch	Webster		9	Gary	Pettis
10	Robby	Thompson		10	Shawon	Dunston		10	Willie	Wilson

 

                I enjoy the Cecil Espy/Mike Felder types, and being reminded of the Oddibe McDowells and Bobby Tolans who come and go so quickly, and the token white players who sneak onto the list when nobody is looking, like Robby Thompson and Phil Garner.    Willie Wilson’s last appearance—1991.

1992				1993				1994
Rank	First	Last		Rank	First	Last		Rank	First	Last
1	Vince	Coleman		1	Vince	Coleman		1	Vince	Coleman
2	Tim	Raines		2	Devon	White		2	Kenny	Lofton
3	Marquis	Grissom		3	Kenny	Lofton		3	Devon	White
4	Brady	Anderson		4	Darren	Lewis		4	Darren	Lewis
5	Devon	White		5	Lance	Johnson		5	Lance	Johnson
6	Steve	Finley		6	Delino	DeShields		6	Brett	Butler
7	Gary	Redus		7	Steve	Finley		7	Alex	Cole
8	Roberto	Alomar		8	Deion	Sanders		8	David	Hulse
9	Gary	Pettis		9	Milt	Cuyler		9	Brady	Anderson
10	Kenny	Lofton		10	Mike	Felder		10	Deion	Sanders

 

                Kenny Lofton finally de-throned Vince Coleman in 1995.   There appears to be a lot of Kenny Lofton interest in my audience; I get questions about him every week. 

 

1995				1996				1997
Rank	First	Last		Rank	First	Last		Rank	First	Last
1	Kenny	Lofton		1	Lance	Johnson		1	Delino	DeShields
2	Lance	Johnson		2	Vince	Coleman		2	Craig	Biggio
3	Vince	Coleman		3	Kenny	Lofton		3	Vince	Coleman
4	Brady	Anderson		4	Chuck	Knoblauch		4	Chuck	Knoblauch
5	Deion	Sanders		5	Tom	Goodwin		5	Deion	Sanders
6	Barry	Larkin		6	Brett	Butler		6	Tony	Womack
7	David	Hulse		7	Delino	DeShields		7	Brian L.	Hunter
8	Brett	Butler		8	Milt	Cuyler		8	Tom	Goodwin
9	Steve	Finley		9	David	Hulse		9	Lance	Johnson
10	Eric	Young		10	Alex	Cole		10	Nomar	Garciaparra

 

                I remember seeing David Hulse play in the Texas League; I remember seeing Lance Johnson play for. …I think it was Louisville.   Why would you care?    Just rolling around in the memories. . ..

1998				1999				2000
Rank	First	Last		Rank	First	Last		Rank	First	Last
1	Tony	Womack		1	Tony	Womack		1	Tony	Womack
2	Delino	DeShields		2	Brian L.	Hunter		2	Tom	Goodwin
3	Ray	Durham		3	Mike	Cameron		3	Johnny	Damon
4	Jose	Offerman		4	Kenny	Lofton		4	Cristian	Guzman
5	Kenny	Lofton		5	Tom	Goodwin		5	Brian L.	Hunter
6	Milt	Cuyler		6	Roger	Cedeno		6	Roger	Cedeno
7	Johnny	Damon		7	Ray	Durham		7	Marvin	Benard
8	Tom	Goodwin		8	Johnny	Damon		8	Pokey	Reese
9	Lance	Johnson		9	Doug	Glanville		9	Al	Martin
10	Derek	Jeter		10	Neifi	Perez		10	Doug	Glanville

 

                Johnny Damon first appears on the list in 1998, is there until 2005 (missing one or two years), and gets as high as second on the list.    Outfielders have held the #1 spot on the list about 75% of the time since 1950, but we’ve had four years of second basemen, with DeShields and Womack:

 

2001				2002				2003
Rank	First	Last		Rank	First	Last		Rank	First	Last
1	Tom	Goodwin		1	Tom	Goodwin		1	Rafael	Furcal
2	Roger	Cedeno		2	Johnny	Damon		2	Carl	Crawford
3	Jimmy	Rollins		3	Kenny	Lofton		3	Carlos	Beltran
4	Tony	Womack		4	Juan	Pierre		4	Tom	Goodwin
5	Cristian	Guzman		5	Dave	Roberts		5	Kenny	Lofton
6	Carlos	Beltran		6	Chris	Singleton		6	Ichiro	Suzuki
7	Ichiro	Suzuki		7	Carlos	Beltran		7	Dave	Roberts
8	Deion	Sanders		8	Brian L.	Hunter		8	Johnny	Damon
9	Juan	Pierre		9	Jimmy	Rollins		9	Juan	Pierre
10	Roberto	Alomar		10	Luis	Castillo		10	Alex	Sanchez

 

                Tom Goodwin was a Jose Tartabull/Rudy Law type; speed was really his only asset, so he was slow to get a chance to play, and didn’t last long.    He was 32 and 33 years old the two years that he ranked as the fastest player in baseball.   Another one of those guys is Willy Taveras.   I always liked those guys, for some reason.

 

2004				2005				2006
Rank	First	Last		Rank	First	Last		Rank	First	Last
1	Carl	Crawford		1	Jose	Reyes		1	Jose	Reyes
2	Dave	Roberts		2	Carl	Crawford		2	Carl	Crawford
3	Carlos	Beltran		3	Jimmy	Rollins		3	Dave	Roberts
4	Jimmy	Rollins		4	Chone	Figgins		4	Hanley	Ramirez
5	Scott	Podsednik		5	Juan	Pierre		5	Ichiro	Suzuki
6	Kenny	Lofton		6	Ichiro	Suzuki		6	Juan	Pierre
7	Tom	Goodwin		7	Rafael	Furcal		7	Grady	Sizemore
8	Chone	Figgins		8	Kenny	Lofton		8	Chone	Figgins
9	Rafael	Furcal		9	Dave	Roberts		9	Corey	Patterson
10	Juan	Pierre		10	Johnny	Damon		10	Jimmy	Rollins

 

                In saying that Ralph Garr was the last great practitioner of the Baltimore Chop I didn’t mean any disrespect to Juan Pierre, who I am certain has more chop hits in his career than Garr did, since he has lasted better.

 

2007				2008				2009
Rank	First	Last		Rank	First	Last		Rank	First	Last
1	Jose	Reyes		1	Dave	Roberts		1	Michael	Bourn
2	Jimmy	Rollins		2	Jose	Reyes		2	Jose	Reyes
3	Dave	Roberts		3	Jimmy	Rollins		3	Carl	Crawford
4	Curtis	Granderson		4	Carl	Crawford		4	Shane	Victorino
5	Carl	Crawford		5	Willy	Taveras		5	Jacoby	Ellsbury
6	Kaz	Matsui		6	Rickie	Weeks		6	Carlos	Gomez
7	Juan	Pierre		7	Brian	Roberts		7	Willy	Taveras
8	Chone	Figgins		8	Curtis	Granderson		8	Juan	Pierre
9	Corey	Patterson		9	Shane	Victorino		9	Rickie	Weeks
10	Hanley	Ramirez		10	Ichiro	Suzuki		10	Jimmy	Rollins

 

                Dave Roberts was really fast, and unlike most of those guys he had a sturdy frame so that he at least looked strong.    I think Jarrod Dyson is probably the fastest player in the majors right now, and he’s like that; he’s built kind of like Jerry Rice.    Dyson will pop to the top of the list in 2012 if he gets enough playing time.   Dyson’s a guy who needs for managers to stop carrying 13 pitchers; it’s hard to carry a pinch runner/defensive outfielder if you’re carrying 13 pitchers.    He doesn’t get great reads in the outfield, but he compensates really well with the legs.   Not sure why Rajai Davis hasn’t been higher on the list. . ..

2010				2011
Rank	First	Last		Rank	First	Last
1	Carl	Crawford		1	Jose	Reyes
2	Michael	Bourn		2	Michael	Bourn
3	Brett	Gardner		3	Brett	Gardner
4	Jose	Reyes		4	Shane	Victorino
5	Shane	Victorino		5	Rajai	Davis
6	Jacoby	Ellsbury		6	Will	Venable
7	Austin	Jackson		7	Cameron	Maybin
8	Willy	Taveras		8	Carl	Crawford
9	Coco	Crisp		9	Carlos	Gomez
10	Emilio	Bonifacio		10	Emilio	Bonifacio

 

 

                Thanks for reading.   Bill