MLB Prime 9: Greatest Second Basemen

welcome to prime 9 the countdown shows that covers the very best in baseball guaranteed to start arguments not in this episode features the ninth greatest second baseman y9 that's baseball nine players nine innings prime 9 in order to make our top 9 you had to have played at least a thousand games at second base [Applause] that would be the only reason you won't see the great Jackie Robinson mission and then there's Jeff Kent who's 351 career home runs as a second baseman leads the pack but Kent is not Superman and did not make the cuts Craig Biggio has more than 3000 hits and 600 doubles but Craig's not on this list and while Bill Mazeroski is widely considered the greatest defensive second baseman ever even he's not in this group so let's find out who did make this most exclusive club starting with number nine on crime nine before Bobby Grich became a full-time power hitting second baseman he tried his craft at a different position Bobby was a shortstop originally and we had to make room for him on the team he's thought so much of Grich that they were able to send Davey Johnson their second baseman to the Atlanta Braves and Grich really thrive which was special because of his twin abilities to get on days and it hit the power he has the eighth most walks all time among second basemen he has the ninth most homeruns this is what made Bobby Grich so very special with the bat 1981 Grich had a phenomenal year at the place he was always Braves Bobby Grich may have been underrated because it's great bad but he also won four gold gloves in an era that greats that defensive second baseman were all over the American League he's only player like actually you go on full speed with volley to his right backhand the ball been on his right leg and released the ball towards first base I never seen anything like [Music] Bobby did things that winners do he was a terrific second baseman he was fearless the most intense player or at least one of the most intense players that I ever played with Rindy Sandberg they sure handed second basemen with power and speed earned 9 Gold Gloves elected to 10 all-star teams and named the National League MVP in 1984 and what a year it was for Sandburg in 1984 MVP and a bevy of offensive stats that spoke to his all-around game it's just one of those years where I just felt real comfortable and aggressive at the plate and I got pitches to hit and I didn't miss him everyday he showed up and did something to help his team win he may get two singles and then steal two bases and put himself in the scoring position I don't ever recall seeing him have a bad game [Applause] boy was he consistent he was as well too rounded player as as I've seen there's probably a three four years section of the 80s where if he wasn't the best player in the game he was certainly in the top five well I saw he was the best second baseman ever because I think he hit four home runs off me Sandberg at his most powerful season in 1990 when he hit 40 home runs a feat that's been accomplished by only two others second baseman Davey Johnson and Rogers Hornsby I just remembered this thing is clicking that year I had a good stroke that year I didn't miss my pitch I drove all over the park and like many of the second basemen in this show Sandberg was a magician with his glove defensively the Gold Glove speak for themselves Rhino was hands wise as good as you'll see at second base and you had a sense of comfort when the ball was hit - Rhino that he was going to catch it if you could summarize ryne sandberg in two words it might be understated grace he never really did things in a way that you go you know Wow but at the end of the game you're going away Matt Sandberg was Rachel's floor he had four RBIs well yeah he made an unbelievable double play and so when he did every game when you played against him before you realize that he's in he's played 15 years he's in the Hall of Fame we would certainly love to have Ryan Sandberg and Athene for 10 years it wasn't a sighting players the kind of guy looks at ball back to watch the play [Applause] I've never seen a better play I've never seen a play like that if there was such thing as a 6-2 player Robbie Alomar would be that player because you added instincts to the 5-2 abilities that he had my priority in base when I play the game he was playing good defense he made it play and you'll say wow never seen that before but then you come the next day and that is nothing as you see the other one range up the middle range in the hole there wasn't a throw or a play that he would make people leave his feet get up throw on a dime for Burt so Alomar with the else he just got some range at second base I was in right field and he played second base well he played second base he played shortstop he played right field I had like a ten foot area where I just kept my ground right there and I let Robbie in front of me take care of everything it's no surprise that Alomar ended up with double-digit Gold Glove awards but there was so much more to his game he is the master with bat hit behind the runner you could hit in front of the runner he could drive the the ball in the gap Roberto hit 300 are better in eight full seasons tied for fifth most at his position he came up with so many big hits when I played with him it's just seemed like he always got a hit when I played against him it seemed like he always got a hit it was just always that offensive pressure and he exerted that pressure in so many ways one of just three second basemen ever with 400 steals and 200 home runs I love playing the game I love to play the game the way I was taught to play the game and play hard every day the flawless second sector of the Detroit Tigers is a ball players idea of what a ball player should be he was a smoothest fielder I've ever seen play no flair he knew hard to play the hitters and it seemed that Charlie was usually in the right place at the right time like all good good infielders are and Charlie was one of the best of them most graceful fielder in baseball at that time he was the best and he could hit he was made for that Detroit ballpark good hitting ballpark for a left hand and he would use it oh he was a good hitter never struck out a bunch and he was a line drive hitter karynda's mastery of the short stride has given him perfect balance and wonderful timing his backswing and perfect follow-through account for his line drive type of getting he was a very sharp hitter he didn't hit too many home runs but he hit what we used to call frozen ropes he had a lot of those Mariners 1929 season was off the charts and he remained a consistent force for 19 years that are not for an MVP or high Gehringer selected as the most valuable player in the American League in 1937 also ran away with top batting on it with a percentage of 371 Gehringer was a middle of the order hitter for a second baseman which was rare at the time derringer was the American League representative at second base in each of the first six all-star games from 1933 to 38 known as the mechanical man for his quiet consistency per guarantor mechanical man was perfect because he did not speak to the reporters he appeared to have no personality he was a lunch bucket guy he just went out there and gave you a 320 and 40 to 60 doubles and 100 RBIs year after year he was reliability itself he's on the field every day plays 19 seasons it was the consistency that really did it you talk about Joe Morgan and Rogers Hornsby in Eddie Collins some of the best second baseman the all-time guarantor has to be right there with those guys he was phenomenal he played on some great teams he really was the mechanical man his right crew the bat was like a wand in his hands but what he did to pitchers was no illusion I would simply say the best hitter that I ever faced period no exception the word magician instantly springs to mind to watch him with a bat in his hand with that quirky stance of his and slap singles and doubles and triples all over the ball field and to be so audacious on the base paths he was a wonder to watch [Applause] [Music] you wondered what he actually saw when he was hit you know how big did the ball look to him when Carew made his big league debut with Minnesota in the late 60s he gave immediate notice with his talent and work ethic I remember when he came out with retainer and he make the ballclub in 1967 you know was that good but he worked very hard and that devotion in prowess sent Kuro to his first of 18 straight all-star games and earning the 1967 AL Rookie of the Year award he learned to become it why the best in the in baseball Carew was certainly no slouch at second [Applause] but it was his bats that earned him legendary fame Rob could do so many different things with a bat and he was such a smooth player he was moving second base to first base and he took to that transition as quickly as anyone I've seen make that transition although he played only half his 19-year career at second Carew speed artistry with the bat enabled him to collect more batting titles than any other second sacker but one Rod Carew won seven American League batting championships hit the ball all over the ballpark and was just a great great hitter Napoleon Lodge away began his career with the National League sillies and soon everyone took notice in 1897 graduate led the league in slugging in total bases in the following year led the league in doubles RBIs he was already an established star and something that the American League very much needed when they formed and had their first season in 1901 that year not moved crosstown to Connie Mac's American League Athletics where he had a year that all but defied belief latch away has one of those seasons that when you look at it on the historical record for the first time you almost blink and turn your head and come back and make sure you saw the numbers correct he hit 426 that year he won the Triple Crown and was far and away the best player in the American League Knapp also stood out in the field in more ways than one Lashley was a huge man for a second baseman he was six foot one two hundred pounds we tend to think of largely because of his size as something of a Fantasia elephant at second base a lumbering sort but all of the contemporary reports and even his Hall of Fame plaque refer to him as the graceful Larry Lashley and played a defensive game with an air and a control and a fluidity for a big man that really caught everyone's attention lajjo I moved on to Cleveland early in the 1902 season and became so identified with him that the club came to be known as the naps as for the naps nap well with his size and overall talent he all but stood out as a giant among men Elijah was a star whether in the National League or in the newly formed American League in the first decade of the 20th century he could hit the long ball he could hit for an average he's still bases he wore the Cincinnati red uniform extremely well and he fit in our lineup as well as anybody could fit in Joe is best known for his exploits with the Big Red Machine but he broke in with Houston in 63 and didn't realize his full potential until he was traded I had played for the Astros my first seven years in the major leagues and there wasn't a lot of history with the Astros they hadn't want any championships and they didn't have anybody in the Hall of Fame so when you go to Cincinnati all of a sudden now you're on a team with you know Johnny Bench Pete Rose Tony Perez and all these great players and it's just a whole different atmosphere he was the guy that scared me the most in their lineup he was lights out I'd rather face any other guy on their team except for Joe Morgan Morgan was the spark that ignited the big red machines offense earning back-to-back MVP awards while leading the team to World Series titles in both 75 and 76 I think they are definitely the two greatest seasons ever put together by a second baseman the numbers are awesome I mean it's it's kind of crazy when you really sit down and look at the numbers he was able to produce there was no better offensive player in the National League and I suspect on all the baseball there in that run that Joe Morgan had and especially when you take not only the offensive performance but the defensive performance along with it it just made him an unbelievable combination the 5 foot 7 inch Morgan finished his Hall of Fame career with five Gold Gloves 10 all-star selections and acknowledgement is one of the best all-around players in baseball history I think Joe Morgan was the most dangerous second baseman that I ever played against no doubt about it Joe was in the league by himself to prime 9 where in this episode we're featuring the game's greatest second baseman our candidates had to have played at least 1,000 games at second and all but one of our 9 is enshrined in the Hall of Fame so who you ask are the two best second baseman of all time well we've got the answer beginning with number two confidence to my way of thinking is the most important thing confidence was something Eddie Collins never lacked they don't call you cocky for nothing every player when he goes to that plate oughta feel the pitcher can't get him out Eddie Collins could do it all hit run field throw he was a magnificent ballplayer and he played four different positions his first three seasons but by 1909 he became a fixture at second for the Philadelphia A's budding infield dynasty Collins was the star of the hundred thousand dollar infield you should learn to look at monetary value he was worth eighty thousand of the hundred Eddie found his place at second base and his quickness and ability to get in front of a baseball really held him in good stead as a second baseman and he became actually one of the best second baseman in the game Collins captured the American league's Most Valuable Player Award in 1914 and helped his a secure three World Series titles in the course of five years Collins was the prototypical player for that era he did everything well that you need to do at the top of that lineup dominant in his own way people think about dominant that's 40 50 home runs but you can dominate by being a little guy who hit four high average or by stealing bases which Collins did with alacrity leading the league four times stealing a career-high 81 in 1910 and finishing with the most thefts ever by a second baseman what a stolen base machine I mean he just was so fast so clever so skilled at stealing bases and just making things happen the final numbers in Collins Hall of Fame career speak volumes as to his offensive prowess both then and now I would argue that Eddie Collins is still the greatest second baseman baseball has ever seen you can bring up nap lash away you can bring out Joe Morgan I take any Collins but on sheer offense alone there's no denying that our top second baseman stands above the rest any way you look at it Rogers Hornsby is the greatest hitting 2nd baseman of all time the guy was a beast this is a guy who for power he ran he could fill this position he was unbelievable brash and blunt Hornsby seemed to hold the opposition in disdain some felt his unusual stance mocked pitchers from the batter's box but Hornsby had a more baseball centric reason will you explain why you stand in the extreme corner of the box rod well it gives me the advantage of stepping in and hitting the ball to any field the career of the man they called Raja blossomed with the advent of the live ball era he won seven batting titles and did so with power never seen at his position what was Hornsby's difference from all the second baseman who had gone before and those who had come after it was the extraordinary total base power considered that he is the only second baseman ever to exceed 400 total bases and he did so twice we have not seen the kind of play offensively from the second baseman that Hornsby gave us Hornsby's combination of consistency in power won him to Triple Crowns a feat matched only by Ted Williams mourns me for five consecutive years averaged over 400 it almost looks like a misprint in the record book Hornsby is the best second basement of all time but the manner in which he roared through the 20s takes him to still another level if you go back to 1920 you find that Rogers Hornsby led the National League an average on-base percentage and slugging every year for a six-year stretch he would Babe Ruth didn't dominate the lead to that extent in addition to being our top second baseman Hornsby is also one of just three players in the history of the game to get 200 hits in a season for three different teams the second to accomplish this feat was hall-of-famer Paul Molitor who had 200 hit seasons for the Brewers the Blue Jays and the twins Paul played only 400 games at second so he was ineligible for this show as for the third man surprise its Juan Pierre who banged out 200 hits with the Rockies Marlins and Cubs Juan never played a game at second he's a lefty but Pierre one of the hardest-working men in the game can always say he's in a most unique Club with Rogers and Paul and that same something that's our prime 9 what's yours

Channel: cacable7

Views: 21,422

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Id: rc76_xt1jJ8

Length: 21min 59sec (1319 seconds)

Published: Thu Apr 16 2020