2. Mike Schmidt was the personification of
talent at the hot corner, possessing a
combination of Eddie Mathews' power and
the Gold Glove ability of Brooks Robinson. He
had enough finesse to win ten Gold Gloves,
and his brute strength enabled him to rack up
more than 500 career home runs. He won
three Most Valuable Player Awards, including
back-to-back honors at his peak, and led the
league in homers eight times.
"I love to play baseball. I never think of
money once I put that uniform on and I never
played a game in my life that I didn't give it
100%." — Mike Schmidt

3. One of the most feared sluggers in the
National League in the 1950s, Eddie Mathews
is the only man to play for the Braves in all
three cities they called home: Boston,
Milwaukee and Atlanta. When he was traded
to the Houston Astros prior to the 1967
season, he cried. Mathews returned to
Atlanta after he retired, and managed
longtime teammate Hank Aaron when Aaron
broke Ruth’s home run record. Mathews and
Aaron own the all-time record for most career
homers as teammates.
Eddie Mathews may have been the first athlete
stricken by the "Sports Illustrated Curse." After
appearing on the magazine's first cover, the
slugger injured his hand and missed seven
games.

4. Line-drive hitting George Brett was "The
Franchise" for the Kansas City Royals during
most of their first twenty-five years of
existence. A line-drive hitting menace, he
seriously challenged the coveted .400 batting
mark in 1980, and collected more than 3,000
hits in his career. He was one of the greatest
post-season performers in baseball history
and the first Royal inducted into the Hall of
Fame.
After George Brett lined a single for his 3,000th
career hit, he was picked off first base by
Angels' pitcher Tim Fortugno.
He became one of the few batters to ever drive
in more runs (118) than games played (117).
Brett led the league in batting, slugging, OBP,
OPS and Total Average in 1980, the last player
to do so in the AL.

5. Wade Boggs was a base-hit machine, racking
up 200 hits in seven consecutive seasons with
his jedi-like approach to his craft. He won five
batting titles and consistently hit 40 doubles a
year.
Boggs was part of a bizarre scenario on
September 18, 1993, when the Yankees
defeated the Red Sox, 4-3, because a fan ran
onto the field. With New York trailing, 3-1,
with two outs and a man on first in the ninth
inning, Mike Stanley hit a fly ball to left that
apparently ended the game. Umpire Tim
Welke, however, had called time when a fan
bolted onto the field, giving Stanley a second
chance. He singled on the next pitch. That
was followed by a hit by Boggs, a walk to Dion
James, and a single by Don Mattingly which
drove home the tying and winning runs.

6. It was his amazing, acrobatic fielding in the
1970 World Series that made him a superstar,
but Brooks Robinson was a Baltimore
institution for over two decades. The 16-time
Gold Glover winner played in 2,896 games,
and his 267 home runs were, at the time of
his retirement, the most by any American
League third baseman.
Royals third baseman George Brett chose
uniform #5 to honor Brooks Robinson, one of
his boyhood heroes.
Nicknamed The Human Vacuum Cleaner for his
uncanny ability to gobble up virtually
everything hit in his general direction with
amazing regularity, Brooks Robinson is widely
considered to be the greatest fielding third
baseman in baseball history

7. A highly touted high school prospect, Chipper
Jones was selected by the Atlanta Braves with
the first pick in the 1990 amateur draft. A
switch-hitting shortstop, Jones was converted
into a third baseman and was in the Braves
starting lineup in 1995.
"It's probably the only time in my career
when it's been less about baseball and more
about entertaining people. No matter how
minor the game of baseball is, it still gave
people something to get their minds off it for
a couple of hours." - Chipper Jones, on the
first game played at Shea Stadium following
the 9/11/2001 terrorist attacks.
What if I hit 500 homers and I'm mentioned
with Mickey Mantle and Eddie Murray?
People will say, 'Yeah, but he played in the
steroid era.' I'm going to have to go through
the same stuff." — Chipper Jones

8. Although Johnson retired nine years before
the integration of the major leagues, he was
eventually able to apply his baseball
knowledge in the majors, becoming the first
African American to coach in Major League
Baseball (1954). He also was one of the most
accomplished talent scouts in baseball,
responsible for signing Bill Bruton and Dick
Allen.
Johnson was a precise contact hitter who batted
an average of .416 in 1929, but his greatest
ability was his fielding. Along with Ray
Dandridge and Ghost Marcelle, Johnson was one
of the greatest fielding third basemen in the
Negro leagues. He was also one of the smartest
men in baseball, able to compensate for any
physical shortcomings with an unsurpassed
ability to think faster than his opponents,
particularly in pressure situations

9. Baker was the cleanup hitter on the great A’s
teams that included Eddie Collins, Jack Barry,
Stuffy McInnis, Harry Davis, Chief Bender and
Eddie Plank. Along with Collins, McInnis, and
Barry, he formed the famed $100,000 Infield.
It isn’t easy living up to the nickname “Home
Run”, but Frank Baker did so as the best home
run hitter of the pre-World War I era. In the
1911 World Series he hit clutch game-winning
or game-tying home runs in back-to-back
games against the Giants, and he led his league
in the category four straight seasons.
The nickname "Home Run" was earned after his
performance in the 1911 World Series, hitting
homers in back-to-back games against the
Giants.

10. A patient leadoff man, third baseman Stan Hack
played in four World Series for the Chicago
Cubs. A five-time All-Star, Hack led the National
League in hits and stolen bases twice, and
frequently garnered MVP support despite not
having slugging power.
"Stan Hack has as many friends in baseball, as
Leo Durocher has enemies." — anonymous
National League ballplayer.
In explaining his tendency to get most of his
hits to the opposite field, Hack said, “I watch
the ball more than most hitters. I let it get right
up on me – maybe I even swing a little late.”

11. Ron Santo is the greatest third baseman in
Chicago Cubs' history. He hit 342 career home
runs and won five Gold Gloves.
The wrong third baseman won the MVP Award.
Cardinal Ken Boyer took home the hardware as
his team won the pennant, but Santo outplayed
him in '64. Santo batted .312, hit 33 doubles, 13
triples (which led the NL), 30 homers, drove in
114, walked 86 times and won the Gold Glove.
Not sure how any other third baseman was
deemed more valuable.
Santo was a volatile competitor, and more than
once in his career he had run-ins with
teammates, opponents, media and managers.
Yet, in 1969 he started a post-game ritual that
was deemed "hokey" by many. He would click
his heels together after each Cubs' win. The
Cubs made a run for the division title, but fell
short and Santo stopped clicking his heels.

12. In 1987, Darrell Evans became the first 40-
year old to hit 40 homers.
Chipper Jones and Buddy Lewis were both
elected to the All-Star Game as third
basemen and outfielders.
The Mets acquired David Wright in the 2001
amateur draft as compensation for their loss
of Mike Hampton via free agency.
Barely making our Top 50 list, Pete Runnels
was a wonderful hitter who captured two
batting titles and nearly won a third.
Managers loved to write his name on the
lineup card - Runnels played more than 600
games at first and second, and also more than
400 at shortstop. We rate him at 2B even
though he played two more games at 1B.

13. 11. Pie Traynor
12. Ray Dandridge
13. Jimmy Collins
14. Graig Nettles
15. Darrell Evans
16. George Kell
17. Scott Rolen
18. Bob Elliott
19. Al Rosen
20. Ken Boyer
21. Sal Bando
22. Buddy Bell
23. Ron Cey
24. Gary Gaetti
25. John McGraw
26. Matt Williams
27. Ken Keltner
28. Bill Madlock
29. Heinie Groh
30. Larry Gardner

14. 31. Eddie Yost
32. Robin Ventura
33. Tim Wallach
34. Toby Harrah
35. Harlond Clift
36. Denny Lyons
37. Terry Pendleton
38. Lave Cross
39. Tommy Leach
40. Carney Lansford
41. Bobby Bonilla
42. Buddy Lewis
43. Doug DeCinces
44. Todd Zeile
45. Freddy Lindstrom
46. Vinny Castilla
47. Harry Steinfeldt
48. Willie Kamm
49. Bob Horner
50. Ossie Bluege