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Best all-time center fielders in MLB history

By Bobby Mueller

ANAHEIM, CA - JULY 29: Mike Trout #27 of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim hits a fly ball to deep center during the ninth inning of the MLB game against the Seattle Mariners at Angel Stadium on July 29, 2018 in Anaheim, California. The Mariners defeated the Angels 8-5. (Photo by Victor Decolongon/Getty Images)
ANAHEIM, CA - JULY 29: Mike Trout #27 of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim hits a fly ball to deep center during the ninth inning of the MLB game against the Seattle Mariners at Angel Stadium on July 29, 2018 in Anaheim, California. The Mariners defeated the Angels 8-5. (Photo by Victor Decolongon/Getty Images) /
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best all-time center fielders
BROOKLYN, NY – JUNE 26: Duke Snider (1926-2011) #4 of the Brooklyn Dodgers bats during an MLB game against the St Louis Cardinals on June 26, 1954 at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, New York. (Photo by Hy Peskin/Getty Images) /

Best All-Time Center Fielders #9: Duke Snider

“The sport to which I owe so much has undergone profound changes, but it’s still baseball. Kids still imitate their heroes on the playgrounds. Fans still ruin expensive suits going after foul balls that cost five dollars. Hitting streaks still make the network news and hot dogs still taste better at the ballpark than at home.”–Duke Snider

As the centerfielder for the Brooklyn Dodgers during the 1950s, Duke Snider had the misfortune of playing in the same cities with two other all-time great center fielders. Willie Mays starred for the New York Giants and Mickey Mantle was the golden child for the New York Yankees while Snider patrolled center for the Dodgers. Despite earning selections to the all-star team seven straight years from 1950 to 1956, Snider was always the third guy mentioned, even in the song, “Willie, Mickey, and the Duke.”

Snider earned a contract with the Dodgers during a tryout camp in Long Beach, California, and played his first professional season as a 17-year-old in the low minor leagues. Three years later, he had his first taste of major league play with the Dodgers in 1947, the same year Jackie Robinson broke the modern color barrier.

Snider bounced between the major leagues and minor leagues for two years, then established himself with the Dodgers in 1949 with a five-win season. That was the beginning of a nine year stretch during which Snider averaged 148 games played, 107 runs, 35 homers, 109 RBI, and a .305/.387/.568 batting line. He was regularly a 5-win player and peaked with four straight seasons during which he averaged 8.4 WAR per season from 1953-1956.

The Dodgers were regular World Series participants during this time, but they almost always lost in the Fall Classic to the New York Yankees. They finally won it all in 1955, beating the New York Yankees in seven games. Snider hit .320/.370/.840, with four home runs and seven RBI.

After the 1957 season, the Dodgers took their talents to the west coast, landing in Los Angeles. Snider was 31 years old in 1958 and had his first bad season since becoming a regular. He had a couple of league average seasons over the next three years but was really never as good over his last seven seasons as he had been previously, although he helped the Dodgers win another World Series trophy in 1959. He played his penultimate season with the 1963 New York Mets and his final season with the San Francisco Giants in 1964.

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