15 best right fielders in MLB history

These are the 15 best right fielders in MLB history

As part of a series we will cover here at Call to the Pen on MLB history, today we will look at the 15 best right fielders in MLB history.

We will cover all of MLB history, not just the first 100 years or the last 50 years, and this is not a consensus of all Call to the Pen authors and editors. The list is built on no single statistic, but weight have been given to Baseball Reference’s WAR (bWAR), Jay Jaffe’s “JAWS” statistic, a player’s offensive and defensive reputation, and more.

One big note in consideration for this list:  players needed to spend two-thirds of their career playing time in right field to qualify for this list. Many will wonder where Babe Ruth is on this list specifically. While legend often has Babe Ruth as a right fielder, he actually split his career outfield games nearly equal between the two corners, with 1,130 games in right field and 1,048 in left field.

With his time on the mound, center field, and first base in his career, even if lowering the requirements to 50 percent, Ruth wouldn’t qualify for this list. He’s just an all-time great everywhere. We are looking specifically at players you associate with the position.

Editor’s note: Kurt Mensching contributed to an edit of this article. 

Best right fielders in MLB history No. 15: Vladimir Guerrero

.318/.379/.553, 449 HR, 181 SB, 737/985 BB/K, 9,059 PA, 59.4 bWAR

Entering the Hall of Fame in 2018, Vladimir Guerrero was known for his ability to make loud contact on balls that no one else would likely even swing at, and his dynamic arm from right field.

Originally entering the league in 1997 to a Montreal Expos team that had just finished tearing down a dynamic young core that led the team to the brink of contention in 1994, Vlad was immediately an impact player, hitting .302 over 90 games with 11 home runs in 1997.

His first full season produced a .324/.371/.589 line with 38 home runs, but he was just tapping into his incredible raw athleticism. That season would start a streak of 11 straight seasons hitting at least .300 with at least 25 home runs, even through injuries and other issues that plagued him over his career.

The unforgiving surface in Montreal that had once robbed Andre Dawson of some of the most dynamic defensive ability in center field in the National League in the early 1980s also took its toll on Guerrero. After finishing one home run short of joining the exclusive 40/40 club in 2002, he was limited to just 112 games in 2003 and chose to leave Montreal when he became a free agent after that season.

He would play very well for Anaheim in the outfield for a couple of seasons, but his defensive abilities faded fast. Per Baseball Reference’s dWAR, he was a negative value defender all but his second season with the Angels, though some of his 2004 season can be explained as he was coming back from his injuries of 2003.

Unlike Heilmann, Guerrero benefitted from the exposure of the television era as he was able to be elected to nine All-Star games, winning the 2004 AL MVP and appearing in 12 MVP votes, and winning eight Silver Slugger awards. He was elected to the Hall of Fame this year in his second year on the ballot.

Best right fielders in MLB history No. 14: Dwight Evans

Stats: .272/.370/.470, 385 HR, 78 SB, 1,391/1,697 BB/K, 10,569 PA, 67.1 bWAR

If we were putting together a list of guys who deserve to be in the Hall of Fame from the 1980s who are not (a decade that has seemingly been viewed harshly by voters), Dwight Evans may not be my personal #1 on that list, but he’d be in the top 5 for sure.

Dwight Evans was one of the most incredible defensive outfielders that has ever graced the grass of an outfield. He was perhaps not the most incredible offensive player, but he was certainly more than adequate with the stick as well, and the combination should easily put him into Cooperstown.

The Red Sox drafted Evans first out of high school in California in 1969. He worked his way up to the majors quickly, getting a cup of coffee in 1972 and taking over a starting job partway through the 1973 season. While his offensive skills were not his selling point, the 1973 season was the only year of his career with a sub-100 OPS+.

Evans developed into a feared power hitter in the middle of the Red Sox lineup in the 1980s along with his incredible defense. In fact, among all outfielders in the 1980s, Evans trails only Dale Murphy in home runs, with 256 in the decade, ahead of others who have been selected to the Hall of Fame.

Part of the revival of the interest in Evans’ candidacy and his placement among the best all-time right fielders in MLB history is the interest in on-base as a valuable piece, and often more valuable piece than batting average, of a hitter’s profile. Evans led the league in on-base in 1982 and led the league in walks three times.

Evans also seemed to peak when the stakes were highest, as he hit .300/.397/.580 with three home runs over two World Series, in 1975 and 1986. Though the Red Sox lost both series, he arguably was a good argument for MVP of either series, especially the 1986 series against the Mets.

After three All-Star games, two Silver Sluggers, eight Gold Gloves, and five appearances on the MVP ballot, finishing in the top five twice, Evans was on the Hall of Fame ballot for just three seasons before he fell off the ballot.

Best right fielders in MLB history No. 13: Dave Winfield

Stats: .283/.353/.475, 465 HR, 223 SB, 1,216/1,686 BB/K, 12,358 PA, 64.2 bWAR

Not just one of the best right fielders in MLB history, Dave Winfield is arguably one of the best athletes the game has ever seen. He was drafted by four professional sports leagues in three professional sports, being selected by the NBA, ABA, MLB, and NFL. Incredibly, he was selected by the NFL without having had played a single game of football in college due to his tremendous athleticism and known talent from high school.

The San Diego Padres trusted him so much that they not only selected him #4 overall in the draft, but they did not send him to the minor leagues at all, playing him 56 games at the big league level in his draft season, and he handled the work well, hitting .277 over 154 plate appearances.

He was handed a full-time job in 1974, and Winfield responded with 20 home runs. He made his first All-Star game in 1977 and did not miss an All-Star game through 1988, making 12 straight.

Winfield was blessed with an incredible arm in right field, and one of the more legendary moments came when Winfield hit and killed a seagull while playing catch between, leading to his arrest in Toronto on cruelty to animal charges.

The feud between Winfield and Yankees owner George Steinbrenner during Winfield’s time in New York was so bad that it led to legal action being taken as Steinbrenner berated his own player for being soft, deeming him “Mr. May” (sadly, a nickname that stuck), saying Winfield was great in May, but when the postseason came, he was nothing. The irony of that is that Steinbrenner did not put together a Yankees team that even got to the postseason to know this about his star, and though he struggled in the final rounds of the 1981 playoffs for the Yankees, he was vital to the team winning the first round over the Brewers.

Winfield went on to have a tremendous 1992 World Series for the Blue Jays, hitting a vital home run and making a big play in right field to help the Blue Jays win their World Series at age 40. In fact, if Steinbrenner wanted to be accurate, he’d have called Winfield “Mr. April” as May was only his fourth-best month by OPS!

He returned to his hometown Minnesota Twins in 1993 to collect his 3,000th hit, but the desire for one more World Series led to him playing with the Cleveland Indians in 1995, but he struggled and was not part of the Indians postseason roster.

Along with his 12 All-Star game nods, Winfield won 7 Gold Gloves, using his big arm and 6’6″ height to range easily to grab balls and leap over the fence to rob home runs. He also won 6 Silver Sluggers, and he received MVP votes 9 times, finishing in the top 5 three times.

Winfield was selected to the Hall of Fame in 2001 on his first ballot with 84.5% of the vote.

Best right-fielders in MLB history No. 12 Sammy Sosa

Stats: .273/.344/.534, 609 HR, 234 SB, 929/2,306 BB/K, 8,813 PA, 58.6 bWAR

Although Sammy Sosa’s reputation has suffered due to testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs, his numbers should speak for themselves: he is among the best right fielders in MLB history.

A career that spanned from 1989 to 2005, he earned seven All-Star nods, Six Silver Slugger wins, and an MVP award. He finished in the top 10 in MVP voting seven times.

He hit 50 or more home runs four consecutive years from 1988 to 2001, with his 1998 home run duel with Mark McGwire being one of the most exciting narratives in the sport in years, coming only a few seasons after a lockout cut into the 1994 and 1995 seasons.

He fell just a home run short of hitting 50 again in 2002. For his career, he finished second in home runs among  right fielders who would qualify for our list.

On Jay Jaffe’s JAWS statistic rankings, he finishes ahead of Vlad Guerrero, but ends up lumped with several other right fielders who failed to earn 75 percent of the vote from the BBWAA.

Editor’s note: Kurt Mensching contributed to an edit of this slide. 

Best right fielders in MLB history No. 11: Ichiro Suzuki

Stats: .311/.355/.402, 117 HR, 509 SB, 646/1,079 BB/K, 10,728 PA, 59.3 bWAR

Already a superstar before he even came to the United States, Ichiro Suzuki became a star immediately. If you’d combine his Japanese and American stats, Ichiro would rank first in hits, seventh in runs scored and 11th in stolen bases.

We are only considering his time in MLB for this list, but even then, the numbers don’t express just how dominant Ichiro was on the field. That clearly makes him one of the best right fielders in MLB history.

Many relate the stories about Ichiro choosing to hit home runs in batting practice and lashing ball after ball deep into the seats, indicating that his slap-hitting style wasn’t the only way he could be successful.

His first year with the Mariners, Ichiro won the batting title, leading the league in hits and stolen bases, winning the Rookie of the Year, MVP, Gold Glove, Silver Slugger, and making the first of 10 consecutive All-Star games.

He simply built from there, becoming one of the most dominant contact hitters in the league, winning a second batting title in 2004, but not falling below .300 in a full season until 2011, 11 years into his MLB career. One often missed part of Ichiro’s legacy was his incredible ability to remain healthy and in the lineup. For his first dozen years in the league, he failed to play 155 games just once.

Brilliant on the basepaths, Ichiro was successful in over 80% of his stolen base attempts. In 2004, Ichiro was able to have an incredible year, setting a single-season record for hits, with 262.

Overall, on top of the two batting titles, Ichiro led the league in hits seven times, score 100+ runs for the first 8 seasons of his career. However, over his hitting ability, his defensive prowess, specifically his arm, could outweigh that incredible offensive ability.

From that first one that got him on the radar for his incredible arm, he just built on it, and he was able to read and cover ground in right field like few in the entire game ever had. Combining that level of defense with his elite contact ability is why Ichiro is number 6 on our list of best all-time right fielders.

Best right fielders in MLB history No. 10: Tony Gwynn

Stats: .338/.388/.459, 135 HR, 319 SB, 790/434 BB/K, 10,232 PA, 69.2 bWAR

Nowhere near the athlete that Vlad was, nowhere near the power hitter that some on this list are, nowhere near the base stealer some on this list are, and nowhere near the defender some on this list are, Tony Gwynn became an absolute master at what he did well – hit.

Gwynn broke in with the San Diego Padres in 1982 as a 22-year-old who had been drafted just one season prior in the 3rd round as the hometown guy out of San Diego State. He flew through the minor leagues and that 1982 season became the only season he hit under .300 in his entire major league career, hitting .289.

Gwynn got roughly a half-season of work in 1983, and he hit .309/.355/.372, but he broke out in his first full season in 1984, winning the batting title, hitting .351/.410/.444 with 33 stolen bases and 213 hits, finishing 3rd in the NL MVP voting, winning a Silver Slugger and making his first All-Star team. He missed one All-Star team from 1984-1999.

An incredible student of hitting, Gwynn was noted for asking for and being granted time with hitting great Ted Williams to discuss strategy around putting the bat to the ball. While Ted clubbed the ball and Tony sprayed the ball, listening to the two talk was certainly like listening to two men who spoke the same language.

Gwynn led the league in hitting seven times, leading the league in hits seven times, and leading the league in runs in 1986. He was never a powerful hitter, maxing out with 17 home runs in 1997, but he had an incredible ability to hit to all fields, off of lefties, righties, sidearmers, knuckleballers, anything you’d throw at him, he could find a way to find 3-4 hits every 10 times he was to the plate.

The 1994 season lost to the MLB strike remains a great tragedy in the game, but perhaps it is greatest for Gwynn, as he finished with a .394 batting average when the strike began, but he was actually getting hotter, hitting .439 his last two weeks before the strike, and he wasn’t just hitting for average, he had a .614 slugging in those last two weeks before the strike, clubbing 7 doubles and a home run as he pounded hard line drive after hard line drive, very obviously seeing the ball very well.

His career was well-decorated beyond just the statistical leaderboard, with 15 All-Star game appearances, 5 Gold Gloves, 7 Silver Sluggers, and while he never won the MVP award, he appeared in voting 12 times. He was elected on his first ballot to the Hall of Fame with 97.6% of the ballot.

Best right fielders in MLB history No. 9: Sam Crawford

Stats: .309/.362/.452, 97 HR, 367 SB, 760/580 BB/K, 10,610 PA, 75.2 bWAR

If not for his incredible teammate in Detroit, Ty Cobb, Crawford would have been one of the most revered players in the history of the Tigers. Sam Crawford was originally part of the Cincinnati team in 1899, moving to the Tigers before the 1903 season, immediately having an impressive year for the Tigers, hitting .335 and leading the league with 25 triples.

Crawford was considered one of the “sluggers” of his day, standing 6′ and weighing in at an estimated 185-195 pounds. He used that power to pound balls into the gaps and his long legs for the era to leg out loads of triples, eventually becoming the career leader, the only player who has ever eclipsed 300 career triples. For comparison, no player that has played in the last 40 years has even achieved 150 career triples or half of Crawford’s total.

Cobb and Crawford butted heads hard in the Tigers outfield, and the significant salary increases given Cobb and not Crawford in spite of both being elite players wore on Crawford as well as Cobb’s brash style. Cobb blamed Crawford for the hazing he received early in his career, and Crawford felt he was often mistreated on the basepaths and by pitchers by opponents looking to respond to Cobb’s actions.

The dispute between the two led to one of the more peculiar departures from the game, as Crawford led the Tigers in RBI in 1914 and 1915 before suffering through an injury-riddled 1916, when he still legged out 13 triples and hit .286. After hitting .173 in 1917, he left the Tigers and did not seek out further major league employment, instead choosing to play in the Pacific Coast League, in spite of being just 39 hits shy of being only the 4th member of the 3,000 hit club (Cobb, ironically, would become the fourth member but not until 1921).

Crawford led the league in triples an astonishing six times over his career. He also led the league in RBI three times, total bases twice, and doubles, runs, and home runs once each. He was selected to the Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee in 1957.

Best right fielders in MLB history No. 8: Paul Waner

Stats: .333/.404/.473, 113 HR, 104 SB, 1,091/376 BB/K, 10,766 PA, 72.8 bWAR

The older of the tremendously-talented Waner brothers, Paul Waner certainly didn’t receive his nickname “Big Poison” because of his overwhelming size, as he stood just 5’8″ and perhaps 150 pounds. He played at East Central University before getting his start in 1926 with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

That first season, Waner immediately made an impact, hitting .336/.413/.528 and led the league in triples with 22. He’d step up his game in 1927, winning a batting title, hitting .380/.437/.549, leading the league in hits, triples, total bases, and RBI, winning what would be his only MVP award.

Waner did not have over-the-fence power, but he clubbed the ball on a line, hitting double-digit triples his first 10 seasons in the league as well as leading the league in doubles twice, with three seasons of 50 or more doubles in his career and five seasons of 40 or more doubles. His 62 doubles in 1932 remains the fifth-most in a single season in baseball history.

Over his career, Waner would lead the league in hitting 3 times, hits twice, runs twice, doubles twice, triples twice, and total bases and RBI one time. However, his offense was only part of things as he was known for his graceful routes in the outfield and his strong arm in the outfield (he was originally signed to a pro deal during college as a pitcher, but had a bum arm coming out of college, so he was moved to the outfield).

Incredibly, Waner was nearsighted his whole life and this was not discovered and corrected until 1942, when he was entering his 17th season as a big leaguer. He recorded his 3,000th hit that season, finishing with 3,152 in his career.

He appeared in 8 MVP ballots, winning just one, but finishing in the top 5 three other seasons. He made the first All-Star game in 1933, though he was 7 years into his career at that point, having a few of his best seasons already. He eventually made 4 All-Star games. Waner was selected to the Hall of Fame in 1952.

Best right fielders in MLB history No. 7: Larry Walker

Stats: .313/.400/.565, 383 HR, 230 SB, 913/1,231 BB/K, 8,030 PA, 72.7 bWAR

Ineligible for the draft as a Canadian at the time, Larry Walker signed out of high school with the Montreal Expos, and by the time he made his debut in 1989, he was considered to be part of a new wave of Expos that were going to lead to a resurgence of the Expos.

In 1990, in his first full season, Walker flashed his incredible athleticism, hitting 19 home runs and stealing 21 bases. He would grow each season with Montreal as a hitter, but those years in Montreal absolutely destroyed his body, and he was never quite the guy that he could have been.

After 1994, when the Expos made a run at leading all of baseball with the best record while Walker slashed .322/.394/.587, Montreal let their dynamic outfielder walk away in free agency. Free of the injurious Montreal turf, though not its after-effects, Walker took off with the Rockies, hitting 36 home runs in his first season with the Rockies.

After a year of struggling with injuries in 1996, Walker had his career year in 1997. He hit .366/.452/.720, leading the league with 49 home runs and 409 total bases, his OBP and SLG also leading the league. What many miss is just how well-rounded his contributions were for the Rockies that season, hitting 46 doubles, scoring 143 runs, driving in 130 runs, and stealing 33 bases.

Sadly, 1997 would be Walker’s only season of his career with over 150 games played, which is just incredible to consider that he put up the numbers he did playing often with 20-30 games missed each season.

Many doubt his numbers due to Coors Field and its notorious hitting environment, but Walker posted a 141 OPS+ over his career. Larry Walker is a rare member of the career .300/.400/.500 club, players who had career slash lines with at least those levels – only 16 players who have achieved that in their careers. However, Walker has the same OPS+ as Chipper Jones, and no one ever questions the validity of his numbers or suggests they were environmentally enhanced.

Before the turf took it away, Larry Walker was among the best defensive right fielders, making plays that only were equaled by Andruw Jones in center field over the last 35 years. His incredible arm remained in Colorado, and he still could cover plenty of ground (and one needs to cover incredible ground to handle Colorado’s outfield), but he didn’t have that elite acceleration and first-step speed that he once did, which is a shame as many don’t remember Walker for the defensive wizard he was in right field.

Walker was part of five All-Star teams, and he won seven Gold Gloves, three Silver Sluggers, and the 1997 MVP while also appearing on 8 MVP ballots overall. He’s been on eight Hall of Fame ballots, with 34.1% support in the most recent season, but with only two more ballots to make up 41% to get the 75% he needs to be elected, it’s feasible Walker may have to be enshrined by the Veteran’s Committee.

Best right fielders in MLB history No. 6: Harry Heilmann

Stats: .342/.410/.520, 183 HR, 113 SB, 856/550 BB/K, 8,965 PA, 72.2 bWAR

Earning his nickname for his lack of footspeed, Harry Heilmann was a master with the bat in his hand, the backbone of the Detroit Tigers teams of the 1920s with his right-handed swing, continuing the tremendous superstar legacy in Detroit, taking the lead between the stardom of Ty Cobb and Charlie Gehringer

Heilmann had been a good hitter before 1921, but he took his game to another level in his age-26 season, hitting .394 to lead the major leagues in hitting, leading the league with 237 hits as well. He tallied 43 doubles, 14 triples, and 19 home runs along with 114 runs and 139 RBI.

He would go on to lead the league in hitting 4 times, topping out at .403 in 1923. He led the league with 45 doubles in 1924 and in RBI in 1925 with 134.

Unfortunately, his best season in 1921 was the season before the beginning of the MVP award, and he never won one, finishing 2nd in 1927 and receiving votes in 7 seasons. He finished in the top 5 in MVP voting four times. Unfortunately, his Tigers were not a very good club around him, with their best team during his tenure finishing 4th in the 1919 season to the eventual Black Sox team.

Heilmann never knew of himself as a Hall of Fame player. He passed away in 1951 at age 56 and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1952.

Best right fielders in MLB history No. 4: Reggie Jackson

Stats: .262/.356/.490, 563 HR, 228 SB, 1,375/2,597 BB/K, 11,418 PA, 74 bWAR

Certainly one of the most exciting players in the 1970s, Reggie Jackson was incredible at stealing the headlines, whether it was due to his discontent with his original team, the Athletics, or his role as “the straw that stirs the drink” in the New York Yankees clubhouse in the 1970s.

Jackson had a tremendous career with Arizona State University before being drafted 2nd overall by the then-Kansas City Athletics. He made a brief appearance for the A’s the year after he was drafted, hitting just .178 over 135 plate appearances. The team would move to Oakland in 1968, and they unleashed their young slugger on the league that season as well. In a year when most teams were struggling to hit (aka, the “Year of the Pitcher”), Jackson hit 29 home runs in his first full season and stole 14 bases. He would also do something that would come to define his career – lead the league in strikeouts.

The 1969 season saw the A’s slugger breakout with 47 home runs, leading the league with 123 runs and also leading the league in slugging and OPS. He made his first All-Star team that summer.

The colorful slugger would lead his team to the playoffs 5 straight seasons, winning back-to-back World Series titles, even winning the 1973 World Series MVP by hitting .310/.355/.586 as the A’s defeated the Mets in 7 games. However, with Oakland fans and even broadcasters berating Jackson for hustle/effort and A’s owner Charlie O. Finley being too cheap to pay the significant salary increase he was going to receive, Jackson headed into free agency without a return to Oakland in the plans.

Because he didn’t want to lose Jackson without any compensation, Finley orchestrated a deal to send Jackson to Baltimore for the 1976 season before his free agency. He refused to report initially and did not appear in a game for the Orioles in April.

Jackson signed with the Yankees before 1977, and he began a feud with his new manager Billy Martin immediately. The Yankees were a very good team, however, so the feud was often in headlines alongside the headline of yet another Yankee victory. Reaching the World Series in 1977, Reggie had one of the most amazing moments in World Series when he hit 3 home runs on 3 consecutive pitches in game 6 of the 1977 World Series against the Dodgers. In fact, he hit a home run on his last plate appearance in game 5, which meant he hit 4 straight home runs on four swings in that World Series. Incredible!

Many forget just how good of an overall athlete Jackson was. He was originally recruited to college for football, and he stole 20 or more bases four times, which many felt was part of the issue with the “hustle” concerns in Oakland, due to fans, announcers, and even teammates having seen Reggie show off his legs previously, so when he went at less than full effort, they would be frustrated.

Peers at the time knew he’d finish among the best right fielders in MLB history: Reggie would go on to finish his career back where it all began, spending the 1987 season with the Oakland Athletics. In his 21 seasons, he would make 14 All-Star teams, win the 1973 MVP and appear on 13 MVP ballots, and 2 Silver Sluggers. He even had his own candy bar, named the “Reggie Bar”, which came out after his 1977 World Series performance. He is also the all-time career leader in strikeouts.

Jackson was selected to the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 1993 with 93.6% of the ballot.

Best right fielders in MLB history No. 3: Mel Ott

Stats: .304/.414/.533, 511 HR, 89 SB, 1,708/896 BB/K, 11,348 PA, 107.8 bWAR

Generously listed at 5’9″ and 170 pounds, Mel Ott may be the smallest man who put incredible fear in the eyes of pitchers that faced him. He started young, as well, making his debut about a month and a half after his 17th birthday, making just 61 plate appearances. He put in 180 plate appearances as an 18-year-old, and then took over as a full-timer at 19, smacking 18 home runs and hitting .322 in 1928.

He immediately took the step from “good” hitter to the elite in the entire game that next season, hitting .328/.449/.635 with 42 home runs, leading the league in walks. Ott drove in an incredible 151 runs for the New York Giants that season and scored 138 runs that year. Ott’s 1929 season would be his high-water mark for home runs, runs, RBI, and OPS. The incredible part was that he finished 11th in the league in MVP voting that season.

It’s not that Ott was bad in the following season – he just never reached those numbers again. Just about the only hitting area Mel Ott never led in his 22-year career was winning a batting title or leading the league in hits. He often had lower hit totals due to his incredibly high walk numbers, well beyond a normal walk rate at that time.

Ott was incredibly elite in the National League at the time of his career with the Giants. He led the league in home runs six times, led the league in runs scored twice and RBI once. He led the league in walks six times as well.

Ott was not just a great hitter, however, as he had one of the best arms many had ever seen in right field, tallying multiple seasons of 20+ assists in the outfield, finishing his career with over 250 outfield assists.

In spite of leading the league in bWAR twice, Ott never won an MVP, though he did show up on 13 ballots, finishing in the top 5 three times. He made 12 All-Star games, which were started five years into his career, so he actually missed a number of his best seasons in attending All-Star games.

Ott was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1951 with 87.2% of the vote.

Best right fielders in MLB history No. 2: Roberto Clemente

Stats: .317/.359/.475, 240 HR, 83 SB, 621/1,230 BB/K, 10,211 PA, 94.5 bWAR

Many people believe that because he is often revered with the most-impressive outfield arm in the history of the game that Roberto Clemente was also a power hitter, but that was not the case, as Clemente was a very controlled, attacking hitter. He achieved 40 doubles just once in his life and led the league in an extra-base category just once in his career, leading the majors in triples in 1969 with 12.

What made Roberto so special and earned him a top-two ranking among the best right fielders in MLB history was his incredible grace playing the position that portended an absolutely explosive right arm that could cut down even the greatest runners. He would seemingly glide to catch balls that he had no business reaching, but he wouldn’t just catch them, he would catch them in position to throw quickly and accurately back into the field and nail a runner.

Clemente was originally a Brooklyn Dodgers farmhand, and Branch Rickey was actually a big reason that the move was made as Rickey knew that the Dodgers had stashed Clemente in their minor league system when he took over with the Pirates. Clemente was drafted as a Rule 5 draft pick under the Rule 5 rules at that time in November of 1954.

His first season in 1955 was nothing to write home about, but he showed glimpses, hitting 11 triples and flashing incredible defense. At 21 in 1956, Clemente hit .311. It would be 5 years later, in 1960, when Clemente’s bat skills would take off, becoming a perennial threat for the batting title.

In 1960, Clemente made his first All-Star team, hitting .314/.357/.458. He would go on to win the batting title in 1961, the first of four batting titles for Clemente. He led the league in hits twice, but in general, he was hitting for a very good average, missing 5-15 games per season due to his incredibly aggressive play in the outfield.

The way that Jackie Robinson is viewed in the African-American community for breaking barriers in the game, Clemente is viewed as doing the same for Latin-American dark-skinned players. He was incredibly outspoken about what he believed was injustice due to language barriers many Latin ballplayers faced.

It was his off-field leadership in providing baseball opportunities throughout Latin America that led to him playing each winter in his native Puerto Rico. When after the 1972 season, one of Puerto Rico’s opponents that year, Nicaragua suffered a massive earthquake in their country, no one was surprised that Clemente spearheaded a group to take aid to the country.

The plane Clemente was on to deliver supplies to Nicaragua was drastically overweight and crashed just after takeoff. All five men on board perished. Due to the circumstances of his death, Clemente was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1973.

While he was 37 when he passed, Clemente was still in his hitting prime, able to make consistent contact. Some believed he had at least 3-5 years left of productive career when he perished, thinking he could eclipse 3,500 hits and perhaps even challenged 4,000. That lost time is part of why he edges Ott for the #2 spot in our countdown of the best all-time right fielders.

Best right fielders in MLB history No. 1: Hank Aaron

Stats: .305/.374/.555, 755 HR, 240 SB, 1,402/1,383 BB/K, 13,941 PA, 143 bWAR

No. 1 on the list of the best right fielders in MLB history was never in doubt. That spot absolutely belongs to Hank Aaron.

Aaron, who passed in 2021, was signed out of the Negro Leagues by the Braves. He hit .280/.322/.447 his first season in 1954 with the Braves, moving from his natural home in the middle infield, playing shortstop or second base in the Negro Leagues and minor leagues, but playing left field his first year. It would be the only season in his Braves career that he would not be selected as an All-Star.

Aaron smacked 27 home runs in his second season, leading the league with 37 doubles. In his third season, he won his first batting title. Then, the home runs came.

Aaron hit 44 home runs in 1957, leading the league in runs and RBI as well, winning the MVP award. The Braves went on to win the World Series that season and Hank thought he was part of what would be a dynasty for years, but the New York Yankees had other ideas.

The Yankees defeated the Braves in 1958 in the World Series, and the Braves would not reach the playoffs again until 1969. Aaron obviously missed the postseason, as he did everything in his power to defeat the Miracle Mets all on his own, hitting .357 with 3 home runs, but his teammates couldn’t support him.

Many said that Aaron would have been a yearly Gold Glove winner if he had not had the poor fortune of spending much of his career with Clemente in the same league, he would have been rewarded for his incredible defense more frequently, though he still did win 3 Gold Gloves.

Aaron and Clemente saw eye to eye in the work that Aaron did in civil rights in the late 1960s, and as he pursued Babe Ruth’s home run record, Aaron’s race became a major issue. In fact, Vin Scully mentions race when announcing Aaron’s 715th home run.

Aaron was never a guy to hit 50 home runs, peaking with 47 in 1971. He was just consistent, hitting 30 or more home runs 15 seasons and hitting 40 or more home runs 8 times in his career.

In an era when often there were 2 All-Star games per season, Aaron played in 25 All-Star games. He appeared in 19 MVP votes, winning the 1957 award and finishing in the top 5 of voting seven times over his career. He remains the all-time leader in total bases and RBI in MLB history. For some, he was and is synonymous with the sport.

He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1982 with 97.8% of the vote.