MLB all-time lists: The final tabulation
The expansion era tabulation below is based on the average ordinal placement of each of the 30 third basemen in all five categories. A score of 1.0, indicating a first place rank in all five categories, would be perfect. The list also shows the players’ standing on the Brian Kenny and Bob Costas lists.
| Player | Ordinal Average | Brian Kenny | Bob Costas |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Mike Schmidt | 5.80 | 1 | 1 |
| 2. George Brett | 5.80 | 2 | 2 |
| 3. Adrian Beltre | 6.00 | 6 | 6 |
| 4. Chipper Jones | 9.20 | 4 | 3 |
| 5. Paul Molitor | 10.20 | 5 | 5 |
| 6. Scott Rolen | 10.40 | 7 | 8 |
| 7. Matt Williams | 10.80 | NR | NR |
| 8. Wade Boggs | 11.60 | 3 | 4 |
| 9. Sal Bando | 12.20 | NR | NR |
| 10. Josh Donaldson | 12.40 | NR | NR |
Although their scores were identical, Mike Schmidt gets the slight nod as the expansion era No. 1 third baseman because he ranked higher than George Brett in three of the five categories. In ordinal terms, he beat Brett by one position in peak OPS+, by one in MVP shares and by 17 in Defensive WAR. Brett beat Schmidt by two positions in cumulative WAR and by 17 in baserunning.
Adrian Beltre is a surprisingly close third. Surprising? Well, both Kenny and Costas ranked him sixth. With category finishes of 10th, fifth, fourth, first and 10th, he was the only third baseman to reach the top 10 in all five categories.
Given a handful more baserunning runs, he might have edged out both Schmidt and Brett to claim the positional top spot.
The other big surprise was Matt Williams’ finish in the seventh position. Overlooked by both Kenny and Costas, neither of whom viewed him as top-10 material, Williams qualified due to his steadiness. Although top 10 in just two categories – he was seventh in MVP shares and tied for 10th in Baserunning Runs – he finished no lower than 13th in any of the categories.
Aside from Beltre, Williams was the only player who held an upper half standing in all of the category ranks.
Sal Bando and Josh Donaldson, at the bottom of this top 10, also escaped the attention of Kenny and Costas. Kenny opted instead for David Wright and Ron Cey. Wright ranked 12th overall in this list.
Cey – who Kenny portrayed as something of an emotional throw-in on his part, actually ranked only 25th among the 30. Among the era’s best, he was no better than average in three categories, and weak in both MVP shares and baserunning.
Costas preferred Bill Madlock and Graig Nettles, who Kenny also selected, to round out his list. With a weak peak OPS+ offset by strong defensive skills, Nettles rated a solidly mid-pack 15th on this list. Madlock’s sub-par defense cost him anything more than 17th. Of Madlock, it was once famously said that he could be the first player to simultaneously bat .500 and field .500.