MLB all-time list: Expansion-era battle at second base behind Joe Morgan
By Bill Felber
There’s not much disagreement that Joe Morgan is the best second baseman of the post-1969 expansion era. After all, with his combination of speed and power Morgan is often rated the best second baseman of all time. The real question is who ranks as the closest challenger to Morgan’s primacy.
MLB all-time list: Joe Morgan a consensus No. 1
MLB Network personalities Brian Kenny and Bob Costas agreed on Morgan at No. 1 during the latest installment of the network’s Top 10 Right Now Monday. The episode included a segment rating post-1969 second basemen.
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So there’s not much likelihood of an argument that they got the top spot right. The real issue is who comes in behind the Cincinnati Reds star.
Before assessing how accurate the Kenny and Costas lists were, here are their respective top 10s:
| Brian Kenny | Bob Costas |
|---|---|
| 1. Joe Morgan | 1. Joe Morgan |
| 2. Rod Carew | 2. Rod Carew |
| 3. Craig Biggio | 3. Roberto Alomar |
| 4. Chase Utley | 4. Ryne Sandberg |
| 5. Roberto Alomar | 5. Craig Biggio |
| 6. Ryne Sandberg | 6. Jeff Kent |
| 7. Robinson Cano | 7. Jose Altuve |
| 8. Lou Whitaker | 8. Lou Whitaker |
| 9. Bobby Grich | 9. Bobby Grich |
| 10. Willie Randolph | 10. Chase Utley |
Second base is a position demanding a multiplicity of talents. Our six ratings criteria reflect those varying demands, with two of them fully oriented to the defensive spectrum. When all six categories are assessed, the player with the average ordinal score closest to a perfect rating of 1.0 is the winner.
The criteria are:
- Five-season peak performance with OPS+ as the yardstick
- Cumulative OPS+ over the course of their careers
- Career MVP shares
- Career Defensive Wins Above Replacement
- Five-season peak defensive range
- Baserunning runs.
Alphabetically, the 30 nominees are: Roberto Alomar, Jose Altuve, Carlos Baerga, Craig Biggio, Bret Boone, Robinson Cano, Rod Carew, Bobby Grich, Tommy Herr, Davey Johnson, Howie Kendrick, Jeff Kent, Ian Kinsler, Chuck Knoblauch, DJ LeMahieu, Davey Lopes, Whit Merrifield, Joe Morgan, Daniel Murphy, Dustin Pedroia, Willie Randolph, Harold Reynolds, Juan Samuel, Ryne Sandberg, Steve Sax, Manny Trillo, Chase Utley, Lou Whitaker, Frank White, and Eric Young Sr.
The contest for bridesmaid to Morgan should be a close one since four current Hall of Famers – Alomar, Biggio, Carew, and Sandberg – are involved.