Who are the best first basemen of all time? It’s one of the most important positions in baseball as most outs are made at first base.
Best First Basemen of All Time
First basemen aren’t usually fast, but they need to be good at catching, fielding and hitting. It also helps to be tall, and skill is required to pull off plays such as pickoffs and double plays. Let’s take a look at the 10 best first basemen in MLB history.
10. Frank Thomas
Frank Thomas enjoyed 16 seasons with the Chicago White Sox. He wasn’t known for his defensive skills at first base but he was one of the most consistent hitters in history. Thomas finished his career with 521 home runs, 1,704 RBIs, and a fielding percentage of .991.
He’s also the only player ever to finish with at least a 0.300 batting average, 100 runs scored, 100 RBIs, 100 walks, and 20 home runs in seven seasons straight. A five-time All-Star, Thomas was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2014.
9. David Ortiz
David Ortiz is a Boston Red Sox and Dominican Republic legend. He’s one of the best first basemen of all time and was inducted to the Hall of Fame in his first ballot in 2022.
His defensive skills at first base may be questionable but he did achieve a .989 fielding percentage. There’s no doubt however that he’s one of Major League Baseball’s best clutch hitters ever, hitting 541 career home runs.
A three-time World Series champion with the Boston Red Sox, David Ortiz has a net worth of $55 million and he’s also earned 10 All-Star appearances during his 20-year MLB career.
In the 2013 postseason, David Ortiz hit .353 with a 1.206 OPS. The rest of the Red Sox collectively hit .213 with a .602 OPS and they won the World Series. pic.twitter.com/GsZY41DdqB
— Jared Carrabis (@Jared_Carrabis) October 16, 2020
8. Jeff Bagwell
Four-time All-Star Jeff Bagwell spent his entire 15-year career in Major League Baseball playing for the Houston Astros. The 1994 NL MVP hit an Astros-record 449 home runs during his career with a batting average of .297, and an on-base percentage of .408.
Bagwell was strong defensively with a fielding percentage of .993, and he won the Gold Glove Award in his 1994 MVP year. Despite not being known for his pace, his baserunning was exceptional and he joined the 30-30 club twice, the only first baseman to do so.
7. Johnny Mize
Johnny Mize earned 10 All-Star appearances in his 15-year career which was interrupted by military service. He starred for the Cardinals, Giants and with the Yankees, winning five World Series championships in a row as a part of the Yankees dynasty of the late 1940s and early 50s.
Inducted into the Cardinals and Baseball Hall of Fame, Mize was never going to be a star defensively as he had limited range and was slow. As a hitter however he was outstanding, recording 2,011 hits in his career, 359 home runs and had a batting average of .312.
6. Hank Greenberg
Hank Greenberg was the first Jewish superstar in American major league sports. He played 13 seasons in the MLB with all but one of those with the Detroit Tigers.
Renowned for his power hitting, he drove in 184 runs in 1937, and a year later fell just two home runs short of matching Babe Ruth’s then-record of 60 runs in a single season.
A two-time World Series champion, Greenberg was AL MVP in those championship seasons in 1935 and 1940. He hit 331 home runs, had a batting average of .313 and he batted in 1,276 runs.
5. Willie McCovey
Willie McCovey is one of the best first basemen of all time and spent most of his career with the San Francisco Giants. A six-time All-Star, McCovey won the 1969 MVP award and was the NL home run leader three times.
Standing at six-foot-four, McCovey was a great all-round player and he could use his long arms to catch bad throws while keeping his foot on base. He hit 521 home runs, 18 grand slams, and was so feared, he was intentionally walked 260 times during his career.
4. Jimmie Foxx
Nine-time All-Star Jimmie Foxx was one of the most feared hitters during his era and he won consecutive World Series championships with the Philadelphia Athletics in 1929 and 1930.
Foxx was one of the greatest sluggers and he hit 534 home runs and had a career hitting percentage of .609. Defensively Foxx was versatile, had a fierce throwing arm, and is our fourth best first baseman of all time.
3. Stan Musial
Stan Musial played both first baseman and outfielder during his career, and earned 24 All-Star appearances. Defensively he was above average but with the bat he was an exceptional slugger, scoring 475 home runs during his career and finishing his career with a batting average of .331.
Musial also finished his career with the fourth most hits in MLB history with 3,630 hits. A seven-time batting champion and three-time MVP, Musial spent his entire career with the Cardinals and he won three World Series championships.
2. Albert Pujols
Albert Pujols is an 11-time All-Star, three-time NL MVP and he won the World Series twice with the St. Louis Cardinals. He played with an incredible level of power and consistency and is the second best baseman in MLB history.
At first base Pujols won two Gold Glove awards and was especially good at fielding balls hit between first and second base. Pujols hit 703 home runs, behind only Babe Ruth, Barry Bonds, and Hank Aaron for the all-time record.
How cool was it that Albert Pujols came back to the Cardinals for his final year and hit his 700th home run. #STLCards pic.twitter.com/ebb3mwBTqt
— Cardinal fan (@Cardinallfan) August 15, 2023
1. Lou Gehrig
One of the greatest baseball players of all time and a New York Yankees legend, Lou Gehrig is the best first baseman of all time and he spent his entire 17 years in the league with the Yankees.
A seven-time All-Star and six-time World Series champion, Gehrig registered 493 career home runs, had a batting average of .340 and an on-base average of .447.
Defensively Gehrig was elite with a .991 fielding percentage. He also went on to play 2,130 consecutive games, a record that stood for 56 years.
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