Top Ten Black Second Basemen of All Time Part 1
This is the fifth article in a series where the top ten Black baseball players at each position will be ranked.
Introduction
Some of these lists will include active players, and you may be surprised by some of my additions and omissions. I hope to spark debate and discussion of Black baseball players of the past and present with my writing, especially by baseball fans who are a part of the African diaspora.
The careers of those who played in the Negro Leagues, Latin America, and the Caribbean before the integration of MLB will be included. Black baseball players who have worn MLB uniforms will be featured as well.
Because of the lack of statistical data for Negro Leagues players, firsthand and secondhand accounts will play a significant part in these rankings. Surface level and advanced statistics will be present, so I hope those who strongly prefer one or the other are satisfied with my assessments.
The position player rankings will be much more difficult but rewarding and exciting, so I wanted to get those out of the way first. I will start with the catcher position and go in order based on each position's assigned number. There will be separate lists for Black starting pitchers and Black relievers, published last.
Honorable Mentions
Orlando Hudson
Ray Durham
Tony Taylor
Dave Cash
Newt Allen
Juan Samuel
Delino DeShields Sr.
Harold Reynolds
Frank White
Howie Kendrick
Rickie Weeks
Ozzie Albies
Jonathan Schoop
Eric Young Sr.
Marvin Williams
Dee Strange-Gordon
Top Ten Black Second Basemen of All Time (#10. - #6.)
Second base is a misunderstood position, often incorrectly viewed as a place for an infielder who lacks the defensive chops to play shortstop and/or the arm strength to play on the left side of the infield. While individuals such as Newt Allen, Henry Aaron, Larry Doby, and Marvin Williams played second base in the Negro Leagues, it was by far the weakest up the middle position regarding collective talent. In MLB this changed drastically, as there has been a plethora of notable Black second basemen from all over the African diaspora during The Integration Era. Organizing my top ten for this list was difficult, especially attempting to sort all of the talented 2Bs that played from the 1970s - 2000s.
10. Brandon Phillips
"Brandon is being Brandon. He's a mini version of T.O. and Ochcocinco. He stirs the pot. It's just what he does. Brandon thrives on that. You guys [in the media] thrive on that. I don't take it much seriously." - Bronson Arroyo
Brandon Phillips had an impressive career that spanned 17 seasons, retiring 19th in career defensive appearances at second base with 1831 total games. He was one of the best keystone defenders of his generation and a core piece of the Cincinnati Reds from the mid-2000s to the mid-2010s. The Atlanta, Georgia native was voted to three All-Star teams, collected four Gold Gloves, and won one Silver Slugger award.
He was drafted in the 2nd round of the 1999 MLB by the Montreal Expos directly out of Redan High School in Stone Mountain, Georgia. He forewent a dual scholarship to the University of Georgia for football and baseball after signing with the Expos for $697,000 dollars. He spent parts of four seasons in the Expos system, flashing a combination of speed and power that made him a top prospect amongst pundits and scouts. Phillips was involved in one of the most lopsided trades in MLB of the 21st century, getting traded from Montreal to Cleveland with Cliff Lee, Grady Sizemore, and Lee Stevens in exchange for Bartolo Colon and Tim Drew.
After struggling in four seasons shuffling between Cleveland’s Triple-A affiliate and the 25-man roster, Phillips was traded to the Cincinnati Reds in April 2006. Another major factor in the move was the obstructive relationship between the second baseman and Eric Wedge, the manager of Cleveland’s baseball team at the time. This change of scenery greatly benefitted the second baseman as he went 276/.324/.427 across 149 games with the Reds during the 2006 season. The first of 11 consecutive seasons in a Cincinnati uniform for Phillips, he has made the most defensive appearances by a Reds second baseman during the Integration Era.
During his time with the Reds, the Redan High School alumnus was one of the most durable and productive players in his position group. From 2006 to 2016 he was second in plate appearances, second in total hits, sixth in fWAR, seventh in bWAR, fourth in stolen bases, and fourth in runs scored out of 103 qualified second basemen. The combination of speed, power, and above-average defensive skills that made Phillips such an intriguing MiLB prospect were his defining traits during his MLB career.
Since The Integration Era began in 1947, he is one of three 2Bs to steal 30 bases and hit 30 home runs in a single season and one of six in his position group with at least 2000 hits, 200 stolen bases, and 200 home runs. He hit at least 15 home runs in eight consecutive seasons and posted an OPS above .700 in 11 of his 17 MLB seasons. Phillips was known for his flashy glove work at second base, frequently making highlight plays and putting his defensive aptitude on display. From 2006 to 2016 he was 15th in Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) and second in Ultimate Zone Rating (UZR) amongst 53 qualified second basemen with 2500 defensive innings.
He helped the Reds make three playoff appearances from 2010 to 2015 as one of the core pieces on a team that featured Joey Votto, Jay Bruce, Scott Rolen, Aroldis Chapman, Johnny Cueto, and Zack Cozart. After 11 seasons with the Reds, he played for the Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Angels, and Boston Red Sox before retiring.
9. Jim Gilliam
“He had a quiet voice when he talked, but like the E.F. Hutson commercial — when he talked, you listened. Jim had something about him, a quietness that was very strong. He never shouted, but had facial expressions that told you ‘it’s time to go!’” - Lou Johnson
Switch-hitting second baseman Jim “Junior” Gilliam was an important figure for the first two decades of MLB’s Integration Era. His professional career started with the Baltimore Elite Giants in 1946 as the youngest player in the Negro Leagues and he retired as a Los Angeles Dodger in 1966 while being MLB’s seventh oldest player. The only player in the history of professional baseball to hit a home run in an Negro Leagues East-West Game and the MLB All-Star Game, he was an integral component of a Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers team that won four World Series titles and made seven World Series appearances during the 1950s and 1960s.
The Nashville, Tennesse native and Pearl High School alumnus started playing semi-pro baseball for a paid wage at around 15 years old. At 16 years old he joined the Baltimore Elite Giants organization and reported to their minor league affiliate in Tennessee before being promoted to the Negro Leagues at 17. Originally a right-handed hitter, he began switch-hitting because of a suggestion from player-manager George “Tubby” Scales. The story goes that Gilliam was struggling with curveballs early in his Negro Leagues career and Scales told Gilliam to try and bat left-handed.
During his three seasons with the Elite Giants, Gilliam established himself as one of Black baseball’s most intriguing young players and was acquired by the Brooklyn Dodgers along with starting pitcher Joe Black for $11,000. After signing, he played with the Dodgers Triple-A affiliate in Montreal, Quebec, Canada during the 1951 and 1952 MiLB seasons. He impressed the Dodgers front office with the speed and on-base skills that were the defining traits of his player profile.
The switch-hitter debuted his MLB during the 1953 season, breaking into a Dodgers infield that featured Hall of Famers Pee Wee Reese, Jackie Robinson, and Gil Hodges. Brooklyn was in the middle of a contention window, making three appearances in the World Series between 1947 and 1952. While the Dodgers were a talented group, one major flaw in the construction of the 25-man roster was the fact that all eight of the team’s full-time position players were right-handed hitters. Another significant issue was the lack of a productive leadoff hitter and the need for a new second baseman because Jackie Robinson was dealing with knee problems that hindered his table-setting skills, eroded his defensive prowess, and his ability to accumulate extra-base hits was needed in a lower spot of the lineup.
Gilliam’s attributes as an athletic switch-hitter with elite on-base skills directly correlated with the Dodgers’ needs. He was Robinson’s replacement at second base and in the leadoff spot of the lineup. He was the Hall of Famer’s protege, learning how to compete at baseball’s highest level and getting coached on how to conduct himself off the field.
Gilliam followed in Robinson’s footsteps by winning the 1953 NL Rookie of the Year Award and helping Brooklyn reach the World Series, where they lost to the New York Yankees in seven games. He went .278/.383/.415 across 710 plate appearances with 151 games played during the 1953 season, accumulating 31 doubles, 17 triples, 125 runs scored, and 21 steals. “Junior” scored at least 100 runs in four consecutive seasons and reached the 20 stolen base mark four times. He was voted to the MLB All-Star Game twice and finished in the top ten for NL MVP voting in two different seasons. He played in 39 World Series games during his career, going .211/.326/.286 with 23 walks and nine strikeouts.
The second half of his career also had stark similarities to that of Jackie Robinson’s, moving from second to third base with a bit of time in left field. In a similar fashion to the way that Robinson mentored him, he took fellow second basemen Charlie Neal and Davey Lopes under his wing. He also transitioned from the lead-off spot to second in the lineup to accommodate shortstop Maury Wills's ability to table set and steal bases. He had a very scientific approach to batting second to give Wills the best chance to move into scoring position.
“I try to help him. Lots of times there are pitches I could swing at, but I see Maury out of the corner of my eye and take the pitch If I think he’s going to get the base”, Gilliam said. “Or else I’ll take a strike, even two strikes to give him a chance to steal it. If it looks like he could be caught, I’ll hit at the pitch. Maybe I’ll punch it through and Maury’ll be able to make it to third. Or else I’ll foul it off and he’s not out.”
During his MLB career, Gilliam batted first or second in 89% of his 8887 career plate appearances. He was a maestro at getting on base, owning a 2.49 career walk-to-strikeout ratio to go with 1102 walks and 416 career strikeouts. He personified durability, recording 10 seasons with at least 600 plate appearances and playing in at least 140 games for 11 consecutive seasons.
Although he was quiet, he was known for well-timed sarcasm and a vicious sense of humor. In his autobiography Glory Days with the Dodgers, and Other Days with Others, teammate John Roseboro recalled a time when an opposing player got knocked out attempting to steal second base and Gilliam sarcastically remarked “the first time I ever tagged out a dead man” as he picked up the ball and tagged the unconscious man out with a crowd of concerned players surrounding him.
Whenever Gilliam gambled against teammates in a game of pool, he would always enter the room and say “The Devil has come to collect his due” as he laid his bankroll on the pool table. He was one of the best pool players out of all the players in MLB and was known for emptying people’s pockets. His affinity for referring to himself as “The Devil” in third person when trash-talking led to the title being one of his lesser-known nicknames.
Between the 1964 and 1965 seasons, he became the second Black coach in MLB history and was simultaneously one of the last player-coaches in MLB history. He was the Dodgers’ first base coach and an everyday player. He originally planned to retire after the 1964 season but decided to play due to injuries to younger infielders on the 25-man roster. After retiring in 1966, he was the full-time first base coach for the Dodgers and one of the leading candidates to be MLB’s first Black manager alongside Larry Doby and Frank Robinson.
He was strongly considered when the opportunity opened up to manage the Los Angeles Dodgers after longtime manager Walter Alston retired and was one of two final candidates for the position. The title went to Gilliam’s former teammate and fellow coach on Alston’s staff Tommy Lasorda instead. He was renowned for his baseball intellect, and many assumed that he would be an MLB team’s manager sooner than later. Gilliam passed away unexpectedly in 1978 from a brain hemorrhage at the age of 49 and is buried in Inglewood, California.
8. Davey Lopes
“And as his confidence grew, Dave did just that, becoming outspoken, a catalyst, a leader. He was a guy whose blazing speed made things happen on the field and whose personality made things happen in the clubhouse. When something needed to be said to a teammate, even if it was critical, Lopes would be the guy to say it." - Tommy John
Davey Lopes succeeded Jim Gilliam as the Dodgers’ full-time second baseman and Maury Wills as the Dodgers’ leadoff batter during the 1970s. He arguably had a better individual career than both Gilliam and Wills although it came with far less postseason success. His style of play and career mirrored Gilliam’s in the same manner that Gilliam’s style of play and career mirrored Jackie Robinson’s. The one major difference is that Lopes did not remain a Dodger for his entire career like the other two did.
He grew up in East Providence, Rhode Island as one of ten children in a destitute Cape Verdean-Irish household. Despite being an All-State level star on the basketball court and the diamond during his time in high school, he got very few opportunities to continue playing sports at the collegiate level. He attended Iowa Wesleyan College and Washburn University, drawing the attention of scouts. He was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the 8th round of the 1967 MLB Draft. He decided not to sign so he could finish pursuing his college education. He was then drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2nd round of the 1968 MLB Draft Secondary Phase and decided to sign, joining the Dodgers organization at 23 years old.
Lopes started in the Dodgers farm system as an outfielder, playing with the ball club’s Low-A affiliate during his first two seasons of professional baseball. He was converted to a second baseman during the 1970 MiLB season, his first year with the Dodgers Triple-A affiliate. He played a total of three seasons at the Triple-A level before making his MLB debut at the end of the 1972 season. The 28-year-old Lopes went .275/.352/.351 with 13 doubles, five triples, six home runs, and 36 stolen bases during his first full season in 1973. He finished sixth in the voting for the NL Rookie of the Year Award in a stacked class that included Gary Matthews, Steve Rogers, Bob Boone, Dan Driessen, and Ron Cey.
Lopes established himself as the Dodgers full-time second baseman and lead-off batter for the decade, helping the Dodgers reach the World Series four times and win one World Series during his 10 years as a player on the ball club. He was a part of one of the most iconic infields in MLB history along with teammates Ron Cey, Bill Russell, and Steve Garvey. He was the protege of first base coach Jim Gilliam, getting guidance on playing second base and leading off in a similar fashion that Robinson guided Gilliam during their years on the same team. Lopes would later coach infield prospects in the Dodgers system during the latter half of his decade with the Dodgers. He made four straight All-Star appearances from 1978 to 1981 and received votes on the ballot for the NL MVP in 1978.
During the 1970s the National League was crowded with competitive teams and a multitude of talented players vying for the chance to win a World Series. The Dodgers’ main rivals during the decade were the Cincinnati Reds, Pittsburgh Pirates, Philadelphia Phillies, and New York Yankees. After 10 years with the Dodgers, Lopes spent his last six seasons in MLB with the Chicago Cubs, Oakland Athletics, and Houston Astros. He was a productive player who was hampered by injuries during the second half of his career, only appearing in more than 120 games in two seasons between 1981 and 1987.
He logged an OPS above .700 in 11 of his 16 seasons in MLB and his .263/.349/.388 career slash line grades out to a 111 wRC+. He recorded a wRC+ above 100 in 12 individual seasons. His 0.98 BB/K ratio on 852 career strikeouts and 833 career walks alludes to the similar approaches of Robinson and Gilliam.
He is one of the most prolific base stealers of The Integration Era, swiping at least 30 bases in eight individual seasons and stealing at least 20 bags in 13 different seasons. His single-season career high is 77 steals, which came amid six straight seasons with at least 40 steals. He is 26th all-time in career steals and one of 39 players with at least 500 career steals. During the 1975 season, Lopes broke a 53-year-old record by stealing 38 consecutive bases without getting caught.
What makes Lopes such a special base stealer is not just the total amounts he was able to accumulate but also the low rate at which he was caught. His career stolen base percentage is almost 20 points higher than the average player’s SB% during the same time period. In 1985 he became the first 40-year-old to steal 40 bases in a season, doing so in only 99 games.
He retired from playing in 1987 and quickly transitioned to coaching. He was the first base coach for the Baltimore Orioles from 1992 to 1994 and the San Diego Padres from 1995 to 1998. He got the opportunity to manage during the 2000 season, doing so for the Milwaukee Brewers. He was fired during the 2002 season and was relegated back to being a first base coach, a role that he participated in until he retired from professional baseball as a coach after the 2017 MLB season.
7. Marcus Semien
“He's a pillar of this organization. It's how we want to go about our business. He goes about it every day and works hard. He doesn't need to be the vocal leader. It's just by watching, you can learn from him and know everything you need to know about him.” - Corey Seager
The first active player to appear on The Red Black Green Baseball Blog’s Top Ten Black Players lists, Bay Area native and Texas Rangers star Marcus Semien is in the midst of one of the greatest all-around peaks for a second baseman during the 21st century. During his 11-year career, the 33-year-old middle infielder has been selected to two All-Star teams, won two Silver Sluggers, won one Gold Glove, and helped the Texas Rangers win their first World Series in 2023. He was born and raised in the East Bay region of The Bay Area as the son of parents who both grew up in The Bay Area and graduated from UC Berkley.
He was drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the 6th round of the 2011 MLB Draft out of UC Berkley as a shortstop. The 2011 MLB Draft is the greatest draft of the 21st century and one of the greatest drafts in MLB history. Some of the standout names from that draft are Gerrit Cole, Anthony Rendon, Francisco Lindor, Javy Baez, George Springer, Jose Fernandez, Jackie Bradley Jr., Trevor Story, and Mookie Betts.
Semien spent parts of three seasons in Minor League Baseball, debuting with the White Sox Low-A affiliate during the 2011 season. He went .274/.373/.468 during his MiLB career and made his MLB debut during the 2013 season. He made his MLB debut on September 4th, 2013 versus the New York Yankees, collecting two hits and one RBI in a 5-6 loss. He played in only 21 games for the White Sox during the 2013 season and logged a majority of his defensive appearances at second and third base. During the 2014 season, he appeared in 64 games with the White Sox and played in 83 games with the White Sox Triple-A affiliate. In December 2014, he was traded along with Chris Bassitt and two other players to the Oakland Athletics in exchange for Jeff Samardzija and Michael Ynoa.
During his six seasons with the A’s, the second-generation UC Berkley student added to the organization’s rich history with Black baseball players from The Bay Area contributing in prominent roles for the ball club. He is part of an exclusive fraternity that includes Rickey Henderson, Mike Norris, Claudell Washington, and Dave Stewart. He grew into the leader of the A’s during his tenure and was renowned for his engagement with fans and the community off the field. He broke out as Oakland’s full-time shortstop during the 2015 season, hitting .257/.310/.405 with 23 doubles and 15 home runs.
Semien then followed it up by hitting 27 doubles and 27 home runs during the 2016 season. He missed half of the 2017 season due to a wrist injury and the effects lingered during the 2018 season, limiting his ability to accrue extra-base hits. During the 2019 season, Semien took the leap from a solid shortstop into one of the best position players in all of MLB. He played in all 162 games, slashing .285/.369/.522 with 43 doubles and 33 home runs. He finished third in the BBWAA voting for AL MVP because of his performance as the centerpiece for an Oakland A’s team that went 97-65 and made its second straight playoff appearance.
After struggling during the shortened 2020 season to the tune of a .679 OPS, he entered free agency and was expected to leave his hometown team due to a weak contract offer. He signed a one-year deal with the Toronto Blue Jays for $18 million dollars in late January 2021. He provided more star power, leadership, and a veteran presence to a talented but young Blue Jays ball club that featured George Springer, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette, and Cavan Biggio.
Toronto was competing in a crowded AL East division against the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, and Tampa Bay Rays. The AL East division had four teams win at least 90 games in 2021, with the Rays winning 100 and the division. Boston and New York finished tied with 92, and the 91-win Blue Jays finished fourth in the division and missed the playoffs.
The Rangers second baseman was selected to his first All-Star game during the 2021 season, playing in all 162 games and leading MLB in plate appearances for the second time in his career. He went .265/.334/.538 with 39 doubles and 45 home runs, bouncing back to his MVP-level form. He transitioned from shortstop to second base on an everyday basis due to the presence of shortstop Bo Bichette on the Blue Jays 25-man roster. '
After the 2021 season, Semien was once again a free agent. In January 2022, he signed a 7-year contract with the Texas Rangers for $175 million dollars to be their full-time second baseman. This deal was the second major free agent signing by Texas after signing shortstop Corey Seager to a 10-year deal for $300 million dollars in December 2021. Semien has continued to perform at an elite level, helping the Rangers turn around from a 60-102 record in 2021 and a 68-94 record in 2022 to 90 wins and the franchise’s World Series victory in 2023.
Since becoming a full-time second baseman during the 2021 season, Semien has been one of the most productive players at his position in all three major facets of the game. From 2021 to 2023 he is ranked first in games played, place appearances, total hits, doubles, home runs, and RBI out of 39 qualified second basemen. For those who are familiar with advanced metrics, his 120 wRC+ on a .263/.329/.482 slash line is sixth, his .346 wOBA is fourth, and his fWAR is fourth for qualified 2Bs from 2021 to 2023.
Out of 39 qualified players in his position group to log at least 1000 defensive innings from 2021 - 2023, Semien stands out in a variety of categories. He is first in defensive innings, Defensive Runs Saved (DRS), and Ultimate Zone Rating (UZR). He is fifth amongst 111 qualified 2Bs in Baseball Savant’s Outs Above Average (OAA) metric from 2021 to 2023. He has also been one of the most productive baserunners in his position group, being in the top ten for stolen bases and FanGraph’s comprehensive BsR metric for second basemen during his three seasons as a full-time keystone defender.
6. Willie Randolph
One of the most underrated position players of his era, Willie Randolph was one of the stars who helped the Yankees conquer an era of mediocrity that burdened the Bronx Bombers for most of the 60s and 70s. He was selected to the MLB All-Star game six times during his 18-year career and is eighth all-time in defensive appearances as a second baseman. When his career started in 1975 he was one of the ten youngest players in MLB and during his last season in 1992, he was one of the ten oldest players in MLB.
He was born in South Carolina as the oldest of five children sharecroppers and the great-grandson of slaves in 1954. His family immigrated to Brownsville, a 1.163 square-mile neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York soon after his birth. Formerly a majority Jewish neighborhood from the late 1800s to the early 1950s, Brownsville received a massive influx of African-Americans and Puerto Ricans during the Second Great Migration in the 1950s and 1960s.
Randolph was drafted in the seventh round of the 1972 MLB Draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates out of Samuel J. Tilden High School in Brooklyn, New York. He was signed by Dutch Deutsch, a former minor leaguer and veteran scout who worked for the Giants, White Sox, and Pirates during his long baseball career. After three years in MiLB, he made his debut with Pittsburgh during the 1975 season. The 20-year-old went .164/.246/.180 in 30 games and was subsequently traded to the New York Yankees along with Dock Ellis and Ken Brett in exchange for Yankees pitcher Doc Medich during the offseason.
He immediately became the Yankees starting second baseman for the 1976 season and made his first of back-to-back appearances in the MLB All-Star Game. He went .267/.356/.328 with 37 steals during his first full season, logging 125 games played and 500 plate appearances. He helped the Yankees defeat the Kansas City Royals in the 1976 ALCS before facing the Cincinnati Reds in the 1976 World Series, where they were swept in four games.
The next season the Yankees made another appearance in the World Series, this time defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers to secure their first World Series in 15 years. Randolph played in six Championship Series and four World Series during his postseason career. He logged a .222/.304/.346 slash line across 184 total postseason plate appearances in 11 total series with Pittsburgh, New York, and Oakland.
Randolph was a right-handed second baseman with very little power and elite on-base skills, owning a .373% on-base percentage and a 1.84 walk-to-strikeout ratio for his career. 1775 of his 2210 total hits are singles, he never reached 30 doubles in an individual season, and he never hit more than seven home runs in an individual season. His 1243 walks are fourth all-time and he is one of 14 with 1000 career walks drawn out of 715 qualified players in his position group.
The anchor of Randolph’s profile was his defensive ability, which is underrated because he never received a Gold Glove. He was one of the best defensive second basemen of the 1970s and 1980s, forming a potent double-play duo with Buckey Dent during his prime years. He was a slightly above-average base runner, swiping at least 30 bags in four seasons and owning 271 stolen bases for his career.
The hometown hero went on to play 13 seasons with the Yankees, adding to the ball club’s rich history of New York City natives wearing pinstripes. He received five of his six All-Star selections while playing for the Yankees and helped the ball club reach three World Series. He is top ten in plate appearances, runs scored, walks drawn, and stolen bases in the Yankees records books.
He was voted as a Co-Captain of the Yankees during the 1986 season along with franchise ace Ron Guidry. They shared the position until 1988 when Randolph departed the Yankees in free agency and Guidry retired. He was part of a group of prominent Black Yankees who wore pinstripes during the 1970s and 1980s that included Roy White, Chris Chambliss, Dave Winfield, Rickey Henderson, Ken Griffey Sr., Mickey Rivers, Oscar Gamble, Reggie Jackson, and Luis Tiant.
Randolph played for the Los Angeles Dodgers for two seasons before being traded to Oakland A’s in 1990. He played for the Milwaukee Brewers during the 1991 season and then played with his hometown team New York Mets during the 1992 season. He retired after the 1992 season and quickly transitioned to coaching. He was on the Yankees staff throughout the 1990s and early 2000s as a base coach and bench coach until he got the opportunity to manage the New York Mets in 2005. He was fired as the Mets manager in 2008 and shifted back to being a bench coach with various organizations over the years. The 69-year-old is currently a candidate to be a bench coach for the recently appointed New York Mets manager Carlos Mendoza.
Explaining My List
Brandon Phillips was a slightly above-average 2B who did a little bit of everything. Trying to figure out the tenth spot for this list was extremely tricky. You have individuals like Frank White and Orlando Hudson who were equal or arguably superior defenders. Plus Ray Durham, Howie Kendrick, and Rickie Weeks were better hitters but had their own flaws. And then you have the other 2Bs in the Honorable Mentions category who accumulated their way to similar career numbers as Phillips.
Phillips is one of the very few 2Bs with a 30/30 season and 200 home runs/200 steals. He also reached the coveted 2000 hit mark. These three factors are huge reasons why I put him top ten over other 2Bs with similar numbers, more individual hardware, and/or more postseason history.
Gilliam is one of the most underrated position players of his era. Position players who didn’t accumulate extra-base hits at a high rate but still drew a lot of walks did not get as much credit in past eras as they would during the 2010s and 2020s, especially the ones who scored a lot of runs like Gilliam. Gilliam drew 1000 walks during his career while striking out only 400 times. Say that out loud in order to process how absurd it is. Gilliam didn’t get any Gold Gloves because of Bill Mazeroski but he was an equal defender when their prime years coincided during the 1950s and 1960s.
I went with Lopes over Gilliam because Lopes was the better baserunner and run scorer who hit for more power. Gilliam was too good to be tenth but wasn’t good enough offensively to surpass Lopes despite being the better defender and having superior on-base skills. Gilliam’s stolen base numbers are very mediocre for someone with his reputation and the lack of doubles and triples really prevented him from being higher on this list.
Lopes was an overrated defender and shouldn’t have as many Gold Gloves as he does. He was a consistently slightly above-average hitter, posting 8 seasons with an OPS above .750. He is one of the most underrated baserunners of all time, especially when looking at how high his success rate was to go with at least 40 stolen bags in pretty much half of the seasons he played. He was an elite baserunner throughout his career, swiping 40 bags at 40 years old. Lopes setting the record for most consecutive steals without getting caught is a fact that often gets glossed over when discussing great base stealers.
Semien was a conflicting addition for me. I originally had him on The Red Black Green Baseball Blog’s Top Ten Shortstops list but looking at the fact that his career games played at second base is already more than half of his career games played at shortstop and he is going to be the Rangers full-time second baseman as long as Corey Seager is able to draw breath, I felt it was safe to put him with the 4s instead of the 6s.
Semien has scored 100 runs and hit at least 25 home runs in all three seasons that he's played second base full-time, something else that no other 2B can say during that span. His 45 home runs in 2021 are the most by a second baseman in a single season. As mentioned in his section, he appears to be the best all-around 2B in the game by being elite in all of the major facets when compared to others in his position group. At 32 years old, he is in the midst of his prime and has plenty of time to climb this list as he accumulates more defensive appearances at 2B.
Willie Randolph is a borderline Hall of Famer and his career provides a strong case for why second basemen are underrated along with others like Bobby Grich and Lou Whitaker. Drawing 1000 career walks is no small feat. He was a slightly above-average baserunner, hitters reaching 30 steals was a lot more common during the ‘70s and ‘80s than it was been during the 2010s up until the rules were changed for the 2023 MLB season.
Randolph was also underrated defensively, never winning a Gold Glove at his position despite finishing eighth all-time in defensive appearances for a 2B and combining for one of the best double-play duos of the 70s and 80s with Buckey Dent. He is also another example of a position player with little power who relied on walks that didn’t get credit for his on-base-oriented approach. He was a durable and solid offensive player who played top-tier defense and was respectable on the base paths for almost two decades.
