Dave , I agree that Schmidt could be the best ever at that position but I would take Brooks over anybody watching that man do his thing was amazing . Boggs I realize is not in the same category as Robinson and Schmidt but I liked the way he played the game with a bit of swagger just a favorite of mine
Eddie Matthews was before my time never saw him play so I cant comment on him.
Boggs is always in the the top 10 of all time on every list I have ever seen so I do not agree with you that he does not belong with Scmidt and Robinson He was not as good as either of those guys but I enjoyed his playing a bunch.
Greatest Third Baseman of All Time by Marcel Mansour
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Columnist Written on November 22, 2008 Vote Now! - Author Poll
Who is the best third baseman ever?
Mike Schmidt George Brett Chipper Jones Brooks Robinson Other vote to see results 10. David Wright
Even though it may be too early to put Wright on this list, I am going to. In just five seasons, he has a .309 average, 130 home runs, 489 RBI, 464 runs scored, 819 base hits, and 92 stolen bases.
He has been selected to the All Star team three times, staring at third for two of them. He has also won two Silver Slugging Awards and has become one of the best defensive players in the league as he has won the Gold Glove award the last two seasons.
9. Alex Rodriguez
Rodriguez is so damn good that he is number one on my shortstop list and on this list even though he has only been playing third for the past five seasons. He has a .300 average, 208 home runs, 626 RBI, 596 runs scored and 106 stolen bases as a third baseman and has been selected to the All Star team five times and won three Silver Slugging Awards at third.
As a third baseman, A Rod has won two of three MVP awards in the 2005 and 2007 seasons. His best season came in 2007 as he had a .314 average, 54 home runs, 156 RBI, 143 runs scored, 24 stolen bases, a .422 on base percentage and a .645 slugging percentage. Finally, he has proven to be a solid defensive third baseman as he had a .962 fielding percentage.
8. Scott Rolen
Rolen is one of the best offensive and defensive third baseman to ever play. So far, in 13 seasons, he has a .282 average, a .370 on base percentage, 272 home runs, 1062 RBI's, 1012 runs scored, 410 doubles and 109 stolen bases. He won the Rookie of the Year Award in 1997 and has won a Silver Slugging Award in 2002.
He has been selected to the All Star team five times, starting at third base in three of them. He is also one of the greatest defensive third baseman of all time as he has already won seven Gold Glove Awards.
He won a championship as he was a part of the Cardinals team that won the World Series in 2006. However, he has had several injury problems that have severely hurt his great career.
7. Paul Molitor
Molitor was one of the best hitters ever. In his long 21-year career, he had a .306 average, a .369 on base percentage, 234 home runs, 1307 RBI' 1782 runs scored, 605 doubles and 504 stolen bases. He was selected to the All Star game seven times and won four Silver Slugging Awards.
He ranks ninth all time in career base hits as he had 3319 and he had his best season in 1993. In that season, he had a .332 average, 22 home runs, 111 RBI, 121 runs scored, 211 base hits, 37 doubles and 22 stolen bases as he finished second in the MVP voting.
Finally, he won a championship as he was a key member of the 1993 Blue Jays team that won the World Series.
6. Eddie Mathews
Matthews was one of the best power hitters ever. In his 17-year career, he had a .271 average, a .376 on-base percentage, 512 home runs, 1453 RBI, 1509 runs scored, and 2315 base hits.
He was selected to the All Star team 12 times, starting at third in seven of them, and he had two home run titles. He also won two championships, as he helped lead the Braves and the Tigers each to a World Series victory.
5. Wade Boggs
Boggs was one of the best pure hitters of all time. In his 18 year career, he had a .328 average, a .415 on-base percentage, 118 home runs, 1014 RBI, 1513 runs scored, and 578 doubles. He was selected to the All Star team 12 times, stating in 11 of them at third and he won eight Silver Slugging Awards.
He won the batting title an amazing five times in a six-year span, and he also won six on-base percentage titles. Boggs was also one of the better defensive infielders, as he won back to back Gold Glove award in 1994 and 1995. Finally, he won a championship as he was a member of the 1996 Yankees team that won it all.
4. Brooks Robinson
Robinson is without a doubt the greatest defensive third baseman of all time and arguably the greatest defensive player as any position. He won an unheard of 16 consecutive Gold Glove Awards from the 1960 season until the 1975 season.
He was a good hitter as he had a .267 average, 268 home runs, 1357 RBI, 1232 runs scored, 2848 base hits, and 482 doubles.
He was selected to the All Star team an amazing eighteen times, starting at third base in eleven of them. He won the MVP Award in the 1964 season as he had a .317 average, 28 home runs, 118 RBI, and 82 runs scored.
Finally, he won two championships as he led the Orioles to the World Series four times, winning two of them.
3. Chipper Jones
Chipper has been one of the most consistent players over the last 15 seasons as he had 20 or more homers for 14 consecutive seasons. So far in his career, he has a .310 average, 408 home runs, 1374 RBI, 1378 runs scored, 2277 base hits, 449 doubles, and 138 stolen bases.
He has won two Silver Slugging Awards in the 1999 and 2000 season.
He has been selected to the All Star team six times, starting at third base in five of them. His best season came in 1999 as he had a .319 average, a .441 on-base percentage, a .633 slugging percentage, 45 home runs, 110 RBI, 116 runs scored, and 25 stolen bases as he won his only MVP award.
Finally, he won a championship as he led the Braves to three World Series appearances, winning their only one in 1995.
2. George Brett
Brett was one of the best offensive players ever. In his long 21-year career, he had a .305 average, a .369 on-base percentage, 317 home runs, 1595 RBI, 1583 runs scored, 665 doubles, and 201 stolen bases. He was selected to the All Star team 13 times, starting at third in nine of them and three Silver Slugging Awards.
He won three batting titles and was a solid defensive player as he won a Gold Glove award in 1980. His best season came in 1980 as he won the MVP award despite only playing 117 games.
In that season, he had a .390 average, 24 home runs, 118 RBI, 87 runs scored and 15 stolen bases. Finally, he won a championship as he led the Royals to the World Series twice, winning it all in 1985.
1. Mike Schmidt
Schmidt is the greatest third baseman of all time, as he was great both offensively and defensively. In his 18-year career, he had a .267 average, a .380 on-base percentage, 548 home runs, 1595 RBI, 1506 runs scored, 2234 base hits and 174 stolen bases. He was selected to the All Star team 12 times, starting at third in seven of them, and he won six Silver Slugging Award in the early to mid '80s.
He was a great defensive third baseman as he won nine consecutive Gold Glove awards and 10 in total. He is tied for second all time with three MVP awards. His best season was in 1980, when he had a .286 average, a .380 on-base percentage, 48 home runs, 121 RBI, 104 runs scored, and 12 stolen bases.
Finally, he led the Phillies to their first championship in 1980 as he won the World Series MVP award.
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