Post by sansterre - Milwaukee Brewers on Mar 30, 2019 20:45:20 GMT -5
First on our list, Bill Terry! Terry was the first basemen for John McGraw's Giants teams in the late 1920s and early 1930s. During Terry's career (1926-1936) the Giants had a losing record only twice. Terry was an excellent fielder, worth 73 runs over average, but also had an OPS+ of 136 over 7109 plate appearances. Over the course of his career he made three All-Stars, won one ring and ended with a JONS of 35.8. After those catchers I'd bet that an OPS+ of 136 sounds pretty good, right? Well for a catcher it would be extraordinary, but for a first basemen in this building it's merely decent; of the 32 first basemen represented here Terry's 132 is 21st.
His peak was quite good, leading the NL in WAR in both 1930 and 1931 (with 7.6 and 6.1 respectively). He didn't start for the Giants until he was 26, didn't break 3 WAR until he was 28 and had no strong seasons after 36; these boundaries limit his value historically. In that nine-year window he was consistently excellent. He hit for good average (a career 341 hitter he finished in the top 10 eight times) and solid power (four top tens in home runs and five in doubles). He just didn't take walks, and while that wasn't considered a weakness for his era, that doesn't make him a better player. The 132 OPS+ combined with his excellent glove might have been enough to get him to Bronze if his career had been longer.
As an aside, don't be too swept up by that 341 batting average. In 1930 he hit 401, which sounds amazing, but the NL average was 303 that year. That would be like hitting 343 in the modern game; good, but not jaw-dropping. Context matters.
With a skip and a jump, forty years later we have Harmon Killebrew! Killebrew broke into the majors at 18 in 1954 for the Washington Senators (which became the Minnesota Twins) and played for them until he was 38. His OPS+ was an excellent 143 over 9833 plate appearances. He won an MVP and thirteen All-Star appearances, finishing with a JONS of 36.7. "An MVP and 13 All-Stars?" you may ask. "143 OPS+ over almost 10k PA's?" How is this guy only an honorable mention? Good question. There's good and bad to every player; let's start with the good.
Killer Killebrew was a monster home run hitter. He led the league in home runs six times, finishing with 573. He also led the league in walks four times. "Wow!" you may say, "He's got incredible power and incredible patience! What else is there?" Well guys, over the course of today you'll hear me tell you that batting average is overrated, that people forget the other skills. Well now this is me telling you that it can be overrated and still very important. Killebrew was only a 256 lifetime hitter. And while we're at it, his gap power was suspect as well. If he made contact Killebrew was swinging for the fences, not for line drives. Here are his career rankings for hitting stats in Major League History (no PBL): 12th in home runs, 15th in walks, 497th in doubles, 457th in singles and worse than 1000th in triples. 27.4% of his hits were home runs and of the top 200 first basemen in MLB history, only two had a higher rate; Russel Branyan and another gentleman you'll meet in the next twenty minutes. Killebrew was also an atrocious fielder, costing his team 78 runs over his career with his glove, and costing another 51 runs with a combination of bad baserunning and hitting into double plays.
Basically, imagine a player who couldn't field, was slow as molasses in January, with incredible patience and incredible power whose decision-making switch was stuck on the "swing for the fences" setting. His weaknesses were so considerable that they drop him from Gold or Silver level Hall of Famer to Honorable Mention. But his strengths were historically strong.
From around the same time, being placed at first even though he played four thousand plus innings at three different positions, Joe Torre! Torre came up in 1961 for the Milwaukee Braves as a catcher. He ended up splitting time at first, as an indirect result of capable catcher Del Crandall already being on the roster. In 1969, at age 28, he was traded to the Cardinals who had Tim McGarver at catcher, so his six years with them were spent mostly at third and some at first. At all stages he demonstrated a solid bat, with an OPS+ of 129 over 8802 plate appearances, and an average glove (except at third, where he was fairly bad). Over his career he won a Gold Glove, made nine All-Stars and won an MVP, finishing with a JONS of 31.
An OPS+ of 129 is on the low end for a first baseman, but with almost nine thousand PA (and time at skill positions) you'd think his JONS would be higher. Part of it is his weak fielding at third but he was also a liability on the basepaths, costing his team an estimated 57 runs between baserunning and hitting into double plays. He was a good hitter, in the top ten of batting average four times in his career. His 1971 season, where he won an MVP, is emblematic of his makeup as a player. He hit 363/429/555 with an OPS+ of 171, leading the league in hitting. However, between his running and his glove he cost his team a whopping 28 runs (making 21 errors was a big part of it) and finished with a WAR of 5.9, which is excellent, but in no way keeping with a third baseman who could hit like that.
If you're getting hungry, you might be happy to see that we're at the Big Mac himself, Mark McGwire! There may not be a more extreme player in this building than Mark McGwire. The better half of the Bash Brothers McGwire was a ferocious hitter, with a career OPS+ of 163 over 7660 plate appearances. Only three first basemen ever have had an OPS+ that good or higher and they're all Gold or above. Over his career he won Rookie of the Year (but only once three Silver Sluggers, a Gold Glove, a ring and made twelve All-Star games. McGwire hit for decent average (263 career average) but walked a ton (leading the league in walks twice, finishing in the top ten 9 times) and most of all hit mountains of home runs. He broke Roger Maris' single-season home run record in 1998 with 70; he led the league in home runs four times with ten seasons in the top ten. Of all hitters ever, he has the highest HR to at bat ratio, hitting a home run every 10.61 at bats. He was fairly slow (-37 runs), was a fairly weak fielder (-29 runs) and had a relatively short career (besides Lance Berkman, he has the shortest career of any first baseman in this building in the modern era). All of these things restrained his JONS rating to 40.3. 40.3 is a great number, generally high enough to qualify for Bronze. Yet here he is, an Honorable Mention.
Do you remember how I said that we considered other factors besides the JONS rating? Mark McGwire is an admitted steroid user, violating the rules to obtain a competitive advantage. Is that enough for us to keep him out of this building? Of course not! This building is for history. Mark McGwire being a great hitter who cheated is part of that history. And it's absolutely worth demoting him a tier to Honorable Mention.
Speaking of which, Rafael Palmiero! Drafted in the first round by the Cubs but doing most of his playing for the Rangers and Orioles, Rafael Palmiero played in the majors from 1986 to 2005 (21 to 40 years old). During that time he accumulated two Silver Sluggers, three Gold Gloves and Four All-Star appearances. He had an OPS+ of 132 over 12046 plate appearances, finishing with a JONS of 42.7. Consistently really good, but never dominant, he had almost no weaknesses. He finished with a glove worth 48 runs above average and brace yourself for these top tens: five times for batting average, five times for doubles, eleven times for home runs and seven times for walks. He was really good at pretty much everything, and for a long time. He only had two 6+ WAR years, and five 5+, but a JONS of 42.7 is excellent, and certainly enough to qualify for Bronze.
Oh wait, the steroid thing. Right, about that. Unlike McGwire, Palmiero has denied using steroids to anyone who would listen. That said there is a lot of evidence against him. Jose Canseco named him as a fellow steroid user (not that Canseco is super-reliable, but still), another teammate made a similar observation, but most of all, he did actually test positive for steroids during his career. He insists that he was innocent, and it is possible. But again, when you're a low Bronze and you have something like this on your record, Honorable Mention is the right move.
The best fielding MLB first-baseman not named Keith Hernandez, John Olerud! So, thought exercise. Let us say that there's a first baseman who made it into this building, but never hit more than 25 home runs in a season. What else would they need to get this far? "Well," you might say, "they'd need all the help they can get." Because with no serious home run power at first you need pretty much everything else to be on point. John Olerud was exactly that player; he hit for excellent contact (career 297 hitter), struck out very rarely, had good doubles power (four top tens), had a great glove (+103 runs over his career and 3 Gold Gloves), and walked a ton (nine top tens). He only had two All-Star Appearances and won two rings with the Blue Jays. He played from 1989 to 2005 (ages 20-36), finished with a career OPS+ of 129 over 9063 plate appearances, for a final JONS of 32.8. You may be thinking, "I don't care about these other skills, without home run power you can't put up big WAR numbers for your team", but you'd be wrong. He had two 7+ WAR seasons: in 1993 at age 24 he had a 7.8 WAR year where he hit 363/473/599 with 54 doubles; in 1998 at age 29 for the Mets he hit 354/447/551 and added 15 runs of excellent fielding. You can be great at first without power. And John Olerud did it.
How much can you achieve if your only dominant skill is taking walks? Let's ask Lance Berkman! Berkman started for the Astros in 2000 at age 24 and played with them through the age of 34. He played more outfield than anything, but played first almost as much, and more than any one outfield position, so here he is. He appeared in 6 All-Star games, won one ring (with St. Louis at age 35), and was a formidable hitter, boasting an OPS+ of 148 (12th best ever for a first baseman) over a short career of 7135 plate appearances. He hit for good average (career 291 hitter), had good power (two top tens in doubles, four in home runs) but walked a ton (ten seasons in the top ten, which was pretty much his whole career since he only started for 12 seasons). An interesting note, despite not being a good baserunner he is one of the few first basemen to rarely hit into double plays. His short career works against him, but he had four 6+ WAR seasons. He was also an excellent postseason performer; in 224 PA he hit 317/417/532 including a 423/516/577 line for the Cardinals on route to the World Series. As players in this building go, he had a short career. But he was one of the best at his position during it.
Speaking of the Steroid Era, the gift that keeps on giving, Jason Giambi! Giambi started for Oakland in 1996 (when he was 25) and his last substantive year was with the Yankees in 2008 (when he was 37). His career was all peak; he only had six seasons above 3 WAR (which is crazy low) but three above 7 including a 9.2. He won an MVP at age 30 for that 9.2 WAR season; he also won two Silver Sluggers and five All-Stars, averaging a 139 OPS+ over 8908 plate appearances. He was an incredibly bad fielder (-83) but at his peak a ferocious hitter. He led the league in walks four times, and finished top ten in average three times and home runs seven times. He was a career 277 hitter, but from 1996 to 2002 he hit 291, 293, 295, 315, 333, 342, 314. His peak was incredible (that 342/477/660 season that I keep talking about, an OPS+ of 199) but besides those six seasons he was pretty mediocre. It all combines for a JONS score of 33.6. He also admitted to using steroids during his career, which puts a bit of a damper on how great his peak was. At his best he was amazing. But also, cheater cheater pumpkin-eater.
A diverse player, Mark Teixeira! Teixeira followed the career of arc of may players in this building; start off on one team, become a big name, then go play for the Yankees. Tex was drafted and developed by the Rangers, breaking into the majors at 23 (in 2003) and enjoying early success, specifically a 7.2 WAR season at age 25 (301/379/575 with 13 runs of fielding). That year ended up being a bit of a tease; while he ended his career with six total 4+ WAR seasons he only broke 6 WAR that once. He was well-rounded, winning three Silver Sluggers, five Gold Gloves, three All-Stars and winning a single ring (with the Yankees in 2009). His career was unusually short (done by age 36); he put up a comparably low OPS+ of 126 over 8029 plate appearances, adding 99 runs with his glove. His contact was only average (268 career hitter) but he did have five top ten finishes for home runs and another four in walks. His JONS is 32.5, on the low side for an Honorable Mention, is fortified by his excellent glove and his one peak season. Of all the MLB first basemen in this building, he had the third best glove.
Up next, he loves it when you call him Big Papi, David Ortiz! Ortiz is an exception to a lot of rules for this building. His JONS is below the Honorable Mention threshold, at 29.1. It's not because he couldn't hit, he put up 141 OPS+ over 10,091 plate appearances. His glove wasn't a liability, but that's part of the problem because he DH'd most of his career. And that penalizes him considerably; consider his 2007 season when he OPS+'d 171 with a 332/445/621 line, which was only worth 6.4 WAR. It is reaally hard to rack up serious value when you only play DH; good-hitting DH's are so plentiful that even being an incredible hitter is only so much better than replacement level. So even though he was a phenomenal hitter (top tens include nine in home runs, nine in walks, ten in extra base hits (league leading four times), winning seven Silver Sluggers and ten All-Stars) his WAR was never incredible because he couldn't play a position.
Ortiz came up with the Twins but was a poor fit for an organization that didn't like platooning (early on Ortiz struggled to hit lefties), and favored prospects with speed and fielding ability. The Twins waived him, the Red Sox snatched him up, and the rest is history. From ages 27 through 40 (2003 to 2016) Ortiz slugged the Red Sox to eight playoffs and three rings. The reason Ortiz is included here, despite his low JONS, is that he is perhaps the most clutch postseason hitter in history. His career 289/404/543 in the playoffs (over 369 PA) is quite good but his strength is even greater. There is a stat called WPA that basically credits (or penalizes) every batter with their effects on the chances of winning a game. Hit a home run when your team is winning (or losing) by ten? Almost no credit; after all, the game is effectively over. Hit a home run with the bases loaded, down by three with two out in the 9th? You get credit for almost an entire win right there, because the probability of winning before your hit (probably 15% or so) changed to the probability of winning after the hit (100%), so you get credit for 85% of a win. It's basically the clutch hitting stat. David Ortiz' bat in the playoffs was worth 3.2 WPA, or 3.2 wins above average based on the timing of his hits. This is the highest playoff WPA in MLB history, and 2nd in MLB/PBL history. Ortiz probably did not provide enough regular season value to his teams to deserve a place in this building. But it's hard to say no to one of the best clutch postseason hitters in history. He is one of the primary reasons why the Honorable Mention section exists.
Jumping ahead several decades, say hello to Sean Hanson! Hanson came up with Toronto, breaking into the majors at age 24 in 2022. He peaked in 2025 at age 27 with a 7.4 WAR year with 330/393/653 slash stats and winning an MVP. His contact and power slowly receded, as his WAR totals fell: 6.1, 4, 4.3, 4.8 and 3.3 at age 32. The Blue Jays opted to let him test free agency and Texas swung hard, signing Hanson to a three year, thirty million per deal. Hanson played decently for them (2.4, 5.0 and 3.9 WAR) but in no way commensurate with his salary. He averaged a respectable 137 OPS+ over 10920 plate appearances, he cost his team 48 runs with his glove, made six All-Stars and finished with a JONS of 33.4.
Hanson hit for excellent average and power. He was in the top 10 in hits 9 times, in the top 5 in total bases eight times (leading the league three times), top ten in doubles eight times, top ten in home runs nine times . . . but only in the top ten in WAR three times. He was also unusually durable, playing in all 162 games in four different seasons. This is all great, so why only a JONS of 33.4? In part because he was a bad fielder and walked relatively rarely. But also because he was only rarely dominant in the league; it's pretty hard for any player to make Bronze or above with only two seasons above 5 WAR. Hanson could be consistently counted on to cost you a couple runs with his glove and hit 290/350/510 year-in and year-out. Was he consistently one of the better hitters in the league? Absolutely. But at first base a 290/350/510 line is worth 4 WAR. It's nice, borderline All-Star, but not great. On the plus side he was a monster in the playoffs, hitting 333/385/617 in 244 PA in the postseason, including 2024 when he hit 393/443/714 and almost single-handedly took the Yankees to seven games in the ALCS.
Playing around the same time, Pedro Chavez! Chavez and Hanson are different versions of the same player. Chavez had notably worse contact (264 career hitter) but much more patience, a little more power (230 ISO vs. 220) and a better glove (average, but that's 50 runs better than Hanson). Chavez came up with San Diego but was traded four times before he was 31. Like Hanson he had a few flashes of dominance (a 6.6 WAR season at age 28 in 2027 where he hit 279/331/599 was his best) but he was more often consistently good. He had only one season above 6 WAR, two above 5, but eight above 4 and eleven above 3. His OPS+ was 135 (slightly lower than Hanson) over 10273 plate appearances for a JONS of 31.0; he won a single Silver Slugger and made four All-Star games. Unfortunately, at first, being a really good hitter (and 135 OPS+ is really good, if not historically good) is just not enough.
The most distinctive first-baseman on this list, Alvin Raymond! Raymond came up in 2032 (at age 23) for the Red Sox but was traded before the year ended (and another five more times before he retired in 2047 at age 38). Raymond played for eight teams over his career, and only Pittsburgh (with whom he won his only ring) for more than three seasons. Raymond hit for an OPS+ of 121 over 9633 plate appearances, easily the lowest mark of any first baseman in the building. And yet he finishes with a JONS of 35.2, higher than Hanson or Chavez. What gives?
Raymond was the best fielding first baseman ever. I don't really know how else to say it. His glove was worth a whopping 185 runs over his career, which is to say, over ten runs per season. The second best ever finished at +121 runs, an enormous gap. Raymond struggled with contact (252 career hitter), didn't walk a ton (320 career OBP) but had plenty of pop to give his bat some value (225 career ISO, just between Hanson and Chavez). He was only in the top ten in hits twice, in batting average once, but had top ten finishes in total bases (six times), home runs (eight times, league leading twice) and extra base hits (seven times). His bat actually won two Silver Sluggers (more than Hanson and Chavez combined), only made four All-Star games (same as Chavez, lower than Hanson) but won six Gold Gloves, tied for highest of any PBL first baseman. His peak year was an incredible 8.0 WAR season for the Reds, where he batted 308/360/577, which doesn't sound worth 8 WAR, until you add in his +10.9 runs of fielding. He was a weak hitter compared to literally every other first baseman here, but his fielding was so incredible that it made him one of the best Honorable Mentions, and I would argue, at least the equal of Hanson or Chavez.
Whew, that was a mouthful. Aren't all these players interesting? I love looking at players from different eras and seeing how their different careers went. And these are just the Honorable Mentions, there's plenty more where this came from. Well, hit the bathroom if you need to, because up next are Honorable Mention Second Basemen!
His peak was quite good, leading the NL in WAR in both 1930 and 1931 (with 7.6 and 6.1 respectively). He didn't start for the Giants until he was 26, didn't break 3 WAR until he was 28 and had no strong seasons after 36; these boundaries limit his value historically. In that nine-year window he was consistently excellent. He hit for good average (a career 341 hitter he finished in the top 10 eight times) and solid power (four top tens in home runs and five in doubles). He just didn't take walks, and while that wasn't considered a weakness for his era, that doesn't make him a better player. The 132 OPS+ combined with his excellent glove might have been enough to get him to Bronze if his career had been longer.
As an aside, don't be too swept up by that 341 batting average. In 1930 he hit 401, which sounds amazing, but the NL average was 303 that year. That would be like hitting 343 in the modern game; good, but not jaw-dropping. Context matters.
With a skip and a jump, forty years later we have Harmon Killebrew! Killebrew broke into the majors at 18 in 1954 for the Washington Senators (which became the Minnesota Twins) and played for them until he was 38. His OPS+ was an excellent 143 over 9833 plate appearances. He won an MVP and thirteen All-Star appearances, finishing with a JONS of 36.7. "An MVP and 13 All-Stars?" you may ask. "143 OPS+ over almost 10k PA's?" How is this guy only an honorable mention? Good question. There's good and bad to every player; let's start with the good.
Killer Killebrew was a monster home run hitter. He led the league in home runs six times, finishing with 573. He also led the league in walks four times. "Wow!" you may say, "He's got incredible power and incredible patience! What else is there?" Well guys, over the course of today you'll hear me tell you that batting average is overrated, that people forget the other skills. Well now this is me telling you that it can be overrated and still very important. Killebrew was only a 256 lifetime hitter. And while we're at it, his gap power was suspect as well. If he made contact Killebrew was swinging for the fences, not for line drives. Here are his career rankings for hitting stats in Major League History (no PBL): 12th in home runs, 15th in walks, 497th in doubles, 457th in singles and worse than 1000th in triples. 27.4% of his hits were home runs and of the top 200 first basemen in MLB history, only two had a higher rate; Russel Branyan and another gentleman you'll meet in the next twenty minutes. Killebrew was also an atrocious fielder, costing his team 78 runs over his career with his glove, and costing another 51 runs with a combination of bad baserunning and hitting into double plays.
Basically, imagine a player who couldn't field, was slow as molasses in January, with incredible patience and incredible power whose decision-making switch was stuck on the "swing for the fences" setting. His weaknesses were so considerable that they drop him from Gold or Silver level Hall of Famer to Honorable Mention. But his strengths were historically strong.
From around the same time, being placed at first even though he played four thousand plus innings at three different positions, Joe Torre! Torre came up in 1961 for the Milwaukee Braves as a catcher. He ended up splitting time at first, as an indirect result of capable catcher Del Crandall already being on the roster. In 1969, at age 28, he was traded to the Cardinals who had Tim McGarver at catcher, so his six years with them were spent mostly at third and some at first. At all stages he demonstrated a solid bat, with an OPS+ of 129 over 8802 plate appearances, and an average glove (except at third, where he was fairly bad). Over his career he won a Gold Glove, made nine All-Stars and won an MVP, finishing with a JONS of 31.
An OPS+ of 129 is on the low end for a first baseman, but with almost nine thousand PA (and time at skill positions) you'd think his JONS would be higher. Part of it is his weak fielding at third but he was also a liability on the basepaths, costing his team an estimated 57 runs between baserunning and hitting into double plays. He was a good hitter, in the top ten of batting average four times in his career. His 1971 season, where he won an MVP, is emblematic of his makeup as a player. He hit 363/429/555 with an OPS+ of 171, leading the league in hitting. However, between his running and his glove he cost his team a whopping 28 runs (making 21 errors was a big part of it) and finished with a WAR of 5.9, which is excellent, but in no way keeping with a third baseman who could hit like that.
If you're getting hungry, you might be happy to see that we're at the Big Mac himself, Mark McGwire! There may not be a more extreme player in this building than Mark McGwire. The better half of the Bash Brothers McGwire was a ferocious hitter, with a career OPS+ of 163 over 7660 plate appearances. Only three first basemen ever have had an OPS+ that good or higher and they're all Gold or above. Over his career he won Rookie of the Year (but only once three Silver Sluggers, a Gold Glove, a ring and made twelve All-Star games. McGwire hit for decent average (263 career average) but walked a ton (leading the league in walks twice, finishing in the top ten 9 times) and most of all hit mountains of home runs. He broke Roger Maris' single-season home run record in 1998 with 70; he led the league in home runs four times with ten seasons in the top ten. Of all hitters ever, he has the highest HR to at bat ratio, hitting a home run every 10.61 at bats. He was fairly slow (-37 runs), was a fairly weak fielder (-29 runs) and had a relatively short career (besides Lance Berkman, he has the shortest career of any first baseman in this building in the modern era). All of these things restrained his JONS rating to 40.3. 40.3 is a great number, generally high enough to qualify for Bronze. Yet here he is, an Honorable Mention.
Do you remember how I said that we considered other factors besides the JONS rating? Mark McGwire is an admitted steroid user, violating the rules to obtain a competitive advantage. Is that enough for us to keep him out of this building? Of course not! This building is for history. Mark McGwire being a great hitter who cheated is part of that history. And it's absolutely worth demoting him a tier to Honorable Mention.
Speaking of which, Rafael Palmiero! Drafted in the first round by the Cubs but doing most of his playing for the Rangers and Orioles, Rafael Palmiero played in the majors from 1986 to 2005 (21 to 40 years old). During that time he accumulated two Silver Sluggers, three Gold Gloves and Four All-Star appearances. He had an OPS+ of 132 over 12046 plate appearances, finishing with a JONS of 42.7. Consistently really good, but never dominant, he had almost no weaknesses. He finished with a glove worth 48 runs above average and brace yourself for these top tens: five times for batting average, five times for doubles, eleven times for home runs and seven times for walks. He was really good at pretty much everything, and for a long time. He only had two 6+ WAR years, and five 5+, but a JONS of 42.7 is excellent, and certainly enough to qualify for Bronze.
Oh wait, the steroid thing. Right, about that. Unlike McGwire, Palmiero has denied using steroids to anyone who would listen. That said there is a lot of evidence against him. Jose Canseco named him as a fellow steroid user (not that Canseco is super-reliable, but still), another teammate made a similar observation, but most of all, he did actually test positive for steroids during his career. He insists that he was innocent, and it is possible. But again, when you're a low Bronze and you have something like this on your record, Honorable Mention is the right move.
The best fielding MLB first-baseman not named Keith Hernandez, John Olerud! So, thought exercise. Let us say that there's a first baseman who made it into this building, but never hit more than 25 home runs in a season. What else would they need to get this far? "Well," you might say, "they'd need all the help they can get." Because with no serious home run power at first you need pretty much everything else to be on point. John Olerud was exactly that player; he hit for excellent contact (career 297 hitter), struck out very rarely, had good doubles power (four top tens), had a great glove (+103 runs over his career and 3 Gold Gloves), and walked a ton (nine top tens). He only had two All-Star Appearances and won two rings with the Blue Jays. He played from 1989 to 2005 (ages 20-36), finished with a career OPS+ of 129 over 9063 plate appearances, for a final JONS of 32.8. You may be thinking, "I don't care about these other skills, without home run power you can't put up big WAR numbers for your team", but you'd be wrong. He had two 7+ WAR seasons: in 1993 at age 24 he had a 7.8 WAR year where he hit 363/473/599 with 54 doubles; in 1998 at age 29 for the Mets he hit 354/447/551 and added 15 runs of excellent fielding. You can be great at first without power. And John Olerud did it.
How much can you achieve if your only dominant skill is taking walks? Let's ask Lance Berkman! Berkman started for the Astros in 2000 at age 24 and played with them through the age of 34. He played more outfield than anything, but played first almost as much, and more than any one outfield position, so here he is. He appeared in 6 All-Star games, won one ring (with St. Louis at age 35), and was a formidable hitter, boasting an OPS+ of 148 (12th best ever for a first baseman) over a short career of 7135 plate appearances. He hit for good average (career 291 hitter), had good power (two top tens in doubles, four in home runs) but walked a ton (ten seasons in the top ten, which was pretty much his whole career since he only started for 12 seasons). An interesting note, despite not being a good baserunner he is one of the few first basemen to rarely hit into double plays. His short career works against him, but he had four 6+ WAR seasons. He was also an excellent postseason performer; in 224 PA he hit 317/417/532 including a 423/516/577 line for the Cardinals on route to the World Series. As players in this building go, he had a short career. But he was one of the best at his position during it.
Speaking of the Steroid Era, the gift that keeps on giving, Jason Giambi! Giambi started for Oakland in 1996 (when he was 25) and his last substantive year was with the Yankees in 2008 (when he was 37). His career was all peak; he only had six seasons above 3 WAR (which is crazy low) but three above 7 including a 9.2. He won an MVP at age 30 for that 9.2 WAR season; he also won two Silver Sluggers and five All-Stars, averaging a 139 OPS+ over 8908 plate appearances. He was an incredibly bad fielder (-83) but at his peak a ferocious hitter. He led the league in walks four times, and finished top ten in average three times and home runs seven times. He was a career 277 hitter, but from 1996 to 2002 he hit 291, 293, 295, 315, 333, 342, 314. His peak was incredible (that 342/477/660 season that I keep talking about, an OPS+ of 199) but besides those six seasons he was pretty mediocre. It all combines for a JONS score of 33.6. He also admitted to using steroids during his career, which puts a bit of a damper on how great his peak was. At his best he was amazing. But also, cheater cheater pumpkin-eater.
A diverse player, Mark Teixeira! Teixeira followed the career of arc of may players in this building; start off on one team, become a big name, then go play for the Yankees. Tex was drafted and developed by the Rangers, breaking into the majors at 23 (in 2003) and enjoying early success, specifically a 7.2 WAR season at age 25 (301/379/575 with 13 runs of fielding). That year ended up being a bit of a tease; while he ended his career with six total 4+ WAR seasons he only broke 6 WAR that once. He was well-rounded, winning three Silver Sluggers, five Gold Gloves, three All-Stars and winning a single ring (with the Yankees in 2009). His career was unusually short (done by age 36); he put up a comparably low OPS+ of 126 over 8029 plate appearances, adding 99 runs with his glove. His contact was only average (268 career hitter) but he did have five top ten finishes for home runs and another four in walks. His JONS is 32.5, on the low side for an Honorable Mention, is fortified by his excellent glove and his one peak season. Of all the MLB first basemen in this building, he had the third best glove.
Up next, he loves it when you call him Big Papi, David Ortiz! Ortiz is an exception to a lot of rules for this building. His JONS is below the Honorable Mention threshold, at 29.1. It's not because he couldn't hit, he put up 141 OPS+ over 10,091 plate appearances. His glove wasn't a liability, but that's part of the problem because he DH'd most of his career. And that penalizes him considerably; consider his 2007 season when he OPS+'d 171 with a 332/445/621 line, which was only worth 6.4 WAR. It is reaally hard to rack up serious value when you only play DH; good-hitting DH's are so plentiful that even being an incredible hitter is only so much better than replacement level. So even though he was a phenomenal hitter (top tens include nine in home runs, nine in walks, ten in extra base hits (league leading four times), winning seven Silver Sluggers and ten All-Stars) his WAR was never incredible because he couldn't play a position.
Ortiz came up with the Twins but was a poor fit for an organization that didn't like platooning (early on Ortiz struggled to hit lefties), and favored prospects with speed and fielding ability. The Twins waived him, the Red Sox snatched him up, and the rest is history. From ages 27 through 40 (2003 to 2016) Ortiz slugged the Red Sox to eight playoffs and three rings. The reason Ortiz is included here, despite his low JONS, is that he is perhaps the most clutch postseason hitter in history. His career 289/404/543 in the playoffs (over 369 PA) is quite good but his strength is even greater. There is a stat called WPA that basically credits (or penalizes) every batter with their effects on the chances of winning a game. Hit a home run when your team is winning (or losing) by ten? Almost no credit; after all, the game is effectively over. Hit a home run with the bases loaded, down by three with two out in the 9th? You get credit for almost an entire win right there, because the probability of winning before your hit (probably 15% or so) changed to the probability of winning after the hit (100%), so you get credit for 85% of a win. It's basically the clutch hitting stat. David Ortiz' bat in the playoffs was worth 3.2 WPA, or 3.2 wins above average based on the timing of his hits. This is the highest playoff WPA in MLB history, and 2nd in MLB/PBL history. Ortiz probably did not provide enough regular season value to his teams to deserve a place in this building. But it's hard to say no to one of the best clutch postseason hitters in history. He is one of the primary reasons why the Honorable Mention section exists.
Jumping ahead several decades, say hello to Sean Hanson! Hanson came up with Toronto, breaking into the majors at age 24 in 2022. He peaked in 2025 at age 27 with a 7.4 WAR year with 330/393/653 slash stats and winning an MVP. His contact and power slowly receded, as his WAR totals fell: 6.1, 4, 4.3, 4.8 and 3.3 at age 32. The Blue Jays opted to let him test free agency and Texas swung hard, signing Hanson to a three year, thirty million per deal. Hanson played decently for them (2.4, 5.0 and 3.9 WAR) but in no way commensurate with his salary. He averaged a respectable 137 OPS+ over 10920 plate appearances, he cost his team 48 runs with his glove, made six All-Stars and finished with a JONS of 33.4.
Hanson hit for excellent average and power. He was in the top 10 in hits 9 times, in the top 5 in total bases eight times (leading the league three times), top ten in doubles eight times, top ten in home runs nine times . . . but only in the top ten in WAR three times. He was also unusually durable, playing in all 162 games in four different seasons. This is all great, so why only a JONS of 33.4? In part because he was a bad fielder and walked relatively rarely. But also because he was only rarely dominant in the league; it's pretty hard for any player to make Bronze or above with only two seasons above 5 WAR. Hanson could be consistently counted on to cost you a couple runs with his glove and hit 290/350/510 year-in and year-out. Was he consistently one of the better hitters in the league? Absolutely. But at first base a 290/350/510 line is worth 4 WAR. It's nice, borderline All-Star, but not great. On the plus side he was a monster in the playoffs, hitting 333/385/617 in 244 PA in the postseason, including 2024 when he hit 393/443/714 and almost single-handedly took the Yankees to seven games in the ALCS.
Playing around the same time, Pedro Chavez! Chavez and Hanson are different versions of the same player. Chavez had notably worse contact (264 career hitter) but much more patience, a little more power (230 ISO vs. 220) and a better glove (average, but that's 50 runs better than Hanson). Chavez came up with San Diego but was traded four times before he was 31. Like Hanson he had a few flashes of dominance (a 6.6 WAR season at age 28 in 2027 where he hit 279/331/599 was his best) but he was more often consistently good. He had only one season above 6 WAR, two above 5, but eight above 4 and eleven above 3. His OPS+ was 135 (slightly lower than Hanson) over 10273 plate appearances for a JONS of 31.0; he won a single Silver Slugger and made four All-Star games. Unfortunately, at first, being a really good hitter (and 135 OPS+ is really good, if not historically good) is just not enough.
The most distinctive first-baseman on this list, Alvin Raymond! Raymond came up in 2032 (at age 23) for the Red Sox but was traded before the year ended (and another five more times before he retired in 2047 at age 38). Raymond played for eight teams over his career, and only Pittsburgh (with whom he won his only ring) for more than three seasons. Raymond hit for an OPS+ of 121 over 9633 plate appearances, easily the lowest mark of any first baseman in the building. And yet he finishes with a JONS of 35.2, higher than Hanson or Chavez. What gives?
Raymond was the best fielding first baseman ever. I don't really know how else to say it. His glove was worth a whopping 185 runs over his career, which is to say, over ten runs per season. The second best ever finished at +121 runs, an enormous gap. Raymond struggled with contact (252 career hitter), didn't walk a ton (320 career OBP) but had plenty of pop to give his bat some value (225 career ISO, just between Hanson and Chavez). He was only in the top ten in hits twice, in batting average once, but had top ten finishes in total bases (six times), home runs (eight times, league leading twice) and extra base hits (seven times). His bat actually won two Silver Sluggers (more than Hanson and Chavez combined), only made four All-Star games (same as Chavez, lower than Hanson) but won six Gold Gloves, tied for highest of any PBL first baseman. His peak year was an incredible 8.0 WAR season for the Reds, where he batted 308/360/577, which doesn't sound worth 8 WAR, until you add in his +10.9 runs of fielding. He was a weak hitter compared to literally every other first baseman here, but his fielding was so incredible that it made him one of the best Honorable Mentions, and I would argue, at least the equal of Hanson or Chavez.
Whew, that was a mouthful. Aren't all these players interesting? I love looking at players from different eras and seeing how their different careers went. And these are just the Honorable Mentions, there's plenty more where this came from. Well, hit the bathroom if you need to, because up next are Honorable Mention Second Basemen!