Future Hall of Fame Baseball Player Series:
- First Basemen
- Second Basemen
- Shortstops
- Third Basemen
- Outfielders – American League
- Outfielders – National League
- Catchers
- Starting Pitchers
- Closers
The are plenty of potential Hall of Fame first basemen currently in the big leagues, but at second base…. not so much. There are really only two active second basemen that have done enough in their careers to be a part of this conversation: Craig Biggio and Jeff Kent. Let’s take a look at their cases.
No Doubters
- Craig Biggio
Craig Biggio will go down as one of the best second basemen of all time. He has quietly put together some very impressive stats.
- 2,970 Hits – 28th all-time. In about a month, he will become the 27th player to reach 3,000 hits and if he gets another 100 hits this season, he’ll finish the season ranked 20th on the career hits list.
- 650 Doubles – 7th all-time. If he can collect 16 more doubles in his career, he’ll pass George Brett for 5th on the all-time list.
- 412 Stolen Bases – 61st all-time. Not super high on the leader list, but another very nice aspect to his well-rounded game.
- 1,802 Runs – 16th all-time.
He’s also got some other interesting “bullet-point” stats. If he gets hit by a pitch 4 more times, he will become the all-time leader in that category. He’s also the only player to be an all star both as a catcher and second baseman.
When you compare him to other HOF second basemen, there is no question he belongs. Take a look at his stats verses Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg:
Biggio Sandberg Hits 2,970 2,386 Runs 1,802 1,318 Doubles 650 403 Triples 55 76 Home Runs 284 282 RBI 1141 1061 Stolen Bases 412 344 Walks 1147 761 Batting Average .282 .285 On Base % .366 .344 Slugging % .435 .452 Biggio beats him in every category except for triples, batting average and slugging percentage. If the voters put Sandberg in, there really is no way they can deny Biggio entry into the Hall.
Really good chance
- Jeff Kent
As far as second basemen go, Kent is a bit of a one trick pony, but its not a bad trick. He’s the best power hitting second baseman ever. He’s got 351 career home runs, and 1,403 RBI’s. To go along with those power numbers, he’s also got 1,224 runs and 2,233 hits. He’s 38 years old, so he has maybe another couple of years of decent play left in him, which could put his RBI total over the important 1,500 mark. He also has won an MVP award, which not many second basemen can say. That always looks good on a resume. The only thing going against him is that he wasn’t know as a great defensive player, but that shouldn’t be enough to offset his offensive numbers.
Its pretty slim pickins at second base, but I think with Biggio, you’ve got a first-ballot inductee, and Kent should get in, although I’m not sure if he’ll make it his first year of eligibility.
May 22, 2007 at 6:11 pm
Can’t disagree – I think they’ll both be shoo-ins.
Man, current second basemen suck!
By the way, don’t bag too much on Ryne Sandberg. He was the man in the mid-80’s.
May 22, 2007 at 7:06 pm
Yeah, second base is WEAK. And I don’t want to hate on Sandberg, he was really, really good. I think I just get tired of people baggin on Biggio, and Sandberg makes a pretty good comparison.
May 23, 2007 at 8:39 pm
At the risk of shaming my Houstonian heritage. . . The only reason ‘Babyface’ Biggio carries any doubts about HOF induction is that he’s spent a lifetime with the poor ole ‘Stros. I’m glad he’s stuck around, but that’s his curse. Agree?
May 25, 2007 at 4:53 pm
Craig is in irregardless of playing for the Astoes.
3000 plus hits is a lock. If he sticks around a few more years he should also achieve 300 homers and 700 doubles.
It would be nicer if he could do it as a Astro, rather than a
Rangers DH.
Let us not forget that Rhyno took a short sabatical, that probably cost him 2500 total hits as well as 300 homers.
Another great comparrison is the stats of Joe Morgan, who
by the way, I saw play in a Astro uniform against the Mets.
The Astroes won that day. Jeff Kents numbers look pretty good when compared with other HOF 2nd baseman, but I can not vote for him until we clean up the slate for some other position players still waiting on the ballot. Iam thinking of Dawson, Parker and Rice. They have waited to long to be passed by Jeff Kent, and all 3 also have a MVP.
June 22, 2007 at 8:33 am
I think Chase Utley may eventually become one of the greatest 2nd baseman ever, dude is a serious baller.
June 26, 2007 at 3:17 am
emoney,
Utley is a great player, but he just doesn’t have enough seasons under his belt to be in the conversation at this point. He’s got two really good full seasons, and is off to a good start again this year, but he is 28 years old, so I wonder if he can continue to play this good long enough to be considered for the Hall.
August 14, 2007 at 4:38 am
the only reason biggio beats sandberg in all of those is because BIGGIO PLAYED FIVE MORE seasons than sandberg
also, biggio’s stats aren’t that impressive..
3,000 hits is big, but he only averagd 150 hits a season which is avergae.. he only has about a .280 life time average..
he’ll probably get in due to name recognition but he’s not a shoo-in and definitely not a first-ballot
August 14, 2007 at 9:10 pm
Danny, thanks for the comment, but I think I can prove you wrong. Sandberg played 15 seasons, not including 1981 where he only had 6 at bats. If you only count Biggio’s first 15 seasons, except for 1988 where he only had 123 at bats, Biggio’s numbers still compare nicely to Sandberg’s.
Here are those numbers:
Hits – Biggio 2,435 – Sandberg 2,386
Runs – Biggio 1,489 – Sandberg 1,318
Doubles – Biggio 511 – Sandberg 403
Triples – Biggio 50 – Sandberg 76
Home Runs – Biggio 207 – Sandberg 282
RBI – Biggio 926 – Sandberg 1,061
Stolen Bases – Biggio 383 – Sandberg 344
Walks – Biggio 1,013 – Sandberg 761
Batting average – Biggio .288 – Sandberg .285
Slugging % – Biggio .433 – Sandberg .452
Looking at these numbers you can see that Biggio still leads Sandberg in hits, runs, doubles, stolen bases, walks, and actually has a better batting average. Sandberg leads in the power categories, home runs, RBI, and slugging, as well as triples.
So, Biggio did pass Sandberg in home runs and RBI’s because he played longer, but in every other category he had already passed him by the time he finished his 15th season.
August 15, 2007 at 3:21 am
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August 18, 2007 at 9:08 am
touch`e
October 3, 2007 at 3:13 pm
I’ve been watching Biggio since I was three years old, and if there’s anything his numbers lack (which they don’t) he makes up for it in character to be a first ballot hall of famer. I remember going to ‘Stros games as a kid and he was out there every night afterwards, win or lose, signing autographs for kids with a big smile on his face. That’s what he loved about the game. Being a guy that parents like mine could turn to their children and say, “You see that guy? Watch how he plays. That’s how you play the game of baseball.”
He is one of the all-time greats, and kudos to him for taking less money and staying with the fans that cared about him the most.
And it’s not a bad thing that he stayed with the ‘Stros BW64. God forbid someone not take more money to go play for the Yankess. What would baseball be like if players did that?
The Royals would be a helluva lot better, having Johnny Damon, Jermaine Dye, and Beltran all in the same outfield during their prime.
Biggio is one of the most complete, classiest players ever to grace the diamond. Players like him come along once in a lifetime for a franchise, and I’m glad I got to grow up watching and learning from one of the best.
B-G-O!
October 5, 2007 at 3:22 am
Biggio’s also one of my favorite players ever. I don’t think BW64 was dissing Biggio for staying with the Astros. He was simply saying that he would have had more national exposure if he played for a high profile team like the Yanks or Cubs. Thank goodness he chose to stick around though.