As the season draws nearer to the end, we have arrived at the final non-pitcher position, first base. As previously, name the Top 25 first basemen by games played (not counting 2012 games). No cheating by pulling searches from BRef!!! Guess the player and approximate spot in the Top 25.
Rank |
Player |
Games Played |
1 |
Hal Trosky (1933-1941) |
1111 |
2 |
George Stovall (1904-1911) |
802 |
3 |
Mike Hargrove (1979-1985) |
769 |
4 |
Jim Thome (1997-2002) |
756 |
5 |
Doc Johnston (1912-1914, 1918-1921) |
698 |
6 |
George Burns (1920-1921, 1924-1928) |
681 |
7 |
Ben Broussard (2002-2006) |
491 |
7 |
Tony Horton (1967-1970) |
491 |
7 |
Fred Whitfield (1963-1967) |
491 |
10 |
Ed Morgan (1928, 1930-1933) |
456 |
11 |
Vic Power (1958-1961) |
450 |
12 |
Andre Thornton (1977-1979, 1981-1984) |
449 |
13 |
Paul Sorrento (1992-1995) |
442 |
14 |
Mickey Rocco (1943-1946) |
431 |
15 |
Luke Easter (1950-1953) |
427 |
16 |
Vic Wertz (1954-1958) |
426 |
17 |
Chris Chambliss (1971-1974) |
398 |
18 |
Pat Tabler (1984-1988) |
357 |
19 |
Ryan Garko (2006-2009) |
342 |
20 |
Les Fleming (1941-1942, 1945-1947) |
320 |
21 |
Charlie Hickman (1902-1904, 1908) |
283 |
22 |
Mickey Vernon (1949-1950, 1958) |
274 |
23 |
Lew Fonseca (1927-1931) |
270 |
24 |
Bill Glynn (1952-1954) |
263 |
25 |
Tito Francona (1959-1964) |
248 |
Postscript
We have 263 different guys who spent at least one game at first base. Twenty-eight of them cracked the 200 game barrier, with only one guiy passing 1000 games. There are another 20 guys with between 100 and 200 games, leaving 215 with less than 100 games. The 48 players with more than 100 games makes this the second most unstable position, behind right field.
For the 2012 guys, Kotchman is a first timer with 126 games currently, which will get him close to the Top 40. With 15 games to go, he could end up tied at #34 if he played every game. Santana had 66 games before this year and has 20 games this year, but is unlikely to break into the 100 club until next year. LaPorta had 200 games before this season. He now stands at 209 and with 3 more games would pass Boog Powell, but has no shot at the next tier unless he makes it back next season. Duncan concluded his Tribe career with 12 games. Hannahan is now up to 9 games and Jose Lopez, Russ Canzler and Brent Lillibridge will add 3 more names to the list.
Some other notable guys not mentioned in the comments: Nap Lajoie (128 games), Victor Martinez (109), Chico Salmon (103), Julio Franco (98), Al Rosen (91), Casey Blake (91), Andy Marte (78), Jeff Manto (53), Lou Merloni (42), Chris Gimenez (18), Lou Boudreau (14), Addie Joss (6), Cecil Fielder (3), Sam McDowell (1).