MLB Players

20 Best Left Fielders of All Time In MLB History

By / 28 January 2023 04:52 AM

Christian Yelich, Barry Bonds, and Matt Holiday are three of the best names of left fielders
Source : instagram

The best left fielders of all time are 1. Ted Williams 2. Barry Bonds 3. Stan Musial and 17 more. In this list, there are 20 best left fielders of all time in the history of MLB.

A left fielder is responsible for catching the balls hit in the air and fielding the balls hit on the ground. Left field is a position on the outfield on the left side of a defensive baseball diamond.

Because more balls are hit on the left compared to the right, left field is considered a difficult position. Generally, the better arm plays right field whereas the better runner plays left field.

Good left fielders have proper hand-eye coordination, are very quick, and can catch anything hit their way. They tend to receive more balls and back up the third base from the pitcher or catcher whenever possible.

20. Christian Yelich

Christian Yelich is a young baseball left fielder who plays for the Milwaukee Brewers. Christian previously played for the Miami Marlins.

He made his MLB debut on July 23, 2013, in the Miami Marlins at the age of 22. He was ranked 34 among the top 100 players in the nation's high schools. Also, he accepted a scholarship to play college baseball for the Miami Hurricanes baseball team.

Analyzing his MLB statistics, he has set a record of 0.287 batting average with 1352 hits, 174 home runs, 630 RBIs, and 156 stolen bases.

He played two All-Star games so far and has won the NL most valuable player in 2018. Also, he won the All-MLB First Team in 2019. Altogether, he has won a gold glove, three silver sluggers, two Hank Aarons awards, two NL batting champions, and three hits for the cycle.

Christian was selected for the All-World Baseball Classic Team in 2017. He represented the United States in Men's baseball.

Christian Yelich currently plays for Milwaukee Brewers
Source : instagram

19. Lou Brock

Lou Brock was an American professional baseball player who played as a left fielder his entire career.

He made his MLB debut on September 10, 1961, in the Chicago Cubs. He held major records for most stolen bases in a single season.

Lou has set a record of 0.293 batting average with 3023 hits, 149 home runs, 900 RBIs, and 938 stolen bases. He played six All-Star games starting from 1967 to 1979.

Also, he won two titles of world series champion in 1964 and 1967. In 1975, he was awarded the Roberto Clemente Award. Moreover, he was the eight-time winner of NL stolen base leader.

He was a member of the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame and was inducted as a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1985.

Lou Brock spent most of his life as a left fielder
Source : instagram

18. Sherry Magee

Sherry Magee was an American professional left fielder in MLB. Sherry played with three teams in his career.

He made his MLB debut on June 29, 1904, in the Philadelphia Phillies. He batted in 16 seasons and posted a 0.291 batting average with 2169 hits, 83 home runs, 1176 RBIs, and 441 stolen bases.

In 1915, he played for the Boston Braves for three years and later played for Cincinnati Reds for two years.

Highlighting his career, he won the title of world series champion in 1919. After a year, he won the NL batting champion and he was the four-time winner of NL RBI leader.

Sherry was a member of the Philadelphia Phillies Wall of Fame.

Sherry Magee played for Philadelphia Phillies, Boston Braves and Cincinnati Reds
Source : instagram

17. Monte Irvin

Monte Irvin was an American left as well as a right fielder in MLB who played for two MLB teams and a Negro team.

He made his MLB debut on July 8, 1949, in the New York Giants. Before that, he played in Negro League for the Newark Eagles. Apart from the Giants, he played for Chicago Clubs in MLB.

Analyzing his statistics, he has a record of a 0.304 batting average with 1059 hits, 137 home runs, 688 RBIs, and 51 stolen bases.

He played 4 NgL All-Star games from 1941 to 1948 and one MLB All-Star game. In 1946, he won the title of Negro world series champion and in 1954, he won the world series champion.

He was inducted as a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1973.

Monte Irvin was a left as well as a right fielder
Source : instagram

16. Albert Belle

Albert Belle is an American former baseball left fielder. Albert played in MLB from 1989 to 2000.

He was one of the leading sluggers of that time and became the only player to hit 50 doubles and 50 home runs in a season in 1995. He made his MLB debut on July 15, 1989, in the Cleveland Indians.

At the age of 23, he started his baseball career, and by the time he became one of six players to have nine consecutive 100 RBI seasons in the history of MLB. He has a record of 0.295 batting average with 381 home runs and 1239 RBIs.

Highlighting his career, he played 5 All-Star games and won five silver sluggers, three RBI leaders, and one home run leader. He was a member of the Cleveland Guardians Hall of Fame.

Albert Belle on the match field
Source : instagram

15. Matt Holliday

Matt Holliday is a former professional left fielder who played in MLB from 2004 to 2018. Matt is originally from Stillwater, Oklahoma.

Matt made his MLB debut on April 16, 2004, in the Colorado Rockies. He has played a significant role in seven post-seasons including the first-ever world series of the Colorado Rockies.

Analyzing his MLB statistics, he has set a record of 0.299 batting average with 2096 hits, 316 home runs, and 1220 RBIs. In 2014, he became the fifth player to amass nine consecutive seasons of at least 20 home runs, 30 doubles, 80 runs, and 75 RBIs in MLB history.

He played seven All-Star games starting from 2006 to 2015. In 2011, he won the title of world series champion and in 2007, he won the title of most valuable player. 

Moreover, he won four silver sluggers, one NL batting champion, and one RBI leader. He was also a member of the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame.

Matt Holiday has entered the 2023 coaching staff of the Cardinals
Source : instagram

14. Jim Rice

Jim Rice is a former MLB left fielder and designated hitter. Jim played his entire career in the Boston Red Sox.

He made his MLB debut on August 19, 1974, and by the end of his career, he played 1503 games in left field. He was ranked seventh in the AL history of left field.

The statistics show that Jim has set the record of a 0.298 batting average with 2452 hits, 382 home runs, and 1451 RBIs. He played eight All-Star games starting from 1977 to 1986.

In 1978, he won the title of AL's most valuable player. Altogether, he won two silver sluggers, three home run leaders, and two RBI leaders. He was also a member of the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame. In 2009, he was inducted as a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Jim Rice played for the Boston Red Sox
Source : instagram

13. Joe Medwick

Joe Medwick is an American MLB left fielder who played for the St. Louis Cardinals at the initial phase of his career.

He also played for other teams including Brooklyn Dodgers, New York Giants, and Boston Braves. He made his MLB debut on September 2, 1982, and his last appearance in MLB was on July 25, 1948.

He has set a record of 0.324 batting average with 2471 hits, 205 home runs, and 1383 RBIs. Joe is the last NL player to win Triple Crown Award.

Highlighting his career, he played 10 All-Star games, won the title of world series champion, NL most valuable player, batting champion, home run leader, and three titles of NL RBI leader.

In 1968, he was inducted as a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Later, he was hired as a hitting instructor by the Cardinals.

Joe Medwick was the 1937 triple crown winner
Source : facebook

12. Ralph Kiner

Ralph Kiner spent his entire career as a left fielder. Ralph played for three teams in MLB.

He made his debut on April 12, 1946, in the Pittsburgh Pirates. Then, he also played for Chicago Cubs and Cleveland Indians.

Analyzing his statistics, he has a record of 0.279 batting average with 369 home runs and 1015 RBIs. In his baseball career, he played six All-Star games and won seven titles for NL home run leader, and one title for RBI leader.

He was a member of the Pirates Hall of Fame and the New York Mets Hall of Fame. Also, he was inducted as a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Ralph Kiner played for Cleveland Indians from 1946 to 1955
Source : instagram

11. Ed Delahanty

Ed Delahanty was an American professional baseball left fielder. Ed spent his career playing with four teams.

He made his MLB debut on May 22, 1888, in the Philadelphia Quakers. He also played for Cleveland Infants, Philadelphia Phillies, and Washington Senators.

Analyzing his statistics, he has set a record of 0.346 batting average with 2596 hits, 101 home runs, 1464 RBIs, and 455 stolen bases. In 1899, he won the title of NL batting champion and he is also the two-time winner of home run leader. He also won the NL RBI leader thrice.

On July 13, 1896, he hit four home runs in one game. He was a member of the Philadelphia Phillies Wall of Fame. In 1945, he was inducted as a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame. He was one of the greatest baseball players of that time.

Ed Delahanty is one of the forty greatest Philadelphia Phillies
Source : instagram

10. Joe Jackson

Joe Jackson, also known as the Shoeless Joe Jackson, was an outfielder in MLB. Joe has the fourth-highest batting average in the history of MLB.

He started his baseball career on August 25, 1908, in the Philadelphia Athletics. He also played for Cleveland Indians for five years and Chicago White Sox for another five years.

He has set a record for a 0.356 batting average, 54 home runs, and 792 RBIs. In 1917, he won the title of world series champion. He was also a member of the Cleveland Guardians Hall of Fame.

In 1999, he was ranked 35 on the Sporting News list of 100 greatest baseball players. He holds franchise records for triples in a season and a career batting average.

Joe Jackson was a member of Hall of Fame
Source : instagram

9. Manny Ramirez

Manny Ramirez is a former baseball outfielder who played for 19 seasons in MLB.

He played with five teams including Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Indians, Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Tampa Bay Rays. In 1991, he was drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the first round of the MLB draft.

Analyzing the statistics, he has set a record of a 0.312 batting average, 2574 hits, 555 home runs, and 1831 RBIs. He played 12 All-Star games starting from 1995 to 2008. He won two titles of world series champion and one title of the most valuable player.

Altogether, he won nine silver sluggers, two AL Hank Aaron awards, AL batting champion, home run leader, and RBI leader. He was also a member of the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame.

Manny Ramirez played in MLB for 19 seasons
Source : instagram

8. AI Simmons

Aloysius Harry Simmons is the birthname of AI Simmons. Simmons played for two decades in MLB.

He started his career at the age of 22 and made his MLB debut on April 15, 1924, in the Philadelphia Athletics. He played for six teams in his career including Philadelphia Athletics, Chicago White Sox, Detroit Tigers, Washington Senators, Boston Red Sox, and Cincinnati Reds.

He has set a record of 0.334 batting average, 2927 hits, 307 home runs, and 1828 RBIs. Moreover, he played 3 All-Star games and won two titles of world series champion, and two titles of AL batting champion. In 1929, he won the AL RBI leader.

Also, he was a member of the Philadelphia Baseball Wall of Fame and Athletics hall of Fame. In 1953, he was inducted as a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

AI Simmons was a key member of Connie Mack’s dominant Philadelphia Athletics squads
Source : facebook

7. Pete Rose

Pete Rose is known as one of the most prominent baseball players of all time. Pete played in MLB from 1963 to 1986.

He made his MLB debut on April 8, 1963, in the Cincinnati Reds and ended in the same team. In between, he played for Philadelphia Phillies and Montreal Expos.

Analyzing his statistics, he has a record of 0.303 batting average, 4256 hits, 160 home runs, 1314 RBIs, 0.525 winning percentage, and a managerial record between 412 to 373.

In his 23 years of career, he played 17 All-Star games, won three titles of world series champion, two titles of most valuable player, two gold gloves, one silver slugger, three titles of NL batting champion, and NL Rookie of the Year. In 1976, he was awarded the Roberto Clemente Award.

He is now 81 years old and was a member of the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame.

Pete Rose played as first baseman, outfielder and infielder
Source : facebook

6. Tim Raines

Tim Raines is an American former baseball player and a professional coach. Tim played as a left fielder for six teams.

He made his MLB debut on September 11, 1979, in the Montreal Expos at the age of 20. He played for other teams as well including Chicago White Sox, New York Yankees, Oakland Athletics, Baltimore Orioles, and Florida Marlins.

He has a record of 0.294 batting average, 2605 hits, 170 home runs, 980 RBIs, and 808 stolen bases. Highlighting his career, he played seven All-Star games and has become a three-time world series champion. In 1986, he won a silver slugger and in the same year, he won the NL batting champion award.

Also, he won the NL stolen base leader four times consecutively. In 2017, he was inducted as a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame. He served as a manager of Newark Bears in 2011.

Tim Raines finished his career as the most successful base stealer
Source : twitter

5. Rickey Henderson

Rickey Henderson is a former baseball left fielder with a record for most stolen bases in AL history.

He made his MLB debut on June 24, 1979, in the Oakland Athletics. In his career, he played for eight teams including Oakland Athletics, New York Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays, San Diego Padres, Anaheim Angels, Seattle Mariners, Boston Red Sox, and Los Angeles Dodgers.

He has set a record of 0.279 batting average, 3055 hits, 297 home runs, 1115 RBIs, 1406 stolen bases, and 2295 runs. Rickey is the only player to steal 100 bases in a season in the history of AL. He was among the top ten base stealers in 21 different seasons.

Highlighting his career, he played 10 All-Star games from 1980 to 1991. He won two world series championships, two most valuable player awards, one gold glove, three silver sluggers, and twelve AL stolen base leader awards.

Also, he has the MLB record of 130 stolen bases in a single season. In 2009, he was inducted as a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Rickey Henderson celebrating victory on the field
Source : instagram

4. Carl Yastrzemski

Carl Yastrzemski is an American former baseball left fielder. Carl started as a left fielder but also played 33 games as a third baseman.

He made his MLB debut on April 11, 1961. He played his entire 23 years of career for the Boston Red Sox. In 1967, he led the Red Sox to the American League pennant for the first time and he also won the Triple Crown that year.

Analyzing his statistics, he has set a record of 0.285 batting average with 3419 hits, 452 home runs, and 1844 RBIs. He has played 18 All-Star games in his career. In 1967, he won two awards; AL Most Valuable Player and the Triple Crown.

Also, he won seven gold gloves, three AL batting champion awards, one AL home run leader, and one AL RBI leader. He is a member of the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame and also the National Baseball Hall of Fame inducted in 1989.

Carl Yastrzemski played his entire career for Boston Red Sox
Source : instagram

3. Stan Musial

Stan Musial is considered to be one of the greatest and most consistent hitters in the history of baseball.

Stan played 22 seasons in MLB and started his career on September 17, 1941, in the St. Louis Cardinals. He played his 22 years of career in that particular team.

Analyzing his MLB statistics, he has set a record of 0.331 batting average with 3630 hits, 475 home runs, and 1951 RBIs. In his baseball career, he played 24 All-Star games starting from 1943 to 1963. He won the world series championship thrice, NL's most valuable player thrice, the NL batting champion seven times, and NL RBI leader twice.

He held 17 major league records, 29 national league records, and nine All-Star game records at the time of his retirement. He was a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame inducted in 1969. 

Stan Musial is the three times world series champion
Source : instagram

2. Barry Bonds

Barry Bonds is an American baseball left fielder who played 22 seasons of MLB. Barry started his career at the age of 22.

He made his MLB debut on May 30, 1986, in the Pittsburgh Pirates. The statistics show that he has set the record of 0.298 batting average with 762 home runs, 2935 hits, 1996 RBIs, and 514 stolen bases.

In his baseball career, he has had a number of MLB records including 762 career home runs, 73 home runs in a single season, 2558 career bases, 232 bases on balls in a single season, 0.609 on-base percentage, and 0.863 slugging percentage.

He has played 14 All-Star games starting from 1990 to 2007. Also, he won seven NL most valuable players, eight gold gloves, twelve silver sluggers, three NL Hank Aaron Awards, two batting champions, and two home run leader awards. In 1993, he also won the NL RBI leader.

Barry is now 58 years old and he is a member of the San Francisco Giants Hall of Fame.

Barry Bonds is on of the greatest baseball player of all time
Source : instagram

1. Ted Williams

Ted Williams was originally from San Diego, California. Ted is considered one of the greatest hitters in the history of baseball.

Ted started playing baseball at a young age. He made his MLB debut at the age of 21 and played for Boston Red Sox. He spent his 21 years of career as a left fielder in the particular team.

Analyzing his MLB statistics, he has set a record of 0.344 batting average with 2654 hits, 521 home runs, 1839 RBIs, a winning percentage of 0.429, and a managerial record between 273 to 364.

He has played 19 All-Star games in his career. He is the two-time AL most-valuable player and winner of the triple crown in 1942 and 1947. He won the AL batting champion six times, AL home run leader four times, and RBI leader four times as well.

He has an MLB record of 0.482 on-base percentage and is a member of the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame as well as the San Diego Padres Hall of Fame. Also, he is a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

In 1999, he was ranked 8 on the list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players where he was the highest-ranked left fielder. 

Ted Williams set the record for the most runs in MLB
Source : imdb

Related post of MLB Players