As we wrap up the first 300 players on our countdown, this group gives us a couple of Hall-of-Famers and a couple of MVPs. There are also three players here who are still playing. Let's keep it going down the road to Number One in our look at the Top 1,000 MLB players of All-Time.
Be sure to check out the rest of our series: MLB 976-1,000 | 951-975 | 926-950 | 901-925 | 876-900 |850-875 | 826-850 | 801-825 | 776-800 | 751-775 | 726-750 | 676-700 | 651-675 | 626-650 | 601-625 | 576-600 | 551-575 | 526-550 | 501-525 | 476-500 | 451-475
#725 - Frank White - Second Base - 1973-1990
From 1978-1986, White was a slightly above-average offensive player. He slashed .268/.301/.416 and averaged 15 home runs and 14 stolen bases per 162. It was mainly White's defense that got him on the list. He won eight Gold Gloves and is ranked second all-time among second basemen in Total Zone Rating. White was the 1980 ALCS MVP for the Royals when they finally beat the Yankees in the playoffs.
#724 - Martin Dihigo - Everywhere - 1923-1927, 1929, 1935-1936, 1945
It is hard to place Dihigo on a list like this. Much of his legend comes from stories rather than written-down stats. He had an extensive history in the Mexican League, Cuban League, and Black Baseball League. If his stats from the Negro Leagues are any indication, Dihigo was everything his peers said he was. As a hitter, he slashed .307/.389/.528 (138 OPS+), averaged 28 home runs, 19 stolen bases, and 126 RBIs. As a pitcher, Dihigo was 27-19 with a 3.34 ERA (141 ERA+). He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1977.
#723 - Aroldis Chapman - Relief Pitcher - 2010-present
Chapman became a full-time closer in 2012. From that season through 2019, he struck out 100 four times, had a sub-2.50 ERA six times, and saved 32 games seven times. His most impressive season came in 2014. Chapman faced 202 batters that year and they had a slash of .121/.234/.172 while striking out more than half the time. He also only allowed one home run the entire season. Chapman gave up runs in only six of his 54 appearances. He is one of only four left-handed relievers to have 300+ saves.
#722 - Arlie Latham - Third Base - 1880, 1883-1896, 1899, 1909
While stolen base records are shaky in the 1880s, Latham is credited with 129 in 1887 and 109 the following year. For his career, he sits seventh on the all-time list with 742. He batted over .300 four times and led the league in runs in 1886 with 152. In 1909, at age 49, Latham stole a base and is still the oldest player ever to do so in the majors. He was also widely considered one of the top defensive third basemen of his era.
#721 - Frank McCormick - First Base - 1934, 1937-1948
Although McCormick played in 36 games before 1938, his career basically started that season. From 1938-1940, he led the league in hits each year and RBIs in 1939 with 128. He led the league in doubles in 1940 on his way to an MVP award and a World Series championship with the Cincinnati Reds. In 1944, McCormick hit 20 home runs and struck out only 17 times. He is one of only nine players (the only first baseman) to hit 20+ homers and strike out 20 or fewer times. He slashed .299/.348/.434 for his career and was an All-Star nine times.
#720 - Riggs Stephenson - Left Field/Second Base - 1921-1934
Stephenson battled defensive lapses and injuries in the beginning of his career and didn't play a full season until he was 29 in 1927. That season he led the league with 46 doubles and had a .906 OPS. Stephenson had his best year in 1929 when he set career highs in home runs (17) and RBIs (110) while batting .362. He finished his career with a batting average of .336 which is the highest of any right-handed batter who started their career after 1920 (min. 5,000 PA).
#719 - Will White - Right-handed Pitcher - 1877-1886
At a time when teams had one main starter, White was the epitome of the workhorse. In 1879, he set the major league record for innings pitched (680) and batters faced (2,906) while starting 75 of his team's 81 games. White was not just a rubber arm; he was also very good. From 1878-1883, he won 174 games and had a 1.94 ERA (133 ERA+). In 1883, White led the league in ERA at 2.09 and led the league in wins and shutouts for the second year in a row.
#718 - Billy Nash - Third Base - 1884-1898
Fielding in the 1800s was difficult and it was not easy to find a player who could make nine out of ten plays at third base. Nash was that guy and was the Brooks Robinson of his era. Not only was his fielding percentage .021 better than the league average during his 15-year career, but he also made more plays than the average third baseman. His offense was also above average during his peak. From 1887-1895, Nash slashed .281/.376/.395 and averaged 116 RBIs per 162.
#717 - Brady Anderson - Outfield - 1988-2002
While Anderson's 50-homer season in 1996 will always remain one of baseball's anomalies, people seem to forget that Anderson was a very good player. From 1992-1999, he slashed .271/.378/.470 and averaged 24 home runs and 33 stolen bases per 162. He was a three-time All-Star and remains one of only two players to have a 50-home run season and a 50-stolen base season.
#716 - Ed Reulbach - Right-handed Pitcher - 1905-1917
Reulbach began his career about as well as anyone could. From 1905-1909, he won 97 games, had a 1.72 ERA (151 ERA+), and tossed a shutout in nearly 20 percent of his starts. He won back-to-back World Series with the Chicago Cubs in 1907 and 1908. His career ERA of 2.28 is fifth all-time among pitchers who began their careers in the 1900s and threw 2,500 innings.
#715 - Corey Seager - Shortstop - 2015-present
Seager has his share of hardware considering he just turned 30 on April 27. In 2016, he won the NL ROY award and finished third in MVP voting. That season he also won the first of three Silver Sluggers and was voted to the All-Star team for the first time. Seager finished second in MVP voting last year. In the postseason, the shortstop has an NLCS MVP and two World Series MVP awards. In 78 playoff games, Seager has hit 19 home runs and has an .858 OPS.
#714 - Ted Kluszewski - First Base - 1947-1961
Kluszewski had an insane four-year stretch from 1953-1956. He slashed .315/.383/.585, but that isn't what makes that span ridiculous. During that time, Klu smacked 171 home runs and struck out only 140 times. He led the league in homers (49) and RBIs (141) in 1954 finishing second in MVP voting. He led the league in hits (192) in 1955. Kluszewski is one of only three players to hit 45+ home runs and strike out 40 or fewer times. He did it twice (Gehrig and DiMaggio did it once) and Klu was the last one to achieve the feat in 1955.
#713 - Ross Youngs - Right Field - 1917-1926
Youngs was a very good player who could've hit .300 in his sleep. He was only below that mark once in his career. In 1919, he led the league in doubles (31), and in 1923, Youngs led the league in runs (121). In 1924, he had his best season, slashing .356/.441/.521 with a career-high 10 home runs. Youngs finished fifth in MVP voting that season. Unfortunately, he played his last game in 1926 at 29 years old and died the following October due to a kidney disease. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1972 by the Veteran's Committee.
#712 - Sherm Lollar - Catcher - 1946-1963
Lollar came into his own for the St. Louis Browns in 1950 making the first of his nine All-Star selections. For the 1950s, Lollar slashed .266/.364/.418 while averaging 17 home runs and 83 RBIs per 162. That was solid production for a catcher. Especially one who was a defensive asset like Lollar. He won three Gold Gloves and gunned down over 50 percent of would-be base stealers five times.
#711 - Mike Garcia - Right-handed Pitcher - 1948-1961
Garcia's peak was bookended by ERA titles. From 1949-1954, he had 104 wins and a 2.91 ERA. Garcia led the league in shutouts twice and was a three-time All-Star. He had a knack for keeping the ball in the park and inducing weak contact as his opponents managed a paltry .346 slugging percentage against him in his career. Garcia is also one of only four pitchers since World War II to have five shutouts and five saves in the same season (1951).
#710 - Bill Mazeroski - Second Base - 1956-1972
Widely regarded as the best fielding second baseman ever, Mazeroski won eight Gold Gloves in his career. He is first in double plays turned, fifth in assists, and first in Total Zone Runs according to baseball-reference. Maz hit one of the biggest home runs in history to end the 1960 World Series. However, it shouldn't have come as a total shock as he was one of the few second basemen in his era with some pop. He hit 104 home runs from 1958-1966. Mazeroski was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2001 by the Veteran's Committee.
#709 - Candy Cummings - Right-handed Pitcher - 1872-1877
Cummings is in the Hall of Fame mostly for his invention of the curveball. However, he did pitch well in his time especially since he was throwing a pitch no one had seen before. From 1872-1876 when pitchers still threw underhand, Cummings had a 2.27 ERA, won 140 games, and tossed 1,994 innings. In 1875, Cummings struck out a league-high 82 batters and walked four in 416 innings. Yes, you read that correctly. Even though he threw underhand, those are still ridiculous numbers.
#708 - J.T. Realmuto - Catcher - 2014-present
Realmuto has been one of the best catchers in baseball since 2016. In 1,003 games from 2016-2023, Realmuto slashed .275/.335/.462 while averaging 23 home runs, 14 steals, and 85 RBIs. He was a three-time All-Star and won two Silver Sluggers along with two Gold Gloves. Realmuto is 11th in dWAR according to Fangraphs (s.2002). He has led the league twice in caught-stealing percentage and he has thrown out eight percent more runners than the average catcher in his career.
#707 - Willard Brown - Outfield - 1937-1944, 1946-1948
When you look at Brown's baseball-reference page, you will see a lot of black ink. He led the league in hits eight times, RBIs eight times, and home runs six times. Although he had just 1,785 plate appearances, Brown slashed .351/.398/.579 averaging 20 home runs, 30 stolen bases, and 147 RBIs per 162. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2006 by the Negro League Committee.
#706 - Dan McGann - First Base - 1896, 1898-1908
In his era, McGann was considered the best first baseman in the league. From 1898-1905, he batted .292 while averaging 88 RBIs and 36 stolen bases per 162. He also led all first basemen in fielding percentage six times and led the league in HBP six times.
#705 - Tom Gordon - Right-handed Pitcher/Relief Pitcher - 1988-1999, 2001-2009
Gordon was a pitcher who took the ball whenever he was asked. For the first decade of his career, he was bounced from the bullpen to the rotation. It wasn't until 1998 that he entered the season as Boston's closer and never started another game in his career. Gordon led the league in saves that season with 46. He was a three-time All-Star. He is one of only five pitchers to have 130 wins and 150 saves in their careers.
#704 - Andrelton Simmons - Shortstop - 2012-2022
Simmons is widely considered one of the best defensive shortstops to ever play. According to Baseball-reference, Simmons is sixth in TZR and played far fewer innings than the five shortstops in front of him. While his offense was below average, the only shortstop in front of him with a better OPS+ is Cal Ripken Jr. Simmons won four Gold Gloves and finished in the top 15 of MVP voting three times.
#703 - Ken Caminiti - Third Base - 1987-2001
Caminiti was a late bloomer, and his peak was in San Diego when he was in his 30s. In his four years on the West Coast, Caminiti slashed .295/.384/.540 and averaged 35 home runs and 115 RBIs. His big season came in 1996 when Caminiti won the NL MVP award. He also won the second of his three Gold Gloves. He is one of only three third basemen to have a season of .325 BA, 40 homers, and 130 RBIs (Al Rosen, Miguel Cabrera twice).
#702 - Reb Russell - Left-handed Pitcher/Right Field - 1913-1919, 1922-1923
Russell broke into the major leagues in 1913 and threw a career-high 316.2 innings and had a 1.90 ERA. Unfortunately, his arm allowed him on a few more years as a pitcher, but he was effective when he was on the mound. Russell had a career ERA of 2.33 in 1,291.2 innings. He came back as an outfielder with the Pirates in 1922 and hit the cover off the ball. That season, Russell hit .368 and drove in 75 runs in 60 games. He played the following season but was finished for good after 1923.
#701 - Gavvy Cravath - Right Field - 1908-1909, 1912-1920
Cravath was the first prodigious home run hitter. He led the league in homers six times and deserved the Chalmers Award in 1913 (MVP). That season Cravath led the league with 19 home runs, 128 RBIs, and 179 hits. In 1915, Gavvy hit 24 home runs which equaled or surpassed 15 of the 24 teams in the majors. Cravath finished his career with 119 home runs which was good for fourth all-time in 1920. He also had a cannon for an arm leading the league in assists three times.
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