A couple of southpaws, a triple crown winner, and a player elected to the Hall of Fame by the BBWAA highlight this group of 25. We roll along with our top 1,000 MLB players of all-time as we move on to our next set of 250.
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
#750 - George Grantham - Second Base/First Base - 1922-1934
Grantham's career started badly as he led the NL in errors (55), caught stealing (28), and strikeouts (92). However, he would redeem himself and have an excellent career. From 1924-1931, Grantham slashed .315/.408/.486 and didn't have lower than a .300 average or a .390 OBP in any of those eight seasons. He set career highs in home runs (18) and RBIs (99) in 1930. Grantham is one of only 20 players in MLB history to slash .300/.390/.460 and have over 100 home runs and 100 stolen bases.
#749 - Sonny Siebert - Right-handed Pitcher - 1964-1975
Siebert was a two-time All-Star and a consistent arm for the Cleveland Indians and Boston Red Sox. From 1965-1971, Siebert won 99 games and pitched to a 2.95 ERA averaging 208 innings per year. In 1965, he set a career-high with 191 strikeouts while leading the league in K/BB Rate. He had one of his best seasons in 1971 winning 16 games and pitching to a 2.91 ERA for Boston. That season he also had an .821 OPS and hit six home runs in 90 plate appearances.
#748 - Tip O'Neill - Outfield - 1883-1892
While rules were certainly different when O'Neill played, his 1887 season was still one for the books. That season it was five balls for a walk and four strikes for a strikeout, not to mention pitchers threw from 55.5 feet. Nevertheless, O'Neill slashed .435/.490/.691, scored 167 runs, drove in 123, and hit 52 doubles, 19 triples, and 14 home runs. He won the first triple crown and led the league in all of those categories. For his career, O'Neill slashed .326/.392/.458.
#747 - Brandon Webb - Right-handed Pitcher - 2003-2009
Essentially Webb's career lasted just six seasons aside from one start in 2009, but he made the most of it. He finished in the top 2 in CYA voting three years in a row, winning the award in 2006. The following year, Webb set career highs in innings pitched (236.1) and strikeouts (194). In 2008, he led the NL with 22 wins. Webb is 18th All-Time in Adjusted ERA+ at 142.
#746 - Carlos Santana - Catcher/First Base/Designated Hitter - 2010-present
While he never found too much success outside of Cleveland, Santana played 10 years there and put up some good numbers. For the Indians, he slashed .251/.368/.450 with 216 home runs. His best season came in 2019 when he matched his career-high in home runs (34) and drove in a personal-best 93 runs. He made his lone All-Star team that year and had a .911 OPS.
#745 - Richie Hebner - Third Base/First Base - 1968-1985
Hebner gets lost as an unappreciated member of the 1970s Pirates who won five NL East titles in six years. Hebner's contributions lasted even longer than that even after he left Pittsburgh. From 1969-1980, he slashed .278/.355/.446 (123 OPS+) and averaged 19 home runs and 82 RBIs per 162.
#744 - Yu Darvish - Right-handed Pitcher - 2012-2014, 2016-present
Darvish came over to MLB in 2012 and finished third in ROY voting. He followed that up in 2013 with a second-place showing in CYA voting and led the league with 277 strikeouts. He struggled with the Cubs out of the gate in 2019, but after the All-Star Break, Darvish had a 2.76 ERA and an amazing 118 strikeouts to just seven walks. He finished the 2020 campaign second in CYA voting. As of this writing, he needs just 51 more strikeouts to reach 2,000.
#743 - Stuffy McInnis - First Base - 1909-1927
Putting the ball in play and not striking out was the name of the game for most hitters until about 1920. McInnis did it as well as anyone. From 1910-1917, he slashed .314/.355/.389 (123 OPS+) and averaged 20 steals per 162. He would get more obsessed with putting the ball in play. In 1922 he became the only player in Major League history to have fewer than 20 walks and six or fewer strikeouts with a minimum of 575 plate appearances. He did it again in 1924. For his career, McInnis is one of seven players with more than 2,400 hits and fewer than 300 strikeouts.
#742 - A.J. Burnett - Right-handed Pitcher - 1999-2015
Burnett had his best season early in his career. In 2002 with the Florida Marlins, Burnett was 12-9 with a 3.30 ERA while leading the league with five shutouts (only four pitchers have done it since). It was the first of six seasons of over 200 innings pitched for Burnett and the first of three with 200 strikeouts. He led the league in strikeouts with 231 in 2008. He also tossed seven innings of one-run ball in Game Two of the 2009 World Series.
#741 - Javy Lopez - Catcher - 1992-2006
Lopez may be one of the most underrated catchers ever. His stretch with the Braves from 1995-2003 was excellent. In that time, Lopez slashed .289/.339/.507 averaging 31 home runs and 100 RBIs per 162. He was a three-time All-Star and finished fifth in MVP voting in 2003 while setting career highs in homers (43) and RBIs (109). Lopez is one of five catchers in history to have an .820 OPS and hit 250 home runs. (Berra, Campanella, Piazza, Posada).
#740 - Jayson Werth - Outfield - 2002-2005, 2007-2017
Werth didn't play two-thirds of a season until he was 29 years old. That was in 2008 for the World Champion Phillies. Werth went 8-for18 with three stolen bases in that Series. He set career highs in home runs (36) and RBIs (99) the following year. In 2010 he led the league in doubles with 46. From 2007-2014, Werth slashed .282/.377/.478 and averaged 25 home runs and 16 steals per 162.
#739 - Frank Lary - Right-handed Pitcher - 1954-1965
Although he pitched for 12 years, Lary jammed 83 percent of his innings into seven seasons. From 1955-1961, he averaged 257 innings per year. He led the league in that category three times while also leading in complete games three times. He finished third in CYA voting in 1961. His main claim to fame is that he consistently beat the great Yankee teams of the 1950s and early 60s. Lary finished his career with a 28-13 record and a 3.32 ERA against the Bombers.
#738 - Alfonso Soriano - Left Field/Second Base - 1999-2014
Soriano had an elite power-speed combo. In 2006, he became the fourth player to achieve the elusive 40-40. Out of the five players to do it, Soriano is the only one to also have 40 doubles. From 2001-2008, he averaged 37 home runs and 34 stolen bases per 162. He was almost the hero of the 2001 World Series as well when he homered off of Curt Schilling to lead off the eighth inning in Game Seven. Soriano finished his career with 412 home runs and 289 stolen bases, one of only six players to reach those totals.
#737 - Bill Joyce - Third Base - 1890-1892, 1894-1898
Joyce didn't play very long, but he was a premier power hitter in the 1890s. He hit the most home runs in the league from 1894-1898 (60), and he led the league in 1896 with 13 after 17 in each of the previous two seasons. Joyce had a knack for getting on base as well. His career .435 OBP ranks eighth all-time and he led the league in walks twice.
At his seven-year peak, Ewing was a top turn-of-the-century pitcher. From 1903-1909, he had a 2.33 ERA (123 ERA+). While his 1.80 K/BB rate and 1.141 WHIP may not look impressive, both are much better than the league averages at the time. Ewing's career 2.49 ERA is 20th all-time after 1901 with at least 2,000 innings.
#735 - Chick Hafey - Outfield - 1924-1935
Hafey was one of the first regular position players to wear glasses on the field. From 1927-1931, Hafey was a beast. During that time, he slashed .338/.398/.611 (151 OPS+) and averaged 51 doubles, 31 home runs, and 132 RBIs per 162. He led the league in slugging in 1927 at .590 and batting in 1931 at .349. Hafey's .317 average is 13th all-time among right-handed hitters who retired after 1920 (min. 5,000 PA). He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1971.
#734 - Topsy Hartsel - Left Fielder - 1898-1911
Hartsel's stretch as arguably the best leadoff hitter of the deadball era began in 1901 with the Chicago Orphans (later the Cubs). From that season until 1907, the diminutive outfielder slashed .284/.388/.387 and averaged 35 stolen bases per 162. He led the league in steals in 1901 with 47. Hartsel led the league in walks five times and OBP twice. He was also a solid defensive outfielder with an arm that produced 100 assists from his left-field spot.
#733 - Bruce Sutter - Relief Pitcher - 1976-1986, 1988
While Sutter is to the Braves as Bobby Bonilla is to the Mets in terms of contract deferrals (Sutter was getting $1.12 million per year from 1990-2021), the closer's time in St. Louis and Chicago earns him a spot here. From 1976-1984, Sutter surpassed 60 appearances seven times and 100 innings five times. He led the league in saves five times and set a career-high with 45 in 1984. Sutter won the 1979 NL CYA with 37 saves and a 2.22 ERA. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2006.
#732 - Howie Kendrick - Second Base/Outfield/First Base - 2006-2020
Kendrick was an excellent defender at the keystone early in his career. He averaged seven DRS per 1,200 innings from 2006-2014. His offense was decent as well, but it came along in 2011 when he set a career-high for home runs with 18. Kendrick averaged 13 home runs and 12 stolen bases per 162 over the next nine years and had his swan song in 2019. That season, he slashed .344/.395/.572 and was the NLCS MVP for the World Champion Nationals.
#731 - Bruce Hurst - Left-handed Pitcher - 1980-1994
Hurst threw fewer than 200 innings in 1986. It was the only season he did so from 1983-1992. However, it was possibly Hurst's best season overall. He was 13-8 with a 2.99 ERA during the season and had a career-best K/BB rate of 3.34. In the postseason, Hurst was 3-0 in five starts with two complete games. Had the Red Sox won the World Series, Hurst may have been the MVP. He finished fifth in CYA voting in 1988 when he won a career-high 18 games.
#730 - Rico Carty - Outfield - 1963-1967, 1969-1970, 1972-1979
Carty batted .330 with 22 home runs in his rookie season in 1964. He finished second in ROY voting. Carty won the batting title in 1970 with a .366 average (still the highest in a single season since the Braves moved to Milwaukee) and finished 10th in MVP voting while setting a career-high with 101 RBIs. In his penultimate season in 1978, Carty set a career-high with 31 home runs. Carty finished his career with an .833 OPS (132 OPS+) and 204 home runs.
#729 - Ginger Beaumont - Centerfield - 1899-1910
Beaumont started his career batting .352 in 1899 and quickly became the Pirates leadoff hitter. He established himself as one of the best during the deadball era as he slashed .321/.369/.407 and averaged 32 steals per 162. Beaumont led the league in hits four times and was a batting champ in 1902 with a .357 average.
#728 - Bobby Shantz - Left-handed Pitcher - 1949-1964
Shantz won the AL MVP in 1952 going 24-7 with a 2.48 ERA while leading the league in K/BB rate (2.41) and WHIP (1.048). That would be the only season that Shantz started 30 games. Over the next four years, he bounced between the pen and rotation and struggled until he went to the Yankees in 1957. Shantz led the AL in ERA that season at 2.45. Overall, he was a three-time All-Star and an eight-time Gold Glove winner.
#727 - Justin Upton - Outfield - 2007-2022
Upton made his debut as a 19-year-old in 2007 with the Diamondbacks. In 2009, he established himself in the majors batting .300 with 26 home runs and 20 stolen bases. For the next decade, Upton would slash .270/.349/.482 and average 29 home runs and 16 steals. He was a four-time All-Star and three-time Silver Slugger.
#726 - Claude Hendrix - Right-handed Pitcher - 1911-1920
Hendrix had his best season in 1914 in the Federal League. His 29 wins and 1.69 ERA were the best in the league. Even aside from his two years in the short-lived league, Hendrix was very good in the National League. For his career in the NL, he won 99 games in eight seasons and pitched to a 2.79 ERA.
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