While we only have one current player in this section of the Top 1,000, we do have a bunch of players who have taken the diamond over the last 30 years. Many of the guys in this group were excellent fielders. There are also quite a few players who performed when the lights were the brightest, including a World Series MVP.
Be sure to check out the rest of our series: MLB 976-1,000 | 951-975 | 926-950 | 901-925 | 876-900 |850-875 | 801-825 | 776-800 | 751-775
#850 - Johnny Logan - Shortstop - 1951-1963
Logan was a slick fielding shortstop in the 1950s for the Milwaukee Braves. He could handle the bat a little bit too. Logan had his best season in 1955 when he slashed .297/.360/.442. He led the league in doubles with 37 and set a career-high in RBIs with 83. Logan was a four-time All-Star and received MVP votes for six straight years.
#849 - Darin Erstad - Centerfield/First Base - 1996-2009
Erstad had one of those years in 2000. He slashed .355/.409/.541 with 25 home runs, 28 stolen bases, and 100 RBIs. No one in the history of baseball has had a season of 240 hits, 25 home runs, 25 stolen bases, and 100 RBIs. Erstad was also an All-Star twice and won three Gold Gloves at different positions.
#848 - Bob Watson - First Base/Left Field - 1966-1984
Watson's peak spanned six years from 1972-1977. In that time, he slashed .308/.378/.462 (139 OPS+) while averaging 18 home runs and 98 RBIs per 162. In 1977, he set career highs in doubles (38), home runs (22), and RBIs (110). Watson batted over .300 four times in those six years. Despite never winning a ring, Watson performed well in the postseason batting .371 with 23 hits in just 17 games.
Hayes moved around the diamond from right field to first base and centerfield. He had a power/speed combo that was evident at his peak. From 1984-1990, he slashed .277/.370/.443 while averaging 19 home runs and 28 stolen bases per 162. In 1986, Hayes led the league in runs (107) and doubles (46) while finishing eighth in MVP voting. He is one of only three retired MLB players with 125 home runs and 250 stolen bases despite playing in fewer than 1,500 games (Carlos Gomez, B.J. Upton).
#846 - Nip Winters - Left-handed Pitcher/First Base - 1923-1932
Winters was undoubtedly talented. He came into the Eastern Colored League with Hilldale in 1923. He promptly led the league with 10 wins and a 2.36 ERA. He went on to lead the ECL in wins three more times. In 1924, Winters led the league in strikeouts with 114. While his success as a starter was short-lived, Winters continued to hit. In his career, he had 690 plate appearances. Winters slashed .288/.341/.456 with 105 RBIs.
#845 - J.D. Martinez - Outfielder/Designated Hitter - 2011-present
Martinez was a light-hitting outfielder with the Houston Astros when he came up, smacking just 24 home runs in 252 games. The Tigers picked him up two days after he was released in 2014. From that season until 2019, JD was one of the best hitters in the game. He slashed .307/.373/.581 (152 OPS+) while averaging 41 home runs and 116 RBIs per 162. He is a six-time All-Star and led the American League in RBIs (130) in 2018 while finishing fourth in MVP voting that season.
#844 - Hunter Pence - Right Fielder - 2007-2020
Pence was kind of a throwback with his boyish exuberance and high socks. He could definitely play the game well. He finished third in ROY voting in 2007. He hit exactly 25 home runs the next three years, going to his first of four All-Star games in 2009. From 2008-2014, Pence hit at least 20 home runs. In 2014, he was 12-for-27 in the World Series and likely would have been MVP if not for Madison Bumgarner's heroics.
#843 - Hideki Matsui - Left Fielder/Designated Hitter - 2003-2012
Matsui was already 29 years old when he joined the Yankees in 2003. He finished second in ROY voting that season. He played in every game in his first three years in the majors. In his prime with New York, Matsui slashed .292/.370/.482 averaging 25 home runs and 106 RBIs. He was unstoppable in the 2009 World Series going 8-for-13 with three homers and eight RBIs. He took home the WS MVP award that year.
#842 - Jesse Haines - Right-handed Pitcher - 1918, 1920-1937
Haines had a long career. He constantly tinkered with his motion and even threw a knuckleball. He won 20 games twice and threw over 300 innings twice. In 1927, he led the league with 25 complete games and six shutouts. Even aside from his longevity, he won his final game at age 44, Haines was a dominant World Series pitcher. In 1926, he shut down the vaunted Yankees in Game Seven to bring home the Cardinals' first World Series. Overall, Haines was 3-1 with a 1.67 ERA over 32.1 innings. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame by the Veteran's Committee in 1970.
#841 - John Titus - Right Fielder - 1903-1913
Known for the toothpick in his mouth and quiet demeanor, Titus was an excellent player, albeit without much fanfare. From 1904-1910, he was reliable, playing at least 143 games each season. He also was praised for his throwing arm in right field, recording at least 20 assists each year. During that stretch, Titus slashed .277/.368/.369 (127 OPS+). His best season came in 1905 when he finished in the top 5 in total bases (239), RBIs (89), and walks (69).
#840 - Hank Thompson - Third Base/Second Base/Outfield - 1943, 1946-1956
Thompson started his career in the Negro Leagues with the Kansas City Monarchs. In 1948, his final season with KC, Thompson led the league in stolen bases (12), walks (27), and runs (50). From 1949-1954 with the New York Giants, he slashed .274/.377/.471 while averaging 24 home runs and 90 RBIs. He helped the Giants take the 1954 World Series going 4-for-11 with seven walks in the series.
#839 - Mickey Rivers - Centerfielder - 1970-1984
After being a part-time player for his first four years with the Angels, Rivers got into the lineup regularly in 1974. He led the league in triples that year with 11. He followed it up in 1975 with 13 triples, again leading the league, while also leading the AL in stolen bases with 70. He went to the Yankees the following year and batted .312 with 43 stolen bases, finishing third in MVP voting. In 1977 and 1978, Rivers would have 26 hits in the playoffs for the Yankees batting .329.
#838 - Harry Steinfeldt - Third Base - 1898-1911
Steinfeldt played with the turn-of-the-century Reds. In 1903, he batted .312 and led the league with 32 doubles. In 1906 he would go to the Cubs and play third base while his infield mates got all the glory. That season Steinfeldt had his best year. he slashed .327/.395/.430 while leading the league with 83 RBIs and 176 hits.
#837 - Jacoby Ellsbury - Centerfielder - 2007-2017
Ellsbury may have left a bad taste in the mouths of Yankee fans, but he was an excellent player. He led the league three times in stolen bases. He was the last player to have 70 steals in a season until Ronald Acuna did it this year. In 2011, Ellsbury was in another zone. He hit 32 home runs, stole 39 bases, led the league with 364 total bases, and finished second in MVP voting.
#836 - Jimmy Williams - Second Base/Third Base - 1899-1909
Williams's first five years had him looking like a star in the league. from 1899-1903, he slashed .307/.367/.467 while averaging 23 triples, 22 stolen bases, and 112 RBIs per 162. Williams has a couple of distinctions. His 27-game hitting streak is still the Pirates' franchise record. Williams also had 27 triples in his rookie season which is a major league record that will likely never be broken.
#835 - Robby Thompson - Second Base - 1986-1996
Thompson was an integral part of the Giants' success in the late 80s. He was second in ROY voting in 1986 and was an All-Star in 1988. His best year came at the end of his peak in 1993. That season, Thompson slashed .312/.375/.496 with 19 home runs and 65 RBIs, all of which were career highs. He also won a Gold Glove that year.
#834 - Marquis Grissom - Centerfield - 1989-2005
Grissom led the league in stolen bases in 1991 and 1992 with 76 and 78 respectively. His best offensive season came in 1996 with the Atlanta Braves. That year, Grissom slashed .308/.349/.489 with 23 home runs and 28 stolen bases and reached career-highs in hits (207) and triples (10). He won four straight Gold Gloves from 1993-1996 and finished top 13 in MVP voting four times.
#833 - Mike Boddicker - Right-handed Pitcher - 1980-1993
Boddicker's rookie year couldn't have gotten much better. He finished third in ROY voting, led the league in hits/9, won 16 games, and pitched to a 2.77 ERA. Then he got to the playoffs. He was ALCS MVP after pitching a shutout with 14 strikeouts in Game Two. Boddicker went on to toss a three-hit complete game in Game Two of the World Series. He followed that up with a fourth-place finish in ROY voting in 1984 while leading the league with 20 wins and a 2.79 ERA.
#832 - Victor Martinez - Catcher/Designated Hitter - 2002-2011, 2013-2018
Martinez had an excellent four-year stretch with Cleveland from 2004-2007, slashing .302/.376/.484 while averaging 41 doubles, 23 home runs, and 109 RBIs per 162. However, his best season came with Detroit in 2014 when he finished second in MVP voting. That season, Martinez slashed .335/.409/.565, leading the league with a .974 OPS. He hit 32 home runs and struck out only 42 times.
#831 - DJ LeMahieu - Second Base/Third Base/First Base - 2011-2023
LeMahieu won two batting titles, one with the Rockies and one with the Yankees. He also led the league in OPS in 2020 with 1.011 while finishing third in MVP voting. He set career-highs in home runs and RBIs in 2019 with 26 and 102 respectively. He won four Gold Gloves at a couple of different positions. LeMahieu also had three All-Star nods and won two Silver Sluggers.
#830 - Ray Durham - Second Base - 1995-2008
Durham had a solid nine-year peak from 1998-2006. During that time, he slashed .285/.361/.460 while averaging 19 home runs and 22 stolen bases per 162. He set career-highs in home runs (26) and RBIs (93) in 2006 with the Giants. Durham was a two-time All-Star and was one of the best switch-hitting middle infielders.
#829 - Max Lanier - Left-handed Pitcher - 1938-1946, 1949-1953
The southpaw didn't pitch a ton of innings in his career, but Lanier did pitch well. He led the league in 1943 with a 1.90 ERA. He threw 150+ innings in just six seasons. However, he had a sub-3.00 ERA in four of them and his high was 3.26. In his 12 seasons with St. Louis, Lanier had a 2.84 ERA and won 101 games. He led the league in 1944 striking out 5.7 per 9. He also posted a 1.71 ERA in 31.2 postseason innings.
#828 - Nick Markakis - Right Fielder - 2006-2020
Markakis was in the conversation for an outside shot for 3,000 hits. That didn't come close to happening as he wound up with 2,388. He had 170 hits nine times and was a lifetime .288 hitter. Markakis had over 500 doubles and hit over 38 of them eight times. He was also a three-time Gold Glove winner.
#827 - Freddy Garcia - Right-handed Pitcher - 1999-2013
Garcia started his career off right. He finished second in ROY voting in 1999 and ninth in CYA voting that same year. In 2001, Garcia had his best season, leading the league in IP (238.1) and ERA (3.05). He finished third in CYA voting that season. Garcia went on to toss 200 innings each year for the next five seasons. That included the 2005 White Sox. He pitched a gem for Chicago in Game Four of the World Series to secure the sweep.
#826 - John Tudor - Left-handed Pitcher - 1979-1990
Tudor was another player who had an incredible season. In 1985, he was 21-8 after starting 1-7. He is also the only pitcher since Bob Gibson in 1968 to have 10 shutouts and a sub-2.00 ERA. Tudor finished second to Dwight Gooden in CYA voting. Over his career, he was a good pitcher. From 1984-1990, Tudor was 78-40 with a 2.66 ERA.
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