It can likely be said for all lists but the best first basemen of all time are very hard to categorize into a Top ten list. But here goes the KnupSports list by Time — and argue away.
Best First Basemen At a Glance
Top 10 Best First Basemen of All Time in the MLB
10) Jim Thome
A prolific power hitter, Thome hit 612 home runs during his career—the eighth-most all time—along with 2,328 hits, 1,699 runs batted in (RBIs), and a .276 batting average. He was a member of five All-Star teams and won a Silver Slugger Award in 1996. His strength was power hitting.
In 12 different seasons, he hit at least 30 home runs, topping 40 home runs in six of those seasons. He hit a career-high 52 homers in 2002, and in 2003 he led the National League in home runs with 47. Due in part to his ability to draw walks, with 12 seasons of at least 90 bases on balls, he finished his career with a .402 on-base percentage.
Thome’s career on-base plus slugging (OPS) of .956 ranks 19th all-time. In 2011, he became only the eighth MLB player to hit 600 home runs. Thome is the career leader in walk-off home runs with 13. His career WAR was 66.9.
9) Miguel Cabrera
Debuting in 2003, he was a two-time American League (AL) Most Valuable Player (MVP) award winner, a four-time AL batting champion, and a 12-time MLB All-Star. He played at first and third base for most of his major league career, but primarily played left and right field before 2006.
He claimed the 17th MLB Triple Crown in 2012, the first to do so in 45 seasons. Cabrera is one of three players in MLB history to have a career batting average above .300, 500 home runs, and 3,000 hits, joining Hank Aaron and Willie Mays. He is regarded as one of the greatest hitters of all time.
He won four AL batting titles, including three in consecutive years (2011–2013), and batted over .300 in 11 different seasons. He hit 30 or more home runs in ten separate seasons and drove in over 100 runs in 12 separate seasons (including 11 consecutive seasons, 2004–2014).
Cabrera is the all-time leader in career home runs and hits by a Venezuelan player, surpassing Andrés Galarraga and Omar Vizquel respectively. He joined the 500 home run club in 2021 and the 3,000 hit club in 2022; he was the seventh player in MLB history to reach both milestones.
Cabrera has been worth 67.8 Wins Above Replacement and 29.5 Wins Above Average. He certainly belongs on the top 1st basemen of all-time list.
8) Willie McCovey
He made his debut on July 30,1959 when he faced future Hall of Famer Robin Roberts. Willie hammered out four hits in four at bats with two singles and two triples. He went on to capture the 1959 Rookie of the Year in the National League.
McCovey was called “the scariest hitter in baseball” by pitcher Bob Gibson, seconded by similarly feared slugger Reggie Jackson. McCovey hit 521 home runs, 231 of them in Candlestick Park, the most in that park by any player. A home run he hit on September 16, 1966, was described as the longest ever hit in that stadium.
After he retired, he was named as a first ballot Hall Of Fame player in 1986. In his playing career, he was a 6× All-Star (1963, 1966, 1968–1971), NL MVP (1969), 3× NL home run leader (1963, 1968, 1969), 2× NL RBI leader (1968, 1969) and had his number 44 retired by the San Francisco Giants.
His best year statistically was 1969, when he hit 45 home runs, had 126 RBI and batted .320 to become the National League MVP. He was also named the Most Valuable Player of the 1969 All-Star Game after hitting two home runs to lead the National League team to a 9–3 victory over the American League.
Over the course of his career, Willie McCovey made 9,692 plate appearances. McCovey was worth 64.5 Wins Above Replacement and 30.3 Wins Above Average.
7) Hank Greenberg
Greenberg comes in number 7 on our best first basemen of all time list. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB), primarily for the Detroit Tigers as a top first baseman in the 1930s and 1940s. A member of the Baseball Hall of Fame and a two-time Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award winner, he was one of the premier power hitters of his generation and is widely considered one of the greatest sluggers in baseball history.
Greenberg played the first twelve of his 13 major league seasons for Detroit; with the Tigers, he was an All-Star for four seasons and was named the American League (AL) Most Valuable Player in 1935 and 1940. He had a batting average over .300 in eight seasons, and won two World Series championships with the Tigers (1935 and 1945).
He was the AL home run leader four times and his 58 home runs for the Tigers in 1938 equaled Jimmie Foxx’s 1932 mark for the most in one season by anyone other than Babe Ruth, and tied Foxx for the most home runs between Ruth’s record 60 in 1927 and Roger Maris’ record 61 in 1961. Greenberg was the first major league player to hit 25 or more home runs in a season in each league, and remains the AL record-holder for most runs batted in in a single season by a right-handed batter. He finished with a 60.6 WAR.
6) Johnny Mize
He played for 15 seasons between 1936 and 1953, losing three seasons to military service during World War II. Mize was a ten-time All-Star who played for the St. Louis Cardinals, New York Giants, and the New York Yankees. During his tenure with the Yankees, the team won five consecutive World Series.
Johnny Mize retired in 1953 with 359 career home runs and a .312 batting average along with 1,118 runs, 2,011 hits, 367 doubles, 83 triples, 1,337 RBI and 856 bases on balls. Defensively, he recorded a .992 fielding percentage as a first baseman. He was selected for induction to the Baseball Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee in 1981. In 2014, he was inducted into the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame Museum. He concluded his career with a 68.1 WAR
5) Frank Thomas
A five-time All-Star, he is the only player in major league history to have seven consecutive seasons (1991–1997) with at least a .300 batting average, 100 runs batted in (RBI), 100 runs scored, 100 walks, and 20 home runs. Thomas also won the AL batting title in 1997 with a .347 mark. Thomas is a two-time AL MVP and won a World Series in 2005 although he was injured during the regular season and World Series.
By the end of his career, Thomas was tied for eighth in AL history for home runs (521), ninth for RBI (1,704), and sixth for walks (1,667). Among players with at least 7,000 at bats in the AL, he ranked eighth in slugging average (.555) and ninth in on-base percentage (.419). With a .301 lifetime batting average, he became the seventh player in history to retire with at least a .300 average and 500 home runs.
He holds White Sox franchise records for career home runs (448), RBI (1,465), runs (1,327), doubles (447), extra base hits, walks (1,466), slugging average, (.568) and on-base percentage (.427). The White Sox retired Thomas’s uniform number 35 in 2010 and unveiled a statue of him at U.S. Cellular Field in 2011. Thomas was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2014 in his first year of eligibility—the first White Sox star to achieve that distinction. His career WAR is 72.0 and is our 5th best first basemen of all-time.
4) Jimmie Foxx
4th on the best first basemen of all time in the MLB is Jimmie Fox. He became the ninth player to win a Triple Crown and set a then-record for most MVP awards with three. His 58 home runs hit in 1932 were third-most all-time in a season at the time, his 438 total bases collected that same season are fifth most all time, and he is one of only seven batters to accumulate over 400 total bases in a season more than once.
Foxx won two American League (AL) batting titles, led all of baseball in home runs four times, and batted over .300 in eleven full seasons. On September 24, 1940, Foxx became the second member of the 500 Home Run Club when he hit a sixth-inning home run off George Caster. For nearly 67 years, he held the record for the youngest major leaguer to reach 500 home runs.
His 534 home runs are currently 19th all time, and his 1,922 RBI are tenth all time. With a career batting average of .325 and slugging percentage of .609, he was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1951. Accolades include :9× All-Star (1933–1941) (3× AL RBI leader 1932, 1933, 1938), 2× World Series champion (1929, 1930), 3× AL MVP (1932, 1933, 1938) Triple Crown (1933), 2× AL batting champion (1933, 1938), 4× AL home run leader (1932, 1933, 1935, 1939), Foxx finished his 20-year career with 534 home runs, 1,922 runs batted in, 1,751 runs scored, 2,646 hits, 458 doubles, 125 triples, 1,452 walks and a .325 batting average. His lifetime WAR was 101.4.
3)Albert Pujols
Pujols is a highly regarded hitter who has long shown a “combination of contact hitting ability, patience and raw power.” He was the National League (NL) Most Valuable Player (MVP) in 2005, 2008, and 2009 and is an 11-time All-Star (2001, 2003–2010, 2015, 2022). He is a six-time Silver Slugger who has twice led the NL in home runs, and he has also led the NL once each in batting average, doubles, and runs batted in (RBIs).
In 2018, Pujols collected his 3,000th career hit, becoming the 32nd MLB player to reach that milestone. During the 2022 season, Pujols moved into second place all-time for career RBIs and total bases and became the fourth player with 700 career home runs.
At the end of the season, he was also the major league career leader in double plays grounded into (426), 3rd in sacrifice flies (123), 5th in games played (3,080) and doubles (686), and 6th in at bats (11,421). He won two Gold Glove awards at first base. His career WAR is 101.6.
2) Stan Musial
Widely considered to be one of the greatest and most consistent hitters in baseball history, Musial spent 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), playing for the St. Louis Cardinals, from 1941 to 1944 and from 1946 to 1963, before becoming a first-ballot inductee into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1969.
He batted .331 over the course of his career and set National League (NL) records for career hits (3,630), runs batted in (1,951), games played (3,026), at bats (10,972), runs scored (1,949) and doubles (725). His 475 career home runs then ranked second in NL history behind Mel Ott’s total of 511. A seven-time batting champion, he was named the National League’s (NL) Most Valuable Player (MVP) three times and was a member of three World Series championship teams.
He also shares the major league record for the most All-Star Games played (24) with Hank Aaron and Willie Mays. His lifetime WAR is 126.4. (Musial also played some games in the outfield but was primarily at first base).
1) Lou Gehrig
He played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees (1923–1939). Gehrig was renowned for his prowess as a hitter and for his durability, which earned him his nickname “the Iron Horse”. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest baseball players of all time.
He was an All-Star seven consecutive times, a Triple Crown winner once,[3] an American League (AL) Most Valuable Player twice, and a member of six World Series champion teams. He had a career .340 batting average, .632 slugging average, and a .447 on base average. He hit 493 home runs and had 1,995 runs batted in (RBI).
He still has the highest ratio of runs scored plus runs batted in per 100 plate appearances (35.08) and per 100 games (156.7) among Hall of Fame players. In 1939, he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame and was the first MLB player to have his uniform number retired by a team. Gehrig had played 2,130 consecutive games, shattering the previous record of 1,307 along the way.
On the outside of our best first basemen of all time in the MLB list: Jeff Bagwell, Mark McGwire, Eddie Murray
That’s a glance at our 10 best first basemen of all time.
Best First Basemen in MLB by Decades
1870’s Best First Basemen – Cal McVey
He was born on August 30, 1849 in Montrose, Iowa and died on August 20, 1927 in San Francisco, California. He made his professional debut on May 5, 1871 for the Boston Red Stockings and played his final game On September 30. 1879 for the Cincinnati Reds.
McVey could play outfield when needed, he also was the teams second catcher and he pitched in the rotation behind Albert Spalding.His lifetime batting average finished at .346. He scored 555 runs and drove in 449. Twice he led the National Association in hits and twice he led in RBI’s.
1880’s Best First Basemen – Cap Anson
Anson was born Adrian Constantine Anson on April 17,1852 in Marshalltown. Iowa and died on April 14, 1922 in Chicago, Illinois. He received the nickname “Cap” from the players as he was the captain of the team. He played for 27 consecutive seasons in Chicago. He was probably the first hitter to attain 3000 hits in a career. He went on to become a manager and a minority owner.
In his playing career, he finished with a .334 batting average and over 3000 hits along with 2075 runs batted in.
1890’s Best First Basemen – Roger Connor
Roger Connor was born in Waterbury Connecticut on July 1, 1857 and died on January 4, 1931 in Waterbury. He held the major league home run record with 131 lifetime homers for 23 years after his retirement. The record was broken by Babe Ruth.
He played for the New York City Gothams until his retirement in 1897, His career line shows he hit .317 and amasses amassed 2467 hits with 1322 runs batted in.
1900’s Best First Basemen – Frank Chance
Frank Chance was born on September 9, 1877 in Salido, California and diee on September 15, 1924 in Los Angeles, California. Chance became the regular first baseman in 1905 and never relinquished it until he retired. He became a player-manager in Chicago as his team won several World Series titles.
He was also part of the famous double play combo of Tinker-Evers-Chance. He was going to become the White Sox manager in 1924 but fell ill and died before the season began. He finished with a .298 batting average and he had 596 runs batted in along with 401 stolen bases.
1910’s Best First Basemen – Jake Daubert
Daubert was born as Jacob Ellsworth Daubert in Shamokin, Pennsylvania on April 7,1894 and died in Cincinnati on October 8, 1924.. He played first base for two teams, the Brooklyn Superbas and the Cincinnati Reds from 10910 through 1924. He won the National League batting titles in 1913 and 1014.He finished with a .303 batting average even though it was the Deadball era. He had 2325 hits in his career.
1920’s Best First Basemen – Lou Gehrig
Henry Louis Gehrig Jr. was born Heinrich Ludwig Gehrig Jr. on June 19, 1903 and died on June 2, 1941.He played for seventeen seasons with the New York Yankees from 1923-1929
was an American professional baseball first baseman who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees (1923–1939).
His nickname was “Iron Horse” due to his durability to play everyday. He was an All-Star for seven consecutive seasons. He won the Triple Crown twice along with MVP in the American League three times. Lou played in six World Series championship teams. He had a career .340 batting average, .632 slugging average, and a .447 on-base average. He hit 493 home runs and had 1,995 runs batted in (RBI).
He still has the highest ratio of runs scored plus runs batted in per 100 plate appearances (35.08) and per 100 games (156.7) among Hall of Fame players. In 1939, he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame and was the first MLB player to have his uniform number retired by a team.
1930’s Best First Basemen – Jimmie Foxx
James Emory Foxx was born in Sudlersville, Maryland on October 22, 1907 and died in Miami on July 21, 196 His nickname was “Double X” and “the Beast”, He played 20 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Athletics, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, and Philadelphia Phillies.
When he retired, he had the second most home runs behind Babe Ruth. His greatest seasons were with the Philadelphia Athletics and the Boston Red Sox, where he hit a then-record 30 or more home runs in 12 consecutive seasons and drove in more than 100 runs in 13 consecutive years.
Considered one of the greatest hitters in baseball history, Foxx became the ninth player to win a Triple Crown and set a then-record for most MVP awards with three. His 58 home runs hit in 1932 were third-most all-time in a season at the time, his 438 total bases collected that same season are fifth most all time, and he is one of only seven batters to accumulate over 400 total bases in a season more than once. Foxx won two American League (AL) batting titles, led all of baseball in home runs four times, and batted over .300 in eleven full seasons.
On September 24, 1940, Foxx became the second member of the 500 home run club when he hit a sixth-inning home run off George Caster. For nearly 67 years, he held the record for the youngest major leaguer to reach 500 home runs. His 534 home runs are currently 19th all time, and his 1,922 RBI are tenth all time. With a career batting average of .325 and slugging percentage of .609, he was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1951
1940’s Best First Basemen – Johnny Mize
He was born in Demorest. Georgia on January 7, 1913 and died on June 2,1993 in the city he was born in. He played for 16 seasons and took three years off for military service.He primarily played for the St. Louis Cardinals and a few seasons for the New York Giants and New York Yankees.
For the Cardinals, he was a ten time All-Star and won five consecutive World Series for the Yankees.
When he died in 1853, he finished his career with 359 home runs and a .312 batting average. Also, Mize drove in 1119 runs with 367 doubles, 37 triples and 1,3376 runs batted in. He completed his career with a .992 defensive percentage.Johnny Mize was selected to the baseball Hall of Fame in 1981.
1950’s Best First Basemen – Gil Hodges
First baseman and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played most of his 18-year career for the Brooklyn / Los Angeles Dodgers. An eight-time All-Star, he anchored the infield for the Dodgers through six pennant winners and two World Series titles before leading the New York Mets to their first World Series title in 1969. One of the most beloved and admired players in major league history, Hodges was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2022, fifty years after his sudden death.
His career numbers include a .273 batting average. 376 home runs,1374 runs batted in along with being elected 8 times as an All-Star, 3-time World Series champ, 3 Gold Gloves and selected to the Baseball Hall of fame in 2022.
1960’s Best First Basemen – Willie McCovey
McCovey played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman from 1959 to 1980, most notably as a member of the San Francisco Giants for whom he played for 19 seasons. McCovey also played for the San Diego Padres and Oakland Athletics in the latter part of his MLB career.
At the time of his retirement in 1980, McCovey ranked second only to Babe Ruth in career home runs among left-handed batters and seventh overall. As of 2022, he ranks 20th overall on baseball’s all-time home run list, tied with Ted Williams and Frank Thomas. He was a six-time All-Star, three-time home run champion, MVP, and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1986 in his first year of eligibility, only the 16th man so honored, at the time.
1970 Best First Basemen – Rod Carew
Rod Carew played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a first baseman, second baseman and designated hitter from 1967 to 1985 for the Minnesota Twins and the California Angels. The most accomplished contact hitter in Twins history, he won the 1977 AL Most Valuable Player Award, setting a Twins record with a .388 batting average.
Carew appeared in 18 straight All-Star Games and led the AL in hits three times, with his 239 hits in 1977 being the twelfth most in a season at the time. He won seven AL batting titles, the second most AL batting titles in history behind Ty Cobb, and on July 12, 2016, the AL batting title was renamed to the Rod Carew American League batting title.
In 1977, Carew was named the recipient of the prestigious Roberto Clemente Award for his involvement in local community affairs. On August 4, 1985, he became the 16th member of the 3,000 hit club with a single to left field off Frank Viola His 3,053 hits are 27th all time, and his career batting average of .328 is 34th all time. He was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1991 in his first year of eligibility; he appeared on upwards of 90 percent of the ballots
1980 Best First Basemen – Don Mattingley
Debuting with the Yankees in 1982 after four seasons in Minor League Baseball, he emerged as the Yankees’ starting first baseman after a successful rookie season in 1983. Mattingly was named to the American League (AL) All-Star team six times.
He won nine Gold Glove Awards (an AL record for a first baseman), three Silver Slugger Awards, the 1984 AL batting title, and was the 1985 AL Most Valuable Player. He served as captain of the Yankees from 1991 through 1995, when he retired as a player. The Yankees later retired Mattingly’s uniform number (23), making him the only Yankee to have his number retired without having won a World Series with the team.
In his career, he had a lifetime batting average of .307, he rapped out 2153 hits. Hit 222 long balls and drove in 1099 runs. He was a 6 time All-Star and won 9 Gold Gloves along with 3 Silver Slugger awards. He was AL MVP one year and was batting champ once and AL RBI leader one year.
1990 Best First Basemen – Frank Thomas
He played for three American League (AL) teams from 1990 to 2008, all but the last three years with the Chicago White Sox. A five-time All-Star, he is the only player in major league history to have seven consecutive seasons (1991–1997) with at least a .300 batting average, 100 runs batted in (RBI), 100 runs scored, 100 walks, and 20 home runs.
Thomas also won the AL batting title in 1997 with a .347 mark. Thomas is a two-time AL MVP and won a World Series in 2005 although he was injured during the regular season and World Series. Thomas is widely considered one of the greatest right handed hitters in MLB history.He was selected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2014.
2000 Best First Basemen – Albert Pujols
He played for 22 seasons of major league baseball most of them with the St. Louis Cardinals. He was the National League (NL) Most Valuable Player (MVP) in 2005, 2008, and 2009 and is an 11-time All-Star (2001, 2003–2010, 2015, 2022). He is a six-time Silver Slugger who has twice led the NL in home runs, and he has also led the NL once each in batting average, doubles, and runs batted in (RBIs). In 2018, Pujols collected his 3,000th career hit, becoming the 32nd MLB player to reach that milestone.
During the 2022 season, Pujols returned to the Cardinals and moved into second place all-time for career RBIs and total bases and became the fourth player with 700 career home runs. At the end of the season, he was also the major league career leader in double plays grounded into (426), 3rd in sacrifice flies (123), 5th in games played (3,080) and doubles (686), and 6th in at bats (11,421). He won two Gold Glove awards at first base in his career.
2010 Best First Basemen – Joey Votto
Votto is a six-time MLB All-Star, a seven-time Tip O’Neill Award winner, and two-time Lou Marsh Trophy winner as Canada’s athlete of the year. In 2010, he won the National League (NL) MVP Award and the NL Hank Aaron Award.
Renowned for his plate discipline and ability to get on-base, he was first in career on-base percentage (.427), second in OPS (.957) and walks (1,104), and fourth in batting average (.311) among all active players through the 2018 season.
NOTE: These selections were made before MLB allowed the integration of the Negro Leagues into their system.
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