You decide MLB’s all-time starting nine: 2nd Basemen

Editor’s note: This story first appeared on AMNY.com

Over the next two weeks, Metro Philly and amNewYork Metro will be asking you, the readers, to help piece together Major League Baseball’s all-time starting lineup by voting who you think is the very best player at each position.

Each day, you will be given a list of 10 players per position where you can choose one (1) option.

Those looking to vote can submit their choices in several ways:

Send your vote via email to sports editor Joe Pantorno at joseph.pantorno@metro.us
Reach out to Pantorno on Twitter @JoePantorno

In our third installment today, we take a look at 10 of the top second basemen in MLB history.

Players up for consideration on our all-time second basemen list had to play at least 1,000 career MLB games with 60% of them coming at the position.

We were left with 155 second basemen where we put them through the Metro vacuum, which included:

Wins Above Replacement (WAR)
Batting average
On-base plus slugging percentage (OPS)
Home runs
Hits
RBI.

Taking their ranks within each statistic, an average number was deciphered. The lower the average number was, the better their standing.

Players with additional individual accolades, positive defensive metrics, and postseason successes were given an additional boost — allowing us to come to a list of 10 players that are considered the very best at their position.

Without further ado, here is today’s ballot for you to vote on, in alphabetical order:

Roberto Alomar

Years active: 1988-2004

Teams: San Diego Padres, Toronto Blue Jays, Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Indians, New York Mets, Chicago White Sox, Arizona Diamondbacks

Stats: 67.0 WAR, .300 batting average, .814 OPS, 2,724 hits, 210 HR, 1,134 RBI

Metro average: 11.6

Accolades: 12x All-Star, 2x World Series, 10x Gold Glove, 4x Silver Slugger, Hall of Fame

Craig Biggio

Years active: 1988-2007

Team: Houston Astros

Stats: 65.5 WAR, .281 BA, .796 OPS, 3,060 hits (25th all-time), 291 HR, 1,175 RBI

Metro average: 14

Accolades: 7x All-Star, 4x Gold Glove, 5x Silver Slugger, Hall of Fame

Robinson Cano

Years active: 2005-Present

Teams: New York Yankees, Seattle Mariners, New York Mets

Stats: 68.0 WAR, .302 BA, .843 OPS, 2,570 hits, 324 HR, 1,272 RBI

Metro average: 7.16

Accolades: 8x All-Star, 2x Gold Glove, 5x Silver Slugger, 1x World Series

Eddie Collins

Years active: 1906-1930

Teams: Philadelphia Athletics, Chicago White Sox

Stats: 123.9 WAR (10th all-time), .333 BA (26th all-time), .853 OPS, 3,315 hits (11th all-time), 47 HR, 1,299 RBI, 741 stolen bases (8th all-time)

Metro average: 17.16

Accolades: 1914 AL MVP, 4x World Series, Hall of Fame

Charlie Gehringer

Years active: 1924-1942

Team: Detroit Tigers

Stats: 83.8 WAR, .320 BA, .884 OPS, 2,839 hits, 184 HR, 1,427 RBI

Metro average: 6.6

Accolades: 1937 AL MVP, 6x All-Star, 1937 batting champion (.371 BA), 1x World Series, Hall of Fame

Rogers Hornsby

Years active: 1915-1937

Teams: St. Louis Cardinals, New York Giants, Boston Braves, Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Browns

Stats: 127.1 WAR (9th all-time), .358 BA (2nd all-time), 1.010 OPS (7th all-time), 2,930 hits, 301 HR, 1,584 RBI

Metro average: 2

Accolades: 2x NL MVP (’25,’29), 2x Triple Crown (’22,’25), 1x World Series, 7x batting title, 3 seasons batting over .400, top career WAR, BA, OPS by 2B ever, Hall of Fame