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Posted By: Chris Counts

Peter, I agree that Santo is better than Lindstrom and Kell. It's not even close. I'd take Ken Boyer over those two guys as well. Jimmy Collins must have been a pretty good player for Connie Mack to put him on his all-time team in '51, but even if he was Brooks with the glove, I'd still take Santo over him. But I wouldn't put him above Home Run Baker. His offensive numbers in the Dead Ball Era were amazing. I'd certainly consider John McGraw on the list as well, but like Collins, he's hard to judge since his best years are in the 19th century during a live ball era. By the way, didn't McGraw have the highest average ever for the hot corner? So even by conservative standards, Santo is clearly a Top Ten third baseman in my estimation. Isn't that good enough for Cooperstown? What other position has fewer representatives in the HOF? None are even close. Third base, for better or worse, is the hardest position on the field to fill, even tougher than catcher. Look at how many decades some teams like the Cubs, the Dodgers (until Ron Cy came along) and the Mets (remember Hubie Brooks?) searched for a third baseman ...