5 Tool Player

[Irwin Fletcher]

Mickey Mantle? Hit didn't steal a lot of bases, but was very efficient when he did. Also, I can't speak to the strength of his throwing arm, but it's my understanding that he was a solid centerfielder before injuries wore him down.

Jackie Robinson? He wasn't a power hitter, but his .474 career SLG is pretty respectable.

[PolarBear]

Mays was my first thought. Wagner comes to mind as well. He may not be considered a great power hitter, but take it in the context of the dead ball era. Check out his numbers on stolen bases and times caught. I was surprised at his numbers.

[prewarsports]

The first true 5 Tool player was Louis Sockalexis in the mid 1890's and that is what made him such a sensation in the Baseball World for a few years. Not a Hall of Famer but possibly the most talented player of his era.

Rhys Yeakley

[Matt]

Ty Cobb &
Shoeless Joe
should be on the list.


Here is a fantastic article (with photos!) written by Charles Comiskey in 1910 for the New York Times about Cobb having all the tools.

[Anthony S.]

Bill Mazeroski.

[oldjudge]

Vladimir Guerrero is the best recent OF example I could think of (till injuries limited his SBs). Arod should also be on the list along with Mike Schmidt

[ghostmarcelle]

Oscar Charleston is probably the ultimate 5 tool player.

[pgellis]

I thought of Mike Schmidt too, but discounted him in the Speed category. He averaged less than 10 SBs per season, so I don't think you can consider him a 5 tool player, although he did have a season with 29 SBs........pretty surprising.

[bbcard1]

He is thought of as the "father of power" but I am not sure Babe Ruth wouldn't be a good candidate. He was "built funny" but an all-round athlete.

Barry Bonds would probably be a great example...ironically he was not just a 5-tool player, but he also acted like a tool most of the time.

[JK]

I think you need to look at more than the total number of SBs when considering speed. I think speed can also refer to his speed in the field (granted to some extent that encroaches on fielding). Further, not all players are going to be asked to steal bases - even if they have the capability of doing so. Some teams are not going to run as much as others.

[tiger8mush]

how about Rickey Henderson?

For present players, Carl Crawford comes to mind. And Bobby Abreau. Ichiro, though he doesn't have the most power he still has some respectable pop. Jeter?

Seems like a 5 tool player would most likely be an OFer.

Rob

[Robextend]

I remember Henderson not being that great of a fielder when he was on the Yankees, maybe earlier in his career with Oakland he was.

[Matt]

Originally Posted by bbcard1

Barry Bonds would probably be a great example...ironically he was not just a 5-tool player, but he also acted like a tool most of the time.

A 6-tool player!

[yanksfan09]

Arod's pretty well rounded and was a great short stop if you look past steroid use

[Frank A]

Rickey Henderson

[pgellis]

Henderson won only 1 Gold Glove award. He didn't have the greatest arm. One very unique thing about Rickey Henderson is that he bats righthanded and throws left handed. That is a rare combination. Many guys throw righthanded and bat lefthanded, but the other way around is very rare.

[BrockJacob]

Roberto Alomar comes to mind.

[JK]

To follow up on my position that speed does not equal steals, I did a quick search on the definition of a "five tool player". Speed refers to a player with the speed in order to maximize extra base hits, which dramatically improve a team's chances of scoring runs. He must also be a threat to steal bases, which puts more pressure on the opposing pitcher, catcher and defense. Certainly steals are a component of this tool, but not the sole criteria.

Here is what the sporting news says about speed.

http://www.sportingnews.com/archives...rs/151059.html

[drdduet]

Honus Wagner
Ty Cobb
Tris Speaker
Nap Lajoie
Sam Crawford

Willie Mays
Mickey Mantle
Joe Dimaggio
Ted Williams
Frank Robinson

Bobby and Barry Bonds
Alex Rodriguez
Ken Griffey Sr. and Jr.
Rickey Henderson

And the biggest "tool" player==Jose Canseco

[Irwin Fletcher]

Rob Deer!

Oh, wait - I thought we were trying to name 1 tool players.

[fkw]

For his Era..... Honus Wagner was a 5 tool player.
He is 10th All Time in SB's

Bonds and Mays are in their Own League stat wise, but Bonds arm died long ago though.

After looking at a list of top SB's...
Others to consider... (not all HOFers)....... Morgan, ARod, Yount, Soriano, Winfield, etc.

[Jewish-collector]

I think Mantle before he had his injuries, Willie Mays, Clemente, and Frank Robinson.

How much better was Mays than Clemente ? Not THAT much.

[mannybb24]

Norman "Turkey" Stearnes

One of the best defensive outfielders in Negro League history.
Throw in a .350 career avg.
Top 10 in steals
and oh yeah by the way, Turkey is the all-time home run leader.

[thekingofclout]

Poor Man's Willie Mays.

A Five Tool Player is one who can Hit, Hit with Power, Run, Field, and Throw.

Running and Speed aren't always the same thing.

When HOF manager Joe McCarthy was asked who was the best base runner he ever saw. He answered the question with a question: "Would it surprise you if I said DiMaggio?" He said he never once saw the Clipper make a mistake on the bases and had no equal going from first to third. Joe also had perfected the hook-slide so much so that several decades later no one has ever approached Joe's skill.

DiMag gets my vote.

BTW... Bonds couldn't throw hard enough to break a window! You mean to tell me you guys don't remember SID BREAM?! The Bucs lost a pennant because BARRY couldn't throw out Bream from deep shortstop!

NOTE: In '91 Bream, who had to be on the wrong side of 250 pounds, was also OH for THREE in Stolen Base Attempts for the WHOLE season.

So I'll give Bonds 4 out of 5 but let's get it straight, he was no DiMaggio.

Being a lifetime Halo fan, I also gave Barry an assist for our lone Title, as he was once again playing deep shortstop, this time with Home Run Champ (47 in 2000) Troy Glaus at bat in game seven with the go ahead runner on base (BTW...Glaus had gone yard 118 times from 2000-2002).

My first reaction when Glaus hit the ball is it was a deep fly to left/left center and was bummed until I saw Barry lumbering back, back, back, as the ball floated over his head. Bonds was certainly afraid history would repeat itself and expose his glaring weakness, but Glaus just missed the pitch and Barry couldn't run it down from his shortstop position. Thank you Sir! May I have another!

[Chris-Counts]

Jimmy, I agree with you about Vada Pinson. If he played in another era, his batting average probably would have been high enough to merit serious Hall of Fame consideration, but the 1960s were dominated by pitchers (Personally, I think he's worthy regardless). I grew up just a few miles from Anaheim Stadium, and I was about 11 when the Halos acquired Vada. Even though he was past his prime, I was in awe of him. He was such a graceful ballplayer. A friend of mine who grew up in Cincinnati recalled that he moved like a cat in the outfield ...

[Robextend]

I'm not sure if this name was said, but how about Larry Walker? Sure he had an injury filled career and played in Colorado, but he absolutely had all the tools.

[Robextend]

Originally Posted by fkw

For his Era..... Honus Wagner was a 5 tool player.
He is 10th All Time in SB's

Bonds and Mays are in their Own League stat wise, but Bonds arm died long ago though.

After looking at a list of top SB's...
Others to consider... (not all HOFers)....... Morgan, ARod, Yount, Soriano, Winfield, etc.

Not a bad group there, but as a Yankee lifer I can safely say that Alfonso Soriano is a bad defensive player and I don't think that can be argued!