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List of Major League Baseball career games played as a third baseman leaders

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Brooks Robinson, the all-time leader in games played as a third baseman

Games played (most often abbreviated as G or GP) is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated (in any capacity); the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested. In baseball, the statistic applies also to players who, before a game, are included on a starting lineup card or are announced as ex ante substitutes, whether or not they play;[1] however, in Major League Baseball, the application of this statistic does not extend to consecutive games played streaks. A starting pitcher, then, may be credited with a game played even if he is not credited with a game started or an inning pitched. Third base is the third of four stations on a baseball diamond which must be touched in succession by a baserunner in order to score a run for that player's team. A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player on the team playing defense who fields the area nearest third base and is responsible for the majority of plays made at that base. In the scoring system used to record defensive plays, the third baseman is assigned the number 5.

Because third basemen routinely have to make the longest throws across the infield, and because of increasing expectations of their offensive contributions, they tend to be physically larger than middle infielders; however, they are generally expected to be quicker than first basemen, and the physical demands of playing third base have historically hindered players from having long careers at the position. When Eddie Yost became the first player to play 2,000 major league games at third base in 1962, it was nearly forty years after most other non-pitching positions had seen a player reach that milestone; the only position that took longer was catcher. Only 13 players have played 2,000 major league games at third base, tied for the fewest among infield positions; only three of the top 25 career leaders were in the major leagues before 1944, none of them before 1920. Brooks Robinson is the all-time leader in career games as a third baseman, playing 2,870 games at the position;[2][3][4] it is the most games played at a single position by any player in major league history, and exceeded the previous record at the position by nearly 700 games. Adrián Beltré[5] (2,759), Graig Nettles[6] (2,412), Gary Gaetti[7] (2,282), Wade Boggs[8] (2,215), Mike Schmidt[9] (2,212), Buddy Bell[10] (2,183), Eddie Mathews[11] (2,181), Ron Santo[12] (2,130), Aramis Ramírez[13] (2,112), Tim Wallach[14] (2,054), Scott Rolen[15] (2,023), and Eddie Yost[16] (2,008) are the only other players to appear in over 2,000 career games at third base.

Key

[edit]
Rank Rank amongst leaders in career games played. A blank field indicates a tie.
Player (2024 Gs) Number of games played during the 2024 Major League Baseball season
MLB Total career games played as a third baseman in Major League Baseball
* Denotes elected to National Baseball Hall of Fame
Bold Denotes active player[a]

List

[edit]
Evan Longoria, the active leader and 21st all-time in games played as a third baseman
Mike Schmidt holds the National League record.
Eddie Mathews held the National League record for 23 years.
Eddie Yost was the first player to appear in 2,000 games at third base.
Pie Traynor held the major league record for 26 years.
Lave Cross held the major league record for 28 years.
  • Stats updated as of August 3, 2024.
Rank Player (2024 Gs) Games as third baseman Other leagues, notes
MLB American League National League
1 Brooks Robinson* 2,870 2,870 0
2 Adrián Beltré* 2,759 1,802 957
3 Graig Nettles 2,412 1,997 415
4 Gary Gaetti 2,282 1,817 465
5 Wade Boggs* 2,215 2,215 0
6 Mike Schmidt* 2,212 0 2,212
7 Buddy Bell 2,183 1,744 439
8 Eddie Mathews* 2,181 27 2,154 Held major league record, 1966-1971; held National League record, 1965-1988
9 Ron Santo* 2,130 28 2,102
10 Aramis Ramírez 2,112 0 2,112
11 Tim Wallach 2,054 46 2,008
12 Scott Rolen* 2,023 203 1,820
13 Eddie Yost 2,008 2,008 0 Held major league record, 1960-1966; held American League record, 1959-1970
14 Chipper Jones* 1,992 0 1,992
15 Ron Cey 1,989 3 1,986
16 Aurelio Rodríguez 1,983 1,895 88
17 Sal Bando 1,896 1,896 0
18 Robin Ventura 1,887 1,437 450
19 Pie Traynor* 1,863 0 1,863 Held major league record, 1934-1960; held National League record, 1931-1965
20 Stan Hack 1,836 0 1,836
21 Evan Longoria (0) 1,826 1,345 481
22 Ken Boyer 1,785 38 1,747
Terry Pendleton 1,785 23 1,762
24 Pinky Higgins 1,768 1,768 0 Held American League record, 1944-1959
25 Matt Williams 1,743 151 1,592
26 Lave Cross 1,724 846 854 Includes 24 in American Association; held major league record, 1906-1934; held AL record, 1906-1907
27 Carney Lansford 1,720 1,720 0
28 George Brett* 1,692 1,692 0
George Kell* 1,692 1,692 0
30 Jimmy Collins* 1,683 948 735 Held American League record, 1901-1902
31 Ken Caminiti 1,676 53 1,623
32 Willie Kamm 1,674 1,674 0 Held American League record, 1934-1944
33 Vinny Castilla 1,656 107 1,549
Larry Gardner 1,656 1,656 0 Held American League record, 1921-1934
35 Willie Jones 1,614 4 1,610
36 Nolan Arenado (100) 1,583 0 1,583
37 Arlie Latham 1,573 0 690 Includes 831 in American Association, 52 in Players' League; held major league record, 1891-1906
38 David Wright 1,572 0 1,572
39 Harlond Clift 1,550 1,550 0
40 Home Run Baker* 1,548 1,548 0 Held American League record, 1918-1920
41 Doug DeCinces 1,543 1,540 3
42 Ken Keltner 1,500 1,500 0
43 Todd Zeile 1,498 266 1,232
44 Ossie Bluege 1,487 1,487 0
45 Mike Lowell 1,474 535 939
46 Billy Nash 1,468 0 1,291 Includes 132 in Players' League, 45 in American Association; held National League record, 1895-1910
47 Darrell Evans 1,442 35 1,407
48 Bill Madlock 1,440 22 1,418
49 Clete Boyer 1,439 928 511
50 Jimmy Austin 1,431 1,431 0 Held American League record, 1917-1918, 1920-1921
51 Kyle Seager 1,427 1,427 0
52 Jeff Cirillo 1,403 690 713
53 Eric Chavez 1,402 1,339 63
54 Bill Bradley 1,390 1,193 136 Includes 61 in Federal League; held American League record, 1902-1906, 1907-1917
55 Harry Steinfeldt 1,387 0 1,387 Held National League record, 1910-1931
56 Frank Malzone 1,370 1,370 0
57 Bob Elliott 1,365 103 1,262
58 Joe Randa 1,362 1,058 304
59 Travis Fryman 1,359 1,359 0
60 Pinky Whitney 1,358 0 1,358
61 Doug Rader 1,349 45 1,304
Milt Stock 1,349 0 1,349
63 Manny Machado (56) 1,345 715 630
64 Troy Glaus 1,337 1,037 300
65 Charlie Hayes 1,328 256 1,072
66 Ken Reitz 1,321 0 1,321
67 Ken McMullen 1,318 1,201 117
68 Heinie Groh 1,299 0 1,299
69 Billy Shindle 1,274 0 999 Includes 273 in American Association, 2 in Players' League
70 Steve Buechele 1,269 835 434
71 Richie Hebner 1,262 32 1,230
72 Jimmy Dykes 1,257 1,257 0
73 Josh Donaldson 1,213 1,050 163
74 Don Hoak 1,199 0 1,199
75 Mike Mowrey 1,196 0 1,045 Includes 151 in Federal League
76 Bob Bailey 1,194 1 1,193
Alex Rodriguez 1,194 1,194 0
78 Art Devlin 1,192 0 1,192
79 Mike Pagliarulo 1,179 1,014 165
80 Brook Jacoby 1,166 1,161 5
81 Mike Moustakas (0) 1,165 924 241
82 Dean Palmer 1,162 1,162 0
Eugenio Suárez (104) 1,162 293 869
84 Eddie Foster 1,161 1,161 0
85 Bobby Byrne 1,147 0 1,147
86 Billy Werber 1,143 653 490
87 Ryan Zimmerman 1,133 0 1,133
88 Jim Davenport 1,130 0 1,130
89 Bill Mueller 1,128 373 755
90 Chase Headley 1,123 432 691
91 Jerry Denny 1,109 0 1,109 Held National League record, 1887-1895
92 Doc Casey 1,100 259 841
93 Toby Harrah 1,099 1,099 0
94 Bob Aspromonte 1,094 0 1,094
95 Denny Lyons 1,085 0 467 Includes 618 in American Association
96 Red Rolfe 1,084 1,084 0
97 Brandon Inge 1,083 1,073 10
98 Todd Frazier 1,069 297 772
99 Tom Brookens 1,065 1,065 0
100 George Pinkney 1,061 0 452 Includes 609 in American Association

Other Hall of Famers

[edit]
Player Games as third baseman Other leagues, notes
MLB American League National League
Deacon White* 827 0 762 Includes 64 in Players' League, 1 in National Association
Freddie Lindstrom* 809 0 809
Harmon Killebrew* 791 791 0
Paul Molitor* 791 791 0
John McGraw* 782 88 694
Tony Pérez* 760 0 760
Judy Johnson* 682 0 0 Includes 355 in Eastern Colored League, 230 in Negro National League (second),
74 in American Negro League, 23 in East–West League (incomplete)
Cal Ripken Jr.* 675 675 0
Joe Sewell* 643 643 0
Edgar Martínez* 564 564 0
Bill McKechnie* 553 2 285 Includes 266 in Federal League
George Davis* 529 0 529
Joe Torre* 515 0 515
Jim Thome* 493 493 0
Frankie Frisch* 459 0 459
Bobby Wallace* 426 96 330
Jud Wilson* 358 0 0 Includes 224 in Negro National League (second), 109 in Eastern Colored League,
18 in East–West League, 7 in American Negro League (incomplete)
Jackie Robinson* 256 0 256
Cap Anson* 220 0 118 Includes 102 in National Association
Honus Wagner* 210 0 210
Johnny Bench* 195 0 195
Rogers Hornsby* 192 2 190
Ray Dandridge* 160 0 0 Includes 160 in Negro National League (second) (incomplete)
Jim O'Rourke* 148 0 119 Includes 29 in National Association
Jimmie Foxx* 141 125 16
Ryne Sandberg* 133 0 133
Buck Ewing* 127 0 127
Roger Connor* 111 0 111
King Kelly* 96 0 86 Includes 8 in American Association, 2 in Players' League
Joe Cronin* 69 69 0
Willie Wells* 49 0 0 Includes 44 in Negro National League (second), 4 in Negro American League,
1 in Negro National League (first) (incomplete)

Notes

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  1. ^ A player is considered inactive if he has announced his retirement or not played for a full season.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Section 20 of the official scorer guidelines
  2. ^ "Brooks Robinson Career Stats". Baseball Reference. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
  3. ^ "Brooks Robinson Hall of Fame Profile". National Baseball Hall of Fame. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
  4. ^ Simon, Andrew (February 15, 2021). "Brooks Robinson's Most Impressive Stats". Baseball Reference. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
  5. ^ "Adrián Beltré Career Stats". Baseball Reference. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
  6. ^ "Graig Nettles Career Stats". Baseball Reference. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
  7. ^ "Gary Gaetti Career Stats". Baseball Reference. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
  8. ^ "Wade Boggs Career Stats". Baseball Reference. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
  9. ^ "Mike Schmidt Career Stats". Baseball Reference. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
  10. ^ "Buddy Bell Career Stats". Baseball Reference. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
  11. ^ "Eddie Mathews Career Stats". Baseball Reference. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
  12. ^ "Ron Santo Career Stats". Baseball Reference. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
  13. ^ "Aramis Ramírez Career Stats". Baseball Reference. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
  14. ^ "Tim Wallach Career Stats". Baseball Reference. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
  15. ^ "Scott Rolen Career Stats". Baseball Reference. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
  16. ^ "Eddie Yost Career Stats". Baseball Reference. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
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