List of Major League Baseball career double plays as a left fielder leaders

In baseball statistics, a double play (denoted as DP) is the act of making two outs during the same continuous play. One double play is recorded for every defensive player who participates in the play, regardless of how many of the outs in which they were directly involved, and is counted in addition to whatever putouts and assists might also apply. Double plays can occur any time there is at least one baserunner and fewer than two outs.^[1] The left fielder (LF) is one of the three outfielders, the defensive positions in baseball farthest from the batter. Left field is the area of the outfield to the left of a person standing at home plate and facing toward the pitcher's mound. The outfielders have to try to catch long fly balls before they hit the ground or to quickly catch or retrieve and return to the infield any other balls entering the outfield. The left fielder must also be adept at navigating the area of left field where the foul line approaches the corner of the playing field and the walls of the seating areas. Being the outfielder closest to third base, the left fielder generally does not have to throw as far as the other outfielders to throw out runners advancing around the bases, so they often do not have the strongest throwing arm, but their throws need to be accurate. The left fielder normally plays behind the third baseman and shortstop, who play in or near the infield; unlike catchers and most infielders (excepting first basemen), who are virtually exclusively right-handed, left fielders can be either right- or left-handed. In the scoring system used to record defensive plays, the left fielder is assigned the number 7.

Left fielders are most commonly credited with a double play when they throw the ball to an infielder who tags a runner attempting to advance on the basepaths, even on a caught fly ball that results in an out (see tag up); of special importance are throws to the catcher if the runner is trying to reach home plate to score a run, perhaps on a sacrifice fly. Left fielders will often record assists by throwing out runners who try to advance farther than the batter, such as going from first to third base on a single, or batter/runners who try to stretch a hit into a longer one. Outfielders also earn double plays on relay throws to infielders after particularly deep fly balls, by throwing to a base to record an out on an appeal play, or in situations where they might deflect a fly ball before another defensive player makes the catch; in extraordinary instances, right fielders have occasionally recorded double plays by throwing out batters at first base after fielding uncaught line drives that reached them quickly. Outfielders record far fewer double plays than other players due to the difficulty of making an accurate throw in time to retire a runner from a great distance; middle infielders routinely record more double plays in a single season than outfielders do in their entire careers. Double plays are an important statistic for outfielders, giving a greater indication of a left fielder's throwing arm than double plays by infielders do. In recent years, some sabermetricians have begun referring to assists by outfielders as baserunner kills.

Jimmy Sheckard is the all-time leader in career double plays as a left fielder with 58.^[2] Zack Wheat (50) is the only other left fielder who has recorded 50 career double plays. Michael Brantley, who had 24 double plays through the 2023 season to place him tied for 99th all-time, is the leader among active players.

Key

Rank	Rank amongst leaders in career double plays. A blank field indicates a tie.
Player (2024 DPs)	Number of recorded double plays during the 2024 Major League Baseball season
MLB	Total career double plays as a left fielder in Major League Baseball
*	Denotes elected to National Baseball Hall of Fame
†	Denotes total is missing figures for pre-1901 games
Bold	Denotes active player^[a]

List

Stats updated as of July 31, 2024.

Rank	Player (2023 DPs)	Double plays as a left fielder			Other leagues, notes
Rank	Player (2023 DPs)	MLB	American League	National League	Other leagues, notes
1	Jimmy Sheckard †	58	0	58	Held National League single-season record, 1911–1912; held the single-season record, 1911–1912
2	Zack Wheat*	50	1	49
3	Bobby Veach	42	42	0
4	Bibb Falk	36	36	0	Holds AL single-season record (9 in 1927)
5	Jack Graney	35	35	0
	Duffy Lewis	35	35	0
	Ken Williams	35	31	4
8	Goose Goslin*	34	34	0
9	Sherry Magee	33	0	33
10	George Burns	30	0	30
	Max Carey*	30	0	30	Holds National League single-season record (11 in 1912) (tie); Holds the single-season record (11 in 1912) (tie)
	Alfonso Soriano	30	2	28
13	Charlie Jamieson	29	29	0
14	Bob Johnson	28	28	0
15	Fred Clarke* †	27	0	27
	Ted Williams*	27	27	0
	Carl Yastrzemski*	27	27	0
18	Carson Bigbee	26	0	26
19	Matty McIntyre	25	25	0
20	Joe Medwick *	24	0	24
	Al Simmons*	24	22	2
22	Rube Ellis	23	0	23	Held National League single-season record, 1909–1911; held the single-season record, 1909–1911
	George Stone	23	23	0
	Joe Vosmik	23	23	0
25	Bob Bescher	22	0	22
	Barry Bonds	22	0	22
	Topsy Hartsel †	22	19	3
	Babe Ruth*	22	22	0
	Howie Shanks	22	22	0
30	Patsy Dougherty	21	21	0
	Minnie Miñoso*	21	21	0	Negro League totals unavailable
	Tim Raines*	21	9	12
33	Del Ennis	20	0	20
	George Foster	20	0	20
	Bernard Gilkey	20	0	20
	Heinie Manush*	20	1	19
37	Rickey Henderson*	19	16	3
	Burt Shotton	19	16	3
	Jimmy Slagle	19	0	19
40	Lou Brock*	18	0	18
	Jeff Heath	18	17	1
	Geoff Jenkins	18	0	18
	Billy Williams*	18	0	18
44	Jesse Burkett* †	17	8	9
	José Cruz	17	0	17
	Dan Gladden	17	17	0
	Luis Gonzalez	17	0	17
	Jim Rice*	17	17	0
	Hank Sauer	17	0	17
	Riggs Stephenson	17	0	17
	Tillie Walker	17	17	0
52	Augie Galan	16	0	16
	Shoeless Joe Jackson	16	16	0
	Gary Ward	16	16	0
55	Mike Greenwell	15	15	0
	Les Mann	15	0	13	Includes 2 in Federal League
	Jo-Jo Moore	15	0	15
	Rick Reichardt	15	15	0
	Lonnie Smith	15	4	11
	Moose Solters	15	15	0
61	Vince Coleman	14	5	9
	Alex Gordon	14	14	0
	Bobby Higginson	14	14	0
	Raúl Ibañez	14	13	1
	Gary Matthews	14	0	14
	Jack McCarthy	14	10	4
	Irish Meusel	14	0	14
	Lou Piniella	14	14	0
	John Stone	14	14	0
	Gus Zernial	14	14	0
71	Dusty Baker	13	0	13
	Albert Belle	13	13	0
	Tommy Davis	13	3	10
	Chick Hafey*	13	0	13
	Steve Henderson	13	3	10
	Matt Holliday	13	1	12
	Ralph Kiner*	13	0	13
	Carlos Lee	13	4	9
	Kevin McReynolds	13	0	13
	Sam Mertes †	13	5	8
	Rube Oldring	13	13	0
	Luis Polonia	13	13	0
	Gee Walker	13	11	2
	Roy White	13	13	0
	Gene Woodling	13	13	0
86	Garret Anderson	12	12	0
	Dante Bichette	12	3	9
	Pat Duncan	12	0	12
	Bill Lamar	12	12	0
	Austin McHenry	12	0	12
	Mike Menosky	12	12	0
	Ward Miller	12	1	5	Includes 6 in Federal League
	Rip Radcliff	12	12	0
	Kip Selbach	12	10	2
	Spike Shannon	12	0	12
	Willie Stargell*	12	0	12
	Shannon Stewart	12	12	0
	B.J. Surhoff	12	12	0
99	Michael Brantley	11	11	0
	Pat Burrell	11	0	11

Other Hall of Famers

Player	Double plays as a left fielder			Other leagues, notes
Player	MLB	American League	National League	Other leagues, notes
Frank Robinson*	10	0	10
Stan Musial*	7	0	7
Mule Suttles *	7	0	0	Includes 5 in Negro National League (first) (incomplete), 2 in Negro National League (second) (incomplete)
Enos Slaughter*	6	0	6
Kiki Cuyler*	5	0	5
Monte Irvin*	5	0	5
Joe Kelley* †	5	0	5
Dave Winfield*	4	3	1

Notes

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

References

^ "Official Baseball Rules (2022 Edition): Rule 9.11" (PDF). Major League Baseball. Retrieved 23 Dec 2022.
^ "Jimmy Sheckard Career Stats". Baseball Reference. Retrieved August 14, 2023.

External links

"Career Leaders & Records for Double Plays Turned as LF (s.1901)". Baseball-Reference.com.

[3] A player is considered inactive if he has announced his retirement or has not played for a full season.

[1] "Official Baseball Rules (2022 Edition): Rule 9.11" (PDF). Major League Baseball. Retrieved 23 Dec 2022.

[2] "Jimmy Sheckard Career Stats". Baseball Reference. Retrieved August 14, 2023.

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