Top 10 National League First Baseman of All Time

I look for a lot of different things in a first baseman. To me, they should be one of the most well-rounded players on the team. This is my criteria for the position and I judged these players on a lot of different statistics.

1. Bill Terry

He hit .401. This New York Giants first baseman had a career batting average of .341. He won a championship with the Giants and his career slugging percentage was .506.

2. Dan Brouthers

His lifetime average was .342 and he was hitting home runs in the dead-ball era. Starring in Buffalo and Detroit, he hit 41 doubles, 17 triples, just 3 homers with 97 RBI in one season. The next year he smacked 14 home runs! See my book, Pioneers of Baseball for more on him.

3. Albert Pujols

He’s known mostly for playing with the Cardinals. This three-time MVP hit 679 home runs with 2,150 RBI. Some will say he should be the top guy but these older players were better overall hitters.

4. Willie McCovey

Known for hitting home runs in difficult Candlestick Park. This power-hitting first baseman has 521 career dingers. Most with the San Francisco Giants. His 1,550 RBI rank pretty high at the position when he retired.

5. Tony Perez

This guy was the guy who killed you if Johnny Bench didn’t kill you in the Big Red Machine’s lineup. His 11 consecutive seasons of 90 or more RBI was impressive for the era. His 1,652 RBI ranked 14^th all-time when he retired.

6. Will Clark

Clark hit more home runs than you think with 284 at Candlestick Park. His lifetime .303 batting average is terrific and he was intentionally walked a lot. He was a gamer.

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7. Fred McGriff

Nobody feared the “Crime Dog” but he got so close to 500 home runs with 493 and that got weird at the end of his career.

8. Keith Hernandez

This guy was a terrific clutch hitter and led two franchises to championships. Known as much for the Cardinals as the Mets he racked up 11 straight gold gloves and an MVP Award.

9. Gil Hodges

He was one of the better fielding first baseman of his era and he was a run producer for the 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers who won it all. Hodges hit .391 in the Fall Classic for the Los Angeles Dodgers against the Chicago White Sox in 1958.

10. Adrian Gonzalez

He had power, was a solid run producer with a high on-base percentage. Gonzalez edged out Joey Votto, who has been aided by Great American Ballpark for some of his power numbers, and Ryan Howard, who didn’t have the RBI or the average.