Top 10 American League Center Fielders of All-Time

Russ Cohen and I are embarking on a project to put together a list of the 10 best players at each position, with him doing the top National Leaguers and me taking on the best in the junior circuit.

The list comprises of the 10 best who played the majority of or all of their career in the American League:

Note: Any player who was entangled in performance-enhancing drugs or is suspected of taking them were not under consideration. They should never be enshrined in Cooperstown and thus do not belong on this list.

1. Mickey Mantle

“The Mick” possessed power from both sides of the plate that drove the championship Yankees teams of the ’50s and ’60s. Constantly dogged by injuries and not doing himself any favors with off-the-field extra-curricular activities, Mantle won seven championships in the Bronx, won three MVPs, a Triple Crown in 1956, and finished with 536 home runs.

2. Tris Speaker

Speaker played 22 seasons in the American League with Boston, Cleveland, Washington, and Philadelphia, compiled 3,514 hits, a .345 career average, three World Championships (two with the Red Sox, one with the Indians as a player/manager), and an MVP in 1912. While he only best Cobb for an AL batting title once in 1916, “The Grey Eagle” is widely considered the best defensive center fielder in baseball history,

3. Ty Cobb

“The Georgia Peach” was not only a spectacular talent and the greatest hitter of the dead-ball era but used cunning, fear, and intimidation to terrorize his opponents. He played 24 major league seasons, won the American League batting title 12 times (including nine straight from 1907 to 1915), a Triple Crown in 1909. Cobb holds the highest career batting average in history (.366) and is second to Pete Rose in career hits (4189), but also leads AL outfielders all-time in errors (271).

4. Joe DiMaggio

“Joltin Joe” is known for being married to Marilyn Monroe and the incredible feat of hitting in 56 straight games in 1941, but there are many who consider Dimaggio the greatest center fielder in Major League history. The “Yankee Clipper” lost three prime years serving in the US Army during World War II, but still won nine World Championships with New York, earned three Most Valuable Player awards, and finished with 361 home runs and a .325 career batting average in 13 seasons.

5. Ken Griffey Jr.

“The Kid” was simply the best player in baseball in his prime years, winning 10 straight Gold Gloves and hitting 40 or more home runs six times in a span of seven years. Griffey Jr. won an MVP in 1997, and in spite of struggling with injuries in the second half of his career, finished seventh all-time with 630 homers and a .284 average.

6. Mike Trout

It is unknown how long he will play, but the individual accomplishments of Trout after 11 seasons may already be Hall-of-Fame worthy. The 30-year-old has 310 career home runs, a .305 average, an AL Rookie of the Year, three MVPs. In 2021, he missed nearly all of the season with a torn calf muscle. If he plays until his late 30’s, Trout could eclipse 600 homers. The only tarnish on his career is playing just three postseason games, but that does not diminish his quality.

7. Bernie Williams

A member of the New York’s “Core Four” along with Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, and Andy Pettitte, Williams was the glue in the middle of the batting order that led the Yankees to four World Series titles in five seasons. In his 16 seasons in the Bronx, the switch-hitter compiled 2,336 career hits, a .297 average, and four Gold Gloves.

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8. Kirby Puckett

A career shortened by glaucoma, Puckett was a two-way threat in the field and at the plate. The diminutive center fielder played a dozen years with Minnesota, winning World Championships in 1987 and 1991, an AL batting title in 1989, 10 straight All-Star appearances, six Gold Gloves, and finished with a .318 career batting average.

9. Fred Lynn

Lynn’s career began with a meteoric rise, winning Rookie of the Year and an AL Most Valuable Player in 1975 and leading the Red Sox to the World Series. He also won a batting title and slammed a career-high 39 homers in 1979, earned four Gold Gloves, and made the All-Star team his first nine seasons, but he remained productive in the second half of his career, hitting over 20 home runs seven straight years after the age of 30.

10. Torii Hunter

A superb defensive center fielder, Hunter won nine consecutive Gold Gloves from 2001 to 2009, but was also a consistent offensive performer for the majority of his 19-year career, with 2,452 hits and 20 or more home runs 11 times.