Like other positions, playing on the right field isn’t that easy. That is why MLB teams tend to pick the best player for the right field. The defense carries the same amount of pressure as the offense. So, Which names appear on your mind when you think about the right fielders?
While the MLB players can change their position, some of the best sluggers stay on the right field majority of their careers. Hence, over the years, many players showed their talent.
In this article, we are going to discuss those talents who are considered the best right fielders of all time.
#10. Paul Waner
Photo shows Paul Waner, former outfielder of the San Francisco baseball club. Getty Images
Overall Career Statistics:
OPS: .878
OBP: .404
SLG: .473
Paul Glee Waner, brother of the famous Lloyd Warner, was an American baseball right fielder and arguably one of the best right fielders of all time. Despite being skillful, he didn’t receive enough fame and stood underrated.
In his 20 years long career, Waner played for the New York Yankees, Pittsburgh Pirates, Boston Braves, and Brooklyn Dodgers. However, he played under the Pittsburgh Pirates for the majority of his career.
During his career, he had a batting average of .333 with 3152 hits along with 113 HR. Waner also had 1309 RBI, 605 doubles, and 191 triples with 104 SB. With 73.9 WAR, Warner is one of the best Yankees right fielders.
Waner won the All-star games 4 times, including three batting titles. His best season is when Waner played for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1927, with a batting average of .380. This led Waner to claim his first batting title as well as the National League (NL) most valuable player award. In that particular season, Waner also led NL with 237 hits and 131 RBI, 114 runs, 47 doubles, and 18 triples, which makes Waner one of the best fielders in MLB.
#9. Dave Winfield
Dave Winfield #31 of the New York Yankees bats during a MLB game against the Toronto Blue Jays in Yankee Stadium on September 14, 1985 in the Bronx, New York. (Photo by Ronald C. Modra/Getty Images)
Overall Career Statistics:
OPS: .827
OBP: .353
SLG: .475
David Mark Winfield, also known as Dave Winfield, was the first MLB player ever to receive an offer from four different baseball leagues. However, he chose Major Baseball League (MLB) and performed entirely for the New York Yankees.
In the 22 years of his baseball career, Winfield played 2973 games with a .283 batting average (BA), 465 home runs (HR), 1833 RBI, 540 stolen bases (SB), and 3110 hits.
Winfield was selected for the All-Star team 12 times, where he was placed in the 0right fielding position 5 out of 12 times. He was also awarded Silver Slugging 6 times and received 3 MVP votes. In 1979, he had 118 RBI which was the best National League score in that particular season. He also received 7 Golden Glove awards.
Due to a severe back injury, Winfield could not compete in the 1989 World Championship. However, he made a comeback in 1990 and joined as a free agent for Toronto Blue Jays, and eventually led them in the World Championship in 1992.
Dave Winfield was elected to the prestigious Hall of Fame in 2001.
#8. Mel Ott
Mel Ott of the new York Giants is shown here. Gretty Images
Overall Career Statistics:
OPS: .947
OBP: .414
SLG: .533
‘Master Melvin’ was a pro baseball player who played primarily for the New York Giants. He is considered one of the best Giants right fielders.
In his 22 years career, Melvin had a batting average of .304 in 2730 games. He also achieved 1860 RBI, 511 HR with 89 stolen bases throughout his entire career. Additionally, his score of 488 doubles.
Mel helped the Giants to lead three National League pennants as well as the 1933 World Series Championship, where he maintained a .389 batting average.
The 12th time All-Star, Master Melvin was also the first player in the National League to score 1800 runs, 1700 walks, and 1800 RBI.
Melvin Ott was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1951. However, he passed away in 1958 due to a car accident.
#07. Al Kaline
Al Kaline, Detroit Tigers. Getty Images
Overall Career Statistics:
OPS: .855
OBP: .376
SLG: .480
Albert William Kaline, also known as ‘Mr. Tiger’ was an extremely talented right fielder who was famous for his offensive and defensive playstyle.
Playing his entire career with the Detroit Tigers, Al Kaline was very consistent throughout his career.
This right-handed thrower maintained a batting average of .297 throughout his entire career. He also played 2834 games, where he scored 399 HR, 1582 RBI, and 137 stolen bases. By 1955, Kaline became the youngest baseball player to receive a batting title with .340 BA. When Kaline competed in the 1968 World Series, he maintained a BA of .379.
The 18th time All-Star also won 10 Gold Glove awards within 11 years of his career. He also finished in the top 5 list of MVP voting four times. However, the 1968 World Series was the only championship trophy he ever won.
Kaline was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1980.
#06. Reggie Jackson
Reggie Jackson #44 of the New York Yankees bats during an Major League baseball game circa 1981 at Yankee Stadium. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images)
Overall Career Statistics:
OPS: .834
OBP: .359
SLG: .475
Reginald Martinez Jackson was a professional baseball right fielder who played for Oakland Athletics, Kansas City Athletics, Baltimore Orioles AL, New York Yankees.
In his 21 years long career, Reggie played 2820 games with a batting average of .262 and a base percentage of .356. He also scored 563 home runs, 1702 RBI, 228 stolen bases, and 463 doubles.
Reggie was so good in defending that he was awarded a position in the All-Star team fourteen times, where he was the right fielder in 9 of them. Additionally, he also won two Silver Slugging awards.
During his entire baseball career, Reggie was at his peak performance in 1973 when he won his only MVP award. During that season, he scored .292 batting average with 117 RBI and 22 stolen bases, which makes him one of the greatest right-fielders of all time.
However, his best memorable moment was when he hit three home runs on three pitches in the 1977 World Series.
#05. Roberto Clemente
Getty Images
Overall Career Statistics:
SB: .83
OPS: .834
OBP: .359
SLG: .475
The legendary player of the Pittsburgh Pirates was a proficient baseball right fielder who participated in Major League Baseball (MLB). Clemente was a fantastic offensive as well as a defensive player.
In his 18 career years, Clemente had a batting average of .317 in 2433 games with 1305 RBI and 240 home runs. He also achieved 3000 hits with 83 stolen bases and 166 triples. He was given the right fielder position in the All-Star team 16 times.
The 12 consecutive Golden Gloves awards from 1961 to 1972 proves that he was one of the best defensive right fielders. Additionally, he received four National Batting titles and ranked in the top 30 (24th) baseball hit list. In 1966, he won the National League Most Valuable Player award, which is considered his best season. In that season, with a batting average of .317, 119 RBI, with 202 stolen bases.
Clemente led the Pirates to the World Series in both 1960 and 1971. However, when this legend was helping with earthquake relief, he died in a tragic plane crash.
Clemente was inducted through a special selection for the Hall of Fame in 1973.
#04. Pete Rose
Pete Rose #14 of the Philadelphia Phillies bats against the San Diego Padres during a Major League Baseball game circa 1983. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images)
Overall Career Statistics:
OPS: .784
OBP: .375
SLG: .409
Peter Edward Rose Sr., nicknamed as ‘Charlie Hustle,’ is a former baseball player and famous for his hustling.
In his 24 years of Major Baseball League career, Pete had a batting average of .303, 1314 RBI, 160 home runs, 746 double, 2165 hits, 135 triples, and 189 stolen bases. He performed under Cincinnati Reds, Philadelphia Phillies, and Montreal Expos during his career. However, he joined the Cincinnati Reds again in 1984 as a manager.
Pete won the Rookie of the year award in 1963 and gained a position in the All-star team for the 17th time. He also won a Silver Slugging Award as well as three batting titles.
Despite being the all-time total hits leader (4256 hits), Pete is not on the hall of fame list. Aside from winning three World Series, Pete received the MVP award in 1963 for his .338 batting average.
#03. Frank Robinson
Frank Robinson of the Cincinnati Redlegs poses during batting practice at Milwaukee County Stadium in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1956 . (Photo by Hy Peskin/Getty Images)
Overall Career Statistics:
OPS: .926
OBP: .389
SLG: .537
Frank Robinson was a player with much ability and intensity, and there was no way you could intimidate him. Frank was also famous for his agility and his capability of base running in his era.
In his 22 years of MLB career, he primarily played for Cincinnati Reds, maintaining a .294 batting average, 1943 hits, 586 home runs, 1812 RBI, 528 doubles, and 204 stolen bases.
Robinson received the Rookie of the year award in 1956 and placed in the All-Star team for 14th times, where three of them are in the right fielding position. In 1966, with .322 BA, 49 home runs, 122 RBI, and 122 hits, Robinson achieved the Triple Crown award. The Gold Glove award (1958) is the solid proof to place him in the MLB best right fielders list.
In 1961, he scored 37 home runs with a .323 batting average that led the Cincinnati Reds to their first-ever NL pennant in 24 years. Owner of one batting title, Frank Robinson was also named the National League Most Valuable Player in 1961. Despite becoming the first African-American manager in a major club league, Robinson also led his team to win two World Series.
Frank Robinson was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1982.
#02. Babe Ruth
Getty Images
Overall Career Statistics:
OPS: 1.164
OBP: .474
SLG: .690
George Herman ‘Babe’ Ruth Jr., also known as ‘The Bambino’ and ‘The Sultan of Swat’ was an American baseball player who played for 22 seasons in Major League Baseball.
In his 22 MLB seasons, Babe Ruth had .342 batting average, 2174 hits, 714 home runs, 2214 RBI, 506 doubles, and 123 stolen bases!
He was selected in the right fielding position for the All-Star team twice. Aside from one batting title, he had the best base percentage for 10 leagues, 13 slugging percentages as well as OPS.
Babe Ruth is still at the peak of the pyramid when we consider slugging percentage and second on-base percentage whereas third on home run scores.
He received an MVP award in 1923. However, he gave his best performance in 1920. In that particular season, he had a batting percentage of .376, 158 home runs and 14 stolen bases. Ruth is considered as the best red sox right fielder as he led them to the World Championship in 1916 and 1918.
#01. Hank Aaron
Getty Images
Overall Career Statistics
OPS: .928
OBP: .374
SLG: .555
Henry Louis Aaron, mainly known by his nickname ‘Hammer,’ was the most dominant and defensive right fielder in baseball history and unsurprisingly the best RF of all time.
During his 23 years of career, he primarily played for the Milwaukee Braves, where he had a batting average of .305 in 3298 games, 3771 hits, 755 home runs, 2297 RBI, and 240 stolen bases.
You might find this shocking, but Hank Aaron was elected to the All-Star team for the 25th time, and he achieved the right fielder position in 14 of them. Additionally, Hank also won two batting titles as well as four times leader in league slugging percentage.
He performed best in 1957, where his Baw was .322, 132 RBI, and 44 home runs. This was the same season when he won the MVP award. Hank won World Series in 1957.
