The National League Central has the best collection of first basemen in Major League Baseball. While that status is being threatened by the free agency of Prince Fielder and Albert Pujols, during the 2011 season there was no division in baseball with a better top-to-bottom first base lineup. Moreover, there are very good arguments for saying the NL Central has the three best first basemen in MLB. Here is a brief overview of each first baseman, and five reasons why there is no disputing the division’s 1B superiority. For simplicity purposes, I will list the first basemen in order of their teams’ finishes this season.
Milwaukee Brewers
Prince Fielder: The Brewers icon has been an offensive staple in the Crew’s offense for many years. This year he hit a homerun in the All-Star Game to win the game for the National League.
St. Louis Cardinals
Albert Pujols: If you need an intro of Albert, you probably shouldn’t be reading a baseball article. He is quite possibly the best offensive player to never have used steroids.
Cincinnati Reds
Joey Votto: The Canadian Sensation won the NL MVP Award in 2010, and added his first career Gold Glove in 2011. His defense, much improved since he broke into the league, arguably makes him the best all-around first baseman in the league, if not in baseball.
Pittsburgh Pirates
Derek Lee: Possibly on the downswing of his career after a good long stand in Chicago with the Cubs, Lee has always been a great role player, with a career OBP of .365.
Chicago Cubs
Carlos Peña: One of the players recently featured as a central character in Moneyball, after a very promising early career, Peña has developed into a very solid first baseman both offensively and defensively.
Houston Astros
Carlos Lee: Having now spent most of his 13-year career in the NL Central, Lee has become an NL Central staple over the years and the opposing teams know that he can still hurt you.
Reasons
- Every single starting first baseman in the NL Central has been an All-Star at least once
- Every single one has at least one Golden Glove, or one Silver Slugger, with Pujols and Lee having at least one of each. Since 2006, only one year has passed where one of these six players did not win a Golden Glove.
- As a unit, the lowest career OBP is .339. That means that as a group, these players reach base better than once every three at-bats. That averages out to about a reach per person per game. Votto and Pujols both have career OBPs over .400.
- The entire division is small to medium market teams. This is significant because first base is often seen as a position where offense is more important because the theory is that anyone can catch a ball. However, these players are all-around good players who not only have the loyalty to stick with their teams instead of chasing the money (so far at least) but they are also so highly valued by their teams, fans, and front offices that the GM’s don’t want to let them go because their true value to the success of each team is enormous.
- In a league where baseball is still played right (meaning without the dreadful DH rule), the importance of having a bat at first base in far more pronounced. Despite this pressure (really except Peña who has only played one season in the NL) these players have delivered throughout their careers.
With veterans like Pujols, D. Lee, Peña, and C. Lee with 10+ years each in the show, and still-young playmakers like Votto (5 years) and Fielder (7), this group, if it stays together, will continue to be the benchmark of how the position is played in the modern game of baseball.
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