by Alicia Holman

Created on: August 07, 2008

Baseball is a classic pastime that almost every child falls in love with at some time or another. Little boys and even some little girls grow up dreaming of becoming a professional baseball player. They dream of standing next to the legends that made the game great: the men who gave their sweat, blood, tears and heart to the diamond just to say they played the game.

Each of those men served a purpose as a member of their team. From the catcher to the outfielder, to the first basemen, every man in uniform has a job to do. While all had a job, some turned that job into an art form, especially in the position of first baseman.

Below is my Top 10 list of the Best First Basemen in the History of Baseball.

1.Lou Gehrig 1923-1939 Played entire career with the New York Yankees. .340 BA, 2721 H, 531 2B, 163 3B, 493 HR, 1995 RBI, .632 SLG, 2 American League MVP awards ('27, '36) American League Triple Crown ('34), 7 All-Star game selections, won 6 World Series as player, was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1939. The "Iron Horse" was a great hitter and consistently put the ball in play: Graceful fielder that would gobble anything hit to him up. Career was cut short by the disease that took not only his life but also his name. He could have easily hit 600 home runs if he had not fall ill.

2.Jimmie Foxx 1925-1945 Played for the Philadelphia A's, the Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs and the Philadelphia Phillies. .325, 2646 H, 458 2b, 125 3B, 534 HR, 1922 RBI, .609 SLG, 3 American League MVP awards ('32, '33, '38), American League Triple Crown ('33), 9 All-Star selections, won 2 World Series as player, was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1951. Always thought of as pure power but his hitting stroke made him a pure hitter in general.

3.Eddie Murray 1977-1997 Played with Baltimore Orioles, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Mets, Cleveland Indians, and the Anaheim Angels .287, 3255 H, 560 2B, 35 3B, 504 HR, 1917 RBI, .476 SLG, American League Rookie of the Year ('77), 8 All-Star game selections, 3 Gold Glove awards as a first baseman, 3 Silver Slugger awards, won 1 World Series as a player, was elected into Hall of Fame in 2003. Switch hitter with a line drive stroke really showed consistency and clutch hitting over his career.

4.Harmon Killebrew 1954-1975 (Played for the Washington Senators, Minnesota Twins and the Kansas City Royals. .256, 2086 H, 290 2B, 24 3B, 573 HR, 1584 RBI, .509 SLG, 1 American League MVP award ('69), 11 All-Star game selections, appeared in 1 World Series as

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