by Thom W. Conroy

Created on: September 27, 2009

In the sport of baseball fans tend to become enamored with the players that possess the ability to hit the long ball, and certainly, some of the best outfielders of all-time had that ability. To a purist of the game however, a list comprising the best outfielders of all-time would absolutely begin and end with the ability a given player had with the glove, legs and arm. Very few aspects of baseball are as exciting as a diving or leaping catch, a great throw that ends in a runner being tagged out, or an outfielder that successfully battles a fan at the railing for a fly ball. The best outfielders of all-time are not one-trick-ponies known for their hitting acumen only, in fact, some of the greatest outfielders of all-time were only average at the plate but extraordinary in making their presence and impact felt by the opposition in the defensive aspect of the game.

In any manner of comprising a list of the greatest outfielders of all-time, the names Roberto Clemente, Willie Mays and Ichiro Suzuki have to be pondered as the ones at the top of the page. Clemente had perhaps the best throwing arm in the history of the game, speed to run down fly balls and the athleticism to make amazing catches, not to mention his 12 gold glove awards. Wille Mays had identical skills as Clemente in the field, with power at the plate as well. Mays also had 12 gold glove awards and along with Clemente was considered the best of his era. Ichiro Suzuki came to the Seattle Mariners in 2001 and has won a gold glove award in each of his first eight seasons to accompany a .333 career batting average.

Other that merit consideration as the best outfielders of all-time are Ken Griffey Jr, Jim Edmonds, Dave Winfield, Dwight Evans, and Carl Yastrzemski. Griffey Jr has won 10 gold glove awards in an injury plagued career and has probably stolen as many home runs from hitters at the outfield wall as anyone. Jim Edmonds had 8 glove gloves and was a tremendous center fielder. Dwight Evans won 8 gold gloves, Winfield won 7, and Yastrzemski also won 7 gold gloves.

Some of the old-time players like Joe DiMaggio had great defensive outfield skills before there were awards for fielding. One little thought of candidate as a great outfielder was Babe Ruth - given his size and lifestyle he was an outstanding outfielder with a terrific arm. Although Mickey Mantle only won one gold glove award, one should wonder what might have been had he not had serious problems with his knees and mobility.

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