Whose Number One at Third Base

1. Willie Kamm (1923-1935)

He's at a significant disadvantage in this debate with no ESPN coverage or even televised highlight reel plays. Geez, there was no television until four years after his final season. But Willie Kamm was superb. Superb in an era dominated by Babe Ruth, by Yankee baseball, by homers at a rate unseen before. But that wasn't Willie. He walked twice as much as he struck out. He hit only 29 homers for his career. It was his defense that was stellar. For all of those seasons in a White Sox or Indians uniform, he was that highlight reel behind the bag, even if ESPN was only the brainchild of someone with the capacity for time travel. Statistically, Willie Kamm was the best fielder in baseball at the hot corner for eight seasons. How good? In 1928, Kamm finished 5th in the MVP voting while hitting only 1 HR, 84 RBI, and batting 0.308. That year, Ruth went 54 HR, 126 RBI, 0.343. What Kamm did in the field was remarkable, fielding at a sure handed rate of 0.977 while the league fielded at a 0.951 percentage and all with a range 9 points higher than baseball as well. Five years later, he would set the record for Fielding Percentage by a third sacker (0.984); that record would last for 18 years.