Who is the best switch hitting RF ever?

[onejayhawk]

It came up in a discussion of the platoon breakdowns. Most are easy to reduce to a few names, with a lot of no brainers, eg 1B.

RHB
C - Campenella/Bench
1B - Jimmy Foxx
2B - Hornsby
3B - Schmidt
SS - Honus/ARod/Jeter/Ripken
LF - Rickey Henderson
CF - Mays/ DiMaggio
RF - Hank Aaron

LHB
C - Cochrane/Yogi
1B - Gehrig
2B - Eddie Collins/Morgan
3B - Brett/Boggs/Matthews
SS - Arky Vaughn (seriously, it isnt close)
LF - Bonds/Ted Williams
CF - Cobb/Tris Speaker
RF - Ruth

BB
C - Simmons
1B - Eddie Murray
2B - Frisch/Alomar
3B - Chipper
SS - Ozzie
LF - Raines
CF - Mantle
RF - ????

Off the top of my head, i could not think of one significant switch hitting RF.

J

[revo]

Ruben Sierra, Ken Singleton, Bobby Bonilla or Reggie Smith. Not a great list.

[willthethrill]

Ruben Sierra, Ken Singleton, Bobby Bonilla or Reggie Smith. Not a great list.

Would you take Berkman over any of them?

[willthethrill]

Jorge Posada was a switch, right? Would you take him over Simmons? I couldn't think of anyone else that might challenge your list.

[revo]

Would you take Berkman over any of them?

Sure, but Berkman has only played 373 of his 1758 career games in RF according to B-R.com, so I wouldn't consider him a right fielder for his discussion.

[axman]

Your right. Really not that great a list. I think Singleton would be appreciated more today (.388OBP Lifetime) than when he played.

[onejayhawk]

Sierra is the only one I came up with before I looked. I get him only because he played for the local team. Bobby Bones I should have, but I forgot he was AC/DC.

The fact that 1B immediately resolves into one name each, was interesting. Also, that almost all the good SS were RHH.

J

[dannahann]

My apologies if there was an old school 2B RHH Morgan you are referencing but HOF Joe batted left.

[onejayhawk]

My apologies if there was an old school 2B RHH Morgan you are referencing but HOF Joe batted left.

My bad. Bats left, throws right. He and Collins make an intersting discussion.

J

[cavebird]

Sierra is the only one I came up with before I looked. I get him only because he played for the local team. Bobby Bones I should have, but I forgot he was AC/DC.

The fact that 1B immediately resolves into one name each, was interesting. Also, that almost all the good SS were RHH.

J

That doesn't surprise me. I am more surprised that there were so many 2B and 3B who batted left-handed. For fielding purposes, all 2B, SS, and 3B have to be naturally right-handed. I can understand the switch-hitters, but why hit exclusively from your non-natural side? I guess there are fewer LHH shortstops because it is the most demanding position fieldingwise and worrying about trying to get young SS's to hit from the other side isn't a priority.

[heyelander]

I'll take Jimmy Rollin's bat over Ozzie.

[joncarlos]

I'll take Jimmy Rollin's bat over Ozzie.

I'd take George Davis other either of them

[Don Quixote]

Pete Rose played a lot of RF in his career (not well, official scorers covered for him a LOT at his various positions, but he played there). If you need a high OBP guy with very limited power and speed, he's your guy.

[dslaw]

Pete Rose played a lot of RF in his career (not well, official scorers covered for him a LOT at his various positions, but he played there). If you need a high OBP guy with very limited power and speed, he's your guy.

Rose was my first thought. Don't know your position requirements but Rose played 589 games in RF out of 3,500 total games. He played 1b, LF, 3b, and even 2b more often so he probably doesn't fit in RF for you.

[revo]

I'd take George Davis other either of them

Nah. Davis only had one great season as a shortstop -- even if it was his best season. Most of the years he spent as a SS were mediocre.