100 Greatest Active Baseball Players

Ah, yes. It's that time of year. The pool is blue, the sun is hot. Hot dogs are abound and the smell of baseball is in the air. As I so often do, I've forgotten to make my list of NFL, NHL and NBA players, but another day. This is the day of the MLB. Every year, I make a list of the 100 best baseball players that play today. That means that Babe Ruth is not on the list. Neither is Chipper Jones. David Ortiz, though? He could be on the list! I'll let the surprise happen now, though. Derek Jeter? Not. On. The. List. Hubba-wah? Sorry, guy. Not this year. Lots of big names didn't make it, actually. Josh Beckett. Tim Lincecum. Carl Crawford. Roy Halladay. Curtis Granderson. Andre Ethier. Mark Teixeira. Just cause you're a big name doesn't mean that you're not old and frail. Remember, this is THIS year. Not career. If it was career, obviously Jason Kipnis would not be above Albert Pujols. It's 2013. The annual tradition that is one of the many things that this blog is known for must commence!

Honorable Mentions

105. Jim Johnson: Baltimore Orioles RP
104. Howie Kendrick: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 2B
103. Hirkoi Kuroda: New York Yankees SP
102. Yasiel Puig: Los Angeles Dodgers RF
101. Zack Greinke: Los Angeles Dodgers SP

The List

100. Marco Scutaro: San Francisco Giants 2B
99. Jason Castro: Houston Astros C
98. Dan Uggla: Atlanta Braves 2B
97. R.A. Dickey: Toronto Blue Jays SP
96. Jimmy Rollins: Philadelphia Phillies SS
95. Jeremy Hellickson: Tampa Bay Rays SP
94. Evan Gattis: Atlanta Braves C
93. Hunter Pence: San Francisco Giants RF
92. Matt Holliday: St. Louis Cardinals LF
91. Victor Martinez: Detroit Tigers DH
90. Austin Jackson: Detroit Tigers CF
89. C.C. Sabathia: New York Yankees SP
88. Josh Johnson: Toronto Blue Jays SP
87. C.J. Wilson: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim SP
86. Will Middlebrooks: Boston Red Sox 3B
85. Jed Lowrie: Oakland Athletics SS
84. Alex Gordon: Kansas City Royals CF
83. Allen Craig: St. Louis Cardinals 1B
82. James Shields: Kansas City Royals SP
81. Cliff Lee: Philadelphia Phillies SP
80. Aroldis Chapman: Cincinnati Reds SP
79. Matt Wieters: Baltimore Orioles C
78. James Loney: Tampa Bay Rays 1B
77. Nate McLouth: Baltimore Orioles LF
76. Josh Reddick: Oakland Athletics RF
75. Adam Dunn: Chicago White Sox DH
74. Chase Utley: Philadelphia Phillies 2B
73. Evan Longoria: Tampa Bay Rays 3B
72. Coco Crisp: Oakland Athletics CF
71. Ryan Howard: Philadelphia Phillies 1B
70. Matt Moore: Tampa Bay Rays SP
69. Josh Hamilton: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim CF
68. Anthony Rizzo: Chicago Cubs 1B
67. Cole Hamels: Philadelphia Phillies SP
66. Dominic Brown: Philadelphia Phillies LF
65. Pablo Sandoval: San Francisco Giants 3B
64. Matt Cain: San Francisco Giants SP
63. Mike Napoli: Boston Red Sox 1B
62. Shelby Miller: St. Louis Cardinals SP
61. Madison Bumgarner: San Francisco Giants SP
60. Adrian Gonzalez: Los Angeles Dodgers 1B
59. Prince Fielder: Detroit Tigers 1B
58. Ryan Zimmerman: Washington Nationals 3B
57. Ryan Braun: Milwaukee Brewers LF
56. Jon Lester: Boston Red Sox SP
55. Billy Butler: Kansas City Royals DH
54. Daniel Nava: Boston Red Sox LF
53. Justin Masterson: Cleveland Indians SP
52. Gio Gonzalez: Washington Nationals SP
51. Edwin Encarnacion: Toronto Blue Jays 1B
50. Matt Kemp: Los Angeles Dodgers CF
49. Ian Kinsler: Texas Rangers 2B
48. Manny Machado: Baltimore Orioles 3B
47. Albert Pujols: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 1B
46. Adrian Beltre: Texas Rangers 3B
45. Mat Latos: Cincinnati Reds SP
44. Robinson Cano: New York Yankees 2B
43. Stephen Strasburg: Washington Nationals SP
42. David Price: Tampa Bay Rays SP
41. Jacoby Ellsbury: Boston Red Sox CF
40. Chris Sale: Chicago White Sox SP
39. Jose Bautista: Toronto Blue Jays RF
38. David Ortiz: Boston Red Sox DH
37. Joe Mauer: Minnesota Twins C
36. Jason Kipnis: Cleveland Indians 2B
35. Brandon Phillips: Cincinnati Reds 2B
34. Carlos Gonzalez: Colorado Rockies LF
33. Freddie Freeman: Atlanta Braves 1B
32. Carlos Beltran: St. Louis Cardinals RF
31. Yu Darvish: Texas Rangers SP
30. Jered Weaver: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim SP
29. Adam Jones: Baltimore Orioles CF
28. Matt Carpenter: St. Louis Cardinals 2B
27. Felix Hernandez: Seattle Mariners SP
26. Joey Votto: Cincinnati Reds 1B
25. Nick Markakis: Baltimore Orioles RF
24. J.J. Hardy: Baltimore Orioles SS
23. Josh Donaldson: Oakland Athletics 3B
22. Justin Upton: Atlanta Braves LF
21. Bryce Harper: Washington Nationals LF
20. Troy Tulowitzki: Colorado Rockies SS
19. Jay Bruce: Cincinnati Reds RF
18. Derek Holland: Texas Rangers SP
17. Buster Posey: San Francisco Giants C
16. David Wright: New York Mets 3B
15. Mark Trumbo: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim DH
14. Yadier Molina: St. Louis Cardinals C
13. Paul Goldschmidt: Arizona Diamondbacks 3B
12. Justin Verlander: Detroit Tigers SP
11. Matt Harvey: New York Mets SP
10. Clay Buchholz: Boston Red Sox SP
9. Jordan Zimmermann: Washington Nationals SP
8. Andrew McCutchen: Pittsburgh Pirates CF
7. Max Scherzer: Detroit Tigers SP
6. Adam Wainwright: St. Louis Cardinals SP
5. Clayton Kershaw: Los Angeles Dodgers SP
4. Dustin Pedroia: Boston Red Sox 2B
3. Chris Davis: Baltimore Orioles 1B
2. Miguel Cabrera: Detroit Tigers 3B
1. Mike Trout: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim LF

Quite the list, no?

The totals for each position comes to: Six catchers, twelve first basemen, ten second basemen, ten third basemen, four shortstops, nine left fielders, eight center fielders, seven right fielders, four designated hitters, one relief pitcher and twenty-seven starting pitchers.

The totals for each team comes to: eight Red Sox, five Rays, three Yankees, four Blue Jays, eight Orioles, three Royals, two Indians, two White Sox, one Twin, six Tigers, four Athletics, seven Angels, four Rangers, one Mariner, one Astro, six Phillies, two Mets, five Nationals, four Braves, zero Marlins, seven Cardinals, five Reds, one Pirate, one Cub, one Brewer, six Giants, five Dodgers, two Rockies, one Diamondback and zero Padres.

That means that the division counts come to: 28 AL East players, 14 AL Central, 17 AL West, 17 NL East, 15 NL Central and 14 NL West.

Finally, that means that there are 59 players from the American League on this list and 46 from the National League.

What a great crew of players!