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List of Major League Baseball career double plays as an outfielder leaders

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Tris Speaker, the leader in all-time double plays by an outfielder.

In baseball statistics, a double play (denoted as DP) is the act of making two outs during the same continuous play. One double play is recorded for every defensive player who participates in the play, regardless of how many of the outs in which they were directly involved, and is counted in addition to whatever putouts and assists might also apply. Double plays can occur any time there is at least one baserunner and fewer than two outs.[1] An outfielder (OF) is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball farthest from the batter, who are identified as the left fielder (LF), the center fielder (CF), and the right fielder (RF). An outfielder's duty is to try to catch long fly balls before they hit the ground or to quickly catch or retrieve and return to the infield any other balls entering the outfield. Outfielders normally play behind the six other members of the defense who play in or near the infield; unlike catchers and most infielders (excepting first basemen), who are virtually exclusively right-handed, outfielders can be either right- or left-handed. In the scoring system used to record defensive plays, the outfielders are assigned the numbers 7 (left field), 8 (center field), and 9 (right field).

Outfielders are most commonly credited with a double play when they throw the ball to an infielder who tags a runner attempting to advance on the basepaths, even on a caught fly ball that results in an out (see tag up); of special importance are throws to the catcher if the runner is trying to reach home plate to score a run, perhaps on a sacrifice fly. Outfielders will often record assists by throwing out runners who try to advance farther than the batter, such as going from first to third base on a single, or batter/runners who try to stretch a hit into a longer one. Outfielders also earn double plays on relay throws to infielders after particularly deep fly balls, by throwing to a base to record an out on an appeal play, or in situations where they might deflect a fly ball before another defensive player makes the catch; in extraordinary instances, right fielders have occasionally recorded double plays by throwing out batters at first base after fielding uncaught line drives that reached them quickly. Outfielders record far fewer double plays than other players due to the difficulty of making an accurate throw in time to retire a runner from a great distance; middle infielders routinely record more double plays in a single season than outfielders do in their entire careers. Double plays are an important statistic for outfielders, giving a greater indication of an outfielder's throwing arm than double plays by infielders do. In recent years, some sabermetricians have begun referring to assists by outfielders as baserunner kills.

Tris Speaker is the all-time leader in career double plays as an outfielder with 143.[2] Ty Cobb (104) is the only other outfielder who has recorded 100 career double plays. Jackie Bradley Jr., who had 24 double plays through the 2024 season to place him tied for 247th all-time, is the leader among active players.

Key

[edit]
Rank Rank among leaders in career double plays. A blank field indicates a tie.
Player (2024 DPs) Recorded double plays in 2024
Main pos. Primary outfield position played during career (LF, CF, or RF)
MLB Total career double plays as an outfielder in Major League Baseball
* Denotes elected to National Baseball Hall of Fame
Bold Denotes active player[a]

List

[edit]
Jackie Bradley Jr., the active leader in double plays by an outfielder and tied for 247th all-time.
Max Carey holds the National League record.
Tom Brown is the only player that held the single-season record for double plays as an outfielder twice.
Rank Player (2024 DPs) Main
Pos.
Double plays as an outfielder Other leagues, notes
MLB American League National League
1 Tris Speaker* CF 143 143 0
2 Ty Cobb* CF 104 104 0
3 Max Carey* CF 87 0 87
4 Tom Brown CF 85 0 47 Includes 30 in American Association, 8 in Players' League; Held the single-season record (twice), 1886–1892 & 1893–1899
5 Harry Hooper* RF 83 83 0
6 Jimmy Sheckard LF 80 0 80 Held National League record, 1913–1927; held the single-season record, 1899–1919
7 Mike Griffin CF 75 0 53 Includes 12 in American Association, 10 in Players' League
8 Dummy Hoy CF 72 6 54 Includes 9 in Players' League, 3 in American Association
9 Jimmy Ryan CF 71 0 66 Includes 5 in Players' League
10 Fielder Jones CF 70 44 26
11 Patsy Donovan RF 69 4 64 Includes 1 in American Association
Sam Rice* RF 69 69 0
13 George Van Haltren CF 64 0 56 Includes 7 in American Association, 1 in Players' League
14 Jesse Burkett* LF 62 13 49
Clyde Milan CF 62 62 0
16 Sam Thompson* RF 61 0 61 Held the single-season record, 1886
17 Willie Keeler* RF 60 24 36
Willie Mays* CF 60 0 60
Tommy McCarthy* RF 60 0 26 Includes 33 in American Association, 1 in Union Association
Mel Ott* RF 60 0 60
21 Sam Crawford* RF 59 44 15
22 Jimmy Slagle CF 57 0 57
23 Paul Hines CF 56 0 47 Includes 5 in National Association, 4 in American Association
24 Billy Hamilton* CF 55 0 49 Includes 6 in American Association
25 Zack Wheat* LF 54 0 54
26 Steve Brodie CF 53 0 53
Paul Waner* RF 53 0 53
28 Ginger Beaumont CF 52 0 52
Cy Seymour CF 52 6 46
30 Burt Shotton CF 51 47 4
31 Elmer Flick* RF 50 26 24
Dode Paskert CF 50 0 50
33 Curt Welch CF 49 0 2 Includes 47 in American Association
34 Jesse Barfield RF 48 48 0
Kip Selbach LF 48 11 37
Roy Thomas CF 48 0 48
Curt Walker RF 48 0 48
Chief Wilson RF 48 0 48
39 Pop Corkhill CF 47 0 11 Includes 36 in American Association
Hugh Duffy* CF 47 0 39 Includes 5 in Players' League, 3 in American Association
George Gore CF 47 0 44 Includes 3 in Players' League
Goose Goslin* LF 47 47 0
Ned Hanlon* CF 47 0 43 Includes 4 in Players' League
Ross Youngs* RF 47 0 47
45 Danny Green RF 46 20 26
George Wood LF 46 0 27 Includes 10 in American Association, 9 in Players' League
47 Ed Delahanty* LF 45 1 42 Includes 2 in Players' League
Babe Ruth* RF 45 45 0
49 Kiki Cuyler* RF 44 0 44
Joe Kelley* LF 44 2 42
Paul Radford RF 44 0 35 Includes 5 in Players' League, 4 in American Association
Tillie Walker LF 44 44 0
53 Richie Ashburn* CF 43 0 43
Shano Collins RF 43 43 0
Ken Griffey Jr.* CF 43 36 7
Edd Roush* CF 43 0 39 Includes 4 in Federal League
Ken Williams LF 43 38 5
58 George Burns LF 42 0 42
Fred Clarke* LF 42 0 42
Roberto Clemente* RF 42 0 42
Dwight Evans RF 42 42 0
Jack Tobin RF 42 36 0 Includes 6 in Federal League
Bobby Veach LF 42 42 0
Sam West CF 42 42 0
Chicken Wolf RF 42 0 0 All 42 DPs were in American Association
66 Hank Aaron* RF 41 0 41
Cliff Heathcote CF 41 0 41
Frank Schulte RF 41 4 37
Jack Smith CF 41 0 41
70 Bobby Bonds RF 40 16 24
Nemo Leibold CF 40 40 0
Sherry Magee LF 40 0 40
Mike Mitchell RF 40 0 40
John Titus RF 40 0 40
Cy Williams CF 40 0 40
Jimmy Wynn CF 40 1 39
77 Bibb Falk LF 39 39 0
Happy Felsch CF 39 39 0 Held the single-season record 1919–present (tie)
Ira Flagstead RF 39 38 1
Harry Heilmann* RF 39 34 5
Charlie Jamieson LF 39 39 0
Chuck Klein * RF 39 0 39
Bill Lange CF 39 0 39
Jim McTamany CF 39 0 0 All 39 DPs were in American Association
Larry Walker* RF 39 0 39
86 Jimmy Barrett CF 38 31 7
Dante Bichette RF 38 17 21
Joe Birmingham CF 38 38 0
Steve Finley CF 38 3 35
Jim Fogarty OF 38 0 35 Includes 3 in Players' League
Pete Hotaling CF 38 0 23 Includes 15 in American Association
Baby Doll Jacobson CF 38 38 0
Duffy Lewis LF 38 38 0
Chick Stahl CF 38 20 18
Amos Strunk CF 38 38 0
96 Johnny Bates CF 37 0 37
Carlos Beltrán CF 37 19 18
Cliff Carroll LF 37 0 37
Doc Cramer CF 37 37 0
Tommy Holmes CF 37 0 37

Other Hall of Famers

[edit]
Player Main
Pos.
Double plays as an outfielder Other leagues, notes
MLB American League National League
Kirby Puckett* CF 37 37 0
Al Simmons* LF 37 35 2
Enos Slaughter* RF 35 2 33
Casey Stengel* RF 35 0 35
Dave Winfield* RF 35 17 18
Billy Southworth* RF 33 3 30
Vladimir Guerrero* RF 32 10 22
Reggie Jackson* RF 31 31 0
Andre Dawson* RF 30 0 30
Joe DiMaggio* CF 30 30 0
Lloyd Waner* CF 30 0 30
Ted Williams* LF 30 30 0
Carl Yastrzemski* LF 30 30 0
Earl Averill* CF 29 29 0
Lou Brock* LF 29 0 29
Al Kaline* RF 29 29 0
Hack Wilson* CF 28 0 28
Mickey Mantle* CF 27 27 0
Joe Medwick* LF 27 0 27
Stan Musial* LF 27 0 27
Larry Doby* CF 26 26 0 Negro League totals unavailable
Tony Gwynn* RF 26 0 26
King Kelly* RF 26 0 26
Heinie Manush* LF 26 25 1
Jim O'Rourke* LF 26 0 22 Includes 3 in Players' League, 1 in National Association
Frank Robinson* RF 26 8 18
Billy Williams* LF 24 0 24
Chick Hafey* LF 23 0 23
Rickey Henderson* LF 23 19 4
Minnie Miñoso* LF 22 22 0 Negro League totals unavailable
Tim Raines* LF 22 9 13
Jim Rice* LF 19 19
Todd Helton* LF 0 0 0
Joe Mauer* RF 0 0 0

Notes

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  1. ^ A player is considered inactive if he has announced his retirement or has not played for a full season.

References

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  1. ^ "Official Baseball Rules (2022 Edition): Rule 9.11" (PDF). Major League Baseball. Retrieved 23 Dec 2022.
  2. ^ "Tris Speaker Career Stats". Baseball Reference. Retrieved August 3, 2023.
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