Joe Morgan: 10.5 votes
Reggie: 8.5 votes
Carew: 2 votes
Bench: 2 votes
Singleton: 2 votes
Rose: 2 votes
Stargell: 1 vote

I didn’t vote for Bench because of the “everyday” criterion. Sparky Anderson tried to keep Bench’s bat in the lineup by playing him at other positions (Bench at 3rd was a weird sight), but in the second half of the 70s Bench played about the same amount as normal catchers, not playing in about 12 – 20% of the games.

Would Reggie Jackson’s hip interference play have been so “heads-up” if the 1B umpire had had the balls to make the correct call? (As Toy Cannon alludes to in 59 , Bill Russell should have thrown that ball at Reggie’s noggin – a sizeable target.

But if I were making a vote based upon, say, performance, rather than cred, it would begrudgingly go to Joe Morgan.

[84}: Right, I realized I was kinda putting words in your mouth not long after I posted that. Sorry ’bout that. Incidentally, I think he actually played third AFTER he played outfield.

The greatest heads-up, clutch plays I’ve ever seen were Reggie’s hip move, Jeter’s flip toss, and Rose’s catch.

But he was still a prick.

81 : Thanks for that analysis, Voxter. Yeah, I have to admit Morgan was better. (I think I’ve mostly been playing devil’s advocate this whole time anyway.) Even if Rose’s durability evened the playing field a little, Morgan still trumps him with his defense and baserunning.

I would argue with the implication that Rose was a detriment to his team as a fielder. He was not nearly as valuable as Morgan, of course, but by most accounts he played left field and right field well (and, with respect to errors, near flawlessly) and also played third base well. (I’m not as familiar with his reputation as a second baseman–that was before my time.) And his almost unprecedented flexibility, which allowed the team to put him where they needed him most, again and again and again, is along with his durability another underrated element of his value to his team, I think.