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With the dire outlook of the 2016 Cincinnati Reds, the Hall of Fame election of Ken Griffey Jr. is a good time to look at positive things going on with the franchise. Billy Hamilton is one of those things. He is likely their best base-runner of all time, but he is definitely the best defensive center fielder in the history of baseball’s first professional team.
Of the top 20 players rated by WAR (wins above replacement) in their history, not a single center fielder is listed for the Reds. For those of you who aren’t rabid Reds fans, Vada Pinson started more games in center field for the Reds than anyone else in their history. Second on this list is Edd Roush. Neither will be in this discussion going forward. Roush was on the 1919 World Series winning team made famous by the Black Sox Scandal. Pinson and Roush were both above average, but neither was elite. There are only three people to contend with Hamilton for this honor: Griffey Jr., Eric Davis (pictured above) and Cesar Geronimo.
Geronimo is the easiest to talk about. He was a great center fielder. He was also one who had speedsters and hustlers flanking him in George Foster, Ken Griffey, Sr. and Pete Rose. He was the center fielder for the Big Red Machine. He also had Bobby Tolan in right for the early part of his career. One of the best center fielders of his time, Geronimo looked good because of his supporting cast.
The newest Hall of Famer is a bit more difficult to discuss. Junior had numerous leg injuries during his time with the Reds. He maintained his knack for stealing home run balls, but he had a fatal flaw for best of all time — his arm. Griffey had an accurate, but weak throwing arm. His accuracy was decent, but when we’re talking about the best of all time, he doesn’t cut it. This is only a discussion about defense. Griffey is one of the best 30 players ever and his weak arm shouldn’t diminish that in the least.
That leaves Davis and Hamilton. Davis won three consecutive Gold Gloves from 1987-89. He played before advanced defensive metrics were kept. He stole home runs and flew across the outfield. As a center fielder, Davis has a range factor per nine of 2.72. Hamilton by contrast has a range factor of 2.63. That’s how close this is. A range factor includes both putouts and assists. People didn’t respect Davis’ arm, giving him more chance to cut down runners and rack up assists.
Davis and Hamilton are both very similar. They came into professional baseball as shortstops with plus plus speed and made the transition to center field despite some early struggles. Hamilton has already eclipsed Davis defensively. In 2015, Hamilton was tied for 13th in DWAR in all of baseball with 1.1 wins. In 2014 he was eighth with a DWAR of 1.8. Hamilton was first in the National League in 2015 with 16.2 runs saved. He led all of baseball in 2014 with 22.1 runs saved.
Why is Hamilton the best of all time then? He did all of this as a rookie and a second-year player with the Ryan Ludwick/Marlon Byrd combo in left and the indifferent play of Jay Bruce in right. Bruce is a good defender when engaged, but Hamilton has been carrying the outfield defensively for two years.
The Reds have been blessed with defensive center fielders for much of their history. From Pinson to Geronimo to Hamilton, the Reds have had great success in filling center field with defensive gems. Early in his career, Hamilton appears to shine brightest of them all.
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