​​​​​​​​​​LEFTHANDED BASEBALL

The Best Lefthanded Batters and Lefthanded Pitchers in Baseball

Reggie Jackson, Rod Carew, and George Brett were a step above the rest in their era, 

but there were many other lefthanded batters among the best of their time.

Willie McCovey was a lefthanded throwing first-baseman and outfielder who played 22 years (from 1959 to 1980), mostly with the San Francisco Giants.  McCovey finished his career with 521 home runs (19th all time).  He was the Major League Player of the year and National League MVP in 1969.  He was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1986.

Billy Williams was a righthanded throwing outfielder and first-baseman who played 18 years (from1959 to 1976), mostly with the Chicago Cubs.  Williams finished his career with 2711 hits, 426 home runs, 1475 runs batted in, and a .290 batting average.  He won the National League batting title in 1972 and made the All-Star Team six times.  He was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1987. 

Lou Brock was a lefthanded throwing outfielder who played 19 years (from 1961 to 1979), mostly with the St Louis Cardinals.  His 3023 career hits are 25th all time.  Brock led the National League in stolen bases 8 times, including a record 118 stolen bases in 1974, when he was Major League Player of the Year.  He retired with 938 stolen bases, which was the most ever until both his season record and his career record have been passed by Ricky Henderson.  He was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1985.

Carl Yastrzemski was a righthanded throwing outfielder and first-baseman who played 23 years (from 1961 to 1983) with the Boston Red Sox.  Yastrzemski won batting titles in 1963, 1967, and 1968, and in 1967 he was also the Triple Crown Winner, AL MVP, and Major League Player of the Year.  He finished his career with 3419 hits (9th all time).  He was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1989.

Tony Oliva was a righthanded throwing outfielder who played 15 years (1962-1976) with the Minnesota Twins.  He won batting titles in 1964, 1965 and 1971.  He was voted to the AL All-Star team eight straight years, and finished his career with a .304 batting average, with a .353 on base percentage and a .476 slugging percentage.  Oliva was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2022.

Willie Stargell was a lefthanded throwing outfielder and first-baseman who played 21 years (from 1962 to 1982)  with the Pittsburgh Pirates.  He had 423 doubles, 475 home runs, and 1540 runs batted in.  He was the National League MVP and World Series MVP in 1979, and was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1988

Joe Morgan was a righthanded throwing second-baseman who played 22 years (1963 to 1984), mostly with the Houston Astros and Cincinnati Reds.  His best years were with the Reds, as he was voted National League MVP in 1975 and 1976.  He lead the National League in walks 4 times (finished 2nd in 6 more seasons).  His 1865 walks are 5th all-time, and his 689 stolen bases are 11th all-time.  He was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1990.

Wade Boggs was a righthanded throwing third-baseman who played 18 years (from 1982 to 1999), 11 with the Boston Red Sox, 5 with the New York Yankees, and 2 with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.  He finished with a .328 batting average (33rd all time) and won 5 American League Batting Titles.  He was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2005.

Other Great Lefthanded Batters

Prior to 1930          1930 to 1960          1960 to 1990          Since 1990

All-Time Best Lefthanded Batters

(played mostly from 1960 to 1990)

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