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When the 2000s wrapped up, 237 players had appeared as a second baseman for the Blues/Bronchos/Naps/Indians. Incumbent second baseman Jason Kipnis was not the team's regular second baseman since 2012, but he has been steadily climbing up the list since his debut.
Kipnis is currently seventh overall but he is 159 games behind Carlos Baerga. If he stays healthy and plays every game he could pass him, but that likely will not occur until 2017. Kipnis has four years on his deal with a team option for a fifth. If he averages 140 games over those five seasons, he would end up in second place.
Also, with Kipnis getting the bulk of the playing time in the 2010s, only 17 new faces have played second base since 2009. Here is the full list of new players who made at least one appearance:
Adam Everett, Anderson Hernandez, Brent Lillibridge, Cord Phelps, Drew Sutton, Elliot Johnson, Jason Donald, Jason Kipnis, Jayson Nix, Jose Lopez, Jose Ramirez, Justin Sellers, Mark Grudzielanek, Mike Aviles, Orlando Cabrera, Ryan Raburn, , Zach Walters.
And onto the top 25:
Player |
Years |
Games Played |
|
1 |
Nap Lajoie |
1902-1914 |
1385 |
2 |
Bobby Avila |
1949-1958 |
1098 |
3 |
Bill Wambsganss |
1914-1923 |
938 |
4 |
Duane Kuiper |
1974-1981 |
774 |
5 |
Ray Mack |
1938-1944, 1946 |
767 |
6 |
Carlos Baerga |
1990-1996, 1999 |
735 |
7 |
Jason Kipnis |
2011-2015 |
576 |
8 |
Joe Gordon |
1947-1950 |
549 |
9 |
Tony Bernazard |
1984-1987 |
507 |
10 |
Odell Hale |
1931, 1933-1940 |
488 |
11 |
Roberto Alomar |
1999-2001 |
468 |
12 |
Jack Brohamer |
1972-1975, 1980 |
441 |
13 |
Ronnie Belliard |
2004-2006 |
383 |
14 |
Johnny Hodapp |
1929-1932 |
354 |
15 |
Jerry Browne |
1989-1991 |
337 |
16 |
Eddie Leon |
1970-1972 |
284 |
17 |
Pedro Gonzalez |
1965-1967 |
280 |
18 |
Vern Fuller |
1966-1970 |
271 |
19 |
Freddy Spurgeon |
1924-1927 |
250 |
20 |
Terry Turner |
1909-11, 1913-18 |
233 |
21 |
Carl Lind |
1927-1930 |
231 |
22 |
Roy Hughes |
1935-1937 |
224 |
23 |
Julio Franco |
1985-1988, 1997 |
216 |
24 |
Johnny Temple |
1960-1961 |
206 |
25 |
Riggs Stephenson |
1921-1924 |
203 |
On a personal note, this is home to my favorite player growing up, Duane Kuiper (see my avatar).
With Kipnis joining the list, he has bumped off Dutch Meyer. With 25 players having played 200 or more games, that puts them at 9.8% of the 254 total. Another 22 players have over a hundred games, leaving 81% with under 100 games. Only 34 players have just a single game at second.
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