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Most games played in center field in Cleveland Indians history

As amazing as last week’s installment was with shortstop, we will conclude this series with the final position, center field. This position is one where the Tribe has had many a superstar.

Oh what could have been with Grady Sizemore and this list.
Oh what could have been with Grady Sizemore and this list.
Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images

Like with the infield and shortstop, I have saved the best for last when it comes to the outfield, center field. This is also likely the best position in Cleveland history due to the sheer volume of great players and seasons played here.

Abraham Almonte, with a decent showing this season, had a shot at cracking the Top 25 as he had 50 games last year and needed just over 100 to make it. But with that 80 game suspension, I seriously doubt he'll get anywhere close.

Surprisingly enough Michael Brantley has already reached number 12 on the list. And that isn't because Terry Francona plays him there way too often. The bulk of that total came from 2012 when he was the starting center fielder for the season. That was the year Johnny Damon and Shelley Duncan played left field.

But what makes this position special is the fact there are five players who have reached the millennial mark. That includes three Hall of Famers and one more who should be in the Hall. Grady Sizemore would have likely been the sixth millennial if not for those rotten injuries.

With five players above 1000 games and another five over 500 games, this has to be one of the most stable positions in club history.

When the last decade wrapped up, 243 players had appeared in center field for the Blues/Bronchos/Naps/Indians. And since the last decade completed, just 15 new faces have appeared there.

Here is the full list of new players who made at least one appearance this decade so far:

Aaron Cunningham, Abraham Almonte, Austin Kearns, Brent Lillibridge, Chris Dickerson, Drew Stubbs, Ezequiel Carrera, Jason Donald, Kosuke Fukudome, Michael Bourn, Michael Martinez, Mike Aviles, Nyjer Morgan, Travis Buck, Tyler Holt.

And onto the top 25:

Player

Years

Games Played

1

Tris Speaker

1916-1926

1474

2

Earl Averill

1929-1938

1457

3

Kenny Lofton

1992-96, 98-01, 07

1209

4

Larry Doby

1948-1955, 1958

1080

5

Rick Manning

1975-1983

1002

6

Grady Sizemore

2004-2011

848

7

Joe Birmingham

1907-1914

647

8

Vic Davalillo

1963-1968

601

9

Brett Butler

1984-1987

600

10

Harry Bay

1902-1907

555

11

Roy Weatherly

1936-1942

411

12

Michael Brantley

2009-2015

356

13

George Hendrick

1973-1976

340

14

Jim Piersall

1959-1961

338

15

Michael Bourn

2013-2015

321

15

Joe Carter

1984-1989

298

17

Jose Cardenal

1968-1969

294

18

Nemo Leibold

1913-1915

208

19

Milton Bradley

2001-2005

195

20

Coco Crisp

2002-2005

188

21

Felix Mackiewicz

1945-1947

185

22

Ollie Pickering

1901-1902

167

23

Alex Cole

1990-1992

165

24

Jim Busby

1956-1957

158

25

Chuck Hinton

1965-1967, 1969

157

With Brantley moving up as far as has on this list and Bourn also joining the list, they bumped off Ben Chapman, the starting center fielder in 1939, and Oris Hockett, a reserve outfielder from 1941-1944. This position, unsurprisingly, has just 18 players with 200 or more games or just 7.0% of the 258 total. Another 21 players have broken the century mark, leaving 85% with under 100 games. Only 27 players have just a single game in center, including Oscar Gamble, Ray Chapman, and Shawon Dunston.

Previous entries:

Catcher

First Base

Right Field

Left Field

Third Base

Designated Hitter

Second Base

Shortstop