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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.
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