Worst Fielding Third Basemen in MLB History

You held your breath when they were at the hot corner. And not in a good way.

Worst Fielding Third Basemen in MLB History

Oakland A's third baseman Wayne Gross in a rundown — The circus comes to the hot corner with some third basemen.

Third base is an important defensive position in baseball. The best third basemen are assets in the field at the hot corner.

But not every third baseman can be Brooks Robinson on defense. These are the worst glovemen at third base in baseball history.

Note: We used a combination of metrics such as Defensive Wins Above Replacement (dWAR), Total Zone Runs (an estimate of runs saved or given up in the field), errors and fielding percentage to produce this lineup of backstops.

4. Wayne Gross

Oakland A's third baseman Wayne Gross — Wayne Gross played nine of his 11 major league seasons with the Oakland A's.

Career: 1976-86 (11 seasons)

Teams: Oakland Athletics (1976–83), Baltimore Orioles (1984–85), Oakland Athletics (1986)

Gold Glove Awards: None

Stats: 3,182 chances, 1,549 putouts, 1,490 assists, 143 errors

Fielding percentage: .955

dWAR: -0.8

Total Zone Runs at position: -19

Bottom Line: Wayne Gross

Oakland A's first baseman Jim Spencer, left, congratulates teammate Wayne Gross after a home run — Wayne Gross was better with his bat than his glove.

Wayne Gross finished his career with -19 total zone runs allowed for his time at third base, where he went over 20 errors in three of his first four seasons with the Oakland Athletics.

Gross never quite matched those numbers again throughout his career, but he did crack double-digit errors in four more seasons before his career was over.

Gross was so bad in his time with the A's that he was named to the Athletics' All-Time All-Iron Glove team in ESPN writer Rob Neyer's "Big Book of Baseball LIneups" in 2003.

3. Butch Hobson

Boston Red Sox third baseman Butch Hobson — Butch Hobson averaged 20 errors a season in seven major league seasons.

Career: 1975-82 (7 seasons)

Teams: Boston Red Sox (1975-80), California Angels (1981), New York Yankees (1982)

Gold Glove Awards: None

Stats: 1,918 chances, 595 putouts, 1,183 assists, 140 errors

Fielding percentage: .927

dWAR: -4.3

Total Zone Runs at position: -52

Bottom Line: Butch Hobson

Boston Red Sox third baseman Butch Hobson takes a throw — Butch Hobson, left, managed the Boston Red Sox after his playing days.

Butch Hobson was a former quarterback for the University of Alabama and legendary coach Bear Bryant, but Hobson had some legendary struggles fielding a baseball.

Hobson's 1978 season was a legendary blunder. The 43 errors he committed that season for the Red Sox were the most since 1949 and hasn't been matched since, and his fielding percentage of .866 is the lowest in the modern era of baseball.

Hobson went on to manage the Red Sox from 1992 to 1994.

2. Bill Madlock

Pittsburgh Pirates third baseman Bill Madlock — Bill Madlock was not known for his range at third base.

Career: 1973-87 (14 seasons)

Teams: Texas Rangers (1973), Chicago Cubs (1974-76), San Francisco Giants (1977-79), Pittsburgh Pirates (1979-85), Los Angeles Dodgers (1985-87), Detroit Tigers (1987)

Gold Glove Awards: None

Stats: 4,941 chances, 1,694 putouts, 3,025 assists, 222 errors

Fielding percentage: .955

dWAR: -8.7

Total Zone Runs at position: -89

Bottom Line: Bill Madlock

Pittsburgh Pirates third baseman Bill Madlock catches a throw — Bill Madlock, right, played on six teams in 14 MLB seasons.

The really strange thing about Bill Madlock's career is teams didn't try to fit him into an easier position to play, like right field.

His total zone runs allowed of -89 and his defensive wins above replacement of -8.7 are some of the worst in history at third base. On the flip side, Madlock won four National League batting titles and was a three-time All-Star.

His fielding percentage, which seems normal, is deceiving because he had such little range.

1. Edwin Encarnacion

Cincinnati Reds third baseman Edwin Encarnacion — Edwin Encarnacion made fielding an adventure at third base.

Career: 2005-20 (16 seasons)

Teams: Cincinnati Reds (2005-09), Toronto Blue Jays (2009-16), Cleveland Indians (2017-18), Seattle Mariners (2019), New York Yankees (2019), Chicago White Sox (2020)

Gold Glove Awards: None

Stats: 5,914 chances, 4,415 putouts, 1,355 assists, 144 errors

Fielding percentage: .976

dWar: -14.5

Total Zone Runs at position: -79

Bottom Line: Edwin Encarnacion

Seattle Mariners third baseman Edwin Encarnacion — Edwin Encarnacion committed 144 errors in his MLB career.

If you've ever had the pleasure of watching Edwin Encarnacion play, you know the three-time All-Star will make you hold your breath when he's in the field. And not in a good way.

His defensive WAR is one of the highest you'll find in this lineup. What's impressive is that he's actually gotten better on defense over his career, and his real struggles in the field were mostly over his first six seasons.

This story was originally published on Stadium Talk's MSN channel. Follow Stadium Talk on MSN.

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