Debating the greatest players in baseball history has always been part of the sport’s appeal. The rankings below evaluate the greatest players to ever play this position using a proprietary scoring system designed to compare performance across different eras of Major League Baseball. Each player’s place in the ranking is determined through a purely mathematical framework that measures statistical production and career value. This ranking is part of The Baseball Scholar’s 100 Greatest Players Series, which evaluates the greatest players in Major League Baseball history across every position.
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Edgar MartinezHOF
- Age: 24 – 41
- Years: 1987-2004
- Positions: DH
- Teams:Seattle Mariners
Edgar Martinez Hitting Stats WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS 68.34 147 2055 8672 7213 1219 2247 514 15 309 1261 49 30 1283 1202 .311 .417 .515 .932 -
Paul MolitorHOF
- Age: 21 – 41
- Years: 1978-1998
- Positions: DH
- Teams:Milwaukee Brewers, Toronto Blue Jays, Minnesota Twins
Paul Molitor Hitting Stats WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS 75.42 122 2683 12160 10835 1782 3319 605 114 234 1307 504 131 1094 1244 .306 .366 .447 .814 -
Shohei OhtaniActive
- Age: 23 – 30
- Years: 2018-2025
- Positions: DH
- Teams:Los Angeles Angels, Los Angeles Dodgers
Shohei Ohtani Hitting Stats WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS 35.4 156 1018 4329 3730 708 1050 192 45 280 669 165 43 541 1104 .282 .374 .582 .957 -
David OrtizHOF
- Age: 21 – 40
- Years: 1997-2016
- Positions: DH
- Teams:Minnesota Twins, Boston Red Sox
David Ortiz Hitting Stats WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS 55.43 140 2408 10091 8640 1419 2472 632 19 541 1768 17 9 1319 1750 .286 .379 .551 .930 -
Yordan AlvarezActive
- Age: 22 – 28
- Years: 2019-2025
- Positions: DH
- Teams:Houston Astros
Yordan Alvarez Hitting Stats WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS 24.3 163 677 2867 2455 429 728 156 6 170 493 9 2 346 566 .297 .389 .573 .961
All underlying data used in this analysis is available in The Baseball Scholar Data Library.
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David Ortiz is by far the greatest DH of all time. You’re high on crack.
Alex, a DH also runs the bases. So Paul Molitor is light years better than Ortiz on the bases.
4 & 5 should be Hal McRae and Harold Baines.
where is shohei
Big Papi Ortiz should be higher up. He’s better than Ohtani.