-
Jorge Posada
- Age: 28-37
- Years: 2000-2009
- Positions: C
- Teams: New York Yankees
Jorge Posada Hitting Stats WAR G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS 37.5 1,302 4,426 681 1,251 288 7 208 819 15 15 707 1,056 .283 .386 .492 .878 -
Albert Pujols3x MVPRookie of the Year
- Age: 21-29
- Years: 2001-2009
- Positions: 1B
- Teams: St. Louis Cardinals
Albert Pujols Hitting Stats WAR G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS 73.6 1,399 5,146 1,071 1,717 387 14 366 1,112 61 30 811 570 .334 .427 .628 1.055 -
Chase Utley
- Age: 24-30
- Years: 2003-2009
- Positions: 2B
- Teams: Philadelphia Phillies
Chase Utley Hitting Stats WAR G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS 42.1 891 3,310 602 978 217 26 161 585 83 11 360 606 .295 .379 .523 .902 -
Alex Rodriguez3x MVP
- Age: 24-33
- Years: 2000-2009
- Positions: 3B
- Teams: Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers, New York Yankees
Alex Rodriguez Hitting Stats WAR G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS 77.6 1,524 5,732 1,190 1,740 285 16 435 1,243 179 37 850 1,243 .304 .401 .587 .988 -
Derek JeterHOF
- Age: 26-35
- Years: 2000-2009
- Positions: SS
- Teams: New York Yankees
Derek Jeter Hitting Stats WAR G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS 43.9 1,500 6,122 1,088 1,940 316 27 161 727 219 47 612 993 .317 .387 .456 .844 -
Barry Bonds4x MVP
- Age: 35-42
- Years: 2000-2007
- Positions: OF
- Teams: San Francisco Giants
Barry Bonds Hitting Stats WAR G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS 59.1 986 2,871 772 925 178 12 317 697 54 9 1,128 427 .322 .517 .724 1.241 -
Manny Ramirez
- Age: 28-37
- Years: 2000-2009
- Positions: OF
- Teams: Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers
Manny Ramirez Hitting Stats WAR G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS 43.5 1,358 4,931 933 1,562 328 11 348 1,106 10 9 828 1,085 .317 .419 .599 1.018 -
Lance Berkman
- Age: 24-33
- Years: 2000-2009
- Positions: OF
- Teams: Houston Astros
Lance Berkman Hitting Stats WAR G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS 46.2 1,473 5,169 959 1,553 357 25 309 1,026 74 39 968 1,030 .300 .413 .559 .972 -
Pedro MartinezHOFCy Young
- Age: 28-37
- Years: 2000-2009
- Positions: SP
- Teams: Boston Red Sox, New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies
Pedro Martinez Pitching Stats WAR G GS W L ERA IP CG SHO SV R ER BB SO SO/9 WHIP 45.7 227 227 112 50 3.01 1,468 18 6 0 530 491 350 1,620 9.9 1.036 -
Randy JohnsonHOF3x Cy Young
- Age: 36-45
- Years: 2000-2009
- Positions: SP
- Teams: Arizona Diamondbacks, New York Yankees, San Francisco Giants
Randy Johnson Pitching Stats WAR G GS W L ERA IP CG SHO SV R ER BB SO SO/9 WHIP 51.5 287 281 143 78 3.34 1,885.1 32 12 0 790 699 484 2,182 10.4 1.114 -
Curt Schilling
- Age: 33-40
- Years: 2000-2007
- Positions: SP
- Teams: Philadelphia Phillies, Arizona Diamondbacks, Boston Red SOx
Curt Schilling Pitching Stats WAR G GS W L ERA IP CG SHO SV R ER BB SO SO/9 WHIP 46.4 243 221 117 63 3.54 1,569.1 26 7 0 630 618 257 1,545 8.9 1.129 -
Roy HalladayHOFCy Young
- Age: 23-32
- Years: 2000-2009
- Positions: SP
- Teams: Toronto Blue Jays
Roy Halladay Pitching Stats WAR G GS W L ERA IP CG SHO SV R ER BB SO SO/9 WHIP 45.5 275 267 139 69 3.40 1,883.1 47 14 0 790 712 374 1,400 6.7 1.171 -
Roy Oswalt
- Age: 23-31
- Years: 2001-2009
- Positions: SP
- Teams: Houston Astros
Roy Oswalt Pitching Stats WAR G GS W L ERA IP CG SHO SV R ER BB SO SO/9 WHIP 43.1 283 271 137 70 3.23 1,803.1 18 6 0 695 647 412 1,473 7.4 1.202 -
Jonathan Papelbon
- Age: 24-28
- Years: 2005-2009
- Positions: RP
- Teams: Boston Red Sox
Jonathan Papelbon Pitching Stats WAR G GS W L ERA IP CG SHO SV R ER BB SO SO/9 WHIP 14.6 268 3 14 11 1.84 298 0 0 151 70 61 77 346 10.4 0.980 -
Brad Lidge
- Age: 25-32
- Years: 2002-2009
- Positions: RP
- Teams: Houston Astros, Philadelphia Phillies
Brad Lidge Pitching Stats WAR G GS W L ERA IP CG SHO SV R ER BB SO SO/9 WHIP 6.7 517 1 25 28 3.56 529 0 0 195 228 209 239 714 12.1 1.268 -
Billy WagnerHOF
- Age: 28-37
- Years: 2000-2009
- Positions: RP
- Teams: Houston Astros, Philadelphia Phillies, New York Mets, Boston Red Sox
Billy Wagner Pitching Stats WAR G GS W L ERA IP CG SHO SV R ER BB SO SO/9 WHIP 17.6 558 0 23 24 2.40 580.2 0 0 284 176 155 170 698 10.8 0.990 -
Mariano RiveraHOF
- Age: 30-39
- Years: 2000-2009
- Positions: RP
- Teams: New York Yankees
Mariano Rivera Pitching Stats WAR G GS W L ERA IP CG SHO SV R ER BB SO SO/9 WHIP 33.0 651 0 45 39 2.08 713.1 0 0 397 182 165 137 669 8.4 0.960 -
Joe Nathan
- Age: 25-34
- Years: 2000-2009
- Positions: RP
- Teams: San Francisco Giants, Minnesota Twins
Joe Nathan Pitching Stats WAR G GS W L ERA IP CG SHO SV R ER BB SO SO/9 WHIP 20.0 514 15 39 18 2.53 594.2 0 0 246 181 167 216 664 10.0 1.056 - Catcher – Joe Mauer
- First Base- Todd Helton
- Second Base- Jeff Kent
- Third Base- Chipper Jones
- Shortstop- Hanley Ramirez
- Outfield – Ichiro Suzuki
- Outfield – Carlos Beltran
- Outfield – Vladimir Guerrero
- Starting Pitcher – C.C. Sabathia
- Starting Pitcher – Felix Hernandez
- Relief Pitcher – Armando Benitez
The 2000s were marked by home runs, high ERAs, and a lot of he said she said finger pointing. Steroids and the debates about who was using what and when and who knew what and when did they know it played out like a tireless drama. As it always has though the game went on. We were introduced to a few of the best sluggers the game has ever seen in Albert Pujols and Miguel Cabrera. We witnessed Randy Johnson solidly his Hall of Fame resume and watched the conclusion of Greg Maddux and Roger Clemens careers. 9 player joined the 500 homer club, 3 players joined the 600 homer club and Barry Bonds moved past Hank Aaron as the all-time home run leader. Perhaps for the last time we saw 4 players join the 300 win club. The 3,000 strikeout club welcomed its newest members: Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, Curt Schilling, and John Smoltz.
From the Yankees/Red Sox rivalry reaching a fever pitch to 23 of 30 teams making the playoffs the 2000s provided plenty of on field drama. What a decade it was. Below is our 2000s All-Decade team.
These rankings are part of The Baseball Scholar’s MLB All-Decade Teams, which evaluates the greatest players in Major League Baseball history across every position.
Catcher
First Base
Second Base
Third Base
Shortstop
Outfield
Outfield
Outfield
Starting Pitcher
Starting Pitcher
Starting Pitcher
Starting Pitcher
Starting Pitcher
Relief Pitcher
Relief Pitcher
Relief Pitcher
Relief Pitcher
Relief Pitcher
Honorable Mention
All underlying data used in this analysis is available in The Baseball Scholar Data Library.
Good list, but I thought four players reached the 300-win plateau in the 2000s?
-Roger Clemens on 6/13/2003
-Greg Maddux on 8/7/2004
-Tom Glavine on 8/5/2007
-Randy Johnson on 6/4/2009
Known steroid users should not be on any list except a cheaters list. Just like in the olympics, records set on steroids should be voided.
This guy really dislikes Pudge Rodriguez.
Omitted on both decades teams he was eligible for.
ichiro?
David Wright?
Ichiro recorded a higher WAR than Manny and Berkman in the 2000s
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