Worst Third Basemen in MLB History

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

Third base is an important defensive position in baseball, and those who play it best 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.

3. Butch Hobson

Boston Red Sox third baseman Butch Hobson

Phil Sandlin / AP Photo

Career: 1975-82 (7 seasons)

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

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 was a former quarterback for the University of Alabama but went pro playing baseball.

His 1978 season was legendary for being a blunder. He committed 43 errors for the Red Sox that season — the most since 1949 —and his .899 fielding percentage that year was the lowest in the modern era of baseball.

Still, his career wasn’t a total loss. He went on to manage the Red Sox from 1992 to 1994.

Note: We combined Defensive Wins Above Replacement (dWAR), Total Zone Runs (an estimate of runs saved or given up in the field), errors and fielding percentage metrics to determine this lineup of third basemen.

2. Bill Madlock

Pittsburgh Pirates third baseman Bill Madlock catches a throw

Gene Puskar / AP Photo

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)

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: Why no team ever tried to fit Bill Madlock into an easier position to play is beyond us.

His defensive stats are some of the worst in history at third base, but he actually won four National League batting titles and was a three-time All-Star. So, there’s that.

1. Edwin Encarnacion

Cincinnati Reds third baseman Edwin Encarnacion

Al Behrman / AP Photo

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)

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: Watching three-time All-Star Edwin Encarnacion will make you hold your breath when he’s at third base — and not in a good way.

His defensive WAR is almost twice as high as the others on this lineup. We’ll give him a bit of a break due to the fact that his real struggles in the field were mostly over his first six seasons, but boy were they bad.

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