In baseball statistics, an error is an act, in the judgment of the official scorer, of a fielder misplaying a ball in a manner that allows a batter or baserunner to advance one or more bases or allows an at bat to continue after the batter should have been put out. Third base is the third of four stations on a baseball diamond which must be touched in succession by a baserunner in order to score a run for that player's team. A third baseman , abbreviated 3B, is the player on the team playing defense who fields the area nearest third base, and is responsible for the majority of plays made at that base. The third baseman requires good reflexes in reacting to batted balls, often being the closest infielder (roughly 90–120 feet) to the batter. The third base position requires a strong and accurate arm, as the third baseman often makes long throws to first base. The third baseman sometimes must throw quickly to second base in time to start a double play, and must also field fly balls in both fair and foul territory. In the scoring system used to record defensive plays, the third baseman is assigned the number 5.
The list of career leaders is dominated by players from the 19th century, when fielding equipment was very rudimentary; baseball gloves only began to steadily gain acceptance in the 1880s, and were not uniformly worn until the mid-1890s, resulting in a much lower frequency of defensive miscues. The top 19 players in career errors all began playing in the 19th century, all but four of them playing their entire careers before 1900; none were active in the major leagues after 1911. Only two of the top 29 were active after 1929, and none were active after 1946. Through 2021, the top 129 single-season totals were all recorded before 1906, and only five of the top 316 were recorded after 1942. To a large extent, the leaders reflect longevity rather than lower skill. Ron Santo, who leads all post-1950 third basemen with 317 errors, won five Gold Glove Awards for fielding excellence.
Arlie Latham, who set a major league record with 1,573 career games at third base – none of them after 1896 – is the all-time leader in career errors committed as a third baseman with 822, more than twice as many as any player who reached the major leagues after 1900; he is the only third baseman to commit more than 700 career errors. Billy Nash, whose career ended in 1898 after setting the National League record for games at third base, is second all-time; he is the only other third baseman to commit more than 600 errors. Evan Longoria, who had 152 errors through the 2021 season to place him tied for 131st all-time, is the leader among active players.
Rank | Rank amongst leaders in career fielding errors A blank field indicates a tie. |
Player | Name of player |
E as 3B | Total career errors committed as a third baseman |
* | Denotes elected to National Baseball Hall of Fame |
---|
Rank | Player | E as 3B |
---|---|---|
1 | Arlie Latham | 822 |
2 | Billy Nash | 615 |
3 | Hick Carpenter | 591 |
4 | Billy Shindle | 570 |
5 | Jerry Denny | 552 |
6 | Ezra Sutton | 516 |
7 | Denny Lyons | 509 |
8 | Joe Mulvey | 475 |
9 | Bob Ferguson | 466 |
10 | Jimmy Collins * | 465 |
11 | Deacon White * | 444 |
12 | Bill Joyce | 439 |
13 | Ned Williamson | 401 |
14 | Lave Cross | 397 |
15 | George Pinkney | 387 |
16 | Harry Schafer | 380 |
17 | Frank Hankinson | 373 |
Bill Kuehne | 373 | |
19 | Harry Steinfeldt | 365 |
20 | Jimmy Austin | 358 |
21 | Pinky Higgins | 356 |
22 | Tommy Leach | 344 |
Art Whitney | 244 | |
24 | Bill Bradley | 336 |
25 | Tom Burns | 327 |
26 | Doc Casey | 325 |
27 | Pie Traynor * | 324 |
28 | Home Run Baker * | 322 |
29 | Jim Donnelly | 318 |
30 | Jumbo Davis | 317 |
Ron Santo * | 317 | |
32 | Mike Schmidt * | 313 |
33 | Adrián Beltré | 311 |
34 | Graig Nettles | 295 |
35 | Eddie Mathews * | 293 |
36 | Larry Gardner | 287 |
37 | John McGraw * | 280 |
38 | Harlond Clift | 279 |
39 | Eddie Foster | 278 |
40 | Jack Gleason | 273 |
41 | Eddie Yost | 270 |
42 | Ken Boyer | 264 |
43 | Charlie Reilly | 263 |
Brooks Robinson * | 263 | |
Harry Wolverton | 263 | |
46 | George Brett * | 261 |
47 | Bobby Byrne | 258 |
48 | Art Devlin | 257 |
49 | Buddy Bell | 254 |
50 | Darrell Evans | 253 |
Rank | Player | E as 3B |
---|---|---|
51 | Fred Hartman | 251 |
Charlie Irwin | 251 | |
53 | Ken Caminiti | 249 |
54 | Stan Hack | 246 |
55 | Aramis Ramírez | 244 |
Red Smith | 244 | |
57 | Tim Wallach | 240 |
58 | Terry Pendleton | 238 |
59 | Bob Elliott | 236 |
60 | Bill Coughlin | 231 |
Heinie Zimmerman | 231 | |
62 | Wade Boggs * | 229 |
63 | Sal Bando | 228 |
Mike Muldoon | 228 | |
Milt Stock | 228 | |
Patsy Tebeau | 228 | |
Todd Zeile | 228 | |
68 | Gary Gaetti | 224 |
69 | Ron Cey | 223 |
Chipper Jones * | 223 | |
Joe Werrick | 223 | |
72 | Mike Mowrey | 221 |
73 | Jim Tabor | 220 |
Robin Ventura | 220 | |
Billy Werber | 220 | |
76 | Harry Lord | 217 |
77 | Aurelio Rodríguez | 215 |
78 | Warren White | 214 |
79 | George Davis * | 211 |
80 | Ossie Bluege | 208 |
81 | Joe Battin | 207 |
82 | Levi Meyerle | 205 |
83 | Bill Hague | 200 |
84 | George Moriarty | 199 |
85 | Doug DeCinces | 198 |
86 | Cap Anson * | 196 |
Frank Malzone | 196 | |
88 | Bill Madlock | 193 |
89 | Willie Jones | 192 |
90 | Billy Lauder | 190 |
David Wright | 190 | |
92 | Chippy McGarr | 189 |
93 | Jimmy Dykes | 188 |
94 | Doug Rader | 187 |
95 | Scott Rolen | 186 |
96 | Willie Kamm | 185 |
Dean Palmer | 185 | |
98 | Richie Hebner | 182 |
99 | Bobby Bonilla | 181 |
100 | Matt Williams | 177 |
Player | E |
---|---|
George Kell * | 166 |
Harmon Killebrew * | 127 |
Tony Pérez * | 123 |
Paul Molitor * | 121 |
Judy Johnson * | 111 (includes incomplete Negro league totals) |
Bobby Wallace * | 107 |
Jim O'Rourke * | 105 |
Freddie Lindstrom * | 102 |
Bill McKechnie * | 91 |
Roger Connor * | 81 |
Edgar Martínez * | 78 |
Buck Ewing * | 76 |
Jim Thome * | 73 |
Joe Sewell * | 72 |
Cal Ripken Jr. * | 69 |
Frankie Frisch * | 68 |
Joe Torre * | 64 |
Honus Wagner * | 64 |
King Kelly * | 59 |
Jud Wilson * | 51 (includes incomplete Negro league totals) |
Rogers Hornsby * | 47 |
Jimmie Foxx * | 31 |
Johnny Bench * | 30 |
Ray Dandridge * | 28 (includes incomplete Negro league totals) |
Jackie Robinson * | 28 |
Joe Cronin * | 12 |
Ryne Sandberg * | 11 |
Willie Wells * | 6 (includes incomplete Negro league totals) |
Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hancock.
Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists who were typically poor at batting and were often placed at the bottom of the batting order. Today, shortstops are often able to hit well and many are placed at the top of the lineup. In the numbering system used by scorers to record defensive plays, the shortstop is assigned the number 6.
In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted balls are met or assured. A player may score by hitting a home run or by any combination of plays that puts him safely "on base" as a runner and subsequently brings him home. Once a player has scored a run, they may not attempt to score another run until their next turn to bat. The object of the game is for a team to score more runs than its opponent.
In baseball statistics, an error is an act, in the judgment of the official scorer, of a fielder misplaying a ball in a manner that allows a batter or baserunner to advance one or more bases or allows a plate appearance to continue after the batter should have been put out. The term error is sometimes used to refer to the play during which an error was committed.
A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system used to record defensive plays, the third baseman is assigned the number 5.
Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catcher is also called upon to master many other skills in order to field the position well. The role of the catcher is similar to that of the wicket-keeper in cricket, but in cricket, wicketkeepers are increasingly known for their batting abilities.
A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majority of plays made at that base. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the first baseman is assigned the number 3.
The rules of baseball differ slightly from league to league, but in general share the same basic game play.
Baseball scorekeeping is the practice of recording the details of a baseball game as it unfolds. Professional baseball leagues hire official scorers to keep an official record of each game, but many fans keep score as well for their own enjoyment. Scorekeeping is usually done on a printed scorecard and, while official scorers must adhere precisely to one of the few different scorekeeping notations, most fans exercise some amount of creativity and adopt their own symbols and styles.