Do you want big names? Big numbers? Big personalities? Welcome to All-Time #MLBRank, our ranking of the top 100 players in baseball history.
To create our list, an ESPN expert panel voted on thousands of head-to-head matchups of 162 players, based on both peak performance and career value.
The top 100 will roll out next week. This week, we bring you the top 10 at each position. Thursday brings the top 10 infielders by position of all time, followed by pitchers and catchers on Friday.
Have fun!
TOP 10 FIRST BASEMEN
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10. David Ortiz
Teams
Minnesota Twins (1997-2002), Boston Red Sox ('03-present)
Honors
10-time All-Star (2004-08, '10-13, '16), World Series MVP ('13), six Silver Sluggers ('04-07, '11, '13)
Championships
3 -- Boston (2004, '07, '13)
Career stats*
.286/.380/.552, OPS -- .931, Hits -- 2,400, HRs -- 525, RBIs -- 1,713
*Stats through July 10, 2016
The player
None other than the late Kirby Puckett once said a young Big Papi reminded him of Willie McCovey, but not even McCovey had 600 career doubles in addition to 500 homers. Only Ortiz, Hank Aaron and Barry Bonds did that. -- Scott Lauber, ESPN.com Red Sox reporter
There are stats that tell you what David Ortiz has accomplished. You don't need them. There are scouting reports that tell pitchers to fear the Red Sox slugger. You can throw them out. There are critics who question Ortiz's legacy. They don't slow him: There are only two words you need to know when you are discussing Ortiz: Big Papi. He's bigger than baseball. A superstar's superstar. The kind of player who makes you hope to have grandkids someday just so you can tell them you saw Big Papi play. -- Dan Mullen, ESPN.com senior MLB editor
OK, I get it, we don't consider DH an official position more than 40 years since its invention. That helps Papi here, because he has less than two years of bad defensive play to pull his career value down, making him sort of Harmon Killebrew's opposite. But even then, he doesn't crack the all-time top 20 in offensive WAR at first base, so seeing him here seems like understandable sentiment for a great player winding down a superb career. -- Christina Kahrl, ESPN.com senior writer
Ortiz's career is full of great facts from start to finish, but it's his dominance at an advanced age that has made him so special. He's the only player in history to manage at least 30 home runs and 100 RBIs in each of his ages 37, 38 and 39 seasons, and as a 40-year-old in 2016, he's on pace for a whopping 41 homers and 134 RBIs. -- Tristan Cockroft, ESPN.com senior writer
9. Frank Thomas
Teams
Chicago White Sox (1990-2005), Oakland A's ('06, '08), Toronto Blue Jays ('07-08)
Honors
Two-time MVP (1993-94), five-time All-Star ('93-97), four Silver Sluggers ('91, '93-94, 2000), Hall of Fame ('14)
Championships
1* -- Chicago (2005)
*played for Chicago during 2005 season, but was injured during the playoffs
Career stats
.301/.419/.555, OPS -- .974, Hits -- 2,468, HRs -- 521, RBIs -- 1,704
The player
This is the picture of offensive consistency: The Big Hurt had seven consecutive seasons with a .300 batting average and at least 100 walks, 100 runs, 100 RBIs and 20 homers. Ted Williams was the only other player to even have five. -- Lauber
Frank Thomas stands 6-foot-5. He weighs 240 pounds. He lined up on college football Saturdays before shifting his focus to baseball. He brews his own beer. He answers to The Big Hurt. The first word that should come to mind here is "intimidation." But it isn't; it's patience. Thomas won an MVP by walking 112 times during a 41-home run season and then he did it again . How many players can say that? -- Mullen
Thomas is the most extraordinary hitter on this list, because he could hit .300 and walk 100 times and slug .550 -- essentially every year over his entire career. Albert Pujols and Miguel Cabrera couldn't do that. Heck, nobody has since integration. If not for the injuries in his 30s, he could have been No. 1, but he can settle for being the first DH elected to the HOF, spending more than 1,300 of his 2,300 games at DH. -- Kahrl
When Thomas first arrived in the bigs, I cannot remember a single player I'd have imagined a pitcher could fear facing more. Had they tracked exit velocity in the early 1990s, he'd have surely had gaudy numbers in that department. -- Cockcroft
8. Harmon Killebrew
Teams
Washington Senators (1954-60), Minnesota Twins ('61-74), Kansas City Royals ('75)
Honors
MVP (1969), 13-time All-Star ('59*, '61*, '63-71), Hall of Fame ('84)
*Played in two All-Star Games in '59 and '61
Championships
None
Career stats
.256/.376/.509, OPS -- .884, Hits -- 2,086, HRs - 573, RBIs -- 1,584
The player
Killebrew had eight 40-homer seasons -- only Babe Ruth had more -- and led his league six times in long balls. They called him Killer, but he was viewed as one of the nicest guys in the game, and in some ways set the stage for the modern hitter, trying to hit a home run every time up, even at the expense of strikeouts. The Twins moved him between first base, third base and left field, and maybe that lack of one position has hurt his legacy a bit. -- David Schoenfield, ESPN.com senior writer
It's fun to see Killebrew slip in here. Value metrics like WAR punish him for the Twins' ongoing demand that he play a lot of third or left, something he couldn't control or do well. His defense-only WAR of minus-18 career is a big drag on a bat (plus-71.2) that merits inclusion here. -- Kahrl
7. Willie McCovey
Teams
San Francisco Giants (1959-73, '77-80), San Diego Padres ('74-76), Oakland A's ('76)
Honors
Rookie of the Year (1959), six-time NL All-Star ('63, '66, '68-71), All-Star Game MVP ('69), MVP ('69), Hall of Fame ('86)
Championships
None
Career stats
.270/.374/.515, OPS -- .889, Hits -- 2,211, HRs - 521, RBIs -- 1,555
The player
Because the Giants came up with him and Orlando Cepeda at the same time, McCovey actually spent the first few years of his career as a part-time player. He'd still manage to hit 521 home runs. His peak was a little shorter than others here (seven great seasons), but he also may have hit 700 home runs had he come up in the 1990s. -- Schoenfield
The only man in MLB history to get 40+ intentional walks (in consecutive seasons, no less) before Barry Bonds and Albert Pujols came along. McCovey did that during his 1968-70 peak, when he averaged 40 homers and 110 walks per season. A worthy entry here, although I'd rate him with Jeff Bagwell and Jim Thome. -- Kahrl
6. Hank Greenberg
Teams
Detroit Tigers (1930, '33-41, '45-46), Pittsburgh Pirates ('47)
Honors
Two-time AL MVP (1935, '40), five-time AL All Star ('37-40, '45*), Hall of Fame ('56)
*Game not played
Championships
2 -- Detroit (1935, '45)
Career stats
.313/.412/.605, OPS -- 1.017, Hits -- 1,628, HRs -- 331, RBIs -- 1,274
The player
Imagine if we'd had All-Star voting in the 1930s: For AL first basemen, you would have had to choose from Greenberg, Lou Gehrig and Jimmie Foxx. Good luck. Greenberg didn't have the same career length as those two -- he missed one season with injury and then nearly four full years to World War II -- and at his peak wasn't quite at their level at the plate, but he did hit 58 home runs one year and was a great RBIs man. -- Schoenfield
If anything, he is underrated after losing three of his prime years to military service, like other great players of the era. Until Sandy Koufax came along, he was the beacon of hope to sports-loving American Jews. -- Mark Saxon, ESPN.com Cardinals reporter
Does he belong in the top 10? He was good, but was he better than Jim Thome and his 612 HRs? Better than Jeff Bagwell? That's just for starters, and that's the rub: I suspect Greenberg (who's just 16th overall in offensive WAR among first basemen) drifts up this high because our panel overcorrected a bit on PED accusations, so a guy with an outstanding, abbreviated career like Greenberg's gets sucked into the vacuum. -- Kahrl
5. Miguel Cabrera
Teams
Florida Marlins (2003-07), Detroit Tigers ('08-present)
Honors
Four-time NL All-Star (2004-07), two NL Silver Sluggers ('05-06), four AL Silver Sluggers ('10, '12-13, '15), seven-time AL All-Star ('10-16), two-time AL MVP ('12-13), AL Triple Crown ('12)
Championships
1 -- Florida (2003)
Career stats*
.320/.398/.560, OPS -- .958, Hits - 2,429, HRs -- 426, RBIs -- 1,498
*Stats through July 10, 2016
The player
One of the most prolific hitters of his generation, Cabrera won the Triple Crown in 2012, the first player to do so in 45 years. Barry Bonds recently praised his prowess from the plate, lauding his baseball IQ as one of the best in the game. -- Katie Strang, ESPN.com Tigers reporter
The modern game's answer to Jimmie Foxx: a child prodigy at the plate who won big early, gifted with remarkable plate coverage with power. That 2010-13 run was good for an average of 8 WAR per season, or right around what Albert Pujols averaged for his 11 years with the Cardinals, to put that into perspective.
-- Kahrl
Only eight players in the history of baseball have had had more .300-30-100 seasons than Cabrera's seven, and unlike two of the others, he's not even done yet. From the moment he stepped on a big league diamond you could tell he'd be special; debuting at the age of 20 years, 63 days, playing a position, left field, that he had manned only three times previously as a pro, Cabrera hit a walk-off home run in extra innings. -- Cockcroft
4. Jimmie Foxx
Teams
Philadelphia A's (1925-35), Boston Red Sox ('36-42), Chicago Cubs ('42, '44), Philadelphia Phillies ('45)
Honors
Three-time AL MVP (1932, '33, '38), nine-time AL All-Star ('33-41), Hall of Fame ('51)
Championships
2 -- Philadelphia A's (1929, '30)
Career stats
.325/.428/.609, OPS -- 1.038, Hits - 2,646, HRs -- 534, RBIs -- 1,922
The player
Ready to rake before he turned 19, Foxx was the offensive star of the '29-31 A's team that blew by the Ruth/Gehrig Yankees for three straight pennants, and also the youngest, just 23 in '31. That was his last postseason appearance, but he went on to win three MVPs, set the right-handed HR record (later tied by Greenberg and topped by Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa). The only first baseman not named Gehrig with a 10-WAR season, and the only one who comes close to Gehrig and Pujols for career value or peak value. -- Kahrl
Part of the famed 1929-31 Philadelphia Athletics that won three straight AL pennants -- over the Ruth/Gehrig Yankees -- Double X was one of the most feared sluggers in the game's history, twice hitting 50 home runs and winning three MVP awards. He wasn't just a power guy, however, winning two batting titles to go with four home run titles. If he'd done more in his 30s -- he was essentially done at age 33 -- he would be a candidate for a top 10 or 15 player of all time. -- Schoenfield
3. Albert Pujols
Teams
St. Louis Cardinals (2001-11), Los Angeles Angels ('12-present)
Honors
NL Rookie of the Year (2001), six NL Silver Sluggers ('01, '03-04, '08-10), three-time NL MVP ('05, '08-09), two NL Gold Gloves ('06, '10), nine-time NL All-Star ('01, '03-10), AL All-Star ('15)
Championships
2 -- St. Louis (2006, '11)
Career stats*
.310/.394/.574, OPS -- .969, Hits -- 2,749, HRs -- 575, RBIs -- 1,758
*Stats through July 10, 2016
The player
I get into this elsewhere, but I think we're punishing Pujols overmuch for his current fade. That would be a shame, because his initial 11-year run with the Cardinals might have been the best stretch by any first baseman ever. -- Kahrl
His production in recent years affects our current view of him, but I'll take Pujols over Lou Gehrig as the greatest first baseman of all time. Pujols put up monster numbers in a tougher era, was an outstanding defensive first baseman and, while not fast, was one of the smartest baserunners I've ever seen. He led NL position players in WAR six straight seasons from 2005 to 2010. I'll take that. -- Schoenfield
For 10 consecutive seasons to begin his career, Pujols managed at least a .300 batting average, 30 home runs and 100 RBIs, easily a major league record. Heck, there's only one other player in history who had more .300-30-100 campaigns in his entire career: Babe Ruth (12). -- Cockcroft
Some power hitters are "HR-on-Demand" guys. They always seem to hit home runs in big spots. In this generation, one of the best homer on demand guys is Albert Pujols. In his prime, there was no one better to have up in a situation in which the game was on the line. -- Mark Simon, ESPN Stats & Info
2. Stan Musial
Teams
St. Louis Cardinals (1941-44, '46-63)
Honors
Three-time MVP (1943, '46, '48), 24-time All-Star ('43-44, '46-63*), Hall of Fame ('69)
*played in two All-Star Games in 1959, '60, '61 and '62
Championships
3 -- St. Louis (1942, '44, '46)
Career stats
.331/.417/.559, OPS -- .976 Hits -- 3,630, HRs -- 475, RBIs -- 1,951
The player
Is he the most underrated all-time Inner Circle-caliber Hall of Famer? Maybe so, but here's how respected he was while active: He won three MVP awards and finished second in the voting four other times. He played first base, left field, right field and even center early in his career and hustled every second he played. -- Schoenfield
He spent most of his career in the outfield, but inviting him into this conversation, he outpoints Gehrig in career offensive WAR , 124.7 to 112.1, and is just behind him for value across his seven best seasons (64.2 to 67.7). The three MVP awards are impressive enough, but he also finished second four times, reflecting his 11-year postwar run with an 1.017 OPS while averaging almost 80 extra-base hits per year. -- Kahrl
1. Lou Gehrig
Teams
New York Yankees (1923-39)
Honors
Two-time MVP (1927, '36), Triple Crown ('34), seven-time All-Star ('33-39), Hall of Fame ('39 -- special election)
Championships
6 -- New York (1927-28, '32, '36-38)
Career stats
.340/.447/.632, OPS -- 1.080, Hits -- 2,721, HR -- 493, RBIs -- 1,995
The player
Despite playing most of his career in the shadow of Babe Ruth, he ranks third all-time in slugging (.632) and OPS (1.080), fifth in on-base percentage (.447) and sixth in RBIs (1,995). Has there ever been a better sidekick in sports history? -- Lauber
As far as reaching impossible heights, there's Everest, there's Mons Olympus on Mars, and then there's Lou Gehrig. -- Kahrl
Babe Ruth's wing man. A part of Murderers' Row. The Streak. The Speech. If those are the first things you think of when you think of Lou Gehrig, it's time to flip over the baseball card to understand how someone ranked this high could also be underrated at the same time. Does a .300/.431/.584 season sound like an all-time great to you? That's Lou Gehrig's 1929. A down year for the Yankees first baseman. -- Mullen
Perhaps what's even more remarkable about Gehrig's "Iron Man" streak of 2,130 consecutive games played is how consistently productive he was during it, totaling 492 home runs and 1,981 RBIs in those contests. Only five players in history had more RBIs and 27 hit more homers in their entire careers, all of which included much more time off than Gehrig received. -- Cockcroft
My favorite thing about Lou Gehrig is how modest he was about his accomplishments. He once told a reporter: "Why do people make such a fuss about a fellow sticking to a good steady job. I like to play baseball and the Yankees seem to want me in there, so why shouldn't I play every day." -- Simon
Of the top six RBI seasons of all time, Lou Gehrig had three of them. In 1927, hitting behind Babe Ruth, who hit 60 homers that year, Gehrig drove in 175 runs. -- Tim Kurkjian, ESPN senior writer
For more about Lou Gehrig and the 1927 Yankees, check out The Diary of Myles Thomas.