In baseball, nothing kills a rally like an inning-ending double play. Well, this list of the Top 10 active players who hit into double plays does not take the inning-ending variety into account, but it sure does give some insight into who erases base runners. And a lot of these guys are also some of the game’s best sluggers. With that, here we go….
1. Ivan Rodriguez, New York Yankees (284)—What’s most amazing about the fact that Pudge leads everyone in double plays among active players, is the fact that he did it 31 times in 1999. That’s not a record (Jim Rice holds that distinction with 36), but what’s crazy is that is the same year Pudge won the AL MVP with Texas….he hit .332, and had career highs in homers (35), RBI (113), and double plays.
2. Manny Ramirez, Los Angeles Dodgers (229)—The way Manny Being Manny runs to first base most of the time, it’s a wonder he only has 229 of these.
3. Frank Thomas, Oakland Athletics (225)—I guess a lifetime .301 hitter with 521 homers has to hit a few ground balls too. But with 32 career stolen bases, you have to think this dude is also a pretty slow runner.
4. Jeff Kent, Los Angeles Dodgers (224)—It seems like Jeff Kent gets better with age as a hitter, but on top of that he has increased his double play numbers the more his career wears on. He’s also become a bit grumpier.
5. Gary Sheffield, Detroit Tigers (222)—Okay, look back over the first five names on this list. All five are volatile personalities who are also quite bitter. The fact that they top this list might have something to do with that.
6. Vladimir Guerrero, Los Angeles Angels (220)—Of any name on here, Vlad is the first guy I’d welcome on my team, all 220 double plays and all. The guy is just an amazing hitter.
7. Miguel Tejada, Houston Astros (212)—In 144 games this season, Tejada has already tied his own single-season record with 28 double plays. For a guy earning eight figures, that just doesn’t seem right.
8. Luis Gonzalez, Florida Marlins (211)—At 40, Gonzo is slowing down a bit. Still, for a guy who once stole 20 bases in a season and hit .336 in another, 211 double plays is just a tad excessive.
9. Paul Konerko, Chicago White Sox (209)—Forget about Konerko’s double plays for a second. He hit 41 homers in 2004, 40 in 2005, 35 in 2006, 31 in 2007, and in 109 games this year has 16. I’m just sayin’……
10. Edgar Renteria, Detroit Tigers (207)—You’d think a guy with 280 career stolen bases would be hard to double up. That’s what makes this statistic for Edgar a little puzzling.
Source: Baseball Reference
