Best First Basemen in MLB History

All-Time Leaders by Games Played at First Base

First base has historically been home to some of baseball's most feared power hitters. The all-time leaders by games played at first base represent over a century of MLB's premier offensive talents, from the Dead Ball Era sluggers through today's modern power hitters. This leaderboard covers all of Major League Baseball history from 1871 through 2026. Eddie Murray has played more games at first base than anyone in MLB history with 2413 career appearances at the position.

ALL-TIME TOP 3

#1

First Base

Eddie Murray

2413 games at 1B

1977-1997

504 career HR

#2

First Base

Jake Beckley

2383 games at 1B

1888-1907

87 career HR

#3

First Base

Fred McGriff

2239 games at 1B

1986-2004

493 career HR

Top 10 at First Base

By career games played at this position. Click a bar to view the player.

FULL RANKINGS – TOP 100

Best First Basemen in MLB History — FULL RANKINGS – TOP 100
Rank Player Games at 1B Years Active Career G H HR AVG
1 Eddie Murray 2413 1977-1997 3026 3255 504 0.287
2 Jake Beckley 2383 1888-1907 2392 2938 87 0.308
3 Fred McGriff 2239 1986-2004 2460 2490 493 0.284
4 Mickey Vernon 2237 1939-1960 2409 2495 172 0.286
5 Todd Helton 2178 1997-2013 2247 2519 369 0.316
6 Mark Grace 2162 1988-2003 2245 2445 173 0.303
7 Cap Anson 2152 1871-1897 2524 3435 97 0.334
8 Freddie Freeman 2152 2010-2026 2332 2598 383 0.299
9 Rafael Palmeiro 2139 1986-2005 2831 3020 569 0.288
10 Lou Gehrig 2135 1923-1939 2164 2721 493 0.340
11 Charlie Grimm 2127 1916-1936 2166 2299 79 0.290
12 Jeff Bagwell 2111 1991-2005 2150 2314 449 0.297
13 Andres Galarraga 2106 1985-2004 2257 2333 399 0.288
14 Joe Judge 2085 1915-1934 2171 2352 71 0.298
15 Ed Konetchy 2074 1907-1921 2085 2150 74 0.281
16 Steve Garvey 2057 1969-1987 2332 2599 272 0.294
17 Joe Kuhel 2057 1930-1947 2104 2212 131 0.277
18 John Olerud 2053 1989-2005 2234 2239 255 0.295
19 Willie McCovey 2045 1959-1980 2588 2211 521 0.270
20 Albert Pujols 2026 2001-2022 3080 3384 703 0.296
21 Keith Hernandez 2012 1974-1990 2088 2182 162 0.296
22 Jake Daubert 2000 1910-1924 2014 2326 56 0.303
23 Stuffy McInnis 1996 1909-1927 2128 2405 20 0.307
24 Paul Goldschmidt 1984 2011-2026 2179 2277 390 0.286
25 George Sisler 1972 1915-1930 2055 2812 102 0.340
26 Joey Votto 1970 2007-2023 2056 2135 356 0.294
27 Chris Chambliss 1962 1971-1988 2175 2109 185 0.279
28 Norm Cash 1944 1958-1974 2089 1820 377 0.271
29 Jimmie Foxx 1918 1925-1945 2317 2646 534 0.325
30 Wally Joyner 1913 1986-2001 2033 2060 204 0.289
31 Gil Hodges 1908 1943-1963 2071 1921 370 0.273
32 Paul Konerko 1904 1997-2014 2349 2340 439 0.279
33 Derrek Lee 1901 1997-2011 1942 1959 331 0.281
34 Will Clark 1888 1986-2000 1976 2176 284 0.303
35 Jim Bottomley 1885 1922-1937 1991 2313 219 0.310
36 Tino Martinez 1871 1990-2005 2023 1925 339 0.271
37 Adrian Gonzalez 1836 2004-2018 1929 2050 317 0.287
38 Wally Pipp 1818 1913-1928 1872 1941 90 0.281
39 Hal Chase 1814 1905-1919 1919 2158 57 0.291
40 Fred Tenney 1811 1894-1911 1994 2231 22 0.294
41 Tony Perez 1776 1964-1986 2777 2732 379 0.279
42 George Scott 1773 1966-1979 2034 1992 271 0.268
43 Mark Teixeira 1769 2003-2016 1862 1862 409 0.268
44 Carlos Delgado 1767 1993-2009 2035 2038 473 0.280
45 Mark McGwire 1763 1986-2001 1874 1626 583 0.263
46 Roger Connor 1759 1880-1897 1998 2467 138 0.316
47 Anthony Rizzo 1699 2011-2024 1727 1644 303 0.261
48 Eric Karros 1698 1991-2004 1755 1724 284 0.268
49 Orlando Cepeda 1683 1958-1974 2124 2351 379 0.297
50 George Burns 1673 1914-1929 1866 2018 72 0.307
51 Tommy Tucker 1670 1887-1899 1688 1882 42 0.290
52 Johnny Mize 1668 1936-1953 1884 2011 359 0.312
53 J. T. Snow 1656 1992-2008 1716 1509 189 0.268
54 Dan Brouthers 1636 1879-1904 1676 2303 107 0.342
55 Don Mattingly 1635 1982-1995 1785 2153 222 0.307
56 Harry Davis 1629 1895-1917 1755 1841 75 0.277
57 Eric Hosmer 1622 2011-2023 1689 1753 198 0.276
58 Kent Hrbek 1609 1981-1994 1747 1749 293 0.282
59 Bill Terry 1578 1923-1936 1721 2193 154 0.341
60 Lu Blue 1568 1921-1933 1615 1696 44 0.287
61 Bill Buckner 1556 1969-1990 2517 2715 174 0.289
62 Fred Merkle 1550 1907-1926 1638 1580 61 0.273
63 George McQuinn 1529 1936-1948 1550 1588 135 0.276
64 Lee May 1504 1965-1982 2071 2031 354 0.267
65 Joe Adcock 1496 1950-1966 1959 1832 336 0.277
66 Carlos Santana 1485 2010-2026 2212 1882 335 0.240
67 Boog Powell 1480 1961-1977 2042 1776 339 0.266
68 Ted Kluszewski 1479 1947-1961 1718 1766 279 0.298
69 John Mayberry 1478 1968-1982 1620 1379 255 0.253
70 Ryan Howard 1477 2004-2016 1572 1475 382 0.258
71 Bill White 1476 1956-1969 1673 1706 202 0.286
72 Dolph Camilli 1475 1933-1945 1490 1482 239 0.277
73 Cecil Cooper 1475 1971-1987 1896 2192 241 0.298
74 Adam LaRoche 1468 2004-2015 1605 1452 255 0.260
75 Bill Skowron 1463 1954-1967 1658 1566 211 0.282
76 Frank McCormick 1448 1934-1948 1534 1711 128 0.299
77 Lyle Overbay 1435 2001-2014 1587 1355 151 0.266
78 Earl Torgeson 1417 1947-1961 1668 1318 149 0.265
79 Gus Suhr 1407 1930-1940 1435 1446 84 0.279
80 James Loney 1392 2006-2016 1443 1425 108 0.284
81 Elbie Fletcher 1380 1934-1949 1415 1323 79 0.271
82 Dan Driessen 1379 1973-1987 1732 1464 153 0.267
83 Carlos Peña 1379 2001-2014 1493 1146 286 0.232
84 Mike Hargrove 1378 1974-1985 1666 1614 80 0.290
85 Dan McGann 1377 1896-1908 1437 1482 42 0.284
86 Pete O'Brien 1374 1982-1993 1567 1421 169 0.261
87 George Kelly 1373 1915-1932 1622 1778 148 0.297
88 Charlie Comiskey 1363 1882-1894 1390 1529 28 0.264
89 Fred Luderus 1326 1909-1920 1346 1344 84 0.277
90 Prince Fielder 1324 2005-2016 1611 1645 319 0.283
91 Justin Morneau 1324 2003-2016 1545 1603 247 0.281
92 Hal Trosky 1320 1933-1946 1347 1561 228 0.302
93 Jason Thompson 1314 1976-1986 1418 1253 208 0.261
94 Sean Casey 1313 1997-2008 1405 1531 130 0.302
95 Jack Fournier 1313 1912-1927 1530 1631 136 0.313
96 Jason Giambi 1307 1995-2014 2260 2010 440 0.277
97 Vic Power 1306 1954-1965 1627 1716 126 0.284
98 Mo Vaughn 1305 1991-2003 1512 1620 328 0.293
99 Ed Kranepool 1302 1962-1979 1853 1418 118 0.261
100 Kitty Bransfield 1291 1898-1911 1330 1351 13 0.270

Reading the first base games leaderboard

Of Eddie Murray's 3026 career games, 2413 came at first base, the most of anyone. The list runs 100 deep; the last spot belongs to Kitty Bransfield with 1291 games. The rows stretch from Cap Anson, active 1871-1897, to Paul Goldschmidt, active 2011-2026. Among the top 25, George Sisler has the best career average, 0.340. Albert Pujols has the most home runs in that group, 703. Some of the leaders spent nearly all of their careers at first base, among them Jake Beckley, Fred McGriff, Mickey Vernon, and Todd Helton. Games at a position come from the appearance records, so a player who moved around the field counts only the games actually played at first base.

BROWSE BY POSITION

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RELATED LEADERBOARDS

Career Home Runs → Career Batting Average → Single-Season HR → PIV Career Leaders → Career RBI → Career ERA →

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Who has played the most games as a First Base in MLB history?

Eddie Murray holds the all-time record with 2413 games played at First Base during a career spanning 1977-1997. Jake Beckley (2383) and Fred McGriff (2239) rank second and third all-time.

What makes a great first baseman in baseball?

First basemen are evaluated primarily on offense, as the position carries fewer defensive demands than other infield spots. Power hitting (home runs, RBI), a high on-base percentage, and consistent contact define great first basemen throughout history.

How far back does this historical data go?

Baseball Data Hub covers Major League Baseball history from 1871 through 2026, drawing on the Lahman Baseball Database and supplemental data sources. This includes the National League (founded 1876), American League (founded 1901), and other recognized major leagues. Negro Leagues statistics are tracked and reported separately.

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