If you walk into a bar in St. Louis and say Rogers Hornsby wasn’t the best to ever do it, you might not make it to the parking lot. Try the same thing in Cincinnati with Joe Morgan. Or Philadelphia with Eddie Collins. It's a mess.
Honestly, the debate over the greatest second baseman of all time is probably the most polarized in baseball history because the candidates are so fundamentally different. You’ve got dead-ball era wizards, mid-century power-speed freaks, and modern-day grinders.
There is no consensus. There never will be.
The Case for the "Rajah" and Pure Hitting
Rogers Hornsby was, quite frankly, a hitting machine that happened to play second base. If we’re just looking at the back of a baseball card, nobody touches him. Between 1921 and 1925, the man averaged .402. Let that sink in for a second. That isn't a typo. He hit over .400 for a five-year stretch.
He won two Triple Crowns. He led the league in OPS eleven times. Basically, he was Babe Ruth without the home run totals but with a way better batting average.
But here’s the rub. Hornsby was... well, he was kind of a jerk. He was also notoriously mediocre with the glove. Sabermetrics like Total Zone and dWAR (Defensive Wins Above Replacement) suggest he wasn't exactly a vacuum at second. If you believe the greatest second baseman of all time has to be a complete player, Hornsby’s defensive lapses might be a dealbreaker for you.
- Career Average: .358 (Highest for any right-handed hitter ever)
- Best Season: 1924, where he hit .424
- The Flaw: Total lack of speed on the bases and questionable range
Joe Morgan and the "Big Red Machine"
Now, if you value "winning" and "doing everything," Joe Morgan is your guy. Bill James, the godfather of modern baseball analytics, famously ranked Morgan as the #1 second baseman ever.
Why? Because Morgan was a nightmare for the opposition in ways that didn't always show up in the box score—until we started counting them.
Morgan didn’t just hit; he walked. He walked 1,865 times. He stole 689 bases. During his peak with the Cincinnati Reds in the mid-70s, he won back-to-back MVPs. He was the engine of a team that many consider the best of the modern era.
He was short. Only 5'7". But he played like he was 6'4".
When people argue for Morgan, they’re arguing for the "Five Tool" player. He won five Gold Gloves. He had power (268 career homers). He had elite speed. If you’re building a team from scratch, you probably pick Morgan over Hornsby because he doesn't have a single weakness.
The Forgotten Genius: Eddie Collins
Most casual fans have never heard of Eddie Collins. That's a shame.
Collins played for 25 seasons. He has 3,315 hits. He stole 744 bases. If you look at JAWS (Jaffe War Score), which is a metric used to compare Hall of Famers, Collins often sits right at the top.
He was the "brainy" player. He survived the Black Sox scandal with his reputation intact and continued to dominate well into his 40s. He’s the only person to ever play for two different dynasties: the 1910-14 Philadelphia Athletics "Million Dollar Infield" and the 1917 White Sox.
Collins is the high-floor, high-ceiling pick. He didn't have the insane peaks of Hornsby or Morgan, but he was elite for a quarter of a century. That kind of longevity is basically impossible to replicate today.
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Why modern players struggle to enter the conversation
We have to talk about Robinson Canó and Jose Altuve.
Canó had the prettiest swing I’ve ever seen. For a decade, he looked like he was going to sleepwalk into 3,000 hits and the Hall of Fame. Then came the PED suspensions. In the eyes of many voters and historians, that disqualifies him from being the greatest second baseman of all time. It’s a "what if" that will haunt Yankee and Mariner fans forever.
Then there’s Jose Altuve.
Love him or hate him because of the 2017 Astros scandal, his numbers are becoming undeniable. He’s a hitting machine. He’s got the postseason pedigree (his postseason home run count is second only to Manny Ramirez). But even with all those accolades, he’s still chasing the "Mount Rushmore" of the position.
A Quick Comparison of the "Big Three"
- Rogers Hornsby: 127.3 WAR. The greatest hitter to ever play the position. Period.
- Eddie Collins: 124.4 WAR. The master of longevity and high-IQ baseball.
- Joe Morgan: 100.4 WAR. The most versatile, dynamic force of the 20th century.
Notice the gap? Sabermetrics love Hornsby and Collins. But a lot of old-school scouts will tell you that the game was so different in 1920 that those numbers are inflated. They’ll point to Morgan playing in the 70s against specialized relievers and better athletes.
The Jackie Robinson Factor
You cannot talk about this position without Jackie.
If we’re talking about "greatest" in terms of impact, it’s Jackie Robinson and then everyone else. But even on a pure statistical level, Jackie was terrifying. He didn't start his MLB career until he was 28 because of the color barrier.
Think about that.
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If he starts at 21, he probably finishes with 3,000 hits and 100+ WAR. In his short 10-season career, he won a Rookie of the Year, an MVP, and a batting title. He was the most aggressive baserunner of his generation. He stole home 19 times.
He didn't have the "counting stats" of the others, but he had the highest peak of almost anyone on this list.
Who is actually the winner?
It depends on what you value.
If you want a guy who will hit .400 and drive in 150 runs, it's Rogers Hornsby. If you want a guy who will never make a mistake, steal 50 bases, and win a Gold Glove, it's Joe Morgan.
Personally? I think the title of greatest second baseman of all time belongs to Joe Morgan.
Baseball is a game of 27 outs. Morgan was the best at "not making an out." His on-base percentage was astronomical, and once he was on base, he was the most disruptive force in the stadium. He transformed the Cincinnati Reds from a good team into a legendary one.
Actionable Insights for Fans and Collectors
If you're looking to dive deeper into the history of these legends or start a collection, keep these things in mind:
- Study the "JAWS" metric: Use Baseball-Reference to look up JAWS. It's the best way to see how a player's peak seven years compare to their total career.
- Watch the footage: There is plenty of Joe Morgan footage on YouTube. Watch how he flapped his back arm during his stance—it's iconic.
- Look beyond the "Big Three": Don't sleep on Nap Lajoie or Charlie Gehringer. Lajoie was so popular in Cleveland that the team was actually named the "Cleveland Naps" for over a decade.
- Check out local museums: If you're ever in St. Louis or Cincinnati, the team Hall of Fames provide context that a stat sheet simply cannot.
The debate won't end today. It won't end tomorrow. But understanding the nuance between Hornsby's bat and Morgan's legs is what makes being a baseball fan actually fun.