Happy Birthday to one of the greatest Third Baseman of all time, Hall of Famer George Brett. In his twenty-one-year career, he accomplished quite a bit, all done in a Kansas City Royals uniform.

Career Statistics: (1973-1993)

.305 BA, 3,154 HITS, 317 HR, 1,596 RBI, 1,583 RUNS, .369 OBP

  • 13x All-Star
  • 3x Batting Champion
  • 1980 MVP
  • 3x Silver Slugger
  • 1985 World Series Champion
  • 1985 Gold Glove

George Brett was initially sought as a Shortstop. However, defensive struggles to his right side caused the Royals to move him to Third Base, where he had a strong throwing arm. Earlier in his career, Brett was a contact hitter with little power but was a terrific baserunner who led the league in Triples three times. However, he would eventually develop some power as he’d go on to have seasons in which he homered over 20 times while driving in 100 or more runs. Brett’s best season would be in 1980, his MVP season.

.390 BA, 175 HITS, 24 HR, 118 RBI, 87 RUNS, .369 OBP (117 Games)

He was close to becoming the first player since Ted Williams in 1941 to bat over .400. The games he missed that season could’ve played a role in Brett failing to accomplish that feat. Had Brett played the 162-game season, he would have been on pace for 242 HITS, 120 RUNS, 33 Home Runs, and 163 Runs Batted In. During his prime years, Brett had nine of them in which he missed significant time due to Injuries. He could’ve and would’ve put up better numbers and probably more Silver Sluggers and Gold Gloves. 

Overall, it’s even sweeter that George Brett spent his entire career with one team, the Royals. Is Brett on the Top-10 Third Baseman list of all time? Yes, he’s in the Top-5 for sure. 

References:

  1. George Brett Career Statistics via Baseball-Reference: https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/brettge01.shtml
  2. George Brett via Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Brett