A Brief History of Bay Area MLB Third Basemen
Looking at some of the top third basemen that have played in Oakland and San Francisco
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. . . While many excellent third basemen have taken to the field for the professional teams in the Bay Area, the hot corner has a long history of Bay Area-born players in the majors, dating back to 1882. Twenty-six major leaguers have played third base as their primary position in the majors that were born in the Bay Area. Combined, Bay Area-born 3B have been on seven World Series champions, won an MVP, been selected to 14 All-Star games, and won a Gold Glove award at the position.
Leading Off
A Brief History of Bay Area MLB Third Basemen
By Rich Campbell
A few months ago in this space, we looked at the best shortstops to have played in the Bay Area. This month, with the rumor mill swirling about Matt Chapman potentially joining the Giants and former San Francisco great at third base Matt Williams (as well as a former A’s third base coach) returning to the Orange and Black, it seems like a great time to look back at the best to ever play at the hot corner in Oakland and San Francisco.
The list below is based on the number of games played with the franchises. The WAR (Baseball Reference version) presented is the value accumulated by each player in their time in the A’s/Giants, not their career overall. Let’s get started:
Sal Bando, A’s, 11 seasons, 1468 games, 52.1 WAR, 4.7 WAR per season
“Captain Sal” was a key piece of the A’s dynasty that reeled off three consecutive World Series trophies from 1972 to 1974. He is enshrined in the A’s Hall of Fame and also played five seasons for the Brewers where he later served as general manager.
Bando was a four-time All-Star, who finished top four in MVP voting thrice (second in 1971, fourth in 1973 and third in 1974). His Athletics stats presented above include his first two seasons in Kansas City (1966-67) before the team arrived in Oakland.
In his career, he accumulated 61.6 WAR, which is the 16th-highest total for a third baseman. Bando passed away earlier this year.
Eric Chavez, A’s, 13 seasons, 1320 games, 35.0 WAR, 2.7 WAR per season
Chavez was an incredibly talented player, but injury-prone, as he played over 100 games just once after his age-28 season. While in Oakland (1998-2010) he anchored the Moneyball teams along with MVPs Jason Giambi and Miguel Tejada and is in the Athletics’ Hall of Fame.
He won six Gold Gloves, a Silver Slugger and drove in 100 runs four times in his first eight full seasons, yet he was never named an All-Star. After leaving Oakland, he played for the Yankees and Diamondbacks, finishing his career with 38.3 WAR. He is currently the bench coach for the New York Mets.
Carney Lansford, A’s, 10 seasons, 1203 games, 27.3 WAR, 2.7 WAR per season
Lansford patrolled the hot corner at the Coliseum from 1983-1992 and was a key player in the team’s three straight World Series appearances from 1988-1990. After coming up with Angels and winning a batting title in Boston in 1981, he was acquired in a deal that included Tony Armas heading to Boston. He made one All-Star team in Oakland.
His workman-like attitude and competitiveness made him a favorite of Hall of Fame manager Tony LaRussa. He concluded his playing career with 40.4 WAR. He was a coach for the Giants and Rockies for four seasons and did some TV studio work in retirement.
Pablo Sandoval, Giants, 11 seasons, 1149 games, 20.8 WAR, 1.9 WAR per season
The Panda, forever remembered as a World Series MVP, rounds out the third sackers with 10 years and 1,000 games played in the Bay Area. He starred in his first stint with the Giants (2008-14), winning three World Series and making a pair of All-Star teams, while twice receiving down-the-ballot MVP consideration.
After an ill-fated stint in Boston, he returned as a part-time player for San Francisco in 2017 for three seasons, before finishing his career in Atlanta with a career WAR of 19.0.
Matt Williams, Giants, 10 seasons, 1120 games, 34.1 WAR, 3.4 WAR per season
Williams was a four-time All-Star in San Francisco and won three Gold Gloves and three Silver Sluggers in San Francisco. He also led the National League in homers in 1994. Williams’ playing career with the Giants ended when he was traded in a deal that netted the Giants Jeff Kent after the 1996 season.
After one year in Cleveland that included a Silver Slugger and Gold Glove, he signed with the Diamondbacks where had a top-three MVP finish and All-Star appearance in 1999 and won a World Series in 2001. He finished his career with 46.6 WAR.
After retiring, he managed the Nationals for two seasons, including winning Manager of the Year in 2014. He returns to San Francisco in 2024 as third base coach under former A’s manager Bob Melvin, who he worked for in Oakland in 2018-19 and in San Diego 2022-23.
Jim Ray Hart, Giants, 11 seasons, 1001 games, 25.1 WAR, 2.3 WAR per season
Hart played in San Francisco from 1963-1973, finishing second in Rookie of the Year balloting in 1964 and making the All-Star squad in 1966. Much like Chavez, he was unable to consistently stay on the field as his career progressed. He averaged 152 games in his first five full seasons but only played over 100 games twice after age 26.
He ended his career in New York, playing for the Yankees in his final two seasons. He retired after the 1974 season with 24.9 WAR. He passed away in 2016.
Also considered: two other excellent third basemen have played in Oakland in the last decade, but did not last in the Bay Area as long as those listed above. Matt Chapman played 5 seasons, 573 games, totaling 23.3 WAR with 3 Gold Gloves, plus sixth- and seventh-place MVP finishes. Josh Donaldson was in Oakland 4 seasons, accumulating 15.3 WAR with fourth- and eighth-place finishes in MVP balloting.
Rich Campbell is a Marketing Professor at Sonoma State University by day and A’s fan by night. He has previously been a sports business contributor at Forbes.com and his academic writing has appeared in Sport Marketing Quarterly. You can find him on Twitter @RichCampbelPhD.
Timeless Trivia
The most prolific third-sacker born in the Bay Area made seven All-Star teams and won an MVP. He’s on the “Hall of Very Good” list among third basemen, but when he left the organization that he won an MVP for, it was to open the position for one of the all-time great third basemen in the history of the game. Can you name this player, originally born on Nov. 26, 1916, in San Francisco?
Good stuff Rich!