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baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...
, an assist (denoted by A) is a defensive statistic, baseball being one of the few sports in which the ''defensive'' team controls the ball. An assist is credited to every defensive player who fields or touches the ball (after it has been hit by the batter) prior to the recording of a putout, even if the contact was unintentional. For example, if a ball strikes a player's leg and bounces off him to another fielder, who tags the
baserunner In baseball, base running is the act of running from base to base, performed by members of the team at bat. Base running is a tactical part of the game with the goal of eventually reaching home base (home plate) to score a run. Batters strive t ...
, the first player is credited with an assist. A fielder can receive a maximum of one assist per out recorded. An assist is also credited if a putout would have occurred, had another fielder not committed an error. For example, a shortstop might field a ground ball cleanly, but the first baseman might drop his throw. In this case, an error would be charged to the first baseman, and the shortstop would be credited with an assist. If a
pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or dr ...
records a strikeout where the third strike is caught by the catcher, the pitcher is not credited with an assist. However, if the batter becomes a baserunner on a
dropped third strike In baseball and softball, an uncaught third strike (sometimes referred to as dropped third strike or non-caught third strike) occurs when the catcher fails to cleanly catch a pitch for the third strike of a plate appearance. In Major League Base ...
and the pitcher is involved in recording a putout by fielding the ball and either tagging the runner out or throwing to first base for the out, the pitcher is credited with an assist just as any other fielder would be. Assists are an important statistic for outfielders, as a play often occurs when a baserunner on the opposing team attempts to advance on the basepaths when the ball is hit to the outfield (even on a caught fly ball that results in an out; see tag up). It is the outfielder's job to field the ball and make an accurate throw to another fielder who is covering the base before the runner reaches it. The fielder then attempts to tag the runner out. This is especially important if the runner was trying to reach home plate, as the assist and tag prevent the baserunner from scoring a
run Run(s) or RUN may refer to: Places * Run (island), one of the Banda Islands in Indonesia * Run (stream), a stream in the Dutch province of North Brabant People * Run (rapper), Joseph Simmons, now known as "Reverend Run", from the hip-hop group ...
. Assists are much rarer for outfielders than infielders (with the exception of first basemen) because the play is harder to make, and also because outfielder assist situations occur less often than the traditional ground-ball assist for a shortstop, second baseman, or third baseman. However, as a result, outfield assists are worth far more than infield assists, and tell more about an outfielder's throwing arm than infielder assists do. In recent years, some
sabermetricians Sabermetrics, or originally SABRmetrics, is the empirical analysis of baseball, especially baseball statistics that measure in-game activity. Sabermetricians collect and summarize the relevant data from this in-game activity to answer specific ques ...
have begun referring to assists by outfielders as baserunner kills. Some sabermetricians are also using ''baserunner holds'' as a statistic to measure outfield arms. A baserunner hold occurs when the baserunner does not attempt to advance an extra base on an outfielder out of concern of being thrown out by a strong, accurate throw. This can be combined with baserunner kills for better accuracy, as runners often do not try for an extra base when an outfielder with an excellent arm is playing.


All-time single-season assists leaders by position


First base

# Albert Pujols: 185 ( St. Louis Cardinals, 2009) #
Bill Buckner William Joseph Buckner (December 14, 1949 – May 27, 2019) was an American first baseman and left fielder in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played for five teams from through , most notably the Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers and Boston Red ...
: 184 ( Boston Red Sox, 1985) #
Mark Grace Mark Eugene Grace (born June 28, 1964) is a former Major League Baseball (MLB) first baseman who spent 12 seasons with the Chicago Cubs and three seasons with the Arizona Diamondbacks of the National League (NL). He was a member of the 2001 Wor ...
: 180 ( Chicago Cubs, 1990) #
Mark Grace Mark Eugene Grace (born June 28, 1964) is a former Major League Baseball (MLB) first baseman who spent 12 seasons with the Chicago Cubs and three seasons with the Arizona Diamondbacks of the National League (NL). He was a member of the 2001 Wor ...
: 167 (Chicago Cubs, 1991) # Sid Bream: 166 ( Pittsburgh Pirates, 1986) #
Bill Buckner William Joseph Buckner (December 14, 1949 – May 27, 2019) was an American first baseman and left fielder in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played for five teams from through , most notably the Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers and Boston Red ...
: 161 (Chicago Cubs, 1983) #
Bill Buckner William Joseph Buckner (December 14, 1949 – May 27, 2019) was an American first baseman and left fielder in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played for five teams from through , most notably the Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers and Boston Red ...
: 159 (Chicago Cubs, 1982) #
Bill Buckner William Joseph Buckner (December 14, 1949 – May 27, 2019) was an American first baseman and left fielder in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played for five teams from through , most notably the Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers and Boston Red ...
: 157 (Boston Red Sox, 1986) # Todd Helton: 156 ( Colorado Rockies, 2003) # Mickey Vernon: 155 (
Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central division. Since , they have ...
, 1949) Career # Eddie Murray: 1865 # Todd Helton: 1728 # Jeff Bagwell: 1703 # Keith Hernandez: 1682 #
Mark Grace Mark Eugene Grace (born June 28, 1964) is a former Major League Baseball (MLB) first baseman who spent 12 seasons with the Chicago Cubs and three seasons with the Arizona Diamondbacks of the National League (NL). He was a member of the 2001 Wor ...
: 1665 # George Sisler: 1529 # Mickey Vernon: 1448 #
Fred McGriff Frederick Stanley McGriff (born October 31, 1963) is an American former first baseman in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played for six teams from 1986 through 2004. He was one of the most consistently productive powers hitters of the 1990s, po ...
: 1447 # Albert Pujols: 1429 # Andrés Galarraga: 1376 # Fred Tenney: 1363 #
Bill Buckner William Joseph Buckner (December 14, 1949 – May 27, 2019) was an American first baseman and left fielder in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played for five teams from through , most notably the Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers and Boston Red ...
: 1351 # Jake Beckley: 1315


Second base

# Frankie Frisch: 641 (St. Louis Cardinals, 1927) # Hughie Critz: 588 ( Cincinnati Reds, 1926) # Rogers Hornsby: 582 ( New York Giants, 1927) #
Ski Melillo Oscar Donald "Ski" Melillo (August 4, 1899 – November 14, 1963) was an American second baseman and coach in Major League Baseball. He briefly served as manager of the St. Louis Browns in and was also a member of the coaching staff for the Cle ...
: 572 ( St. Louis Browns, 1930) # Ryne Sandberg: 571 (Chicago Cubs, 1983) #
Rabbit Maranville Walter James Vincent "Rabbit" Maranville (November 11, 1891 – January 6, 1954) was an American professional baseball shortstop, second baseman and manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Braves, Pittsburgh Pirates, C ...
: 568 (Pittsburgh Pirates, 1924) #
Frank Parkinson Frank Parkinson (7 February 1887 – 28 January 1946)J. A. Chartres, 'Parkinson, Frank (1887–1946)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, online edn, Oxford University Press, October 200accessed 23 January 2010/ref> was a British electrica ...
: 562 ( Philadelphia Phillies, 1922) # Tony Cuccinello: 559 (
Boston Braves The Atlanta Braves, a current Major League Baseball franchise, originated in Boston, Massachusetts. This article details the history of the Boston Braves, from 1871 to 1952, after which they moved to Milwaukee, and then to Atlanta. During it ...
, 1936) #
Johnny Hodapp Urban John Hodapp (September 26, 1905 – June 14, 1980) was an American professional baseball player in the 1920s and 1930s, mostly for the Cleveland Indians of Major League Baseball (MLB). He primarily played second base, and was a solid co ...
: 557 (Cleveland Indians, 1930) # Lou Bierbauer: 555 (Pittsburgh Pirates, 1892)


Shortstop

# Ozzie Smith: 621 ( San Diego Padres, 1980) # Glenn Wright: 601 (Pittsburgh Pirates, 1924) # Dave Bancroft: 598 ( Philadelphia Phillies/New York Giants, 1920) #
Tommy Thevenow Thomas Joseph Thevenow (September 6, 1903 – July 29, 1957) was an American professional baseball shortstop. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1924 to 1938 for the St. Louis Cardinals, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates, Cincin ...
:597 (St. Louis Cardinals, 1926) # Iván DeJesús: 595 (Chicago Cubs, 1977) #
Cal Ripken Calvin Edwin Ripken Jr. (born August 24, 1960), nicknamed " The Iron Man", is an American former baseball shortstop and third baseman who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles (1981–2001). One of his pos ...
: 583 ( Baltimore Orioles, 1984) # Whitey Wietelmann: 581 (
Boston Braves The Atlanta Braves, a current Major League Baseball franchise, originated in Boston, Massachusetts. This article details the history of the Boston Braves, from 1871 to 1952, after which they moved to Milwaukee, and then to Atlanta. During it ...
, 1943) # Dave Bancroft: 579 (New York Giants, 1922) #
Rabbit Maranville Walter James Vincent "Rabbit" Maranville (November 11, 1891 – January 6, 1954) was an American professional baseball shortstop, second baseman and manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Braves, Pittsburgh Pirates, C ...
: 574 (Boston Braves, 1914) #
Don Kessinger Donald Eulon Kessinger (born July 17, 1942) is an American former professional baseball player and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a shortstop from to , most prominently as a member of the Chicago Cubs where, he was a six-time ...
: 573 (Chicago Cubs, 1968)


Third base

# Graig Nettles: 412 (Cleveland Indians, 1971) # Graig Nettles: 410 ( New York Yankees, 1973) # Brooks Robinson: 410 (Baltimore Orioles, 1974) # Brooks Robinson: 405 (Baltimore Orioles, 1967) # Harlond Clift: 405 (St. Louis Browns, 1937) # Mike Schmidt: 404 (Philadelphia Phillies, 1974) # Doug DeCinces: 399 ( California Angels, 1982) # Brandon Inge: 398 ( Detroit Tigers, 2006) #
Clete Boyer Cletis Leroy "Clete" Boyer (February 9, 1937 – June 4, 2007) was an American professional baseball third baseman — who occasionally played shortstop and second base — in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City Athletics (1955–57 ...
: 396 (New York Yankees, 1962) # Mike Schmidt: 396 (Philadelphia Phillies, 1977) # Buddy Bell: 396 ( Texas Rangers, 1982)


Catcher

# Bill Rariden: 238 (Newark Peppers ederal League 1915) # Bill Rariden: 215 (Indianapolis Hoosiers ederal League 1914) # Pat Moran: 214 (Boston Beaneaters ational League 1903) #
Oscar Stanage Oscar Harland Stanage (March 17, 1883 – November 11, 1964) was an American baseball catcher. He played professional baseball for 24 years from 1903 to 1926, including 13 seasons in Major League Baseball with the Detroit Tigers. A native of Tu ...
: 212 (Detroit Tigers, 1911) #
Art Wilson Arthur Earl "Dutch" Wilson (December 11, 1885 – June 12, 1960) was an American professional baseball player. He played all or part of fourteen seasons in Major League Baseball, primarily as a catcher. Wilson spent most of his career as a bac ...
: 212 (Chicago Whales ederal League 1914) #
Gabby Street Charles Evard "Gabby" Street (September 30, 1882 – February 6, 1951), also nicknamed "The Old Sarge", was an American catcher, manager, coach, and radio broadcaster in Major League Baseball during the first half of the 20th century. As a cat ...
: 210 ( Washington Senators, 1909) # Frank Snyder:204 (St. Louis Cardinals, 1915) # George Gibson: 203 (Pittsburgh Pirates, 1910) # Bill Bergen: 202 (Brooklyn Superbas, 1909) #
Claude Berry Claude Elzy Berry (February 14, 1880 – February 1, 1974), born in Losantville, Indiana, was a catcher for the Chicago White Sox (1904), Philadelphia Athletics (1906–07) and Pittsburgh Rebels (1914–15). In 5 seasons he played in 245 Games an ...
: 202 (Pittsburgh Rebels ederal League 1914)


Pitcher

# Ed Walsh: 227 ( Chicago White Sox, 1907) # Will White: 223 (Cincinnati Red Stockings
merican Association ''Merican'' is an EP by the American punk rock band the Descendents, released February 10, 2004. It was the band's first release for Fat Wreck Chords and served as a pre-release to their sixth studio album ''Cool to Be You'', released the follo ...
1883) # Ed Walsh: 190 (Chicago White Sox, 1908) # Harry Howell: 178 (St. Louis Browns, 1905) #
Tony Mullane Anthony John Mullane (January 30, 1859 – April 25, 1944), nicknamed "Count" and "The Apollo of the Box", was an Irish Major League Baseball player who pitched for seven teams during his 13-season career. He is best known as an ambidextrous p ...
: 177 (Louisville Eclipse
merican Association ''Merican'' is an EP by the American punk rock band the Descendents, released February 10, 2004. It was the band's first release for Fat Wreck Chords and served as a pre-release to their sixth studio album ''Cool to Be You'', released the follo ...
1882) # John Clarkson: 174 (Chicago White Stockings ational League 1885) # John Clarkson: 172 (Boston Beaneaters ational League 1889) # Jack Chesbro: 166 (New York Highlanders, 1904) # George Mullin: 163 (Detroit Tigers, 1904) # Ed Walsh: 160 (Chicago White Sox, 1911)


Left field

#
Harry Stovey Harry Duffield Stovey (''né'' Stowe; December 20, 1856 – September 20, 1937) was a 19th-century Major League Baseball player and the first player in major league history to hit 100 home runs. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Stovey playe ...
: 38 ( Philadelphia Athletics, 1889) #
Jimmy Sheckard Samuel James Tilden Sheckard (November 23, 1878 – January 15, 1947) was an American left fielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Brooklyn Bridegrooms/Superbas (1897–98, 1900–01, 1902–05), Baltimore Orioles (NL) (1899), Balti ...
: 36 (Brooklyn Superbas, 1903) #
Jimmy Sheckard Samuel James Tilden Sheckard (November 23, 1878 – January 15, 1947) was an American left fielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Brooklyn Bridegrooms/Superbas (1897–98, 1900–01, 1902–05), Baltimore Orioles (NL) (1899), Balti ...
: 32 (Chicago Cubs, 1911) #
Ed Delahanty Edward James Delahanty (October 30, 1867 – July 2, 1903), nicknamed "Big Ed", was an American professional baseball player, who spent his Major League Baseball (MLB) playing career with the Philadelphia Quakers, Cleveland Infants, Philadel ...
: 31 (Philadelphia Phillies, 1893) OTE: Includes 17 games at CF#
Tilly Walker Clarence William "Tilly" Walker (September 4, 1887 – September 21, 1959) was an American professional baseball player. After growing up in Limestone, Tennessee, and attending college locally at Washington College, he entered Major League Base ...
: 30 ( St. Louis Browns, 1914) # Duffy Lewis: 29 (Boston Red Sox, 1913) # Duffy Lewis: 28 (Boston Red Sox, 1910) #
Max Carey Maximillian George Carnarius (January 11, 1890 – May 30, 1976), known as Max George Carey, was an American professional baseball center fielder and manager. Carey played in Major League Baseball for the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1910 through 192 ...
: 27 (Pittsburgh Pirates, 1913) # Duffy Lewis: 27 (Boston Red Sox, 1911) # Bobby Veach: 26 (Detroit Tigers, 1920) #
Goose Goslin Leon Allen "Goose" Goslin (October 16, 1900 – May 15, 1971) was an American professional baseball left fielder. He played in Major League Baseball for the Washington Senators, St. Louis Browns, and Detroit Tigers, from until . Goslin l ...
: 26 (Washington Senators, 1923) # Billy Hamilton: 26 (Philadelphia Phillies, 1890) #
Joe Kelley Joseph James Kelley (December 9, 1871 – August 14, 1943) was an American left fielder in Major League Baseball (MLB) who starred in the outfield of the Baltimore Orioles teams of the 1890s. Making up the nucleus of the Orioles along with J ...
: 26 (Brooklyn Superbas, 1899) #
Jimmy Sheckard Samuel James Tilden Sheckard (November 23, 1878 – January 15, 1947) was an American left fielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Brooklyn Bridegrooms/Superbas (1897–98, 1900–01, 1902–05), Baltimore Orioles (NL) (1899), Balti ...
: 26 (Chicago Cubs, 1912)


Center field

# Hardy Richardson: 45 (Buffalo Bisons, 1881) # Charlie Duffee: 43 (St. Louis Browns, 1889) #
Jim Fogarty James G. Fogarty (February 12, 1864 – May 20, 1891) was an American professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball from 1884 to 1890 for the Philadelphia Quakers and Philadelphia Athletics. An alumnus of Saint Mary's Coll ...
: 42 (Philadelphia Quakers, 1889) # Tom Brown: 39 (Louisville Colonels, 1893) # Tom Brown: 37 (Louisville Colonels, 1892) # Jimmy Ryan: 36 (Chicago White Stockings, 1889)


Right field

# Orator Shafer: 50 (Chicago White Stockings, 1879) # Hugh Nicol: 48 (St. Louis Browns, 1884) # Chuck Klein: 44 (Philadelphia Phillies, 1930) # Tommy McCarthy: 44 (St. Louis Browns, 1888) # Jimmy Bannon: 43 (Boston Beaneaters, 1894) # Orator Shafer: 41 (Buffalo Bisons, 1883) # Jim Lillie: 41 (Buffalo Bisons, 1884) # Mike Mitchell: 39 (Cincinnati Reds, 1907) #
Jim Fogarty James G. Fogarty (February 12, 1864 – May 20, 1891) was an American professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball from 1884 to 1890 for the Philadelphia Quakers and Philadelphia Athletics. An alumnus of Saint Mary's Coll ...
: 39 (Philadelphia Quakers, 1887) # Tommy McCarthy: 38 (St. Louis Browns, 1888) # King Kelly: 38 (Chicago White Stockings, 1883)


References


External links


MLB.com
– MLB Official Rules – The Official Scorer {{DEFAULTSORT:Assist (Baseball) Fielding statistics Assist (sport)