Jim Edmonds, the best defensive outfielder player ever???

Answer 1

OMG Have you ever heard of Willie Mays? The only reason Willie Mayes doesnt have the most Gold Gloves is because when he started playing the award wasnt invented yet. They had to invent the award just for him. The things we see Edmonds, Hunter and a lot of other outfielders do were patented by Willie Mays already. Willie Mays will always be the greatest and I dont even care if I dont get 10 points. Edmonds is great. He just aint the best.

Answer 2

Jim Edmonds is awesome but the best of all time. There is Willie Mays, Roberto Clemente, Andrew Jones, Torri Hunter and that is just some players that I can think of right off the cuff.

Answer 3

No.

Have you ever heard of Tris Speaker? How about Willie Mays? Let's get a bit more modern. Devon White? Andruw Jones?

Since he is or has played at the same time as the latter two, he's not even the best of his era.

Spectacular catches are generally about having been out of position. That means that the defensive player ISN'T doing a good job.

Yes, Roberto Clemente had an awesome arm. That's why he played RIGHT FIELD, not centre.

Edmonds could be counted as being among the best - of his generation only.

Answer 4

Probably not. Folks who answered before me have listed some other fantastic fielders, several of them better than Edmonds (in my opinion).

An interesting thing to keep in mind about defense...

A player makes a spectacular catch and people are amazed. Another player may have also made the same catch in a less spectacular manner because he better anticipated what was going to happen; his instincts are better. To me the second player is a better defensive player. The objective is to get the out. If you have players who catch the ball and make it seem routine, maybe they are just more in tune with what is happening on the field. Naturally, some plays require an amazing effort, but maybe not as many as some players make us think. :-)

Answer 5

Edmonds is very good defensively, but I think he's a little overrated. He has a tendency to make spectacular catches out of routine fly balls.

If we're talking centerfielders, Willie Mays and Tris Speaker are probably the best. Richie Ashburn and Paul Blair are up there among others. Of current players, I'd rank Andruw Jones, Torii Hunter, and possibly Mike Cameron ahead of Edmonds.

Answer 6

Mays is the Definitive protective Outfielder.My applicable 5 apart from Mays are Garry Maddox-Phillies Paul Blair-Orioles Dwayne Murphy-Athletics Roberto Clemente-Pirates Junior-Mariners

Answer 7

Edmunds is a grreat defensive outfielder but he isnt even the dominant outfielder today, with Tori Hunter and Andruw Jones being his equal. Willie Mays and Roberto Clemente was the best I ever saw, and the things I have read about Tris Speaker has to make me consider him. Great yes, the best no.

Answer 8

No way! If greatness is defined by overexaggerating simple catches, having average outfield range, having an average outfield arm, and hotdogging, then Jim Edmonds is your man. That catch he made while he was with the Angels is the most overrated, overhyped play ever made in baseball. I will say that Edmonds is better than most outfielders TODAY. However, here's a list of outfielders who are much better defensively than Jim Edmonds:

1. Roberto Clemente- He won 12 Gold Gloves (among the most ever), led the NL in outfield assists routinely, and had a cannon for an arm.

2. Willie Mays- Have you ever seen the basket catch he made on Vic Wertz in the 1954 World Series? Keep in mind, the Polo Grounds (the old ballyard the Giants played on in New York before they moved to San Francisco) was 500 feet from home playe to center field. In most ballyards, that's a home run! Mays stalked that shot, caught it with his back towards home, and fired a missle to second base...in one fell swoop!

3. Andruw Jones- While I HIGHLY disagree with the assessment that he is better than Willie Mays defensively, he is much better than Jim Edmonds in center.

4. Curt Flood- Awesome range, awesome arm, defense is overshadowed by defiant stance about getting traded to the Phillies in 1969. A pioneer for the Players Association, and one hell of a defensive standout.

5. Andre Dawson- Before his knees gave out on him, Dawson had outstanding range for a center fielder, and teammed with Ellis Valentine and Warren Cromartie to form one of the best defensive outfields of all-ime with the late 1970s Montreal Expos.

6. Ichiro- How can we forget a man who runs like a gazelle in right field, has a rifle arm, and can make amazing plays? Look for more of the same when he mans center field this season.

7. Garry Maddox- According to Phillies broadcaster Harry Kalas, Two-thirds of the Earth is covered by water. The rest is covered by Garry Maddox." Yep, he was that great!

8. Al Kaline- Vastly underrated as a defensive star. He was Clemente's equal defensively, except for having an above average arm (as opposed to Clemente's cannon).

9.Torii Hunter- Remember that All-Star game catch in 2002?

10 Mike Cameron- Runs like a deer, has a strong arm, even better than Ken Griffey Jr. defensively as the Mariners CF for a few seasons.

While Edmonds is good, he has peers who are much better defensively than him.

Answer 9

Jim Edmonds is a monster out in center field, he catches everything whether its a pop-up or a fully stretched dive. He is a great defensive fielder but i think there are better out there....Roberto Clemente, Andy Van Skye, Willy Mays or even Johnny Damon.

Answer 10

Roberto Clemente and Willie Mays all time.

As of today Torii Hunter hands down. He's won gold gloves in a row