He doesn’t receive the publicity he deserves — probably because he plays in one of baseball’s smaller markets — but Cleveland’s Jose Ramirez is clearly the best third baseman in the game.
That’s the obvious conclusion from my half-decade rankings of everybody who spent significant time at third during the seasons from 2020 through 2024.
Ramirez hit more homers (145) and drove home more runs (473) than any other third baseman over the five-year period. And his cumulative batting average of .278 was only two points behind the leader in that category, Manny Machado.
But today’s rankings aren’t anchored to any of these well-known stats. They’re determined by overall base value, a measure of a player’s total productivity at the plate.
A positive OBV indicates that a batter reached more bases (through hits, walks, hit batters, stolen bases, and sacrifices) than a typical hitter would have attained under the same circumstances.
The rankings are confined to big leaguers who made at least 1,400 plate appearances between 2020 and 2024 — and who spent more than 50 percent of that time as third basemen.
Ramirez emerges as the clear leader with an OBV of plus-484 for the Guardians. He’s followed by Rafael Devers of the Boston Red Sox at plus-310 and Austin Riley of the Atlanta Braves at plus-267.
Scroll down to see the half-decade’s 10 best third basemen in the OBV rankings. Each is followed by parenthetical stats for 2020-2024 — games, home runs, runs batted in, and batting average — capped by his overall base value.
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1. Jose Ramirez (G 681, HR 145, RBI 473, BA .278) — OBV +484
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2. Rafael Devers (G 645, HR 137, RBI 427, BA .278) — OBV +310
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3. Austin Riley (G 639, HR 135, RBI 380, BA .277) — OBV +267
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4. Manny Machado (G 653, HR 135, RBI 451, BA .280) — OBV +254
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5. Max Muncy (G 546, HR 120, RBI 343, BA .218) — OBV +228
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6. Alex Bregman (G 594, HR 92, RBI 343, BA .261) — OBV +149
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7. Matt Chapman (G 637, HR 108, RBI 305, BA .232) — OBV +112
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8. Nolan Arenado (G 649, HR 114, RBI 398, BA .270) — OBV +102
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9. Eugenio Suarez (G 672, HR 129, RBI 401, BA .229) — OBV +85
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10. Isaac Paredes (G 464, HR 72, RBI 234, BA .232) — OBV +53
