This is the kind of baseball list that is always going to be arguable. The nine guys I’ve chosen, based only upon data from their first full rookie seasons, and not always relying upon the highest rookie BA stats as the bottom line on my choices, just happen to be my list of rookie picks.
Who are your all time rookie picks by the 9 starting positions in the field? I ventured no guess on my all time favorite DH – simply because I do not have one,
As straghtfoward and unimportant as they are, here are my …
ALL ROOKIE STARTERS
| ROOKIE | POSITION | TEAM | YEAR | GAMES | AB | H | HR | OBP | BA |
| Mike Piazza | Catcher | Dodgers | 1993 | 149 | 547 | 174 | 35 | .370 | .318 |
| Albert Pujols | 1st base | Cardinals | 2001 | 161 | 590 | 194 | 37 | .403 | .329 |
| Napoleon Lajoie | 2nd Base | Athletics | 1897 | 127 | 545 | 197 | 9 | .392 | .361 |
| RonSanto | 3rd Base | Cubs | 1961 | 154 | 578 | 164 | 23 | .362 | .284 |
| DerekJeter | Shortstop | Yankees | 1996 | 157 | 582 | 183 | 10 | .370 | .314 |
| Ted Williams | Left Field | Red Sox | 1939 | 149 | 565 | 185 | 31 | .436 | .327 |
| Joe DiMaggio | Center Field | Yankees | 1936 | 138 | 637 | 206 | 29 | .352 | .323 |
| StanMusial | RightField | Cardinals | 1942 | 140 | 467 | 147 | 10 | .397 | .315 |
| ROOKIE STARTER | ERA | TEAM | YEAR | WON | LOST | W% | CG | SO | BB |
| Mark Fidrych | 2.34 | Tigers | 1976 | 19 | 9 | .679 | 24 | 97 | 53 |

May 12, 2014 at 9:57 pm |
Going by BB-Reference.com’s WAR (and leaving out the Federal League), it would be:
1B Dave Orr 1884
2B Cupid Childs 1890 (or if you want to leave out the weak AA of that year, Lou Klein 1943; Lajoie didn’t qualify as a rookie in 1897 by current standards. He’d beat out Childs.)
SS Bobby Grich 1972, Donie Bush 1909
3B Dick Allen 1964
LF Mitchell Page 1977, Frank Robinson 1956 (Ted Williams played RF as a rookie)
CF Fred Lynn 1975
RF Joe Jackson 1911
C Carlton Fisk 1972
P Kid Nichols 1890