Juan Soto won't turn 22 until later this month, but it's not too early to start projecting him as a potential Hall of Famer.
Before his 22nd birthday, the man affectionally referred to as "Childish Bambino" has racked up 69 home runs, 217 RBIs and a 10.9 fWAR, all while slashing .295/.415/.557.
He also had a pretty incredible postseason run in 2019, homering off of Clayton Kershaw, Justin Verlander, Gerrit Cole and Hyun-jin Ryu, as the Nationals won their first World Series title in franchise history.
You don't want to get too carried away about a player that's only played in 313 career games, but the raw power that Soto possess reminds you of the man that's No. 1 on this list.
If Soto wants to eventually appear on a list like this, he'll have to top at least one of the nine left fielders that RADIO.COM Sports has deemed as the greatest in the history of the position:
9. Goose Goslin - Washington Senators, St. Louis Browns & Detroit Tigers (1921-1938)
Goose Goslin is one of the most underrated players in MLB history.(Library of Congress)Best Season: 1928 - .379/.442/.614 with 17 home runs, 102 RBIs, 48 walks, 1.056 OPS, 6.7 offensive WAR, 0.2 defensive WAR and 7.5 bWAR
Career Summary: .316/.387/.500 with 248 home runs, 1,612 RBIs, 2,735 hits, 949 walks, .887 OPS, 128 OPS+, 61.7 offensive WAR, -4.7 defensive WAR and 66.2 bWAR
One of the more underrated players in MLB history, Goslin won a batting title in 1928, while leading the league in triples twice and RBIs once. When you consider that his peak coincided with the time that Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and Jimmie Foxx were peaking, him leading the league in any offensive categories gives you an idea of how complete of a hitter he was.
8. Tim Raines - Montreal Expos, Chicago White Sox, New York Yankees, Oakland Athletics, Baltimore Orioles and Florida Marlins (1979-1999; 2001-2002)
Tim Raines was one of the last great Expos.(Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)Best Season: 1985 - .320/.405/.475 with 11 home runs, 41 RBIs, 81 walks, .880 OPS, 6.7 offensive WAR, 0.2 defensive WAR and 7.6 bWAR
Career Summary: .294/.385/.425 with 170 home runs, 980 RBIs, 2,605 hits, 1,330 walks, .810 OPS, 123 OPS+, 69.3 offensive WAR, -8.6 defensive WAR and 69.4 bWAR
Considered to be one of the greatest leadoff hitters in MLB history, Raines won a batting title, and led baseball in stolen bases on four different occasions. A seven-time All-Star, Raines also led baseball in on-base percentage, doubles and runs scored at least once. A 2017 inductee to the Baseball Hall of Fame, Raines holds the distinction of being the third and final player to go in as a member of the Montreal Expos.
7. Manny Ramirez - Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago White Sox & Tampa Bay Rays (1993-2011)
Manny Ramirez is one of the most popular players in MLB history.(Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)Best Season: 2002 - .349/.450/.647 with 33 home runs, 107 RBIs, 73 walks, 1.097 OPS, 6.0 offensive WAR, -0.6 defensive WAR and 6.0 bWAR
Career Summary: .312/.411/.585 with 555 home runs, 1,831 RBIs, 2,574 hits, 1,329 walks, .996 OPS, 154 OPS+, 81.8 offensive WAR, -21.7 defensive WAR and 69.3 bWAR
Ramirez's most complete offensive season actually came in 1999 when he hit .333 and drove in a staggering 165 runs for the Cleveland Indians, but he was a right fielder at that time. Though not without drama, Ramirez helped lead the Red Sox to World Series titles in 2004 and 2007 as a left fielder, with the organization not having won a World Series since 1918 prior to his arrival. Ramirez also had great postseason moments with the Indians and Los Angeles Dodgers, and has an MLB record 29 career postseason home runs, making him one of the great playoff performers in the history of the sport.
6. Ed Delahanty - Philadelphia Quakers, Cleveland Infants, Philadelphia Phillies & Washington Senators (1888-1903)
Ed Delahanty is one of the great left fielders in baseball history.(Wikimedia Commons)Best Season: 1899 - .410/.464/.582 with nine home runs, 137 RBIs, 55 walks, 1.046 OPS, 7.7 offensive WAR, -0.5 defensive WAR and 8.0 bWAR
Career Summary: .346/.411/.505 with 101 home runs, 1,466 RBIs, 2,597 hits, 742 walks, .917 OPS, 152 OPS+, 69.2 offensive WAR, -5.4 defensive WAR and 69.6 bWAR
Delahanty played for teams nicknamed "Quakers" and "Infants," and that's still hardly the most notable thing about his career. "Big Ed" was a career .346 hitter, who won two batting titles and also led baseball in doubles, RBIs, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, OPS and OPS+ on multiple occasions. Delahanty "only" homered 101 times in his career, but that's simply a product of the era he played in. He was the league leader in home runs on two separate occasions, so had he played in a different time, he very well could have put up prolific power numbers as well.
5. Al Simmons - Philadelphia Athletics, Chicago White Sox, Detroit Tigers, Washington Senators, Boston Bees, Cincinnati Reds & Boston Red Sox (1924-1941; 1943-1944)
Al Simmons is one of the greatest left fielders of all time.(Goudey/Wikimedia Commons)Best Season: 1930 - .381/.423/.708 with 36 home runs, 165 RBIs, 39 walks, 1.130 OPS, 7.4 offensive WAR, -0.2 defensive WAR and 7.8 bWAR
Career Summary: .334/.380/.535 with 307 home runs, 1,828 RBIs, 2,927 hits, 615 walks, .915 OPS, 133 OPS+, 62.0 offensive WAR, -1.1 defensive WAR and 68.0 bWAR
Simmons was a part of some incredible Philadelphia A's teams in the late 1920s, ones that featured Ty Cobb, Lefty Grove and Mickey Cochrane, among other Hall of Famers, and were managed by Connie Mack. A two-time batting champion, Simmons hit 307 career home runs and drove in 100 or more runs on 12 different occasions. Like Ramirez, Simmons is one of the greatest hitters in postseason history, having hit .329 with six home runs and 17 RBIs in 73 career at-bats in October.
4. Rickey Henderson - Oakland Athletics, New York Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays, San Diego Padres, Anaheim Angels, New York Mets, Seattle Mariners, Boston Red Sox & Los Angeles Dodgers (1979-2003)
Rickey Henderson is the greatest basestealer in MLB history.(Otto Greule Jr/Allsport/Getty Images)Best Season: .314/.419/.516 with 24 home runs, 72 RBIs, 99 walks, .934 OPS, 8.6 offensive WAR, 1.5 defensive WAR and 9.9 bWAR
Career Summary: .279/.401/.419 with 297 home runs, 1,115 RBIs, 3,055 hits, 2,190 walks, .820 OPS, 127 OPS+, 105.2 offensive WAR, -2.3 defensive WAR and 111.2 bWAR
The greatest basestealer in MLB history, Henderson led baseball in stolen bases in 11 different seasons, and racked up a staggering 1,406 in his career. An on-base machine, Henderson led baseball in walks four different times and finished his career with a .401 on-base percentage. A huge part of Henderson's legacy is his tremendous longevity, as he played in 25 different seasons during his illustrious career.
3. Carl Yastrzemski - Boston Red Sox (1961-1983)
Carl Yastrzemski spent his entire career with the Red Sox.(Steven Carter/Wikimedia Commons)Best Season: 1967 - .326/.418/.622 with 44 home runs, 121 RBIs, 91 walks, 1.040 OPS, 9.9 offensive WAR, 1.7 defensive WAR and 12.5 bWAR
Career Summary: .285/.379/.462 with 452 home runs, 1,844 RBIs, 3,419 hits, 1,845 walks, .841 OPS, 130 OPS+, 78.2 offensive WAR, 1.0 defensive WAR and 96.4 bWAR
There's a reason "Yaz" was so beloved at "Cheers." An 18-time All-Star, Yastrzemski led baseball in hits, runs scored, walks, doubles, batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, OPS and OPS+ two or more times. He's not the greatest Red Sox ever - or even on this list - but Yastrzemski put together one of the most prolific careers in MLB history for one of baseball's most successful franchises ever.
2. Ted Williams - Boston Red Sox (1939-1942; 1946-1960)
Ted Williams is one of the greatest hitters in MLB history.(Getty Images)Best Season: 1941: .406/.553/.735 with 37 home runs, 120 RBIs, 147 walks, 1.287 OPS, 10.7 offensive WAR, -0.9 defensive WAR and 10.4 bWAR
Career Summary: .344/.482/.634 with 521 home runs, 1,839 RBIs, 2,654 hits, 2,021 walks, 1.116 OPS, 191 OPS+, 125.1 offensive WAR, -13.3 defensive WAR and 121.9 bWAR
Williams said it was his dream to be seen as "the greatest hitter who ever lived," and well, there are some that would tell you he achieved his goal. Williams remains the last hitter to hit .400 or higher in a single season, he's baseball's all-time leader in on-base percentage and he slugged 521 home runs during his Hall of Fame career. The most remarkable part of William's legacy is imagining how his career numbers would look if he didn't lose out his age-24-26 seasons because of his service in World War II.
1. Barry Bonds - Pittsburgh Pirates, San Francisco Giants (1986-2007)
Barry Bonds is baseball's Home Run King.(Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images)Best Season: 2001 - .328/.515/.863 with 73 home runs, 137 RBIs, 177 walks, 1.379 OPS, 12.4 offensive WAR, -1.2 defensive WAR and 11.9 bWAR
Career Summary: .298/.444/.607 with 762 home runs, 1,996 RBIs, 2,935 hits, 2,558 walks, 1.051 OPS, 182 OPS+, 143.6 offensive WAR, 7.6 defensive WAR and 162.8 bWAR
Arguably the most accomplished individual player in the history of the sport, Bonds won a record seven MVP Awards, and is baseball's single-season and all-time home run leader. While most remember him hitting home runs at a never-before-seen rate in the second half of his career, Bonds also won eight Gold Glove Awards and stole 514 bases during a peak that needs a new adjective to describe it.
Other Entries in This Series
- Rankings The Nine Greatest Catchers in MLB History
- Ranking The Nine Greatest First Basemen in MLB History
- Ranking The Nine Greatest Second Basemen in MLB History
- Ranking The Nine Greatest Shortstops in MLB History
- Ranking The Nine Greatest Third Basemen in MLB History
- Ranking The Nine Greatest Center Fielders in MLB History
- Ranking The Nine Greatest Right Fielders in MLB History
- Ranking The Nine Greatest Left-Handed Hitters in MLB History
- Ranking The Nine Greatest Right-Handed Hitters in MLB History
- Ranking The Nine Greatest Switch Hitters in MLB History
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