Most Double Plays All Time

Anybody who has ever played baseball on any level knows how devastating it is for the offense when a batter hits into a double play and these players have hit into the most double plays all time in baseball history since records have been kept on this stat.

Image via Wikipedia

The list is loaded with Hall of Fame players mainly because you have to have a long career to make the Hall of Fame and the more at bats you have the more chances you have to hit into a double play. Double plays were not kept as an official stat until 1933 in the National League and 1939 in the American League.

1) Cal Ripken  – 350 Stands 4th all time in at bats and 1st in double plays.

2) Hank Aaron – 328 Stands 2nd all time in both at bats and double plays.

Image via Wikipedia

3) Carl Yastrzemski – 323 Yaz is 3rd all time in at bats and double plays. Was in double digits in double plays for 20 years in his career but hit into only 5 during his 1967 MVP year with the Boston Red Sox.

4) Dave Winfield – 319 Stands 8th all time in at bats.

5) Eddie Murray – 316 Stands 6th all time in at bats.

6) Jim Rice – 315 The first real chronic double play hitter on the list, 112th all time in at bats. Single season leader with 36 double plays hit into in 1984.

7) Julio Franco – 312 Stands 85th on all time at bats list.

Ivan Rodriguez – 306 Pudge is the 1st active player on the list and will move up if he keeps playing.

9) Harold Baines – 298 Stands 28th on all time at bats list.

10) Brooks Robinson – 297 Started many more DP’s than he hit into, 14th all time at bats.

10) Rusty Staub – 297 Stands 32nd all time at bats.

12) Ted Simmons – 287 Stands 84th all time at bats.

13) Joe Torre – 284 Stands 146th all time at bats. Great playoff run as manager making playoffs every year from 1996-2009 with 4 World Series Championships with the New York Yankees but he hit into a lot of double plays per at bat as a player and did win a batting title with the St. Louis Cardinals back in 1971 when he hit .363.

14) George Scott – 277 Played with Rice on 1977 Boston Red Sox team and they combined for a whopping 45 double plays that year.

15) Roberto Clemente – 275 Stands 40th all time at bats.

16) Al Kaline – 271 Stands 22nd all time at bats.

17) Frank Robinson – 269 Stands 24th all time at bats.

18) Tony Perez – 268 Stands 31st all time at bats.

19) Dave Concepcion – 266 Stands 82nd all time at bats.

20) Ernie Lombardi – 261 Has the worst double play percentage all time in major league baseball history and he began playing two years before the National League started recording double plays as a stat. Despite all the double plays he did league the NL twice in batting average in his career and is in the Hall of Fame.

Image via Wikipedia

Would Babe Ruth have made the list if double plays were kept as a stat during his career? In my opinion he would not have been close to making the list. He was a lot faster than people give him credit for as a player and the last year he played baseball in 1935 he hit into 2 double plays in 72 at bats as a 40 year old for the National League Boston Braves. That works out to .0278 double plays per at bat. Even if we use this number despite Ruth’s advanced age and resulting probable lack of speed and multiply by his career at bats, 8398, we end up with 233 double plays which is well short of the top 20.