No one loves a good debate quite like baseball fans, and with that in mind, we asked each of our beat reporters to rank the top five players by position in the history of their franchise, based on their career while playing for that club. These rankings are for fun and debate purposes only.
Here is MLB.com’s ranking of the top 5 third basemen in Guardians history.
1. José Ramírez, 2013-present
Key fact: Leads Cleveland third baseman in bWAR, hits and home runs
Ramírez will go down as one of the best players to don a Cleveland uniform. He’s already made his way up myriad all-time franchise leaderboards in his decorated career with the club.
Among Cleveland third basemen (through 2025), Ramírez ranked first in bWAR (57.6), hits (1,668), doubles (398), homers (285), RBIs (949), stolen bases (287) and slugging percentage (.504). Among all Cleveland hitters, Ramírez sat first in extra-base hits (726), and second in homers, RBIs (only trailing Earl Averill’s 1,084) and steals (trailing Kenny Lofton’s 452).
Over his first 13 seasons, Ramírez earned seven All-Star Game nods and six Silver Slugger Awards. He finished in the Top 10 of AL MVP Award voting eight times, which included six Top 5 finishes and four in the Top 3. In 2025, he became the first Cleveland player with 250 homers and 250 stolen bases, and he entered ‘26 on the precipice of joining the Majors’ exclusive 300-300 club.
Simply put: Over the past decade-plus, we’ve had a front-row seat to the career of a player who will end up in Cooperstown one day.
2. Al Rosen, 1947-56
Key fact: The last Guardians player to win an American League MVP Award
Three letters that forever accompany Rosen’s name make him a worthy selection for second on this list: MVP.
In 1953, Rosen won the American League MVP Award and still stands as the club’s most recent recipient. That season, he led the AL in homers (43) and OPS (1.034), and he led the Majors in RBIs (145). In 10 seasons (just seven full seasons), Rosen was a four-time All-Star with six 20-plus homer seasons, and he ranks second among Cleveland third basemen with 192 homers. Rosen’s career .879 OPS ranks first.
"He was an inspiration to us all and had a special presence, strength and intellect," former Cleveland team president Mark Shapiro said in a statement after Rosen’s death in 2015. "His fierce competitive nature and toughness was legendary."
3. Ken Keltner, 1937-49
Key fact: Made two difficult, backhanded plays to help end Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak
Keltner was a seven-time All-Star during his 12-year stint with Cleveland. Among third basemen in franchise history, he ranks second in hits (1,561), doubles (306), runs (735), games played (1,513) and RBIs (850), behind Ramírez, and he ranks third in bWAR (33.1). He was a member of the 1948 World Series championship team and hit .297 with a .917 OPS, a career-high 31 home runs and 119 RBIs that season.
Though he’s one of the few members of the Guardians who took home a World Series title, Keltner's name is often associated with another feat. On July 17, 1941, DiMaggio was attempting to extend his hitting streak to 57 games, but Keltner made two backhanded stops on hard-hit ground balls down the third-base line to rob DiMaggio of base hits. The famous streak ended at 56 and prevented what would’ve become a 73-game streak, as DiMaggio recorded a hit in 16 more contests after Keltner assisted in holding him hitless.
4. Bill Bradley, 1901-10
Key fact: Owns the second-highest bWAR of all Guardians third basemen
Over 10 seasons, Bradley accumulated the second-highest bWAR of all Cleveland third basemen (34.7), the highest defensive WAR (10.8) and recorded the most triples (74). He also logged the third-most runs (649), hits (1,265) and doubles (238) among third basemen. Bradley finished his decade with the club hitting .272 with a .690 OPS (110 OPS+). He had a breakout season in 1902, hitting .340 with an .890 OPS, 39 doubles and 104 runs scored in 137 games.
5. Larry Gardner, 1919-24
Key fact: Member of Cleveland's first world championship team
Gardner owns the best batting average (.301) among Cleveland third basemen. Despite only hitting 10 home runs in his six seasons with the club, he ranks seventh in RBIs among third basemen (401). Gardner also played a big role in Cleveland’s 1920 World Series championship, hitting .310 with 118 RBIs during the regular season. The following season, he bested those numbers, posting a .319 average with 120 RBIs.
Honorable mentions
Buddy Bell’s career really took off just after he left Cleveland. He put together a solid seven seasons with the club, hitting .274 with a .710 OPS. His 24.5 bWAR is the fifth highest among Cleveland third basemen. But when he got to Texas in 1979, he began a stretch of six straight seasons where he won a Gold Glove Award and was selected to the All-Star Game in four of those years.
Travis Fryman won a Gold Glove with Cleveland in 2000, alongside teammates Omar Vizquel and Roberto Alomar. It was the eighth time in MLB history that three infielders on the same team each won the award. Of his five-year tenure with the club, he had his best season in 2000 -- when he hit .321 with a .908 OPS.
Brook Jacoby recorded the fourth-most hits (1,178), home runs (120) and RBIs (524) of Cleveland third basemen and hit the fourth-most doubles (192). The two-time All-Star hit .273 with a .750 OPS over his nine-year career with the team.
Toby Harrah played five of his 17 seasons in Cleveland, posting a career best .304 average and .888 OPS in his All-Star season in 1982. He stole the third-most bases of all Cleveland third basemen (82) and ranks sixth in bWAR (18.7).