Cleveland Indians: Top Five Second Basemen of All-Time

Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

#4: Bobby Avila

Bobby Avila earned his way onto this list mostly through longevity. Over the course of ten seasons and 1,207 games with the Cleveland Indians, he batted .284 with an on-base percentage of .362. The Indians could always count on him to be a good, as he posted seven straight seasons in which he was better than the average player. Like Kipnis, he had an intriguing combination of power and speed that led to many doubles and triples, and he collected the most triples in the American League in 1952.

His best season came in 1954, when his batting average of .341 led the American League. FanGraphs valued that year as being 6.4 wins better than a replacement player, and weighted runs created plus suggested that his bat was 46 percent better than the average player. It was his performance that led the Indians to the World Series that year. They ultimately lost to the New York Giants.

After baseball he served as a politician, even becoming the mayor of his hometown of Veracruz. Then in 1971, he became a member of the Mexican Baseball Hall of Fame. He died of complications from diabetes in 2004.

The third player on our list comes from the glory days of the 1990s…

Next: Number Three...