In 2025, the focus has shifted to first base in Major League Baseball, a position historically difficult to fill with quality players. In 2024, first basemen recorded a batting average of .246 and an OPS of .736, the lowest figures in over a century. Experts note a scarcity of traditional first basemen, with only five or six fitting the conventional mold. Notable players like Freddie Freeman and Bryce Harper represent the remaining elite talent, while the overall decline raises questions about the future of the position.
On the fictional St. Louis Wolves team in Abbott and Costello's famed routine, the third baseman's name is I Don't Know, which is appropriate because, for large stretches of baseball history, teams have tried, often without success, to find a quality third baseman.
There are probably only five or six starting first basemen in the game now who fit the mold of a typical first baseman, but there are 24 or 25 who don't, said Pat Tabler.
In 2024, major league first basemen batted .246, their lowest total since 1900. They also posted an OPS of .736, their lowest since 1968.
Freddie Freeman, the MVP of the 2024 World Series for the Los Angeles Dodgers, is a great player, a future Hall of Famer, as is the Philadelphia Phillies' Bryce Harper.
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