Baseball’s Best 25 Players of the 21st Century’s First 25 Years

Yes, we’re already a quarter of the way through the 21st Century. Didn’t it seem just like yesterday that everyone was freaking out over the coming Y2K crisis and quoting movie lines from Fight Club, Office Space and Gladiator?

Much has happened in this great game of baseball. It’s seen some tough times over these last 25 years: The scourge of steroids, cheating scandals, a pandemic, openers, an epidemic of Tommy John surgeries, Rob Manfred and his (expletive deleted) gift runner. On the plus side, we’ve seen the breaking of historic curses, rewritten home run records, a near-perfected video review process, and 17 different teams winning the World Series despite the lack of financial parity.

The players that have ruled 21st-Century baseball to date have shown themselves to be stronger and more athletic. Some achieved their peak by synthetic means, while others stretched their limits to the breaking point—hence all the reconstructive procedures as earlier noted.

We thought it would be a good time to look back at the last 25 years and, appropriately, determine the top 25 players since 2000. While we’ve always separated hitters and pitchers on the voluminous number of lists hosted on this site, this one is more inclusive—and is based not just on what players have done at the plate and on the mound, but in the field with their defensive skills.

Lists are made to be argued over, so if you want to bitch about who made the cut (and who didn’t) in our rundown below, please do so—but keep it respectful, or we ain’t answering back.

25. Gerrit Cole

Pittsburgh Pirates, 2013-17; Houston Astros, 2018-19; New York Yankees, 2020-24
Six-time All-Star; AL Cy Young Award, 2023

It seems remarkable that no Hall-of-Fame pitcher has played the bulk of their career with the Pirates, considering that the franchise has been around since 1882. And as long as the Bucs are run by current ownership, that trend will continue. The Pirates had Cole, who they nurtured through the minors and watched as he won as many as 19 games for Pittsburgh in his third MLB season. But the budget in Pittsburgh is on a shoestring, so when free agency beckoned, off to Houston Cole went—where he forged a formidable 1-2 punch with Justin Verlander, each winning 20 games and nearly splitting the 2019 AL Cy Young vote (Verlander edged out Cole for the honor). But the budget in Houston is not that of the Yankees—and so off to New York Cole went, where he finally won the Cy in 2023.

24. CC Sabathia

Cleveland Indians, 2001-08; Milwaukee Brewers, 2008; New York Yankees, 2009-19
Six-time All-Star; AL Cy Young Award, 2007

Certainly the biggest player on this list, the 6’6” southpaw who always weighed in at around 300 pounds debuted in Cleveland with lofty expectations—and he exceeded them, even if his travels took him to Milwaukee, where he led the National League with seven complete games and three shutouts despite only starting 16 games for the Brewers, and then the Yankees. (Fun fact: Besides Cole and Sabathia, only one other Yankee made the list—but you’ll have to read on for a while before finding out.) After a few excellent seasons to start his New York tenure, Sabathia began running out of gas as a combination of the weight and old age caught up to him. His 251 wins rank second among the pitchers on this list.

23. Shohei Ohtani

Los Angeles Angels, 2018-23; Los Angeles Dodgers, 2024
Four-time All-Star; AL MVP, 2021, 2023; NL MVP, 2024; AL Rookie of the Year, 2018

Some may scratch their heads over our low placement of the two-way über-talent who finished the century’s first 25 years as baseball’s best current player. But note that he didn’t enter the MLB scene until 2018; as much as quality counts on this list, quantity has a say as well. After some early-career injuries including his first of two Tommy John surgeries, Ohtani has run full-throttle since the 2020 pandemic season—and it all came together in 2024 when he became baseball’s first player to collect at least 50 homers and steals each in the same season. More satisfyingly for Ohtani, the 50-50 campaign came along with his first taste of championship glory after never experiencing a postseason game—let alone a winning record—in six years at Anaheim. All three of his MVPs have been unanimous, an MLB first.

22. Manny Ramirez

Cleveland Indians, 2000; Boston Red Sox 2001-08, Los Angeles Dodgers, 2008-10; Chicago White Sox, 2010; Tampa Bay Rays, 2011
Nine-time All-Star

Okay, so Manny cheated his way onto the list; he’s not the only one. The man could absolutely hammer a baseball, constantly clearing 30 homers (sometimes 40) with 100 RBIs throughout the century’s first decade, even if he did so illicitly. That, he most certainly did; he tested positive for PEDs in 2003, making a list that was supposed to be kept secret until it got leaked to the outside world; was suspended 50 games in 2009 after an explosive start to his short tenure with the Dodgers; and was nailed with a 100-game ban in 2011, essentially ending his MLB career. He didn’t get much love from his teammates, in part because he never gave it; Red Sox players, in particular, despised him in unison, hastening his one-way ticket to Los Angeles. Ramirez belted 555 homers and batted .312 through his career, but because of his various transgressions will only show up at Cooperstown as a paid visitor.

21. Tim Hudson

Oakland A’s, 2000-04; Atlanta Braves, 2005-13; San Francisco Giants 2014-15
Four-time All-Star

From the forget-me-not shelf comes the wiry right-hander who wielded a highly confident look every time he took the mound. There’s a good reason for that; of all the pitchers on this list, only Justin Verlander had a higher winning percentage throwing more innings. Quite frankly, Hudson never got the credit he deserved, stripped of the dominant ace label unlike the other pitchers on this list—but he was beyond dependable, almost always counted on to win close to 20 games while rarely losing more than 10. People will say that Hudson always knocked down second-division teams but failed in the postseason, but the truth is his teammates failed him—winning one of 13 playoff starts despite a dignified 3.69 ERA.

20. Adam Wainwright

St. Louis Cardinals, 2005-23
Three-time All-Star; Gold Glove, 2009, 2013

The tall, powerful ace began his major league career as a reliever, saving four games in the Cardinals’ 2006 playoff run to the world title, but everyone knew he’d make his true mark as a starter. Wainwright didn’t disappoint, winning exactly 200 games and finishing in the top three in four different Cy Young votes—most puzzlingly placing third in 2009 despite garnering more first-place votes than the two guys ahead of him (Tim Lincecum and St. Louis teammate Chris Carpenter). Wainwright will be recalled for practically being joined at the hip with fellow St. Louis lifer Yadier Molina, the perennial Gold Glove catcher who would have made this list had he hit the ball better; no pitcher/catcher duo has ever started more games together than their 328.

19. Chris Sale

Chicago White Sox, 2010-16; Boston Red Sox, 2017-23; Atlanta Braves, 2024
Eight-time All-Star; NL Cy Young Award, 2024; Gold Glove, 2024

Promoted to the big leagues barely two months after being drafted, the tall, lanky ace who displayed one of the game’s most wild and intimidating deliveries took the Wainwright path to stardom, apprenticing in the bullpen for a year-plus. For each of the next seven years as a starter, Sale would be an All-Star, earn high Cy Young Award standing (never finishing first) and be an absolute pain to front office staff and clubhouse attendants who tolerated his ill-tempered moments as long as they could, until he was dealt to Boston. There, Sale continued to thrive on the mound, at least initially; a parade of injuries from 2019-23 kept him from retaining ace form, with just 56 starts over that five-year period. Released to Atlanta in 2024, Sale responded with, finally, a healthy campaign—and his best one yet, winning the triple crown of pitching in the NL while copping his first Cy.

18. Max Scherzer

Arizona Diamondbacks, 2008-09; Detroit Tigers, 2010-14; Washington Nationals, 2015-21; Los Angeles Dodgers, 2021; New York Mets, 2022-23; Texas Rangers, 2023-24
Eight-time All-Star; AL Cy Young Award, 2013; NL Cy Young Award, 2016-17

The peculiar pitcher with differently colored eyes and an acerbic on-field disposition began his career by not completing any of his first 178 starts, setting an MLB record that’s sure to be broken down the line. That hardly made him a bad pitcher; on the contrary, when he did begin to finish what he started, there was usually history on the line, throwing two no-hitters—both in 2015, with the last of those two a perfect game ruined when he hit the 27th batter­—and a year later struck out 20 in a complete-game effort against the Tigers, his second team. (He failed to make it 21 with the last out.) The 2010s would mark Scherzer’s high-stride period, leading the league four times in wins, three times in strikeouts—including hitting the magic 300 mark in 2018 with his second-to-last out of the season—and winning all three of his Cys. Aches and pains would grind down his availability in the 2020s, but not his effectiveness—producing a 46-23 record from 2020-24.

17. Jose Ramirez

Cleveland Indians/Guardians, 2013-24
Six-time All-Star

Many of the players on this list displayed a stud-like physique that preceded their numbers. Ramirez was not of those players, exhibiting a short (5’9”) and somewhat squat appearance that left skeptical scouts and coaches demanding proof that he could make it at the major league level. After 12 years in Cleveland, it’s safe to say that Ramirez silenced the doubters. He hit for average and power, used efficient speed on the basepaths, and didn’t strike out 1,000 times a year like seemingly everyone else. Twice, Ramirez has flirted with a 40-40 campaign (40 homers, 40 stolen bases), most achingly missing out in 2024 at 39-41 when a rainout in the season’s last game deprived him of a shot at homer #40. Ramirez has long anchored himself as Cleveland’s top dog on offense; current Guardians ownership, typically loathe to hand out pricey long-term contracts, couldn’t resist and locked him in through 2028.

16. Barry Bonds

San Francisco Giants, 2000-07
Six-time All-Star; NL MVP, 2001-04

Pre-Y2K, Bonds had already built up a Hall-of-Fame resume with five-tool talent resulting in three MVPs. Post-Y2K, he became better to an almost ridiculous extreme, grooving through his late 30s fueled by BALCO’s illicit fountain of youth. Once he was outed as a steroid user—partly through his own words as he confessed under oath to obliviously accepting PEDs—all of the remarkable record numbers he put up over his final eight years as a Giant were tagged as beyond suspect. Those include the 73 home runs from 2001, and the 232 walks (120 of them intentional) from 2004, a year in which—at age 40—he also batted .362 and won his fourth straight MVP. The man with more MLB homers (762) than anyone else spent the next 10 years fighting a perjury charge he would first be convicted on, later overturned on appeal; skeptical Hall-of-Fame voters still have yet to give him the keys to Cooperstown.

15. Joey Votto

Cincinnati Reds, 2007-23
Six-time All-Star; NL MVP, 2010; Gold Glove, 2011

It seems almost apt that the first baseman didn’t log an at-bat with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2024, for it preserved his status as a Reds lifer—and sticking for one team will always look favorable for Hall-of-Fame voters who should easily find other reasons to place Votto in Cooperstown. Besides the career .294 average and 356 homers, Votto led the NL five times in walks and seven times in on-base percentage, exhibiting a brand of patience which tried that of some of his fans who wished he swung at more pitches. Votto certainly wasn’t short on personality, keeping his own fans refreshingly on edge by walking amongst them in the stands while injured and tugging at the shirts of front-row home spectators who interfered with his attempts to catch foul balls.

14. Zack Greinke

Kansas City Royals, 2004-10, 2022-23; Milwaukee Brewers, 2011-12; Los Angeles Angels, 2012; Los Angeles Dodgers, 2013-15; Arizona Diamondbacks, 2016-19; Houston Astros, 2019-21
Six-time All-Star; AL Cy Young Award, 2009; Gold Glove, 2014-19

Greinke’s MLB career can essentially be broken down into three acts. The first act depicts his early struggles with the Royals, both on the mound and in the clubhouse as he dealt with social anxiety disorder. There was the third act, pitching on fumes as he neared the age of 40. In between, there was a glorious second act in which Greinke furnished a 171-78 record and two ERA titles; his 1.66 figure from 2015 remains the lowest by any major leaguer so far this century. By then, his mind seemed more at ease with his surroundings—but winning will tend to do that.

13. Todd Helton

Colorado Rockies, 2000-13
Five-time All-Star; Gold Glove, 2001-02, 2004

As Greinke’s career can be broken down to three distinct parts, Helton’s can easily be set apart in two. There were his prodigious early years, highlighted at the start of the century with a .372 batting average, 59 doubles, 42 home runs and 147 RBIs in 2000. That was followed by his last nine seasons in which his power abandoned him; the sudden drop in his home run numbers, in particular, led to rumors that he’d gone cold turkey on roids, but constant back pains represented the real issue. Still, Helton managed to keep up a healthy batting average with plenty of walks to remain a threat at the plate. Mile-high Coors Field would serve as both a blessing and curse for Helton’s legacy; it helped punch up his career numbers, but it also was used as an excuse not to grant him more honors—per example, he finished only fifth in NL MVP voting during that remarkable 2000 season mentioned above. The thin air’s fattening of his stats did not keep him from becoming a member of the Hall of Fame in 2024.

12. Justin Verlander

Detroit Tigers, 2005-17; Houston Astros, 2017-22, 2023-24; New York Mets, 2023
Nine-time All-Star; AL MVP, 2011; AL Cy Young Award, 2011, 2019, 2022; AL Rookie of the Year, 2006

They say it’s much harder for pitchers to win 300 games these days, but Verlander certainly has given it his best shot, reaching 262 through 2024. (His quest will continue in 2025 with the Giants.) The burly right-hander wielded a calm, confident air highly justified by the numbers he produced, which included four times leading the league in wins, twice in ERA, and five times in strikeouts (topping out at an even 300 in 2019). Verlander only seemed to get better as he reached his late 30s, winning a pair of Cys separated by two years of absentia due to Tommy John surgery. There likely was nary a male soul who didn’t want to be in Verlander’s shoes during the Fall of 2017, collecting both a World Series ring for the Astros and a wedding band with Tuscany-set nuptials to supermodel Kate Upton.

11. David Ortiz

Minnesota Twins, 2000-02; Boston Red Sox, 2003-16
Ten-time All-Star

No player was more of a father figure to his baseball team during the last 25 years than Ortiz, who found more than just a new home when he shifted to Boston after six years struggling to find his footing in Minnesota. Big Papi made for an immediate and devastating impact as the Red Sox’ primary DH, blasting out 40+ home runs three times (including a career-high 54 in 2006) and 10 times knocking in at least 100 runs. To say that Ortiz was not a factor in the Red Sox winning their first three world titles since 1918 would be an utter fabrication; in those three postseasons, he batted .375 over 44 games with 13 homers and 42 RBIs. His influence was never more pivotal than in the last of those three championship years, emotionally lifting both his team and the city in the wake of the Boston Marathon bombings. Ortiz’s loveable disposition was so accepted by fans, teammates, and the media, the latter group overlooked his 2003 PED positive on the aforementioned “secret” list and made him a first-ballot Hall of Famer.

10. Roy Halladay

Toronto Blue Jays, 2000-09; Philadelphia Phillies, 2010-13
Eight-time All-Star; AL Cy Young Award, 2003; NL Cy Young Award, 2010

An old-fashioned workhorse in an era of emerging bullpen strength that collapsed the concept of the complete game, Halladay was a true outlier. His 65 CGs in the quarter-century easily outpaced the 39 by Livan Hernandez, #2 on the list. Back in 2000, people would have laughed at the thought of Halladay making this rollcall as he struggled with a 10.64 ERA—the worst ever put together by a pitcher throwing 50+ innings. Resetting his game, Halladay quickly established himself as a top-tier ace, nabbing two Cys and finishing runner-up two other years. Traded by the Jays after 2009, Halladay won over new fans in Philadelphia by throwing both a perfect game and postseason no-hitter in his first season with the Phillies. The coda was rough for Halladay; he fell apart in what would be his last season (2013), and four years later was killed when, high on numerous medications, an experimental plane he was flying crashed off the coast of St. Petersburg.

9. Nolan Arenado

Colorado Rockies, 2013-20; St. Louis Cardinals, 2021-24
Eight-time All-Star; Gold Glove, 2013-22

No one catapulted up this list via their defensive skills more than Arenado, whose incredible glovework at third base led to 10 Gold Gloves—tied with Ichiro Suzuki for the most between 2000-24. But don’t forget about what Arenado did with a bat, leading the NL three times in homers while reaching triple-digit RBI figures seven times. Playing at Coors Field has helped (.982 OPS vs. .775 at all other ballparks), but his time in St. Louis—after a bizarre trade that did the Rockies absolutely no good—proved he could also be an A-lister at sea level. All of this was even more remarkable given that Arenado was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), which explains why he often looks fidgety when at bat.

8. Mookie Betts

Boston Red Sox, 2014-19; Los Angeles Dodgers, 2020-24
Eight-time All-Star; AL MVP, 2018; Gold Glove, 2016-20, 2022

If the Red Sox are cursed another 86 years without winning a world title, their fans will likely name that new curse after Betts, who Boston traded after the 2019 season. Dynamic, flashy, and well-liked among fans and teammates, Betts showed versatility wherever he performed—whether at the plate, the outfield, the middle infield, or even the bowling lanes where he locked down a good number of perfect 300 scores. Betts easily met the five-tool expectations; he featured strong power, solid defense, sure-footed speed (86% stolen base rate), walked plenty, and didn’t strike out a ton. He’s already done enough to warrant strong Hall-of-Fame consideration, with a batting title, MVP (finishing runner-up thrice), and three World Series rings. And if the Dodgers want him, he’s theirs through 2032; maybe we’ll see him on the Top 25 of the century’s second 25 years—that is, if we’re around in 2050.

7. Paul Goldschmidt

Arizona Diamondbacks, 2011-18; St. Louis Cardinals, 2019-24
Seven-time All-Star; NL MVP, 2022; Gold Glove, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2021

When all else failed, there was always Goldschmidt. Few other ballplayers of this era were as dependable; he’d always give you close to 160 games, some 30 homers and 100 RBIs, a bat average around .300 and, well, whatever else you wanted him to do. His quiet, polite demeanor aside, Goldschmidt was so good in a monotonous kind of way—recalling Hall of Famers like Charlie Gehringer and Eddie Murray—you actually tended to forget about him. And that would be dangerous if you were a pitcher. The lumbering slugger faded a tad as he moved into his late 30s, but still the warning was heeded: Never sleep on this guy.

6. Freddie Freeman

Atlanta Braves, 2010-21; Los Angeles Dodgers, 2022-24
Eight-time All-Star; NL MVP, 2020; Gold Glove, 2018

Just think Goldschmidt but with a touch more pizazz. But that’s not why Freeman got the extra bump on the list by comparison. There’s more emotion in this package, with bruising line-drive power that helped him punch out a bunch of home runs but also a trunkful of doubles—40+ in five separate seasons including a century-high 59 in 2023. Freeman’s finest season came under intriguing conditions, to say the least; he won the NL MVP in the pandemic-truncated 2020 campaign, one he nearly didn’t even live to complete as he was flattened by the COVID virus before recovering short of the much-delayed Opening Day. Freeman finished the century’s first quarter on a high note—racking out four homers and winning the MVP in the 2024 World Series for the Dodgers.

5. Miguel Cabrera

Florida Marlins, 2003-07; Detroit Tigers, 2008-23
Twelve-time All-Star; AL MVP, 2012-13

We used the term “prodigy” to describe Cabrera when he first joined the Marlins barely past the age of 20; that’s how sure we were that the Venezuelan would make a lasting mark on the game. Miggy’s coming-of-age moment likely came that first year when, several pitches after taking high-and-tight, bully-like heat from Roger Clemens, he slammed a home run the opposite way during the Marlins’ upset World Series win over the Yankees. After his fifth year at Miami, Cabrera was traded to the Tigers in an eight-player deal that went terribly for the Marlins; none of the six players they received panned out. A series of alcohol-fueled adventures for Cabrera over the few years to follow threatened to derail his career, but he got off the wagon and back on the road to Cooperstown, playing his best ball during the early 2010s—winning two MVPs, four batting titles and, in 2012, the first triple crown of batting by a major leaguer in 45 years.

4. Clayton Kershaw

Los Angeles Dodgers, 2008-24
Ten-time All-Star; NL MVP, 2014; NL Cy Young Award, 2011, 2013-14; Gold Glove, 2011

Some may be a little perturbed that we slot Kershaw ahead of Sandy Koufax on our list of the 10 greatest Dodgers pitchers. But let’s face it, Koufax was half-great; Kershaw was full-great. Almost from the get-go, Claw was dominant; injuries over the latter third of his career may have curtailed his reign, but not his efficiency—posting a 68-30 record and 2.83 ERA while averaging barely 20 starts from 2018-24. Kershaw’s postseason history hasn’t been the best, and that’s not entirely his fault—remember how the 2017 Astros, hmmm, somehow managed not to swing at any of his off-speed pitches while feasting on fastballs in World Series Game Five­—but you can’t ignore his three Cys, five ERA titles and a .693 career winning percentage that’s the highest in major league history among pitchers with at least 200 wins.

3. Mike Trout

Los Angeles Angels, 2011-24
Eleven-time All-Star; AL Rookie of the Year, 2012; AL MVP, 2014, 2016, 2019

The five-tool outfielder would certainly be at the top of this list were it not for a constant parade of injuries that kept him out of the lineup over 40% of the time from 2017-24. Until then, he was the second coming of Mickey Mantle—continuously hitting over .300 with bludgeoning power, terrific speed on the basepaths, and remarkable defense out in center. (How he’s never won a Gold Glove is beyond us.) Laid back to a fault—he shunned endorsements and never seemed to gripe about the sad state of Angels baseball, appearing in just three playoff games—Trout, when healthy, just strode out on the field and calmly went about his greatness, earning three MVPs and all those All-Star spots as if there was nothing to it. We should all be so lucky.

2. Alex Rodriguez

Seattle Mariners, 2000, Texas Rangers, 2001-03; New York Yankees, 2004-16
Eleven-time All-Star; AL MVP, 2003, 2005, 2007; Gold Glove, 2002-03

Trust us—we really want to put a big, fat asterisk after Rodriguez’s name for his prodigious numbers that normally earn automatic entry into Cooperstown—but he won’t (and shouldn’t) because of what he did off the field to help achieve those numbers. As one HOF-worthy slugger after another admitted to or was cornered using steroids in the 2000s, Rodriguez emerged as the Great Clean Hope, quickly moving up the career home run ladder—but then he, too, was outed in a 2009 book written by a Sports Illustrated reporter for taking PEDs on an almost constant basis. Rodriguez partly fessed, saying, yeah, I did it—just not always. 

Lesson learned, right? Wrong. In 2013, Rodriguez was once again discovered to be on the roids as the Biogenesis scandal broke wide open. Understandably infuriated, MLB suspended Rodriguez for an entire season; he fought the ban, arrogantly pushing back against anyone who didn’t agree with his tact—MLB, the Yankees, even the players’ union. We know that his 696 homers didn’t come completely clean; it’s just a matter of how many of them were dirty. But the numbers are what they are, and we are loathe to parse them with penalty. So, on this list he’s #2—in more ways than one. 

1. Albert Pujols

St. Louis Cardinals, 2001-11, 2022; Los Angeles Angels, 2012-21; Los Angeles Dodgers, 2021
Eleven-time All-Star; NL MVP, 2005, 2008-09; NL Rookie of the Year, 2001; Gold Glove, 2006, 2010

Virtually all the players on the list took a least a year or two to warm up to peak superstar level. Not Pujols. In his 2001 debut with the Cardinals, a 21-year-old Pujols thundered his way onto the scene with a .329 batting average. 37 home runs, 130 RBIs and a 1.013 OPS that’s the second highest by a major league rookie (after Ted Williams). For the next 10 years, Pujols would sustain this Herculean pattern; he only batted below .300 once (.299, in his last season at St. Louis), always hit well above 30 homers (six times over 40) and always knocked in over 100 runs (except, again, that last year—with 99). 

Having won three MVPs—finishing second in the vote four times—and collecting two World Series rings in those 11 years at St. Louis, Pujols moved on to Anaheim, swimming in the riches of a 10-year, $240 million deal. Though he wasn’t a bust with the Angels, his output clearly diminished, batting closer to .250 while gathering a fraction of the “wins above replacement” (12.7) that he accumulated back at St. Louis (88.7) in roughly the same time period. And just when he looked to completely run out of gas, Pujols at 42 returned to St. Louis for one final season—and discovered a reserve akin to Prudhoe Bay, unexpectedly thriving down the stretch to surpass the 700-homer plateau (with 703) while passing Babe Ruth for #2 on the all-time RBI list with 2,218. 

And he never once tested positive for steroids.