# List of Major League Baseball career assists as a center fielder leaders

In baseball, an assist (denoted by A) is a defensive statistic, baseball being one of the few sports in which the defensive team controls the ball. An assist is credited to every defensive player who fields or touches the ball (after it has been hit by the batter) before the recording of a putout, even if the contact was unintentional. For example, if a ball strikes a player's leg and bounces off him to another fielder, who tags the baserunner, the first player is credited with an assist. A fielder can receive a maximum of one assist per out recorded. An assist is also credited if a putout would have occurred, had another fielder not committed an error. For example, a shortstop might field a ground ball cleanly, but the first baseman might drop his throw. In this case, an error would be charged to the first baseman, and the shortstop would be credited with an assist. Unlike putouts, exactly one of which is awarded for every defensive out, an out can result in no assists being credited (as in strikeouts, fly outs and line drives), or in assists being credited to multiple players (as in relay throws and rundown plays). The center fielder (CF) is one of the three outfielders, the defensive positions in baseball farthest from the batter. Center field is the area of the outfield directly in front of a person standing at home plate and facing beyond the pitcher's mound. The outfielders have to try to catch long fly balls before they hit the ground or to quickly catch or retrieve and return to the infield any other balls entering the outfield. Generally having the most territory to cover, the center fielder is usually the fastest of the three outfielders, although this can also depend on the relative strength of their throwing arms and the configuration of their home field, due to the deepest part of center field being the farthest point from the infield and home plate. The center fielder normally plays behind the shortstop and second baseman, who play in or near the infield; unlike catchers and most infielders (excepting first basemen), who are virtually exclusively right-handed, center fielders can be either right- or left-handed. In the scoring system used to record defensive plays, the center fielder is assigned the number 8.
Center fielders are most commonly credited with an assist when they throw the ball to an infielder who tags a runner attempting to advance on the basepaths, even on a caught fly ball that results in an out (see tag up); of special importance are throws to the catcher if the runner is trying to reach home plate to score a run, perhaps on a sacrifice fly. Center fielders will often record assists by throwing out runners who try to advance farther than the batter, such as going from first to third base on a single, or batter/runners who try to stretch a hit into a longer one. Center fielders also earn assists on relay throws to infielders after particularly deep fly balls, by throwing to a base to record an out on an appeal play, or in situations where they might deflect a fly ball before another defensive player makes the catch. Outfielders record far fewer assists than other players due to the difficulty of making an accurate throw in time to retire a runner from a great distance; middle infielders routinely record more assists in a single season than outfielders do in their entire careers. Assists are an important statistic for outfielders, giving a greater indication about an outfielder's throwing arm than assists by infielders do. In recent years, some sabermetricians have begun referring to assists by outfielders as baserunner kills.
The list of career leaders is dominated by players from the 1890s through 1920s, including the dead-ball era, due to that period's emphasis on more aggressive baserunning. The top six players were all active throughout the years from 1913 to 1921; only 11 of the top 37 players were active after 1953, and only six of them after 1984. Only six of the top 73 single-season totals were recorded after 1925, and only one after 1945; only nine of the top 163 have been recorded since 1955. Because game accounts and box scores often did not distinguish between the outfield positions, there has been some difficulty in determining precise defensive statistics before 1901; because of this, and because of the similarity in their roles, defensive statistics for the three positions are frequently combined. Although efforts to distinguish between the three positions regarding games played during this period and reconstruct the separate totals have been largely successful, separate assist totals are unavailable; players whose totals are missing the figures for pre-1901 games are notated in the table below. Tris Speaker is the all-time leader in career assists as a center fielder with 448, 173 more than any other player, and nearly two and a half times as many as any player active after 1931. Speaker also holds the single-season record of 35, which he accomplished twice; no player since 1955 has had more than 20, likely putting both of his marks among Major League Baseball's most unbreakable records. Andrew McCutchen, who had 63 assists through the 2024 season to place him tied for 107th all-time, is the leader among active players.

## Key

| Rank | Rank amongst leaders in career assists. A blank field indicates a tie. |
| Player | Name of player |
| MLB | Total career assists as a center fielder in Major League Baseball |
| * | Denotes elected to National Baseball Hall of Fame |
| † | Denotes total is missing figures for pre-1901 games |

## List

* Stats updated as of the end of the 2024 season.
| Rank | Player (2025 As) | Assists as a center fielder | Assists as a center fielder | Assists as a center fielder | Other leagues, notes |
| Rank | Player (2025 As) | MLB | American League | National League | Other leagues, notes |
| 1 | Tris Speaker* | 448 | 448 | 0 | Holds the modern single-season record of 35 (set in 1909 & 1912) |
| 2 | Ty Cobb* | 275 | 275 | 0 | |
| 3 | Clyde Milan | 244 | 244 | 0 | |
| 4 | Max Carey* | 215 | 0 | 215 | |
| 5 | Edd Roush* | 207 | 0 | 187 | Includes 20 in Federal League |
| 6 | Dode Paskert | 206 | 0 | 206 | Held modern National League record, 1917-1927 |
| 7 | Willie Mays* | 188 | 0 | 188 | |
| 8 | Doc Cramer | 155 | 155 | 0 | |
| 9 | Richie Ashburn* | 154 | 0 | 154 | |
| 10 | Cy Williams | 151 | 0 | 151 | |
| 11 | Cy Seymour † | 149 | 0 | 149 | Held modern major league record, 1909-1913; held modern National League record, 1909-1917 |
| 12 | Hy Myers | 148 | 0 | 148 | |
| 13 | Dom DiMaggio | 143 | 143 | 0 | |
| 14 | Ken Griffey Jr.* | 141 | 108 | 33 | |
| 15 | Sam West | 139 | 139 | 0 | |
| 16 | Kenny Lofton | 138 | 110 | 28 | |
| 17 | Ginger Beaumont † | 136 | 0 | 136 | Held modern NL single-season record, 1907-1911 |
| 18 | Roy Thomas † | 135 | 0 | 135 | Held modern major league record, 1906-1909; held modern National League record, 1902-1909; held modern NL single-season record, 1902-1907 |
| | Lloyd Waner* | 135 | 0 | 135 | |
| 20 | Willie Davis | 134 | 1 | 133 | |
| 21 | Joe DiMaggio* | 133 | 133 | 0 | |
| 22 | Fielder Jones † | 129 | 129 | 0 | Held American League record, 1907-1913 |
| 23 | Steve Finley | 127 | 6 | 121 | |
| 24 | Vince DiMaggio | 123 | 0 | 123 | |
| 25 | Tommy Leach † | 122 | 0 | 122 | |
| 26 | Happy Felsch | 119 | 119 | 0 | |
| 27 | Amos Otis | 118 | 115 | 3 | |
| 28 | Joe Birmingham | 117 | 117 | 0 | |
| 29 | Jim Edmonds | 116 | 37 | 79 | |
| | Rebel Oakes | 116 | 0 | 81 | Includes 35 in Federal League |
| 31 | Amos Strunk | 115 | 115 | 0 | |
| 32 | Vada Pinson | 114 | 13 | 101 | |
| 33 | Kirby Puckett* | 110 | 110 | 0 | |
| 34 | Benny Kauff | 109 | 0 | 66 | Includes 43 in Federal League |
| 35 | Earl Averill* | 108 | 106 | 2 | |
| | Carlos Beltrán | 108 | 61 | 47 | |
| | Fred Snodgrass | 108 | 0 | 108 | Holds the modern NL single-season record of 31 (set in 1911) |
| 38 | Brett Butler | 106 | 40 | 66 | |
| | Curt Flood | 106 | 0 | 106 | |
| 40 | Paul Blair | 104 | 103 | 1 | |
| | Mickey Mantle* | 104 | 104 | 0 | |
| 42 | Jimmy Barrett † | 101 | 101 | 0 | Held modern major league record, 1901-1906; held American League record, 1901-1907; held the AL single-season record, 1901-1909 |
| | Andruw Jones | 101 | 0 | 101 | |
| 44 | Ray Powell | 100 | 0 | 100 | |
| 45 | Terry Moore | 99 | 0 | 99 | |
| | Duke Snider* | 99 | 0 | 99 | |
| | Tilly Walker | 99 | 99 | 0 | |
| 48 | Bill Bruton | 98 | 19 | 79 | |
| 49 | Adam Jones | 96 | 96 | 0 | |
| | Fred Lynn | 96 | 96 | 0 | |
| | Bill Virdon | 96 | 0 | 96 | |
| 52 | Nemo Leibold | 92 | 92 | 0 | |
| | Bill Tuttle | 92 | 92 | 0 | |
| 54 | Sam Chapman | 91 | 91 | 0 | |
| | Ira Flagstead | 91 | 89 | 2 | |
| | Garry Maddox | 91 | 0 | 91 | |
| 57 | Del Unser | 90 | 44 | 46 | |
| 58 | Johnny Bates | 89 | 0 | 85 | Includes 4 in Federal League |
| | Marquis Grissom | 89 | 7 | 82 | |
| 60 | Mickey Rivers | 88 | 88 | 0 | |
| 61 | César Cedeño | 87 | 0 | 87 | |
| | Johnny Mostil | 87 | 87 | 0 | |
| 63 | Mike Kreevich | 86 | 85 | 1 | |
| | Willie McGee | 86 | 6 | 80 | |
| 65 | Chet Lemon | 85 | 85 | 0 | |
| 66 | Solly Hofman | 84 | 2 | 74 | Includes 8 in Federal League |
| 67 | Danny Hoffman | 83 | 83 | 0 | |
| 68 | Burt Shotton | 82 | 81 | 1 | |
| | Devon White | 82 | 63 | 19 | |
| 70 | Omar Moreno | 81 | 11 | 70 | |
| | Jigger Statz | 81 | 0 | 81 | |
| 72 | Ping Bodie | 79 | 79 | 0 | |
| | Torii Hunter | 79 | 79 | 0 | |
| | Homer Smoot | 79 | 0 | 79 | |
| 75 | Chick Stahl † | 78 | 78 | 0 | |
| | Jimmy Wynn | 78 | 0 | 78 | |
| 77 | Dave Henderson | 77 | 76 | 1 | |
| | Bobby Thomson | 77 | 1 | 76 | |
| 79 | Larry Doby* | 76 | 76 | 0 | Negro League totals unavailable |
| | Dwayne Murphy | 76 | 75 | 1 | |
| | Sam Rice* | 76 | 76 | 0 | |
| | Stan Spence | 76 | 76 | 0 | |
| 83 | Johnny Groth | 75 | 75 | 0 | |
| | Andy Van Slyke | 75 | 2 | 73 | |
| 85 | Baby Doll Jacobson | 74 | 74 | 0 | |
| | Andy Pafko | 74 | 0 | 74 | |
| | Fred Schulte | 74 | 73 | 1 | |
| 88 | Rick Monday | 73 | 34 | 39 | |
| 89 | Ethan Allen | 72 | 7 | 65 | |
| | Mike Cameron | 72 | 35 | 37 | |
| | Emmet Heidrick † | 72 | 57 | 15 | |
| 92 | B. J. Upton | 71 | 52 | 19 | |
| 93 | Andre Dawson* | 70 | 0 | 70 | |
| | Lance Johnson | 70 | 45 | 25 | |
| 95 | Oscar Charleston* | 69 | 0 | 0 | Includes 45 in Negro National League (first), 17 in Eastern Colored League, 7 in American Negro League (incomplete) |
| | Hack Wilson* | 69 | 0 | 69 | |
| 97 | Mark Kotsay | 68 | 29 | 39 | |
| | Jack Smith | 68 | 0 | 68 | |
| 99 | Ron LeFlore | 66 | 66 | 0 | |
| 100 | Earle Combs* | 65 | 65 | 0 | |
| | Carlos Gómez | 65 | 27 | 38 | |
| | Rick Manning | 65 | 65 | 0 | |

## Other Hall of Famers

| Player | Assists as a center fielder | Assists as a center fielder | Assists as a center fielder | Other leagues, notes |
| Player | MLB | American League | National League | Other leagues, notes |
| Turkey Stearnes* | 59 | 0 | 0 | Includes 41 in Negro National League (first), 14 in Negro National League (second), 4 in Negro American League (incomplete) |
| Cool Papa Bell* | 57 | 0 | 0 | Includes 37 in Negro National League (first), 13 in Negro National League (second), 7 in East–West League (incomplete) |
| Robin Yount* | 52 | 52 | 0 | |
| Al Simmons* | 48 | 48 | 0 | |
| Kiki Cuyler* | 44 | 0 | 44 | |
| Roger Bresnahan* † | 37 | 3 | 34 | |
| Sam Crawford* † | 37 | 37 | 0 | |
| Cristóbal Torriente* | 32 | 0 | 0 | Includes 32 in Negro National League (first) (incomplete) |
| Casey Stengel* | 30 | 0 | 30 | |
| Freddie Lindstrom* | 28 | 0 | 28 | |
| Al Kaline* | 22 | 22 | 0 | |
| Willard Brown* | 21 | 0 | 0 | Includes 21 in Negro American League (incomplete) |
| Chick Hafey* | 21 | 0 | 21 | |
| Heinie Manush* | 21 | 21 | 0 | |
| Billy Southworth* | 16 | 5 | 11 | |
| Ichiro Suzuki* | 16 | 14 | 2 | |
| Craig Biggio* | 15 | 0 | 15 | |
| Rickey Henderson* | 15 | 14 | 1 | |
| Carl Yastrzemski* | 15 | 15 | 0 | |
| Mel Ott* | 14 | 0 | 14 | |
| Elmer Flick* † | 13 | 13 | 0 | |
| Stan Musial* | 13 | 0 | 13 | |
| Hank Aaron* | 12 | 0 | 12 | |
| Pete Hill* | 11 | 0 | 0 | Includes 11 in Negro National League (first) (incomplete) |
| Joe Kelley* † | 11 | 6 | 5 | |
| Harry Heilmann* | 9 | 9 | 0 | |
| Dave Winfield* | 9 | 1 | 8 | |
| Tim Raines* | 8 | 0 | 8 | |
| Tony Gwynn* | 7 | 0 | 7 | |
| Billy Hamilton* † | 7 | 0 | 7 | |
| Reggie Jackson* | 7 | 7 | 0 | |
| Lou Brock* | 6 | 0 | 6 | |
| Martín Dihigo* | 6 | 0 | 0 | Includes 3 in Negro National League (second), 3 in Eastern Colored League (incomplete) |
| Hugh Duffy* † | 6 | 5 | 1 | |
| Ralph Kiner* | 5 | 0 | 5 | |
| Honus Wagner* † | 5 | 0 | 5 | |
| Paul Molitor* | 4 | 4 | 0 | |
| Larry Walker* | 3 | 0 | 3 | |
| Joe Medwick* | 2 | 0 | 2 | |
| Monte Irvin* | 1 | 0 | 0 | Includes 1 in Negro National League (second) (incomplete) |
| George Davis* † | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Ed Delahanty* † | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Ned Hanlon* † | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Jim O'Rourke* † | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| John Montgomery Ward* † | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Harry Wright* † | 0 | 0 | 0 | |