It is hard to determine who the best baseball players from Florida are. This is because many of the greatest to play the game were born in the state, including some in the National Baseball Hall of Fame. The state of Florida has a great baseball history spread throughout many of its regions. The state is home to the Miami Marlins and the Tampa Bay Rays as well. This list is based on statistical factors as well as other considerations. Some active players will appear on this list. The list will be ordered alphabetically, by each player’s last name.
Best Baseball Players From Florida
Steve Carlton
Born in Miami, Florida
1994 Hall of Fame inductee Steve Carlton is first up on this list. In 24 seasons, Carlton had a 329-244 record with a 3.22 ERA and a 115 ERA+, as well as 4,136 strikeouts. During his career, Carlton had a 90.2 WAR and won the Cy Young Award four times, achieving the pitching Triple Crown in 1972. In addition, the lefty was named to the All-Star team 10 times and won two World Series championships as well as a Gold Glove. Carlton had six 20-win seasons and eight 200-strikeout seasons. It is unlikely that many pitchers will match that in the future.
Andre Dawson
Born in Miami, Florida
Andre Dawson swiped bases in three different decades for a total of 314 steals. He is one of eight players in the 300-homer/300-steal club. #PiDay pic.twitter.com/SmRUGdSAwc
— National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum ⚾ (@baseballhall) March 14, 2024
Next up is 2010 Hall of Fame inductee Andre Dawson. In 21 seasons, Dawson had a .279/.323/.482 slash line with 438 home runs and 1,591 RBI, along with 2,774 hits. During his career, he had a 64.8 WAR and won the NL MVP in 1987 with the Chicago Cubs, as well as winning NL Rookie of the Year in 1977 with the Montreal Expos. 31 players have won both Rookie of the Year and MVP, with Dawson being one of them. “The Hawk” was named to the All-Star team eight times while winning a Gold Glove eight times and winning a Silver Slugger four times. Dawson had a career 119 OPS+ and had 314 stolen bases.
Dwight Gooden
Born in Tampa, Florida
Dwight Gooden should be in the Hall of Fame. In 16 seasons, Gooden had a 194-112 record with a 3.51 ERA and a 111 ERA+ as well as 2,293 strikeouts. During his career “Doc” had a 53.0 WAR and won the 1984 NL Rookie of the Year Award. Gooden burst on the scene early in his career, winning the NL Cy Young Award in 1985 and achieving a pitching Triple Crown in the process. That season saw Gooden have a 20-win season and win the ERA title. Gooden was named to the All-Star team four times and won two World Series championships. In 1992, he won a Silver Slugger Award.
Zack Greinke
Born in Orlando, Florida
One of the best pitchers of the 2010s, Zack Greinke is one of the (technically) active players on this list. In 20 seasons, Greinke has a 225-156 record with a 3.49 ERA and a 121 ERA+, along with 2,979 strikeouts. In 2009, Greinke won the AL Cy Young Award with the Kansas City Royals and won one of his two ERA titles. Among his accolades are six Gold Glove Awards and two Silver Slugger Awards while being named to six All-Star teams. Greinke also has a 77.5 WAR and will likely have a plaque in Cooperstown one day. It remains to be seen if Greinke, certainly one of the best baseball players from Florida, will play in 2024.
Chipper Jones
Born in DeLand, Florida
The first overall pick in the 1990 MLB Draft, Chipper Jones is one of the greatest ever to play the game. In 19 seasons, all with the Atlanta Braves, Jones had a .303/.401/.529 line with 468 home runs and 1,623 RBI. During his career, Jones had an 85.3 WAR and won the 1999 NL MVP. In 2008, he won the NL batting title, hitting at an impressive .364 clip. Jones won two Silver Slugger Awards and was named to eight All-Star teams. He was a key contributor to the Braves World Series win in 1995, their first in Atlanta. Jones had a 141 OPS+ during his career and 2,726 career hits. In 2018, Jones was inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Manny Machado
Born in Hialeah, Florida
A potential future Hall of Famer, Manny Machado is one of the best active baseball players from Florida. So far in 12 seasons, Machado has a .279/.339/.490 line with 313 home runs and 944 RBI. Additionally, Machado currently has a career 54.9 WAR. He has been named to six All-Star teams and has won a Gold Glove twice as well as a Platinum Glove in 2013, along with a Silver Slugger in 2020. Currently Machado has a career 125 OPS+ and 1,737 career hits. He ranks in the top 10 among active players in most of the major offensive categories.
Fred McGriff
Born in Tampa, Florida
A 2023 Hall of Fame inductee, Fred McGriff was one of the best first basemen of his era. In 19 seasons, McGriff had a .284/.377/.509 line with 493 home runs and 1,550 RBI. He also had a career 52.6 WAR. During his career, “The Crime Dog” had a career 134 OPS+ and 2,490 hits. A World Series champion with the aforementioned 1995 Braves, McGriff also was named to the All-Star team five times while also winning an All-Star game MVP. He won a Silver Slugger on three different occasions. 10 seasons saw McGriff hit at least 30 home runs, including seven consecutive seasons from 1988 to 1994.
Tim Raines
Born in Sanford, Florida
One of the greatest base stealers of all time is Tim Raines, who played during four different decades. To add to that, Raines also played for the Montreal Expos in each of those four decades. In 23 seasons, Raines had a .294/.385/.425 line with 170 home runs and 980 RBI along with 808 stolen bases. In addition, he had a career 69.4 WAR. Raines recorded 2,605 career hits as well as a 123 OPS+ for his career. In 2017, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame. A two-time World Series champion, Raines was also a seven-time All-Star, and won both a Silver Slugger and batting title in 1986.
Chris Sale
Born in Lakeland, Florida
Chris Sale will round out the active players on this list. So far in 13 seasons, Sale has a 120-80 record with a 3.10 ERA and a 137 ERA+ along with 2,189 strikeouts. Currently, Sale has a 47.2 career WAR. He has been named to seven All-Star teams and is a World Series champion. Heading into the 2024 season Sale is the all-time leader in strikeouts per nine innings, with an 11.1 SO/9. Sale has led the majors in that category twice in 2015 and 2017. Somehow, he has not won a Cy Young Award, even though in 2017 he also had a major league-leading 308 strikeouts. That season, Sale finished second in AL Cy Young voting (behind Corey Kluber) and ninth in AL MVP voting.
Gary Sheffield
Born in Tampa, Florida
“I always believed, since the age of 8, I was going to be the best player in the world.”
Through 22 MLB seasons and 10 years on the Hall of Fame ballot, Gary Sheffield’s confidence in himself has never wavered. pic.twitter.com/dFMFdvPafZ
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) January 23, 2024
Another player on this list who should be in the Hall of Fame is Gary Sheffield. In 22 seasons, Sheffield had a .292/.393/.514 line with 509 home runs and 1,676 RBI. For his career, he had had a 60.5 WAR along with 2,689 hits. Sheffield was named an All-Star nine times and won a batting title in 1992. In addition, he won a Silver Slugger five times and was also a World Series champion with the 1997 Florida Marlins. Two seasons saw Sheffield have at least 40 home runs, and he had eight seasons with at least 100 RBI as well.
Photo Credit: © Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports
