I explained my methodology here, and weve previously looked at catchers, first-, second and third basemen, and shortstops. The differences seen in baseball across different eras are significant, and television and radio were not always available to document the miraculous plays of major leaguers on a daily basis. Top 100 Left Fielders of All-Time - Baseball Egg A. As central midfielders often go across boundaries, with mobility and passing ability, they are often referred to as deep-lying midfielders, play-makers, box-to-box midfielders, or holding midfielders. But they still have some very meaningful football left to play on Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefsand next week when the Pittsburgh Steelers visit FirstEnergy Stadium.If theTennessee Titanssomehow win their next two games, two losses by the Browns would secure them the No. Hes also the all-time leader in Total Zone Runs from here to Funkstown. "The Great One" would be the first player who we would pay to watch play defense. Thanks to advanced statistics and extensive game logs, these spectacular performances have not gone forgotten. We have gone to great lengths to make our All-Time Baseball Player Rankings as thorough as possible. Which helped him earn the 1979 MVP award at age 39. Top 10 Defensive Ends of All Time! | NFL Highlights - YouTube Zack Greinke is the modern Greg Maddux, only with less range, surer hands (one error per 319 innings pitched) and a superior pickoff move. Try this great: second in career Defensive WAR, third in Total Zone Runs and third in Range Factor per nine innings on the all-time list. William Felton Russell (February 12, 1934 - July 31, 2022) was an American professional basketball player who played as a center for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1956 to 1969. (Bonds routinely sat in on the pitchers pre-game meeting where they discussed how they were going to pitch to that days opponents.) The Best Defensive Midfielders of All Time - 90min 20+ Best Midfielders of All Time in the Soccer World - Mental Hiking Some of the players on this list have been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame and are considered among the games greatest players. He was world champion with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1982 and a part of the Amazin' Mets of 1986. WSVX News - Shelby County Post Left Field JAWS Leaders | Baseball-Reference.com Teams: Chicago White Sox (2000-11), Miami Marlins (2012), Toronto Blue Jays (2013-15). Record-Breaking Playmakers Give Washington Redskins a Playoff-Ready How Many Good Giants Were Good Prospects? -- Schoenfield, The last player to hit .400, Teddy Ballgame batted .334 with 521 home runs despite missing five seasons while serving in two wars And when he homered in his last at-bat, there went the greatest hitter who ever lived. Left field is located down the third baseline when viewing the field from home plate. .344/.482 (all-time leader)/.634, OPS -- 1.116, Hits -- 2,654; HRs -- 521, RBIs -- 1,839, The player 1. BOSTON (AP) Mikal Bridges was considered a defensive star and complementary offensive player in Phoenix before abruptly having his five-year run there ended when he was shipped to Brooklyn as . Join the discussion by using the #MLBRank hashtag, and follow along @BBTN and on Facebook. The talented footballer was voted UEFA Men's Player of the Year. (2:29) Tim Kurkjian, Eduardo Perez and Dallas Braden weigh in on who is the greatest left fielder in MLB history. Marlins top 5 >, Key fact: Caught final out of 1969 World Series, One of the engines of the 1969 Miracle Mets, Jones hit .340 in 137 games that season, starting in left field for 119 of them. During his Hall of Fame career, Kaline received 10 Gold Glove awards for his work in Right and Center field. After winning the National League MVP in 2018 and finishing runner-up in 2019, Yelich slashed just . MLB: Ranking top 10 left fielders ever - ESPN.com Barry Bonds Bill Terry Gary Matthews Gregor Blanco Jo-Jo Moore John McGraw, Leo Durocher, Monte Irvin, Whitey Lockman. How We Ranked Baseballs Greatest Players, PRIME = WAR in 5 Best Consecutive Seasons. AJ Pollock is one of the best left fielders in baseball right now. Career stats Some of the players on this list came long before Web Gems were a daily part of our national pastime. The calmness with. Indians top 5 >. Andruw Jones is one of the best defensive outfielders ever; so why .312/.411/.585, OPS -- .996, Hits -- 2,574, HRs -- 555, RBIs -- 1,831, Charlie Manuel often says that to know Manny is to understand him. Willie Mays Mickey Mantle Ty Cobb Ken Griffey Jr. Joe DiMaggio Mike Trout 1. He split time between left field and first base while in Queens . He was a six-time All-Star and won two Gold Gloves as a member of the White Sox, topping .300 in six seasons. Former VP of Player Personnel Gil Brandt's Top 10 Defensive Ends of All Time! 16 Reasons why Lebron is greater than Jordan. 10-time AL All-Star (1980, '82-88, '90-91), AL Gold Glove ('81), three AL Silver Sluggers ('81, '85, '90), AL MVP ('90), Hall of Fame (2009), Championships Cardinals top 5 >, Key fact: Had 4,262 total bases with Cubs, second to only Ernie Banks in club history, There is no debate over who should be the Cubs No. ABOUT MISSOURI. Widely considered to be the greatest catcher in the history of baseball, Johnny Bench was a key member of the Big Red Machine teams that won four National League pennants and two World Series titles. Key fact: Bell was the first Blue Jays player to win the AL MVP Award (1987), Bell starred for the Blue Jays through the mid- and late 1980s, earning the first MVP Award in club history in 1987. And without further ado, our list of the greatest defensive outfielders of all time, sorted by era: Tris Speaker (1907-1928) Ty Cobb (1905-1928) Fielder Jones (1896-1908) Fielding errors were a rarity in the careers of these players. Top 100 Center Fielders of All-Time - Baseball Egg Top 6 Best MLB Center Fielders of All Time - rookieroad.com In 1977, he set what was then a rookie record with 56 stolen bases, and he batted .290 en route to a third-place finish in the NL Rookie of the Year voting. Andy Flower, with Jonty Rhodes (left), steps aside from role of assistant coach with Punjab Kings. "The Say Hey Kid.". 5. He is the all-time leader among third basemen in games played, putouts, assists, double plays turned, and total zone runs. In 16 years with the Cardinals, he stole 888 bases, hit .297 and accumulated 41.8 bWAR. Pirates top 5 >, Key fact: Had 39.5 bWAR with Reds (16th in franchise history), After hitting .306/.364/.530 with 29 homers and a league-leading 121 RBIs in 1976, the second of Cincinnati's consecutive World Series title seasons, Foster enjoyed his best season in 77. In baseball, the left fielder is a defensive position that is responsible for covering the left third of the outfield. While good fielders, neither is known primarily for his defensive skills. On Opening Day in 2010, the southpaw made a kick save on a shot up the middle, quickly ran down the ball in foul territory then executed a no-look, between-the-legs, glove-handed flip to first base for the out, the most insane, off-the-charts play by a pitcher in the history of history. The best outfielder of the 1980s decade combined excellent range and a bazooka arm that rivaled the best ever (read: Roberto Clemente). In baseballs rich history there have been many players that have excelled in the defensive aspects of the game. Keller compiled an AL-best .922 OPS in 1943, then missed most of the next two seasons while serving in the United States Merchant Marines. The top five Yankees center fielders of all time, by WAR Baseball Left Fielder - rookieroad.com In Jo-Jo Moore and Gary Matthews we see the conventional wisdom about left field come to the fore. Gordons 98 outfield assists are tied for the most in MLB since 2010. If not for a relatively short shelf life, he might have more than one All-Star Game and two Gold Gloves on his resume. He also leads the club in total steals (409), as well as hits (1,480), batting average (.296) and triples (105). 2x All-Star (1980, 1985) 2x Silver-Slugger (1983 . Not only was Mays the best center fielder, he might have been the best all-around player to play the game. As a right fielder, it drops down to .969 giving him a total average of .972. Here is the No. We'll run you through the top 50 below, with the likes of Javier . Remember, kids, head up and glove down. Three-time AL All-Star (1933-35), Hall of Fame ('53), Championships Truth is, few ever played the field with more flair and confidence. -- Kahrl, Teams -- Caple, When you look at combined value metrics like WAR or Jay Jaffe's JAWS, it might surprise you to find that after LF's all-time trinity of Williams, Bonds and Henderson, Yaz is the guy who doesn't quite rise to their level, but is far better than everyone else on this list. Willie Mays 2. Top 10 Best Center Fielders of All Time | TheRichest This marked the first and only time a player eclipsed 50 in both homers and doubles. Positions: Shortstop, second base, third base. No player not even Mantle dominated on his level for the '50s and '60s when he roamed center for the Giants and racked up two MVP awards, four home run titles, four stolen base titles, and one batting title. 344 views, 3 likes, 0 loves, 1 comments, 0 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from Field of Dreams Navojoa: Aguerridas Vs Buhas His defensive skills earned him the nickname The Wizard of Oz. During his 19 year career he appeared in 15 All-Star Games and earned 13 Gold Glove Awards. In itself, that's a testament to his greatness. His 253 hits with the A's in 1925 remains the single-season Major League record for a right-handed batter. Teams: Texas Rangers (1991-2002, 2009), Florida Marlins (2003), Detroit Tigers (2004-08), New York Yankees (2008), Houston Astros (2009), Washington (2010-11), Gold Glove Awards: 13 (1992-2001, 2004, 2006-07). The only 3 left fielders with 4 or more Gold Gloves are Barry Bonds (8), Alex Gordon (7, so far), and Yastrzemski (7). All told, Anderson appeared in 623 games in left over his 14 seasons in Baltimore, good for second in franchise history. Before developing into the most prolific home run hitter of all time, Barry Bonds was an outfielder with amazing range. In ranking the top 25, many great players were left off the list including Hall of Famers Andre Dawson, Jim Rice, Al Simmons, Duke Snider, Dave Winfield, Lou Brock and others. Greg Maddux is widely considered to be the greatest fielding pitcher of all-time. Kante is a winner / Sebastian Frej/MB Media/GettyImages. 10. Oakland A's (1979-84, '89-93, '94-95, '98), New York Yankees ('85-89), Toronto Blue Jays ('93), San Diego Padres ('96-97, '01), Anaheim Angels ('97), New York Mets ('99-2000), Seattle Mariners ('00), Boston Red Sox ('02), Los Angeles Dodgers ('03), Honors 2 -- Philadelphia A's (1929-30), Career stats The Ultimate Compendium for the Baseball Fan, Including All-Time Teams for Your Favorite Franchise From Yankees to Dodgers and More. Bottom line: His dWar number is skewed by misspent time in center field. Possessing a cannon for an arm, he terrified base runners with his pick off moves and laser throws to catch runners stealing. Regarded as the one of the best defensive right fielders of all time thanks to a legendary arm that helped him win 12 Gold Gloves, Clemente was a notorious bad-ball hitter who hit .312 lifetime . Teams: Baltimore Orioles (1964-76), New York Yankees (1977-80), Cincinnati Reds (1979). Best Fielders of All-Time - 3rd Base - Stat Geek Baseball In 2007, he led all shortstops in both putouts and assists. No one loves a good debate quite like baseball fans, and with that in mind, we asked each of our beat reporters to rank the top five players by position in the history of their franchise, based on each player's career with that franchise. Yaz led all outfielders in assists seven times, total zone runs four times, and putouts as a left fielder four times. Answer (1 of 21): The first player that comes to mind would be Suzuki Ichiro, who could throw seeds all the way to the third-base bag from rightfield. Key thoughts and analysis from Saturday's Premier League action "The Wizard" is the all-time leader in dWAR. Matthews, too, was primarily a good hitter. Who's the greatest left fielder of all-time? He also knew how to play the Green Monster pretty well. How great does a career .228 hitter have to be to play regularly for 10 seasons? His #6 was retired by the Detroit Tigers and in 1980 he was enshrined in Cooperstown as a first ballot Hall of Famer. Thatd be Sweet Swinging Billy Williams, who won the 1961 NL Rookie of the Year Award, made six All-Star teams, picked up a batting title (72), finished as the runner-up for the NL MVP twice and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1987. Ibanez leads all Mariners left fielders and ranks among the franchise's overall top 10 in games (1,110), hits (1,077), homers (156), doubles (216), extra-base hits (392), RBIs (612), runs (540), walks (367) and slugging percentage (.466). We feel its important to acknowledge that baseball is harder to play today than it was 25 years ago, and 50 years ago, and so on. The Top 10 Boston Celtics of all Time. Consistency, discipline, and work ethic are essential traits for a player to earn the coveted Gold Glove Award, awarded to elite fielders at the end of each season. -- Caple, Barry Bonds the young player was the game's greatest in his day; Barry Bonds the older man was the most feared slugger ever. To put it simply, Royals coach Rusty Kuntz said, he is the gold standard of left fielders in baseball. Royals top 5 >, Key facts: Four-time All-Star; led 1968 World Series champion Tigers in average, homers and OPS, This is the only position where the Tigers don't have a Hall of Famer to consider, and it makes for an interesting debate. In addition to breaking Hank Aarons home run record, he also is the all-time leader in total zone runs from a left fielder. It is the most memorable part of a legacy that saw Jones hit .291 with 93 homers and 91 steals over 12 years as a Met. Eddie Rosario - Minnesota Twins Age 27 The 27-year old Rosario has been a steady 30+ doubles / 20+ home runs guy for the last. 9 in 1983, and a sculpture of Minoso was unveiled at Guaranteed Rate Field in 2004. Thats how confident the former prep school track-basketball star was in his speed, quickness and ups. Yelich had -6 defensive runs saved in his first season as a primary left fielder in 2020, though that's far from the biggest concern of the Brewers. Relying on positioning and reading hitters proved inadequate to maintain the standards hed set. 9. He has led all shortstops in double plays turned three times and is the active leader among shortstops in range factor, fielding percentage, and total zone runs. Tweet Email Comment Next The Clooney Garage: Inside George Clooney's Insane Car Collection Related Topics Baseball Honors (Insider), Teams The adequate fielding was a bonus. Ted Williams - Boston Red Sox (1939-1942; 1946-1960) Maddux had his #31 retired by both the Chicago Cubs and Atlanta Braves. Roberto Alomar was a fixture on the Toronto Blue Jays World Series winning teams and would go on to have an impact on several other exciting teams. He notched an impressive 283 wins and 2,461 strikeouts in his career along with a career ERA of 3.45. Not only as an outfielder, mind you, but at any position. No argument here. 7 Cubs pitchers combine for no-hitter vs Machado, Padres, Jays 'playing it safe' after Guerrero tweaks knee, Top moments from Brady, Manning, Jordan and other athletes hosting 'Saturday Night Live', Fantasy baseball rankings, projections, strategy and cheat sheets, PitchCom-tipping: Loud device leaks Twins calls, Eflin's first start after $40M deal impresses Rays, Rangers' Leclerc to miss WBC with neck injury, Rockies' Rodgers may need surgery, '23 at risk, Rojas to withdraw from WBC, stay with Dodgers. For his efforts he was the recipient of ten Gold Glove Awards and appeared in 12 All-Star Games. Jim Edmonds Jim Edmonds poses for a picture at Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter, Florida, on February 25, 2005. "Smooth" ranks second in TZR and 11th in Range Factor per nine innings at the position. -- Tim Kurkjian, ESPN.com senior writer, For as much as we dwell on the video-arcade numbers from his final 10 seasons, sometimes we don't make enough of what he did in his first 12: .288/.408/.551, 374 HR, 417 SB, three NL MVP awards. Mays, who finished with 660 HR, 3,283 hits, and 12 Gold Gloves, was the best of the three and the greatest center fielder of all time. .303/.375/.409, OPS -- .784, Hits -- 4,256 (all-time leader), HRs - 160, RBIs -- 1,314, Games -- 3,562 (all-time leader), At-bats -- 14,053 (all-time leader), The epitome of a hustler, on the field and off. Christian Yelich, Milwaukee Brewers. Seven-time All-Star ('64-66, '71-73, '78), World Series MVP (1979), MVP ('79), Hall of Fame ('88), Championships Mariners top 5 > Rangers: Rusty Greer (1994-2002) He played nearly 1,500 games in the field with nine different teams. Long Peak = WAR in Best 7 Seasons. Before Barry Bonds became a controversial, divisive figure, before he was conserving energy in left field, he was a tremendously talented five-tool player. Thats right more than Ozzie Smith even. He spent his entire 18-year career with the Philadelphia Phillies where he was chosen as an All-Star twelve times and won ten Gold Glove Awards. Robinson is 3rd all-time in fielding percentage among third baseman. The four time All-Star has played his entire career with the Colorado Rockies where he has won two Gold Glove Awards and three Fielding Bible Awards. Montreal Expos (1979-90, 2001), Chicago White Sox ('91-95), New York Yankees ('96-98), Oakland A's ('99), Baltimore Orioles ('01), Florida Marlins ('02), Honors Houston Astros All-Time Rankings: Left Field Bottom line: Roberto Alomar and his record 10 Gold Gloves originally were in this spot, but this Royals lifer got the final nod because of his impressive career metrics. Who would be on your list of the best defensive right fielders of all time? Tim Kurkjian, Eduardo Perez and Dallas Braden weigh in on who is the greatest left fielder in MLB history. Left Field JAWS Leaders. Teams: Chicago Cubs (1986-1990, 2004-06), Atlanta Braves (1993-2003), Los Angeles Dodgers (2006, 2008), San Diego Padres (2007-08), Gold Glove Awards: 18 (1990-2002, 2004-08). Frank White also is 10th in double plays turned. The Argentine midfielder was capable of carrying on his own the . The 7 Best Left Fielders in MLB Right Now - beIN SPORTS USA -- Kahrl, Teams Whiteland built a double-digit lead at the pivotal moment of the third quarter then hit just enough free throws in the game's final minute to secure a 47-45 victory over Shelbyville . Securing a pennant or even the World Series. All-time, I would say that you would find a consensus of 6 right fielders that stand above the crowd by most opinions - Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron, Frank Robinson, Mel Ott, Roberto Clemente, and Al Kaline.Of those 6, 4 (Aaron, Robinson, Clemente, and Kaline) debuted in the mid-1950's and . Major League Baseball's Top 10 Outfielders of All Time Because range was a valuable commodity at spacious Tiger Stadium, Al Kaline spent nearly 20 percent of his time in center field. And Bill White almost certainly would have one more (1956) if the award had been in existence. Big personalities? Ranking MLB's all-time best left fielders - sports.yahoo.com Others are not included in those categories, but excelled in the defensive aspects of the game to such an extent that their inclusion was necessary. Greatest Catches in Baseball History | Stadium Talk The Definitive List of the 7 Best Left Fielders Right Now 7. It seems reasonable to require greater longevity than 23 innings when trying to identify the greatest outfield in major-league history. 300 games) with a .305 AVG.The Rangers have three worthy candidates for the title of best left fielder in club history: Greer, Frank Howard and Al Oliver. .298/.444/.607, OPS -- 1.051, Hits -- 2,935; HRs -- 762 (all-time leader), RBIs -- 1,996; BBs -- 2,558 (all-time leader); IBBs -- 688 (all-time leader), He is, after Babe Ruth and Ted Williams, the greatest hitter ever. Rockies top 5 >. He was enshrined in Cooperstown in 1989 and no Cincinnati Red will ever wear his #5 again. His arrival helped turn a 90-loss team into a 103-win team. He became the first Tiger to earn a $100,000 salary. That leaves half or just under half from his long peak (seven best seasons), short peak (three best seasons), and prime (five best consecutive seasons). Sometimes, it's a combination of all of the above. Having helped lead the Rangers to three division titles in four years (1996-99) with a .315/.398/.502 batting line and 80 home runs, Greer gets the edge. He also retired with the highest career fielding percentage and once went 95 consecutive games without committing an error. He was the league leader in Total Zone Runs five times. But he posted a .291/.357/.387 slash line across seven seasons, and he still ranks in the franchise's top five in batting average, runs, position-player WAR, hits, triples and stolen bases. ALL-TIME #MLBRANK, Top 100: 100-91 | 90-81 | 80-71 | 70-61 | 60-51 | 50-41 | 40-31 | 30-21 | 20-11 | 10-1, Insider analysis: 100-81 | 80-61 | 60-41 | 40-21 | 20-1, Top 10s: LHP | RHP | C | SS | 3B | 2B | 1B | LF | CF | RF, My Top 10: Kurkjian | Stark | Olney | Crasnick | Schoenfield, Stark: The perception of greatness in the Top 100, Szymborski: Who's in the future 100? The adequate fielding was a bonus. His 254 assists are the most by an outfielder in the live ball era, which is nutso when you consider that, once word got around, a runner would almost rather have a lobotomy than risk embarrassment by his legendary arm. The Flying Dutchman also has his visage on the most expensive baseball card of all time. The ten time All-Star, eight time Gold Glove, led all second basemen in double plays turned for eight consecutive years from 1960 to 1967. 344 views, 3 likes, 0 loves, 1 comments, 0 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from Field of Dreams Navojoa: Aguerridas Vs Buhas. Jesse Barfield ranks 16th in Total Zone Runs at any position. Midfielder - Wikipedia Who is the best left fielder in MLB? 2 -- Pittsburgh (1971, '79), Career stats At the age of 29, Troy Tulowitzkistill has a long MLB career ahead of him. Angels top 5 >, Key fact: His .959 OPS with the Astros is the second highest in franchise history, Berkman is one of the three greatest offensive players in Astros history, joining Hall of Famers Jeff Bagwell and Craig Biggio. The Best Players of the Last 50 Years - Part VIII - Left Fielders 1. " It has been 56 since he last played; nobody has passed him yet (although Barry Bonds came close). We all know left field is a hitters position. Greatest Defensive Midfielders Of All Time - Top 10 CDM Ever (2:29), All-Time #MLBRank: The 10 greatest left fielders, The greatest lineups ever? Hes the all-time leader. A career .630 OPS dwarfed his excellence in the field. But Bonds is among the greatest players of all time, with 762 home runs, a career OPS of 1.051. "Pops," of course. But nobody was a more complete package than this gold standard at the hot corner. Subjectively, I would go with Yaz as the best defensive left fielder of all time. He also had a .992 OPS over 29 postseason games with Houston. Brooks Robinson made a living off of amazing plays at third base. Note: All stats are through the 2019 MLB season. The son of an amateur catcher could single-handedly shut down run games. He won one MVP award and probably should have won three. Best fielders in world cricket: The top 10 ever Elegance personified on the field of play. Listen Now. Brock was at his best in October, hitting .391 -- second only to Pepper Martin (.418) in franchise history -- with 34 hits in 21 World Series games. -- Schoenfield, It isn't easy taking the place of Ted Williams, but Yaz did a pretty good job, winning three batting titles and making 18 All-Star teams. Players are evaluated on five criteria as the foundation of our rankings: We use Wins Above Replacement (WAR) as a basis for these calculations. This may not look too poor except the league's outfielders are at .986 during the same time. He's also on the short list of Total Zone Runs (fourth), Range Factor per nine innings (fifth) and jaws dropped (many) in major league history. Ozzie Smith is generally regarded as the greatest defensive player of all time. His was known for his trademark tumbling skills which dazzled fans young and old. That's short for Three True Outcomes, also known as walks, strikeouts and home runs. Paul Blair's home run thievery in the final game of the 1966 World Series sweep was one of the greatest plays ever in postseason play, but because it came in the pre-YouTube days, it was never recognized as such. Bill Mazeroski became a baseball icon when he hit the first World Series winning walk off home run in history. Yes, his legacy is deservedly controversial, but Ted Williams wasn't close to the all-around player that Bonds was. Teams: Philadelphia/Kansas City Athletics (1954-1958), Cleveland Indians (1958-61) Minnesota Twins (1962-64), Los Angeles-California Angels (1964), Philadelphia Phillies (1964-65). The top 100 will roll out next week. That year, Foster posted a .320/.382/.620 slash line with a club-record -- and Major League-leading -- 52 homers and 149 RBIs, winning NL MVP honors. He led the American League in fielding percentage as a second basemen four times, assists twice, and committed the fewest errors as a second baseman twice. Mizzou Meets LSU in Season's Final Road Game Best left fielders in A's history - mlb.com .282/.360/.529, OPS -- .889, Hits -- 2,232, HRs -- 475, RBIs -- 1,540, The most feared slugger on the "We Are Family" Pirates? Positions: Second base, third base, shortstop. He did not have the career of his father, but who did? Tris Speaker was one of the greatest players in baseball history. 15 Greatest Center Fielders in MLB History - Sportscasting When "Little Louie" led the new wave of Hispanic players in the bigs, the position went from 33 1/3 to 78 rpm in terms of athleticism and entertainment value. He. "The Glove" is the MLB career leader in Total Zone Runs and double plays at the position and it would take a search party to find the next in line. -- Kahrl, Honors Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) is another modern metric that considers multiple factors to determine how many runs the player saved through his direct defensive contributions.