The Retrosheet gamelogs contain a wealth of information, including full starting lineups for over 170,000 games in MLB history. Using these files, the VORG has determined the top three players for most games started from each slot in the batting order.
Some highlights:
- Rickey Henderson started 2,890 games in his Hall of Fame career, and not surprisingly 99.5% of those games saw him batting leadoff. His next highest count? He batted third eight times.
- Charlie Grimm is the only player to finish in the top three at two different slots (6th, 7th). These accounted for 88% of his total games started.
- Ken Griffey, Sr. batted third a mere 239 times, roughly 1/8th Junior’s total. Griffey Sr. batted second most often.
| 1ST | Frequency |
| Rickey Henderson | 2875 |
| Pete Rose | 2300 |
| Lou Brock | 1893 |
| 2ND | Frequency |
| Nellie Fox | 1711 |
| Omar Vizquel | 1570 |
| Ozzie Smith | 1529 |
| 3RD | Frequency |
| Stan Musial | 2253 |
| Ken Griffey, Jr. | 2014 |
| Carl Yastrzemski | 1978 |
| 4TH | Frequency |
| Eddie Murray | 2038 |
| Fred McGriff | 1825 |
| Willie McCovey | 1607 |
| 5TH | Frequency |
| Harry Heilmann | 1275 |
| Ernie Banks | 976 |
| Robin Ventura | 918 |
| 6TH | Frequency |
| Charlie Grimm | 892 |
| Graig Nettles | 832 |
| Travis Jackson | 789 |
| 7TH | Frequency |
| Charlie Grimm | 976 |
| Everett Scott | 894 |
| Jimmy Dykes | 768 |
| 8TH | Frequency |
| Al Lopez | 1363 |
| Jim Hegan | 1317 |
| Ray Schalk | 1207 |
| 9TH | Frequency |
| Ozzie Guillen | 1095 |
| Gary Disarcina | 853 |
| Bucky Dent | 826 |