Troy Tulowitzki, shortstop for the Colorado Rockies, first started playing with the Rockies in August, 2006. In 25 games that season, he had a .240 batting average with 1 home run, 2 doubles and 6 RBIs. The following season, Tulowitzki became known in the baseball world for his fielding at shortstop as well as his ability with the bat. He finished the 2007 season with a .291 batting average, 24 home runs, 5 triples, 33 doubles, and 99 RBIs.
Jhonny Peralta, shortstop with the Detroit Tigers, first signed with the Cleveland Indians in 1999 and he made his major league debut in June, 2003. He played in 77 games in 2003, but in only 8 games the following year. However, in 2005, Peralta became the Indians' starting shortstop. He stayed with the Indians until the end of July, 2010, when they traded him to the Detroit Tigers.
Adrian Beltre, third baseman for the Texas Rangers, began his major league career with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1998. At 19, he was the youngest player in the National League. Beltre started off slowly with the Dodgers, batting only .215 in his first season, but by 2000, he was beginning to show his power at the plate, batting .290 and hitting 20 home runs that year. His best year with the Dodgers came, however, in 2004, his last season with the Los Angeles team. He ended the 2004 season with a career high batting average of .334 and 48 home runs. Beltre won his first of three Silver Slugger awards that season.
Chase Headley, third baseman for the San Diego Padres, made his first appearance in the major leagues for the Padres in June, 2007 when he replaced an injured Kevin Kouzmanoff. He played in only 8 games in 2007 and started the 2008 season in the minor leagues. In June, 2008, Headley was called up to the Padres and he played in 91 games for San Diego that season. Headley's best season so far was clearly 2012, when he won both the Gold Glove and Silver Slugger awards for NL third basemen. He also led the league in RBIs.
David Wright, power hitting third baseman for the New York Mets, has won two Silver Slugger awards (2007, 2008) and two Gold Glove awards (2007, 2008) in his nine years in the major leagues. He is very popular with the fans and has been an All-star six times in his career. This year, he was made captain of the Mets.
Evan Longoria, third baseman for the Tampa Bay Rays, made his major league debut in 2008. He had an outstanding first year in the majors, batting .272 with 27 home runs and 85 RBIs in 122 games for Tampa Bay. Longoria received the American League Rookie of the Year award for his first year efforts in 2008.
Miguel Cabrera, power hitting third baseman for the Detroit Tigers, began his major league baseball career with the Florida Marlins when he was just 20 years old. He ended his 2003 rookie season with a batting average of .268 with 12 home runs and 62 RBIs in only 87 games. The following season he played in 160 games, batted .294 and had 33 home runs and 112 RBIs. Cabrera played even better ball in his next three years with the Marlins, batting .323 in 2005 with 33 home runs and 116 RBIs and .339 in 2006 with 26 home runs and 114 RBIs. In 2007, his last season with the Marlins, he batted .320 with 34 home runs and 119 RBIs. In five years with the Marlins, Cabrera earned 2 Silver Slugger awards (2005, 2006) and he was chosen for 4 All Star games (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007).
Pablo Sandoval, third baseman for the San Francisco Giants, made his first appearance in a major league game in August of 2008. In 41 games in 2008, he batted .345 with 3 home runs, 10 doubles and 24 RBIs. The following year, he batted .330 and had 189 hits, 44 doubles, and 25 home runs. Although he didn't play as well in 2010 or 2011, he excelled in the 2012 World Series and he won the World Series MVP award. In the 2012 postseason, Sandoval batted .364 and he had 24 hits, 5 doubles, 6 home runs, and 13 RBIs.
Placido Polanco, the new third baseman for the Miami Marlins, was first drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in 1994. He made his major league debut with the Cardinals four years later. Polanco played with the Cardinals for four and a half years before he was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies at the end of July, 2002. Polanco was not an everyday player in his first two years with the Cardinals, but in 2000, he played in 118 games for the team, batting .316 with 102 hits. The following year, he played in 144 games, batted .307 and had 173 hits.
Ryan Zimmerman, third baseman with the Washington Nationals since 2005, had a distinguished baseball record at the University of Virginia before being drafted by the Nationals. He won several national awards as a collegiate player and he had a .393 average in his last year.