We’re a quarter of the way through the 21st century and have been lucky enough to see some of the greatest players in baseball history over the past 25 years.
Since 2000, future Hall of Famer Albert Pujols’ 101.3 Wins Above Replacement (WAR) leads all players, with Alex Rodriguez tied for second ways back at 89.7 bWAR.
Justin Verlander, now 42 years old, has the highest mark of any pitcher at 82.2 and is one of eight active players who rank among the top 25 in WAR over the past 25 years. Five of the top 25 have already been inducted into Baseball’s Hall of Fame.
Here’s a look at the full list, using Baseball-Reference’s WAR calculations:
25 best MLB players of the 2000s, ranked by WAR
Albert Pujols – 101.3 WAR
Alex Rodriguez – 89.7 WAR
Adrian Beltre – 89.7
Mike Trout – 87.5
Justin Verlander – 82.2
Clayton Kershaw – 78.1
Mookie Betts – 75.2
Max Scherzer – 74.7
Zack Greinke – 72.4
Robinson Cano – 68.7
Miguel Cabrera – 67.2
Carlos Beltran – 65.1
Chase Utley – 64.6
Freddie Freeman – 64.2
Paul Goldschmidt – 63.8
Joey Votto – 63.6
Roy Halladay – 62.4
Aaron Judge – 62.3
CC Sabathia – 61.8
Manny Machado – 61.7
Ichiro Suzuki – 60
Mark Buehrle – 60
Barry Bonds – 59.1
Evan Longoria – 58.9
Chipper Jones – 58.3