In baseball, an assist (denoted by A) is a defensive statistic, baseball being one of the few sports in which the defensive team controls the ball. An assist is credited to every defensive player who fields or touches the ball (after it has been hit by the batter) prior to the recording of a putout, even if the contact was unintentional. For example, if a ball strikes a player's leg and bounces off him to another fielder, who tags the baserunner, the first player is credited with an assist. A fielder can receive a maximum of one assist per out recorded. An assist is also credited if a putout would have occurred, had another fielder not committed an error. For example, a shortstop might field a ground ball cleanly, but the first baseman might drop his throw. In this case, an error would be charged to the first baseman, and the shortstop would be credited with an assist.
Rabbit Maranville is the all-time leader with 8,967 career assists. Ozzie Smith (8,375), Cal Ripken Jr. (8,214), Bill Dahlen (8,138), Omar Vizquel (8,050), and Luis Aparicio (8,016) are the only other players to record more than 8,000 career assists.
| Rank | Rank amongst leaders in career assists. A blank field indicates a tie. | |
| Player (2024 As) | Number of recorded assists during the 2024 Major League Baseball season. | |
| A | Total career assists. | |
| Denotes elected to National Baseball Hall of Fame. | ||
| Bold | Denotes active player.[1] |
| Rank | Player (2024 As) | A | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rabbit Maranville | 8,967 | |
| 2 | Ozzie Smith | 8,375 | |
| 3 | Cal Ripken Jr. | 8,214 | |
| 4 | Bill Dahlen | 8,138 | |
| 5 | Omar Vizquel | 8,050 | |
| 6 | Luis Aparicio | 8,016 | |
| 7 | Eddie Collins | 7,716 | |
| 8 | Luke Appling | 7,543 | |
| 9 | Tommy Corcoran | 7,509 | |
| 10 | Bobby Wallace | 7,465 | |
| 11 | Frankie Frisch | 7,170 | |
| 12 | Charlie Gehringer | 7,091 | |
| 13 | Dave Concepción | 7,024 | |
| 14 | Joe Morgan | 6,969 | |
| 15 | Bid McPhee | 6,923 | |
| 16 | Larry Bowa | 6,864 | |
| 17 | Rogers Hornsby | 6,842 | |
| 18 | Honus Wagner | 6,782 | |
| 19 | Bill Mazeroski | 6,694 | |
| 20 | Nap Lajoie | 6,691 | |
| 21 | Lou Whitaker | 6,653 | |
| 22 | Ryne Sandberg | 6,648 | |
| 23 | Frank White | 6,629 | |
| 24 | Derek Jeter | 6,605 | |
| 25 | Dave Bancroft | 6,604 | |
| 26 | Roberto Alomar | 6,536 | |
| 27 | Don Kessinger | 6,453 | |
| 28 | George Davis | 6,429 | |
| 29 | Nellie Fox | 6,385 | |
| 30 | Dick Bartell | 6,348 | |
| 31 | Willie Randolph | 6,339 | |
| 32 | Roger Peckinpaugh | 6,338 | |
| 33 | Herman Long | 6,335 | |
| 34 | Bert Campaneris | 6,323 | |
| 35 | Germany Smith | 6,304 | |
| 36 | Donie Bush | 6,286 | |
| 37 | Alan Trammell | 6,265 | |
| 38 | Chris Speier | 6,259 | |
| 39 | Roy McMillan | 6,233 | |
| 40 | Brooks Robinson | 6,220 | |
| 41 | Miguel Tejada | 6,193 | |
| 42 | Jimmy Rollins | 6,139 | |
| 43 | Pee Wee Reese | 6,131 | |
| 44 | Garry Templeton | 6,078 | |
| 45 | Joe Cronin | 6,052 | |
| 46 | Jack Glasscock | 5,951 | |
| Joe Tinker | 5,951 | ||
| 48 | Jeff Kent | 5,918 | |
| 49 | Royce Clayton | 5,904 | |
| 50 | Bobby Grich | 5,891 |
| Rank | Player (2024 As) | A | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 51 | Robinson Canó | 5,881 | |
| 52 | Dick Groat | 5,864 | |
| Barry Larkin | 5,864 | ||
| 54 | Mark Belanger | 5,831 | |
| 55 | Billy Herman | 5,823 | |
| 56 | Bill Russell | 5,713 | |
| 57 | Bobby Doerr | 5,710 | |
| 58 | Édgar Rentería | 5,706 | |
| 59 | Alex Rodriguez | 5,681 | |
| 60 | Craig Biggio | 5,671 | |
| 61 | Jay Bell | 5,609 | |
| 62 | Mickey Doolan | 5,585 | |
| 63 | Tony Fernández | 5,544 | |
| 64 | Fred Pfeffer | 5,530 | |
| 65 | Maury Wills | 5,512 | |
| 66 | Ed Brinkman | 5,500 | |
| 67 | Red Schoendienst | 5,466 | |
| 68 | Billy Jurges | 5,446 | |
| 69 | Orlando Cabrera | 5,445 | |
| 70 | Leo Cárdenas | 5,429 | |
| 71 | Elvis Andrus | 5,419 | |
| 72 | Monte Cross | 5,378 | |
| 73 | Ozzie Guillén | 5,375 | |
| 74 | Kid Gleason | 5,324 | |
| 75 | George McBride | 5,316 | |
| 76 | Alfredo Griffin | 5,309 | |
| 77 | Graig Nettles | 5,295 | |
| 78 | Art Fletcher | 5,254 | |
| 79 | Del Pratt | 5,238 | |
| 80 | Joe Sewell | 5,230 | |
| 81 | Ian Kinsler | 5,219 | |
| 82 | Johnny Evers | 5,215 | |
| 83 | Mike Schmidt | 5,193 | |
| 84 | Adrián Beltré | 5,187 | |
| 85 | Travis Jackson | 5,178 | |
| 86 | Buddy Myer | 5,152 | |
| 87 | Hughie Critz | 5,145 | |
| 88 | Jimmy Dykes | 5,139 | |
| 89 | Arky Vaughan | 5,119 | |
| 90 | Tim Foli | 5,108 | |
| 91 | Everett Scott | 5,060 | |
| 92 | John Montgomery Ward | 5,050 | |
| 93 | Buddy Bell | 5,009 | |
| 94 | Mark Grudzielanek | 4,975 | |
| 95 | Brandon Phillips | 4,971 | |
| 96 | Toby Harrah | 4,965 | |
| 97 | Claude Ritchey | 4,958 | |
| 98 | Ed McKean | 4,945 | |
| 99 | Tony Lazzeri | 4,944 | |
| 100 | Jim Gantner | 4,942 |