Newsday's Top Five-Tool Players

Just a couple of decades ago, it was enough for a major league ball player to be good at one or two facets of the game.

Bucky Dent wasn't a great hitter, but his exceptional defense made him a valuable shortstop to the Yankees.

Very few catchers were considered offensive forces - their primary role was to take good care of their pitchers and monitor the overall pulse of each game.

Today, scouts, managers, and owners thirst for multi-dimensional players - those who can hit for average, hit for power, provide exceptional fieldwork, throw the ball like Ichiro or Jeter, and have good speed around the bases.

These multi-talented players - called five-tool players - command a premium in salary and respect around the league.

Here are the top 20 five-tool players in major league baseball, as voted by a group of baseball panelists for Newsday:

1. A-Rod
2. Vladimir Guerrerro
3. Ichiro Suzuki
4. Carlos Beltran
5. Scott Rolen
6. Jim Edmonds
7. Adrian Beltre
8. Miguel Tejada
9. Torrii Hunter
10. Barry Bonds
11. Derek Jeter
12. Bobbie Abreu
13. Ivan Rodriguez
14. Albert Pujols
15. Gary Sheffield
16. Andruw Jones
17. Vernon Wells
18. Michael Young
19. J.D. Drew
20. Steve Finley

I'm not sure why Matsui didn't make this list. He has average running speed, but his hustle and base running instincts are way above average.

Looking at this list, it makes me wonder why the Yankees weren't able to pursue Vernon Wells more aggressively. He is much stronger than Damon defensively, and is younger, too. Perhaps The Blue Jays weren't willing to part with Wells, but I doubt that the Yankees came anywhere close to offering the equivalent of 52 million dollars in trying to get him.

- Joshua
InsideTheYankees.com