Who is the tallest player in the mlb? Height isn’t as much of an emphasis in baseball as it is in other sports. This makes it more obvious when a player of taller stature is on the diamond.
In chronological order, here are the eight players in major league history who have measured 6-foot-10 or taller, all of whom are pitchers.
Randy Johnson: When the “Big Unit” made his debut with the Montreal Expos in 1988, he became the first 6-foot-10 player in MLB history. Johnson used his imposing height to his advantage, becoming one of the greatest pitchers of his generation. When he finally retired in 2009, Johnson had five Cy Young Awards, six 300-strikeout seasons and a perfect game. He was an easy first-ballot selection for the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2015.
Eric Hillman: The 6-foot-10 product of Gary, Ind. spent three brief seasons with the New York Mets. Hillman’s major league debut came late in the Mets’ controversial 1992 season. That offseason, they splurged in free agency by signing Eddie Murray, Willie Randolph, Bobby Bonilla and Bret Saberhagen in the hopes of regaining past glory. Instead, the Mets lost 90 games and finished 24 games out of first place in the National League East. Sound familiar?
Jon Rauch: When Rauch made his major league debut with the Chicago White Sox in 2002, he one-upped Johnson by becoming the tallest player in MLB history at 6-foo-11. For a brief moment in his 11-year tenure, Rauch was a teammate of Johnson’s with the 2008 Arizona Diamondbacks. With 6-foot-8 Tony Clark and 6-foot-6 Adam Dunn on that same roster, the D-backs had enough height to challenge the Phoenix Suns.
Chris Young: The 6-foot-10 Dallas native is the scholar of this club, attending Princeton University. Young became the Ivy League’s first male two-sport Rookie of the Year by playing baseball and basketball for the Tigers. He showed promise early with the San Diego Padres, earning an All-Star selection in 2007, but injuries unfortunately plagued most of his 13-year tenure.
Andy Sisco: This 6-foot-10 left-hander from Seattle was drafted straight out of high school by the Chicago Cubs in the second round of the 2001 draft. Sisco made his major league debut in 2005 with the Kansas City Royals. He pitched well in his first year, but a cumulative 7.34 ERA over the next two seasons forced him out of the majors by 2008.
Andrew Brackman: The 6-foot-10 native of Cincinnati was considered a phenom in college, succeeding in both baseball and basketball at North Carolina State. Brackman suffered a stress fracture in his hip shortly thereafter, hurting his draft stock. He only had three major league appearances with the New York Yankees in 2011
Aaron Slegers: Shockingly, this 6-foot-10 right-hander from Phoenix chose to go to Indiana University for baseball rather than basketball. Slegers made occasional appearances between 2017 and 2021 with the Minnesota Twins, Tampa Bay Rays and Los Angeles Angels before a chronic shoulder injury forced him to retire at age 30.
Sean Hjelle: The only active player on this list, the 6-foot-11 Hjelle tied Rauch for the tallest player in MLB history when he was called up by the San Francisco Giants in 2022. Hjelle didn’t play any basketball during his time at the University of Kentucky but did play in his high school years in Minnesota. In case you’re wondering, his last name is indeed pronounced “jelly.” His dunks in basketball were undoubtedly called “Hjelle jams.” They had to be.
First base: Tony Clark (6-foot-8)
It makes sense to have a big target at first base, and Clark fit the bill. The 6-foot-8 slugger played for six teams in 15 seasons and hit .262 with 251 homers, 824 RBIs and an .824 OPS. He’s also the tallest switch-hitter in MLB history.
Honorable mentions: Nate Freiman (6-8)
Second base: Dick Hall (6-foot-6)
Hall’s career spanned from 1952-71, and he spent much of it as a pitcher and part-time outfielder. However, he also started seven games at second base for the Pirates in his second big league season. No other player 6-6 or taller has started a game at the keystone.
Third base: Ryan Minor (6-foot-7)
Best known as the player who replaced Cal Ripken Jr. in the Orioles’ starting lineup when Ripken ended his consecutive games-played streak at 2,632 on Sept. 20, 1998, Minor played four seasons in MLB, three with the O’s and one with the Expos. He hit .177 with five homers over 142 games.
But it should hardly be surprising, given his height, that Minor was also an accomplished basketball player. He twice led the Big 8 Conference in points per game while at Oklahoma, and the Philadelphia 76ers made him a second-round pick in the 1996 NBA Draft. (That was the same year Philly picked Allen Iverson first overall and also drafted Mark Hendrickson, who went on to pitch for 10 MLB seasons).
Honorable mention: Joel Guzman (6-7)
Shortstop: Oneil Cruz (6-foot-7)
There are some tall shortstops in today’s game — Corey Seager and Carlos Correa are both 6-4 — but Cruz towers over everyone. He has two inches over the next tallest players to start a game at short — Troy Glaus, Archi Cianfrocco and Mike Morse, all 6-5. Joel Guzman is the only other 6-7 guy to make an appearance at shortstop, but he never started there.
Left field: Frank Howard (6-foot-7)
A hulking right-handed slugger who won the 1960 NL Rookie of the Year Award and hit 382 homers over 16 seasons, Howard made more starts in left field (902) than any of his other positions (1B, RF, DH) combined. Of all the 6-foot-7 players to appear in an MLB game, Howard is also the only one we could find who has gone on to manage.
Honorable mentions: Billy Ashley (6-7), Walt Bond (6-7), Taylor Jones (6-7), Richie Sexson (6-7), Steven Moya (6-7)
Center field: Aaron Judge (6-foot-7)
Judge has mostly played right field during his career, but he’s now made enough starts in center field to qualify for this spot. Bond is the only other player listed at 6-foot-7 or taller who has started a game in center.
Honorable mention: Walt Bond (6-7)
Right field: Walt Bond (6-foot-7)
Howard and Judge both have more right-field starts, but with those two occupying left and center, respectively, this spot goes to Bond. A left-handed hitter, Bond recorded 41 homers, 179 RBIs and a .733 OPS over six seasons for Cleveland, Houston and Minnesota.
Honorable mentions: Billy Ashley (6-7), Steven Moya (6-7), Richie Sexson (6-7)
Designated hitter: Nate Freiman (6-foot-8)
Clark and Freiman are the only two position players listed at 6-8 or taller in MLB history. Freiman played two seasons in the Majors, appearing in 116 games with the A’s over 2013-14, including eight starts as the DH.
Starting pitcher: Randy Johnson (6-foot-10)
With 11 starts in his career, 6-11 righty Jon Rauch technically is the tallest player to start an MLB game. But with Rauch in our RP spot, the starting nod goes to the Big Unit. Among the most intimidating pitchers ever, the 6-10 left-hander collected 303 wins, 4,875 strikeouts — second all time behind Nolan Ryan — and five Cy Young Awards en route to the Hall of Fame.
Honorable mention: Chris Young (6-10), Eric Hillman (6-10), Aaron Slegers (6-10)
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