Despite what some football fans may say, baseball remains our national pastime, and it has as rich a history as anything in our pop culture.
There have been some truly gifted athletes who have taken the diamond over the years, and what follows is my attempt to name the 100 greatest players in MLB history.
Comparing players across eras is never easy, nor is comparing position players to pitchers, but I've tried my best to fairly gauge them against one another.
As for the Steroid Era, it's a part of the game's history and can't simply be ignored. For the sake of this list, those players suspected of using PEDs are judged simply on their production on the field, tainted or not.
Obviously, a certain amount of subjectivity goes into a list like this, and I don't expect everyone to agree. I look forward to defending my selections and urge you to leave your thoughts in the comments below.
There have been some truly gifted athletes who have taken the diamond over the years, and what follows is my attempt to name the 100 greatest players in MLB history.
Comparing players across eras is never easy, nor is comparing position players to pitchers, but I've tried my best to fairly gauge them against one another.
As for the Steroid Era, it's a part of the game's history and can't simply be ignored. For the sake of this list, those players suspected of using PEDs are judged simply on their production on the field, tainted or not.
Obviously, a certain amount of subjectivity goes into a list like this, and I don't expect everyone to agree. I look forward to defending my selections and urge you to leave your thoughts in the comments below.
10. SP Cy Young
Baseball's all-time leader in wins (511), losses (316), innings pitched (7,356), starts (815) and complete games (749) and the namesake for baseball's biggest pitching award, Cy Young was the game's first true ace.
He topped the 20-win mark an impressive 15 times in his career and eclipsed the 30-win mark five times as well. His most impressive stats are his control numbers, though, as he walked just 1,217 batters for a 1.5 BB/9 mark, helping him to lead the league in WHIP seven different times.
9. 1B/OF Stan Musial
A 20-time All-Star and one of the best all-around offensive players to ever play the game, Stan "The Man" Musial finished his 22-year career with a .331/.417/.559 line to go along with 475 home runs, 1,951 RBI and 1,949 runs scored.
His 3,630 hits are good for fourth all time, as he won seven batting titles and led the National League in hits six different times. His 725 doubles are also good for third on the all-time list, and his 6,134 total bases are second only to Hank Aaron. Musial took home NL MVP honors in 1943, 1946 and 1948, and he spent his entire career with the Cardinals.
8. 1B Lou Gehrig
He may have played second fiddle to Babe Ruth as far as stardom goes, but Lou Gehrig was one of the greatest of all time in his own right, and he was a big reason why Ruth was able to put up the sort of numbers that he did.
Though his career was cut short with what would later be dubbed "Lou Gehrig's Disease," the slugger still managed to finish his career with 2,721 hits, 493 home runs and 1,992 RBI to go along with a .340/.447/.632 slash line. He won AL MVP honors in 1927 and 1936, leading the league in home runs three times and in RBI five times.
7. SP Walter Johnson
The greatest pitcher to ever play the game, Walter Johnson spent his entire 21-year career with the Washington Senators, going 417-279 with a 2.17 ERA, 1.061 WHIP and 3,509 strikeouts in 5,914.1 innings of work.
He topped the 20-win mark 12 different times and led the league in ERA five times. He also captured 12 strikeout titles, and he held the all-time strikeout record from 1921-82 and still ranks ninth. His 152.3 rWAR is second only to Cy Young among pitchers, and while Young did it for longer, Johnson did it better and he earns the top spot among hurlers here.
6. CF Ty Cobb
Despite his prickly personality, Ty Cobb is undoubtedly one of the best to ever play the game, and his .366 career batting average is the highest mark in baseball history.
He won 12 batting titles and hit over .400 three times on his way to 4,189 career hits. He added 724 doubles, 295 triples and 117 home runs while driving in 1,938 runs and scoring 2,246. Add in 897 stolen bases and it's hard to argue against Cobb being one of the best offensive players in the history of the game.
5. LF Ted Williams
Perhaps the best pure hitter the game has ever seen, Ted Williams is the last player to register a .400 batting average, as he hit .406 as a 22-year-old in 1941. That was was the first of what would be six batting titles he won, but he was by no means a slap hitter.
Despite losing three prime season to World War II, he still managed to hit 521 home runs with 1,839 RBI and 1,798 runs scored. His career line of .344/.482/.634 is as impressive as any in baseball history, and it could be a long time if ever before we see another hitter like Williams.
4. RF Hank Aaron
Still the rightful home run king in many people's minds, Hank Aaron finished his 23-year career with 755 home runs and a still-record 2,297 RBI. He is also the all-time leader in total bases by a wide margin with 6,856, as he added 624 doubles and 98 triples to his home run output.
He led the league in home runs just four times, but he was a model of consistency with 15 seasons in which he launched 30 or more. His 3,771 hits are good for third all time, and his .305/.374/.555 line is impressive considering how long he played. He made 21 All-Star appearances and won NL MVP honors in 1957.
3. LF Barry Bonds
PED use aside, has there ever been a more dominant force at the plate than Barry Bonds from 2001-04? That stretch of seasons began with his record 73-homer campaign and ended with a fourth straight NL MVP award, with Bonds getting on base at a ridiculous .559 clip and slugging .809 in that span.
A shoo-in Hall of Famer before his alleged PED use ever began, Bonds finished his career with a .298/.444/.607 line that includes 601 doubles and his record 762 home runs. He is also the all-time leader in walks with 2,558, is the only member of the 500/500 club with 514 steals and won eight Gold Glove awards in left field.
It's hard to place him among the greats because of his cheating, but on performance alone, it's hard to argue against Bonds being a top-five guy at least.
It's hard to place him among the greats because of his cheating, but on performance alone, it's hard to argue against Bonds being a top-five guy at least.
2. CF Willie Mays
The five-tool player by which all other five-tool player are judged, there is nothing Willie Mays couldn't do and do well on baseball field. He wrapped up his 22-year carer with 660 home runs and 1,903 RBI, but the numbers don't tell the full story.
A physical specimen, Mays was a phenomenal defensive center fielder with a rocket arm and the speed to track balls down the cavernous Polo Grounds. He added 523 doubles, 140 triples and 338 steals to his home run numbers and finished with a career line of .302/.384/.557.
1. RF/P Babe Ruth
The greatest the game ever has and likely ever will see, Babe Ruth revolutionized the sport and made the home run what it is today. There were seasons early on where he out-homered entire teams, and when all was said and done, he finished his career with 714 long balls.
He added to that a .342/.474/.690 line that included 2,220 RBI and 2,174 runs scored, and he won 12 home run titles.
It was his time on the mound that truly separates him from the pack, though, as he was a Hall of Fame-caliber pitcher before moving to the outfield full-time. He finished his pitching career 94-46 with a 2.28 ERA, and he was 3-0 with a 0.87 ERA in three World Series starts.
Simply put, Ruth is the greatest baseball player of all time.
Author: Joel Reuter, Featured Columnist, bleacher report
SOURCE
It was his time on the mound that truly separates him from the pack, though, as he was a Hall of Fame-caliber pitcher before moving to the outfield full-time. He finished his pitching career 94-46 with a 2.28 ERA, and he was 3-0 with a 0.87 ERA in three World Series starts.
Simply put, Ruth is the greatest baseball player of all time.
Author: Joel Reuter, Featured Columnist, bleacher report
SOURCE
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