Who is the greatest baseball player of all time, and of each position?

Question

Say who you think is the greatest player that played at each position and the one overall.

Answer 1

It's so hard to compare eras, especially when you have guys today that have potential to finish with some ungodly numbers. But here is my team anyway:

C: Johnny Bench: he could hit the snot out of the ball & is one of the best defensively ever.

1B: Lou Gehrig: 493 home runs, .340 career batting average, 2130 straight games, those numbers speak for themselves.

2B: Robbie Alomar: If this guy doesn't get into the hall on the first ballot, something is wrong. the guy could flat out rake & was a golden glove defender for many years. I find it amazing that he played for so many teams.

SS: Alex Rodriguez: it's too bad he left Seattle, or even Texas for that matter. He will retire with the all-time home run record & he was a golden glover before he turned to the dark side.

3B: Mike Schmidt: Another golden glover, with a ton of home runs, a teammate that anyone would want on their side.

LF: Barry Bonds: Steroids or not, the guy is a stud, should go down as one of the top five players ever.

CF: Willie Mays: Is there really any debate here, 660 homeruns, & a majority of his career in Candlestick during a time when pitchers dominated, and he was one of the best ever with his glove.

RF: Babe Ruth: There's nothing to argue here, whether he was a below average fielder or not, he is the greatest hitter of all time.

RHP: Roger Clemens: I don't like him, but he's a stud, 349 wins in a hitters era, and almost 5000 strikeouts, can't really argue with it.

LHP: Steve Carlton: He's under rated because of his relationship with the media, but look at those numbers & how long he did it. Too bad he couldn't walk away from the game a few years earlier.

Closer: Trevor Hoffman: Can't dispute 500 saves, & the fact he has changed from a fastball closer to a guy who has to throw change ups & out think hitters.

Answer 2

Let's see how it looks on paper.

Babe Ruth is my pick as greatest player in history, mostly because he was so dominant as a pitcher and as an outfielder. No one else has come close to that. It's like a football quarterback playing linebacker or something.

Let's make it for a career, rather than one season's peak value (two different arguments).

By position...

P - Career, Roger Clemens (for one game, FYI, Sandy Koufax in his prime).
C - Johnny Bench.
1B - Lou Gehrig
2B - Joe Morgan
SS - Cal Ripken
3B - Mike Schmidt
OF - Hank Aaron
OF - Willie Mays
OF - Babe Ruth
DH - I'll put Ted Williams here.
RP - Mariano Rivera

I could be talked into using SS Honus Wagner, 2B Rogers Hornsby, OF Ty Cobb and Barry Bonds.

Answer 3

Starting Pitchers:
Cy Young
Sandy Koufax
Steve Carlton

Relievers
Trevor Hoffman
Dennis Eckersly
Rollie Fingers

Catcher
Roy Campanella

1st Base
Harmon Killebrew
2nd Base
Jackie Robinson
Shortstop
Ozzie Smith
3rs Base
George Brett
Outfield
Ty Cobb
Henry Aaron
Joe DiMaggio

Best hitter
Shoeless Joe Jackson

Best all round player
Babe Ruth.

There's just too many to pick from, can't pick them all.

Answer 4

1b-lou Gerig
2b-Jackie Robinson
ss-Ozzie smith
3rd-Mike Schmidt/A- Rod will be
C- Johnny Bench
Lf- Barry Bonds
Cf-Mickey Mantel
Rf- Babe Ruth
Sp- Nolan Ryan
Rp- Mariano Rivera

Before my time Babe Ruth is he was a great slugger as everyone knows and is often forgotten that he was a great pitcher too I don't know his w-l record off the top of my head but the win % was very good to put it in perspective imagine if Bonds or A- Rod were good starting pitchers too no one will ever be as good on both sides of the ball as Ruth.
Now A-Rod is the best player I've ever seen he should beat Bonds out for the HR record and he's getting much better at 3rd

Answer 5

The best baseball player ever has to be Babe Ruth..Was a great pitcher before becoming an every day player. Held WS record for consecutive scoreless innings at one time and hit 714 HR's.
Next, would be Willie Mays.

Answer 6

Catcher - Johnny bench
1B - Don Mattingly
2B - Joe Morgan
3B - Mike Schmidt
SS - Ozzie Smith
RF - Roberto Clemente
CF - Joe DiMaggio
LF - Barry Bonds
U/DH - Babe Ruth
U/DH - Reggie Jackson

Sp Top 3
Nolan Ryan
Bob Gibson
Sandy Koufax

Relievers

Mariano Rivera
Lee Smith
Dennis Eckersley

1. Babe R

Answer 7

No way to declare that without a ton of arguments. Satchel Paige, Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens get my votes for greatest pitchers of all time. Ty Cobb, Hank Aaron and Ted Williams for outfielders. Mike Piazza for catcher (for his bat, not his arm haha). Mike Schmidt at third base. Ryan Sandberg at second (sorry Joe). Cal Ripken at shortstop (barely beating out Ozzie Smith). Trevor Hoffman for closer. Did I miss any positions?

Answer 8

It's sad that everyone has forgotten about Honus Wagner. He is far and away the best shortstop of all time.

My list:
C. Johnny Bench
1B Lou Gehrig
2B Rogers Hornsby
3B Mike Schmidt
SS Honus Wagner
OF Ty Cobb
OF Babe Ruth
OF Willie Mays (regrettably no room for Speaker)

P. Walter Johnson

Answer 9

Babe Ruth and Barry Bonds are the best players ever. Who to choose depends on how much you believe in the quality of play improving over the years, and how much steroids/greenies enhanced Bonds performance.

as for position...

C: Bench
1B: Gehrig
2B: Morgan
3B: Schmidt
SS: Wagner
LF: Bonds
CF: Mays
Rf: Ruth
SP: Clemens
CL: Rivera

Answer 10

Okay, Ruth is the greatest over all. He changed the sport all by himself.

P - Cy Young (you don't win 500 games with luck), then Gibson, Clemens and Koufax round out my starting 4.

C - Bill Dickey, with Johnny Bench as backup. .313 BA, good defense and as tough as they come. Not Bench's power though. Yogi Berra is honorable mention.

1B - Gehrig, stamina and stats say it all.

2B - Rogers Hornsby, good fielding percentage, and he hit over .400 three times! This was a tough choice though.

3B - Brooks Robinson - 16 Gold Gloves, average same as Schmidt, not as much power, League MVP (1964) and WS MVP (1970). Loved to watch him play.

SS - Alex Rodriguez (with nods to Jeter and Ripken). A-Rod is just plain great, as much as it pains me to say it. Will surpass Bonds/Aaron (barring injury) and 1-ballot HofF'er.

OF - Barry Bonds (pre-steroids), Ty Cobb (can't leave the S-O-B off, as much as I'd like to) and Ruth, with Willie Mays and Roberto Clemente as backups (they were both simply amazing!).

Closer - Mariano Rivera, with a nod to Trevor Hoffman. Rivera WAS the reason the Yanks won 4 Series in a row.

DH - Ted Williams. All he wanted to be was the best hitter ever. Give him back those lost years (about 5) in service to our country and who knows how many homers he'd have had. The second hitter to 600 as he averaged 32 homers his first 10 years.

Manager - John McGraw, 7 Pennants and 3 WS wins. Winning percentage of .591 with Giants over 31 years. Connie Mack can be bench coach.