Who is the greatest baseball player of all-time? Ruth, Williams, Cobb, Matthewson, Bonds, Musial, Aarron, Mays

Question

There has always and will always be much speculation about who is the greatest ball player of all-time is. It is widely believed that Babe Ruth is the greatest player ever. Lets face it, the man could do it all, hit for average, hit for power, he had patience at the plate, and he could pitch exceptionally well. I have always been one to agree with this "fact", that is until further review. A question popped into my head, If Honus Wagner is considered the best all-around player ever, why isn't he considered the best player ever? Sure Ruth has all the stats to back him up, but does he really? They played at completely different times, and theire statistics are uncomparable for this reason, but let's try anyway. Wagner finished in the top 10 in home runs 11 times which at any other time period would give him close to if not past 500 career home runs. match that with 722 stolen bases and arguably the best defense a shortstop ever had and the fact he's the best avg hitter of his time,

and i think its hard to convince someone that ruth was a better player. The only reason i would consider ruth the bette player is the fact he could pitch, but hey, wagner did everything else, why couldn't he pitch too?

Answer 1

Possessing as as he did enormous physical strength, great speed, and King Kong's hands, there's no question that, had Wagner played during the 1920s & 30s, he would have ht a tremendous number of home runs... he was (by far) the greatest athlete in baseball during his career, and unlike many players from that time, Wagner was a fanatic about conditioning, particularly in the off-season, and was always in shape. He may have been the only player of that era who lifted weights, although that's speculation.

Wagner was one of a very few players who probably would have been the best player in baseball no matter when he played.

James' analysis also concluded that Wagner's 1908 season was the greatest season ANY hitter has ever had.

It's actually a bit of a myth that Ruth was always out of shape... first of all, you don't play 2,500 games in the majors by being out of shape... secondly, very little footage exits of Ruth prior to the 1930s, when he WAS overweight ... also, he had very skinny legs (in proportion to his body) and that will automatically make a person look more "out of shape" than they actually are.

Ruth hit 15 World Series home runs, a record which stood until 1964, when Mantle hit his 16th, 17th and 18th WS home runs against the Cardinals in that 7 game series...

But Ruth also held the record for consecutive scoreless innings PITCHED in World Series play (29 and 2/3, not broken until 1961, by Whitey Ford, who extended the record to 32 innings).

The thought of one man holding both records... and for so long... well, needless to say, we'll never see that again


Bill James selected Wagner as the #2 player in baseball history (Ruth #1, Mays #3) and, in rating the top 100 players at each position, pointed out that Wagner was so much better than any other shortstop that the distance between Wagner and the #2 shortstop is greater than the distance between the #2 shortstop and the #30 shortstop. No other position came close to being so easy to pick the #1 guy.

The so-called "all century" team included the top two shortstops as selected by fan voting, but fans don't always know what they're talking about, especially in the dumbed-down ESPN era. Wagner was added to the all-century team by a panel of (fairly) knowledgeable "experts". Although Mastercard was the "offical" sponsor of the all-century team, anything that ESPN gets its hands on is likely to be screwed up.

In the end, Ruth had the career numbers, and the records... it certainly helped that the media itself was more developed by the 1920s than it had been in the 1900s... So there is really no other choice than Ruth for the greatest player ever.. however, Wagner is certainly as good a choice as any for the #2 player of all time... and, because of the way Wagner conducted himself both on and off the field, you couldn't go wrong with him if you chose him to start a baseball team, even if you had your choice of any player who ever played the game...

While Mathewson was unquestionably a great, great pitcher, his aura was probably a bit distorted and overblown, for two reasons... (1) he played in New York and (2) he died young, after being exposed to poison gas while serving during World War I... (he died several years later, in 1925).

Cobb, of course, was despised by the press during most of his career and life, but he was not universally acclaimed as the best outfieder in the game during his career... Tris Speaker was a better (defensive) outfielder and had a better arm...Speaker was also probably faster than Cobb, and was a great hitter himself, and he also seemed to wind up on winning teams much more often than Cobb did (Cobb played for the Tigers for about 17 years after they last won a pennant with him).

Musial was another fitness fanatic who was also (like Wagner) always in shape. The media today (EPSN) really doesn't understand what it was that made him different... but his career totals of doubles and triples are indicative of something that was widely known and accepted when he played, but which has been totally forgotten about since... Stan Musial was a guy who ALWAYS left the batter's box on a dead run... the guy HUSTLED. Also, his performance in MVP voting is, without question, the most impressive of any player in baseball history who DIDN'T take steroids... while he only won the award 3 times, he also finished 2nd in the voting 4 times.

But I think in the end, not only did Ruth have the numbers, but his impact on the game is unmatched by any player ever in any sport.

______________________________

Lowen: Here's a quote from a 1938 Josh Gibson interview...

Posey: What was the hardest ball you ever hit?
Gibson: At Farmers I hit a ball over the left field fence and over a two-story station outside the park. At Yankee Stadium I hit the ball on a line drive into the bullpen in left field.

(Source: "Josh Gibson: A Life In Darkness").


There's not much question that Gibson was the greatest catcher in baseball history, and he was probably the game's greatest right-handed power hitter.

Answer 2

Babe Ruth did not just pitch. He was arguably the best left hander of in baseball for five years. That alone would have gotten him into the HOF if he kept pitching.

As for cumulative records, such as HR's, SB, Hits, Walks etc? Take this into account. Babe Ruth had hit 714 Career HR's. The did that with some 2500 less AB's than Hank Aaron. If Ruth were a position player from day one, he would ave hit well over 800 HR's and shattered just about every cumulative state in the game.

And finally, when you judge a player as best of all time, (if you really COULD) you have to compare him to other players of his era. Babe Ruth hit more home runs in season than most TEAMS did for much of his career. He hit for incredibly high average...350 or thereabouts...and was the most feared hitter in the game.

Oh, and like you said. He could pitch.

Babe Ruth is so clearly the best player in the history of the game that it's almost the question should be who, after Babe Ruth, is the best player in the history of the game.

Here are some stats For Aaron, Mays and Ruth:

Aaron
Ave. .305
Games Played 3298
At Bats 12,364
Runs 2174
Home Runs 755
Hits 3771
RBI 2297
SB 248
SLG. 555

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Mays

Ave. 302
Games Played 2992
At Bats 10,881
Runs 2062
Hits 3283
Home Runs 660
RBI 1903
SB 328
SLG 555

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Ruth

Avg 342
Games Played 2503
AB 8399
Runs 2174
Hits 2873
Home Runs 714
RBI 1982
SB 123
SLG 690

Ruth had a higher slugging percentage, batting average, more runs scored or equal to as the other two.

For the cumulative stats, he had more HR's than Mays, who had 2,500 more AB's. So hits, games played, RBI, stolen bases, which are cumulative stats, dont count when making this comparison. For Aaron, they count even less. He had 4500 more AB's, and only a marginal number more Home runs.

Oh, and not to mention that pitching thing.

Ruth is CLEARLY better.

Answer 3

Babe Ruth was the greatest all around baseball player.

He could pitcth very well as well and if he countuined to pitch he would be right up thier with Nolan Ryan, Walter Johnson, Cy Young, Roger Clemens, ETC..

Lets compare Ruth to other all-time greats.

Ruth has 714 homeruns in 22 seasons.

Ty Cobb has 117 homeruns in 24 seasons.

Stan Musial has 475 homeruns in 22 seasons.

Willie Mays has 660 homeruns in 22 seasons.

Ted Williams has 521 homeruns in 19 seasons.

Ruth has 2,217 R.B.I.'s

Ty Cobb has 1,937 R.B.I.'s.

Stan Musial has 1,951 R.B.I.'s

Willie Mays has 1,903 R.B.I.'s

Ted Williams has 1,839 R.B.I.'s


Ruth has a .474 On Base Percentage

Willie Mays has a .384 OBP.

Ty Cobb has a .433 OBP

Stan Musial has a .417 O.B.P.

Ted Williams has a .482 O.B.P.

Babe Ruth has had a O.B.P. over .500 5 Times in his career.

Willie Mays as never had a O.B.P. over .500

Ty Cobb has never had a O.B.P. over .500

Stan Musical has never had a O.B.P. over .500

Ted Williams has done it 5 times.

Babe Ruth is simply the best hitter who has ever lived.

Answer 4

Two players do not have to have comparable statistics; they can be compared relative to what they did within their league-seasons. Put another way, for hitters, who did the most damage to the pitchers and opposition? And there are calculated stats (adjusted OPS the easiest to grasp).

Wagner was devastatingly great; if there had been an MVP Award in his time, he'd have collected a half-dozen or so. (The only reason Ruth got only one, and it was pre-BBWAA administration, was the rules at the time prohibited repeat winners. True.) He was consistently among the league leaders in his very long peak.

For all that Wagner was at the plate, Ruth was that little bit moreso. And yes, he could pitch, very well.

Ruth continues to stand tallest.

Ted Williams was possibly a very slightly better hitter.

Answer 5

Is it possible to objectively pick one? How can a pitcher be compared to a hitter? How can a high-average lead-off man with speed be compared to a power hitter on a high scoring team? Babe Ruth, with his hitting career and a pitching career that could have landed him in the Hall of Fame comes to mind, but that is an oddity. How about 'Best 10' or '25'? Does there have to be ONE guy who is best? It's such a subjective question anyway. As you point out, history puts people in very hard to compare eras anyway.

Answer 6

It is hard to select one player as the best of all time, specially the old timers that we didn 't see play and have to go on their record. But Babe Ruth did so many things besides being a great hitter. Besides pitching he was also a good fielder. As far as batting average, don't forget that he play when a sacrifice fly was charged as a time at bat, imagine his batting ave. if like today a sacrifice fly wasn 't charged as one at bat. Again is hard to select one, b ut with all due respect to all the great players of the past and present, Babe Ruth is the one

Answer 7

I say Ty Cobb. Best average, 2nd highest number of hits, 8 seasons with 200 hits, and look at that stolen base count. No contact hitter can measure up to Cobb, which is why I didn't go with Ruth. There ARE power hitters who can compete with Ruth. Cobb is one of a kind for what he did.

Answer 8

I always liked Hank Aaron. I read his book back in the 1970s and have been a fan ever since. The dignity and class he showed in 1973 and 1974 was amazing. I hope that everyone that sent him hate mail is burning in hell. Best ball player.....maybe Ruth or Mays.

Answer 9

barry bonds beacause he is about to break the home run record and he is the only player to hit 500 home runs and have 500 stolen bases. o n 2 the person below dont hate the player cus he has done nothing wrong, he was not proven giulty and steroids doesnt make u stronger get ova it!

Answer 10

Williams

worst Bonds