Was there any other baseball player who had the combined talent and charisma of Babe Ruth?

Question

We wouldn't be talking about Barry Bonds or Hank Aaron
and home runs right now if Ruth hadn't spent his first five years
as a pitcher (almost winning 100 games with an era of 2.25).

Answer 1

Babe Ruth was BY FAR the greatest baseball player that ever lived. It was like he was born to it. He was a great guy too! He would spend hours playing with the kids and go on exhibition tours and all that. There will never be anything like him in any major sport.

Answer 2

Actually, we probably would be talking about them - there was a significant change to the construction of the ball around 1920 that made home runs easier to hit. Look at the numbers - in 1918, Ruth homered about once every 29 at-bats, and in 1920 that ratio was once every 8.4 at-bats. He would have had more home runs if he hadn't been pitching, but we're probably talking about an extra dozen or so home runs, given the game of the time.

Be that as it may: no other baseball players had the talent and charisma of Ruth, or the same impact on the game. The only similar athlete in any sport that I can think of, in terms of all those factors, is Muhammad Ali. While other athletes have dominated their sports (Gretzky, Woods, and Jordan come to mind), no other has had that larger-than-life aura about them.

Answer 3

Mickey Mantle. Had he not damaged his career by being such a hardcore party dude, he could've been the greatest ever..

But he had tons of talent and charisma, that's for sure..

Answer 4

Ken Griffey Jr.
I became a Mariners fan because of him in 1997. I was 12, thought he was the greatest, he was the first player i really loved...A-rod couldn't even compare.

Answer 5

No but better A-Rod!

Answer 6

Willie Mays

He had it all.