Greatest Baseball Player Ever

[dps]

But one thing we should all agree on......Ty Cobb was the meanest!!

Actually, Ty Cobb wouldn't have stood out as a thug if he'd played in the 1890's; a lot of the things he did had been viewed more-or-less as just "part of the game" not that long before his time.

[McLoving]

Not only Babe Ruth hit many home runs to end the dead ball era, but he revolutionized the baseball swing itself. If you compare some of the dead ball era hitters and Babe Ruth swing, they are really different in some aspects

[McLoving]

Well it was up there in the first page for some reason

Now I see it, I have no idea why I posted here

[ohms_law]

Someone resurrected the thread by voting on the poll...

[chuckwillard]

Hmmm...left off the poll and deserve to be in the conversation...

Honus Wagner--easily the best shortstop of all time (and will maintain that status since A-Rod switched positions), an incredible hitter for average, a great defender in a poor defensive era, and a stellar ambassador for the game.

Nolan Ryan--yeah, not a great won-loss record, but easily the most dominant pitcher of the live-ball era. And his winning percentage is partly due to the fact that he played on wretched teams nearly his whole career. And 7 no-hitters! 7!!

Satchel Paige--the mere fact that he won the ROY at age 42 should stand out, and pitched into his 50's. Plus, had he been allowed in the majors in his prime, he would have won more games than Cy Young and struck out more hitters than Walter Johnson.

Josh Gibson--see above regarding Negro League players. Bonds might have had no shot at the record, steroids or not, had Gibson played his whole career in the bigs.

Barry Bonds--reprobate, steroid junkie, he of the enormous expanding cranium was still one of the great players of his generation before he juiced up. 40/40, a couple MVP's in Pittsburgh, and his '93 season was a phenomenal pre-steroid performance.

Roger Clemens--see above about Bonds and add alleged child molester to the list. Still, aside from the juice, not antics that would have even attracted notice in the early years of the game. 354 wins, 7 Cy Youngs, and the last pitcher to win an MVP. Pretty good, juice or not.

Edgar Martinez--controversial, but no player in recent memory has defined a position and role on a team the way he did with the DH slot. Perhaps Gossage and Eckersley as closers, but certainly no position player. With Edgar, DH ceased being a career extender for overweight, out of shape one-time stars who could no longer play the field, and became a regular, if still hot-button, position on the team.

Active players who should be on the list once they retire:

Greg Maddux/Tom Glavine--I can't help but link the two. The greatest right-handed and left-handed pitchers of their era, save only Clemens, and not a hint of an allegation that they did it the wrong way. Plus, two of the best hitting pitchers of their era. Strike against Glavine for the '94 strike, but judging on-field performance, these two are in a league of their own.

Randy Johnson--best left-handed power pitcher ever, and in the conversation with Carlton and Glavine as the best modern southpaw. Plus one of the most intimidating players in the game.

Ichiro--we haven't seen anything like him since Pete Rose in his prime, and we may never see anything like him again. Had he debuted in America five years earlier than he did, he'd be a shoo-in for the hits record. If anyone in the present era can hit .400, its him.

A-Rod--I hate to say it, as he is the antithesis of all I believe to be good in sports. He's a poor sport, a bad loser, a dirty player, may have juiced...and still you can't argue with the on-field results. Perhaps he should be left off postseason rosters, but he'll end up owning half the record book when he's done.


As for the all time greatest, by position:

1B: Lou Gehrig, probably. Could've had astronomical numbers if his career hadn't been cut short.
2B: Tough one. I could put Rose here, he broke in at second.
3B: Brooks Robinson. Defensively, the best ever to man the hot corner, and no slouch at the plate, either.
SS: Wagner, and unthreatened with A-Rod moving to third.
OF: Ruth, Williams, DiMaggio. Wow, what an outfield that would be. Wow.
C: I want to say Josh Gibson, but we just will never know. That being said, Johnny Bench is a good candidate.
SP: really hard. Righties, I'd take Walter Johnson, Nolan Ryan, Bob Feller, and Dizzy Dean...and possibly Clemens. Lefties...Koufax, Carlton, Randy Johnson (even still active), and maybe Lefty Grove. Honorable mention to Christy Mathewson and Satchel Paige.
RP: Gossage, Eckersley, Hoffman, Rivera, and Lee Smith. How's that for a bullpen lineup.

[Red Sox Fan 734]

What was i thinking voting for Walter Johnson?????

[HoustonGM]

Nolan Ryan--yeah, not a great won-loss record, but easily the most dominant pitcher of the live-ball era. And his winning percentage is partly due to the fact that he played on wretched teams nearly his whole career. And 7 no-hitters! 7!!

Most intimidating, maybe. Most dominant? If we're speaking in terms of all-around pitching skill and ability to keep runs off the board, no way.

Greg Maddux/Tom Glavine--I can't help but link the two. The greatest right-handed and left-handed pitchers of their era, save only Clemens

Randy Johnson > Tom Glavine, easily.

2B: Tough one. I could put Rose here, he broke in at second.

Roger Hornsby, Joe Morgan, Eddie Collins.

3B: Brooks Robinson. Defensively, the best ever to man the hot corner, and no slouch at the plate, either.

Mike Schmidt.

[Swampdog]

Schmidt, Brett, Eddie Mathews...all better than Robinson at 3'rd.

Mays, Cobb, Mantle...all better than Dimaggio in CF.

SP.... Clemens, Maddux, Seaver, Grove.....all MUCH better than Feller, Ryan or Dean. For that matter, Cy Young was better, Pete Alexander,and Warren Spahn.

I dont think I've ever seen a modern day "greatest" list that included Dizzy Dean, Bob Feller, or Brooks Robinson. Of course, its his list, so I suppose he can put anyone he wants on there.