Who is the GREATEST baseball player ever?

[harrydangler]

Originally Posted by Dryden

If Ruth had not bothered pitching, and he had those six season back as a hitter that even remotely resembled what he'd become, his numbers project out to about 900HR, with career stats very near .350/.480/.750.

It's a stretch to say those first 6 years would lead to 900+ home runs. The dead ball era essentially ended in 1920/21 with the abolishment of the spitball, using new/clean balls throughout the game, etc. Even if Ruth was hitting full time I think it's a big stretch to say he would have hit much more than 20/25 a year pre-live ball based on his early HR/AB ratio and the hitting conditions of the time.

In 1917 the league hit .248 while scoring 3.65 runs a game but by 1921 the league was hitting a collective .292 and scoring 5.12 runs a game. While Ruth had a huge impact in making the home run a big part of the game even he couldn't account for such a drastic swing in overall numbers.

On the other side of the coin, his pitching wouldn't have been nearly as good post dead ball. I'm not sure if Ruth threw a spit-ball but it's fairly obvious that his numbers would have fallen apart with the rest of the league. The only two major pitchers off the top of my head who had a relatively long stretch in both era's were torn up (comparatively speaking) in the live ball era. Pete Alexander and Walter Johnson both went from 1.75 type era's to 2.90/3.10's in the live ball.

I would even argue that Ruth potentially quit pitching for a reason other than his hitting potential but I'll save that for another day.

[Jaxbuck]

I'm changing my vote.

[censored] Babe Ruth, its Bill Hall vs the Reds. Its simply unreal.

[Pheasant]

Originally Posted by Thump

This isn't even a contest: Babe Ruth by light years.

Yes.
Babe Ruth was the greatest ballplayer ever. I enjoyed reading some of the posts talking up Cobb and others, but the title says "GREATEST"- which (according to the definition I choose to use ) means: "remarkable in magnitude, degree, or effectiveness." I don't really see a legitimate comparison to anyone else.
That being said, baseball sucks.

[The Man]

Originally Posted by PrincetonBuckeye

copied from "Shoeless" Joe Jacksons' mold....

IMHO....but it is proven fact....

Shoeless Joe shouldn't be in the discussion, I outlined that on the 1st page.

[Saw31]

Looks like I'm still the only one to vote for Ted Williams. hmmmm...I guess you guys don't realize that he is just in cryogenic hybernation and will be back to destroy every career record in baseball. So short sighted of you...

[Best Buckeye]

Originally Posted by Saw31

Looks like I'm still the only one to vote for Ted Williams. hmmmm...I guess you guys don't realize that he is just in cryogenic hybernation and will be back to destroy every career record in baseball. So short sighted of you...

Looks like I'm still the only one to vote for Ted Williams. hmmmm...I guess you guys don't realize that my brain is in cryogenic hybernation and Will resurrect TED so he can come back to destroy every career record in baseball and every one of your miserable lives. So short sighted of you to realize the width and breadth of my mind power.

Fixed

[Dryden]

[censored] it. I'm changing my vote to A-Rod.

Jesus Weis ... stop pitching to this guy already!!!!!!!!!!

[Saw31]

Originally Posted by Best Buckeye

Looks like I'm still the only one to vote for Ted Williams. hmmmm...I guess you guys don't realize that my brain is in cryogenic hybernation and Will resurrect TED so he can come back to destroy every career record in baseball and every one of your miserable lives. So short sighted of you to realize the width and breadth of my mind power.

Fixed

Ha!! You just wait til the Tedsicle comes back! You'll all be changing your votes!!

[harrydangler]

Originally Posted by Dryden

stop pitching to this guy already!!!!!!!!!!

Which is why more post 1970 guys should be considered...to many pansies throwing around the great hitters.

[willsonphilips]

Originally Posted by willsonphilips

True, it's Ruth hands down, not even close. Unless, you take into account what Ted Williams would have done had WWII never taken place. Because of the war Williams essentially missed his prime. The year before he shipped off he won the Triple Crown, and the second year he was back ('47) he won it again. If you average his Triple crown years together and multiple them by the number of years he missed, which I think is fair he could have put up better numbers, Williams ranks 1st alltime in Runs Scored, RBI's, and walks. He ranks 4th in Homers, 5th in doubles, 9th in hits, and probably would have raised his career average to around .350ish which would put him 4th. Pretty good argument, I think.

Or even if you want to include present players, A-rod. In 6 years, if he stays injury free?, best player ever?

[BuckeyeMike80]

Originally Posted by willsonphilips

Or even if you want to include present players, A-rod. In 6 years, if he stays injury free?, best player ever?

Statistically maybe....but if he hasn't done anything in the post-season, which is something that will continue to haunt him until he does, I don't think he'll be considered as such....

[Buckeyeskickbuttocks]

Originally Posted by BuckeyeMike80

Statistically maybe....but if he hasn't done anything in the post-season, which is something that will continue to haunt him until he does, I don't think he'll be considered as such....

I'd say that's true... Ernie Banks comes to mind.