The Baseball 100

Lots of "what ifs"

The BABE played in a stadium designed specifically for his swing, which added hugely to his HR totals.

Hank Aaron played the first 12 years of his career in the most difficult stadium in baseball to hit a homerun in--put him in a stadium designed for his swing for those 12 years, and that would add over 100 HRs to his total.

Ted Williams missed almost 5 years due to service to his country. Put in his average stats for those five years, and he surpasses everyone in Runs, hits, RBIs.

Walter Johnson pitched for a 2nd division mediocre team almost his entire career. Put him on a successful team with hitting and fielding, and he would pass Cy in victories no sweat.

In terms of the whole package as a five tool player, one can see why Joe picked Mays first. Though Mantle was a five tool player, he had nowhere near the arm that Mays had, and though Mickey was a great OF, he did not take away nearly as many hits as Mays did (who played one of the shortest CFs ever).
Aaron was a five tool player, ---his arm was not as good as Mays, but he was just as good a base stealer when he was given the go to do that. The one place where Aaron outshines Mays is performance in playoffs and World Series---though Mays owned the all-star game, his playoff/series numbers are miserable. Hammerin' Hank was a big time hitter in the the post season stats--.362 average, 6 HRs, 16 RBIS, 11 runs, ---in 17 games.

That being said, the "what ifs" don't matter, its just fun to speculate. The amazing thing to me, is that Mays, Mantle and Aaron played the game in the same time frame.

“Lots of "what ifs"

The BABE played in a stadium designed specifically for his swing, which added hugely to his HR totals.

Hank Aaron played the first 12 years of his career in the most difficult stadium in baseball to hit a homerun in--put him in a stadium designed for his swing for those 12 years, and that would add over 100 HRs to his total.

Ted Williams missed almost 5 years due to service to his country. Put in his average stats for those five years, and he surpasses everyone in Runs, hits, RBIs.

Walter Johnson pitched for a 2nd division mediocre team almost his entire career. Put him on a successful team with hitting and fielding, and he would pass Cy in victories no sweat.

In terms of the whole package as a five tool player, one can see why Joe picked Mays first. Though Mantle was a five tool player, he had nowhere near the arm that Mays had, and though Mickey was a great OF, he did not take away nearly as many hits as Mays did (who played one of the shortest CFs ever).
Aaron was a five tool player, ---his arm was not as good as Mays, but he was just as good a base stealer when he was given the go to do that. The one place where Aaron outshines Mays is performance in playoffs and World Series---though Mays owned the all-star game, his playoff/series numbers are miserable. Hammerin' Hank was a big time hitter in the the post season stats--.362 average, 6 HRs, 16 RBIS, 11 runs, ---in 17 games.

That being said, the "what ifs" don't matter, its just fun to speculate. The amazing thing to me, is that Mays, Mantle and Aaron played the game in the same time frame.”

Great analysis…always thought that about Ted…wondered what his baseball numbers would be if he had not been a combat ace.