Who’s the greatest……

Personally I’d say Bonds or Ruth but I stumbled across this article about Ty Cobb. Some interesting stuff here. There’s a link for part 2 and 3 in the article that go a bit deeper into the numbers


https://baseballguru.com/bburgess/analy ... 0point.%22

If you believe Bill James, 1. Ruth 2. Wagner 3. Mays

https://baseballevolution.com/top100s/billjames100.html

- The Sheik

While I didn't see those other players, Willie Mays was the best I ever saw. He could do everything in the game exceptionally, He could beat you 5 ways. The term "5 tool player" was coined for him!

Tough call, so I'll give you my top 5, in no particular order:

Ruth
Mays
Cobb
Maddux
Ted Williams

I’m 37, in my lifetime it’s Bonds as a position player and Pedro as a pitcher for me. I can see the Maddux argument but let’s go Mets so……Historically looking at what Ruth did it’s hard not to say him even though I haven’t seen him play. If you want to dq Bonds because of the juice it’s probably Pujols or Trout as the greatest position player I’ve ever seen.

If you believe Bill James, 1. Ruth 2. Wagner 3. Mays

https://baseballevolution.com/top100s/billjames100.html

- The Sheik

Not to argue with Bill James he’s much smarter than me but I’m not sure Biggio is a top 100 player for me let alone 35! Lol

Shohei Ohtani

For me its the Mick , everything stopped when he came up to bat. He could beat out a drag bunt with unmatched speed or hit a ball out of any park from both sides of the plate. He was the one we all wanted to be In my Queens neighborhood. I can remember the photos of him taping up his knees to get ready to play , by all accounts his teammates loved him as much as his fans.

Is there an algorithm to ascertain how Willie Mays would have done playing in the hitter friendly '20s and '30s like Ruth? Mays mostly played in a pitcher's era and in a HR-decreasing ballpark (Candlestick). Given his defensive accolades, I would say he might be the very best all-around of any era. I do think the Mick had roughly the equal talent, power and speed -- and a great penchant for walks and OBP -- but Mays had the better health and played more games, a better centerfielder, too.

It's very difficult to compare across different eras. The game changes, evolves across the decades. Context is everything, so many variables.

“For me it’s the Mick , everything stopped when he came up to bat. He could beat out a drag bunt with unmatched speed or hit a ball out of any park from both sides of the plate. He was the one we all wanted to be In my Queens neighborhood. I can remember the photos of him taping up his knees to get ready to play , by all accounts his teammates loved him as much as his fans.”

I wasn’t alive when Mantle played, but from what I have read, I would agree he was the best. And keep in mind, he ripped his knee up at the end of his rookie season, and he played with a lot of pain for his whole career. He was fast, but prior to the injury he had blazing speed. And he had unrivaled power.

In my lifetime, it was clearly Bonds. I know everyone beats him up over the steroids, but he was a hall of fame player before that. And he carried the pirates to 3 playoff series, and with a little luck, would have been in World Series with them. I saw him play many times, and I bet if you asked pitchers in his day, they would say he was the most feared.