The 5 All-Time Greats

It is the opinion of this publication, and hundreds of other journalists out there, that these 5 players are the greatest of all time.

In no particular order,

Lou Gehrig

Seasons 17
Games 2164

AB 8001

Runs 1888

Hits 2721

HR 493

RBI 1995

BB 1508

SO 790

BA .340

OBP .447

SLG .632

Key Stat: 8001 At bats, only 790 Strikeouts, and 1508 walks. 9.8% of the time he struck out. Compared to Barry Bonds who strikes out 15% of the time, Reggie Jackson 26%, Ken Griffey Jr 18%.

Babe Ruth

Seasons 22

Games 2503

AB 8398

Runs 2174

Hits 2873

HR 714

RBI 2217

BB 2062

SO 1330

BA .342

OBP .474

SLG .690

Key Stat: Obviously Home Runs. Awe at the amount of walks, a .342 BA as a power hitter, and .474 OBP. Remember, these are CAREER stats. But get this, The Sultan of Swat averaged a home run every 8.5 at bats.

Mickey Mantle

Seasons 18

Games 2401

At Bats 8102

Runs 1677

Hits 2415

HR 536

RBI 1509

BB 1733

SO 1710

BA .298

OBP .421

SLG .557

Key Stat: For every 6.5 at bats, the Mick hit a home run. It is the belief of this publication that Mickey is the greatest of all time. Which is where this argument usually begins. A below .300 avg in the hall. If Mickey wasn't drunk 90% of the time, and was healthy, we believe it would be his records being broken, not the Babes.

Willie Mays

Seasons 22

Games 2992

At Bats 10881

Runs 2062

Hits 3283

HR 660

RBI 1903

SB 338

BB 1464
SO 1526

BA .302

OBP .384

SLG .557

Key Stat: Not listed. The 'Say Hey' Kid had an incredible fielding percentage of .981. Compare it to these three men known for their defense; The Wizard, Ozzie Smith .978, Iron Man Cal Ripken Jr. .977 and 12 time gold glover Roberto Clemente with .972. Players that played with Willie said you'd never see him dive for a ball, cause he'd already be under it.

Ty Cobb

Seasons 24

Games 3035

At Bats 11434

Runs 2246

Hits 4189

Doubles 724

Triples 295

HR 117

RBI 1937

SB 892

BB 1249

SO 357

BA .366

OBP .433

SLG .512

Key Stat: All of them. I added a few stats to Cobb's list because he was good at everything. A few things I will point out though. Cobb's numbers, as I have said before, set the standard for the hall. Both him and Ruth were in the first class inducted into the hall. Also, Cobb only has 117 HR in his career. Rumour has it, the press told him he couldn't hit home runs. That day he went out and hit three, just to show he could, but Cobb repeatedly said that he hit for average. One more thing, 357 strikeouts in 24 seasons. Lets put that into perspective. The most strikeouts in one season by a hitter is Adam Dunn with 195, and Bonds sits at 3rd on the list with 189. Go back... 357 over 24 seasons, Barry Bonds, 189 in ONE.

These players are listed in no particular order, but it is to the belief of this publication that if Mickey Mantle played a full and healthy career, he would be the greatest of all time. Furthermore, this board believes, healthy or not, there has never been a greater player than Mr. Ty Cobb.

Please feel free to make an argument for a player you believe should be on this list, or someone that should not be listed here.

It's a numbers game

So the controversey continues....

Should Barry Bonds be elected into the Hall of Fame?

I'm not going to argue that he's a cheater. I'm not going to argue that he shouldn't be inducted because of steroids. And I am not going to argue he shouldn't be inducted because he's a bit of an asshole.... ok ok... he's severely mis-understood.

My arguement here is going to be by comparison, and one very good question.

If Ty Cobb finished his career this year, would he be inducted into the Hall of Fame? OF COURSE he would right? His numbers are disgusting. In fact, he's one of the originals, one of the reasons the Hall of Fame was built. He was, as they say, a trend setter. He was one of those players that set the standard of who should be considered Hall of Fame worthy.

Has anyone seen the movie Cobb? Or read his autobiography? He was a prick. And everyone knew he was a prick. But could he ever play baseball.

Hence, lies my arguement. I do not think that Ty Cobb would be inducted into the Hall of Fame if he was to retire this year with the same numbers he retired with years ago. Why? Cause he was a jerk. It would be seen as un-ethical. That he achieved those numbers by cheating - not by taking steroids, but abusing the beautiful game of baseball. Starting fights, jamming his spikes into second baseman, etc etc. Look at Pete Rose. I've been to the Hall of Fame, and the only place that Mr. Rose exists in there, is under the Career Hits list.... at number one..... 4256. Exactly 1277 hits more then the closest active player - Craig Biggio. He's not in the hall because of gambling. If he played in Ty Cobb's time, guess who else would be in the Hall of Fame. Guess who else would be in the hall if they were players at Cobb's time?

The Numbers don't lie - if they are jerk's, liars, cheaters or not.

Career Numbers

Games Hits HR RBI AVG SLG OBP

Ty Cobb 3035 4189 117 1937 .366 .512 .433
Pete Rose 3562 4256 160 1314 .303 .409 .375
Babe Ruth 2503 2873 714 2217 .342 .690 .474
Barry Bonds 2913 2880 746 1957 .298 .608 .444

The numbers don't lie. Bonds has played fewer games than Cobb and Rose, and is only a few points below Rose (the Career Hits Leader) in batting Average.

I think, regardless of who they are, what they've done, and if they've cheated or not, if you've produced, and they let you continue to play ball, then you belong in the Hall. If Ruth played today, he might even be questioned. All the times he's probably been caught drunk driving? He'd be in Jail. When he played, the police would bring him home!

All I'm trying to say is, all of these players broke the rules. If Cobb and Ruth are there, then Bonds and Rose belong as well.

Like I said, the numbers don't lie.