Who was the best center fielder of all time?

[Zone91]

Was it Cobb, Mantle, Dimaggio or Ken Griffey jr?

Post # 2

[seablaster]

I think your poll should include Willie Mays and Tris Speaker, Adrian.

[Zone91]

seablaster

Can I change my poll to add them?

Post # 4

[39special]

I would pick Mays

[texmrsport]

Mays

[glynparson]

The answer is Willie Mays in my mind.

[wolf441]

I'd have to go with Mays as well.

[EvilKing00]

My answer would of been Mays if we are including fielding

[almostdone]

Out of the four listed I would probably pick Griffey Jr. but Mays would be best overall if listed.
Drew

[barrysloate]

Willie Mays.

[RCMcKenzie]

Mike Trout or Tris Speaker.

[EvilKing00]

Originally Posted by rcmckenzie

mike trout or tris speaker.

rofl!

[Cardboard Junkie]

Say Hey!

[TUM301]

thought of Mays right off the bat but then saw he wasn`t on the list.

[bender07]

Awesome poll that doesn't include the most likely choice. Mays is the best.

[oldphil]

Richie Ashburn you fools. Richie was very good at fouling pitches off trying to work a walk. Once he hit a lady seated down the third base line who needed medical attention and had to be removed from the park. Unfortunately as she was being removed Richie hit her with another foul ball. Actually my choice is Mr. Mays.

[oldjudge]

Ty Cobb, and I don't think it's close. Offensively, the only advantage Mays has is in HRs. Mays was probably a better fielder, but it would have been interesting to see Mays play with the glove Cobb had to use.

[Seiklis]

Mays

[Cardboard Junkie]

Wasn't it Durocher who said of Mays, "If he could cook I'd marry him!".

[sycks22]

Devon White?

[Zone91]

Why would Ken Griffey jr pass before Mantle he never won a world series and Mantle won 7 of them?

Post # 6

[Paul S]

Originally Posted by Zone91

Why would Ken Griffey jr pass before Mantle he never won a world series and Mantle won 7 of them?

Post # 6

Griffey Jr. didn't play in NY.

[auggiedoggy]

Willie Mays!

You're welcome!

[71buc]

Due to absence of Mays in this poll I will go with Griffey. Perhaps I am biased being in the Northwest but Jr is the greatest all around talent I ever saw. I can tell this is the pre war forum. Ty Cobb over Griffey is like believing a Chalmers would beat a Ferrari in a race

[bender07]

Originally Posted by Zone91

Why would Ken Griffey jr pass before Mantle he never won a world series and Mantle won 7 of them?

Post # 6

If Junior plays for the NYY from '51 to '69 he's winning 7 titles too.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by oldjudge

Ty Cobb, and I don't think it's close. Offensively, the only advantage Mays has is in HRs. Mays was probably a better fielder, but it would have been interesting to see Mays play with the glove Cobb had to use.

Better power hitter and better fielder, that's a pretty good start for a center fielder, no? I would give the advantage, by a slight margin, to Mays, although it's always somewhat artificial to compare players across eras. Had Grifffey's career continued at the same trajectory through his 30s, he certainly would be in the discussion, but of course it didn't.

[MMarvelli]

Willie Mays

"The only man who could have caught that ball, hit that ball"

[oldjudge]

Peter-Cobb played in the dead ball era when scoring was lower than during Mays' time, yet Cobb had more RBIs. During most of Cobbs career no one hit a lot of HRs. Otherwise, he compares very favorably to Mays in doubles and triples. As to fielding, Mays was probably better but how do you compare?

[Wymers Auction]

I think we can all agree that Mays should have been a choice. Fun topic.

[RCMcKenzie]

Here are the all-time OF assist leaders by career and season...

http://www.baseball-reference.com/le...f_career.shtml

http://www.baseball-reference.com/le...f_season.shtml
n172ryan169.jpgdiamondsrichardson049.jpg

Ryan is third all-time in assists, and although he is listed as a RF in the n172 series, he also played CF.

Richardson is known primarily as a 2B, but is credited with as many as 45 OF assists in 1881 with Buffalo.

[EGreenwood]

That would be Willie Mays

[milkit1]

Tris speaker without a doubt. Everyone says willie mays cause of one great catch caught on film. Speaker was so good he'd play as shallow as possible thus having more unassisted double plays by any outfielder ever. Willie mays? Give me a break.

[steve B]

Originally Posted by milkit1

Tris speaker without a doubt. Everyone says willie mays cause of one great catch caught on film. Speaker was so good he'd play as shallow as possible thus having more unassisted double plays by any outfielder ever. Willie mays? Give me a break.

Speaker could only play that shallow at home and then only after 1911. The stadium was much smaller, allowing him to aggressively chase balls that in other parks were not reachable or couldn't be gone after that hard because missing the ball meant a very long chase back to the wall. A very shallow left also meant he had a lot more chance of backup on a missed ball.

That's one reason it's hard to compare eras, smaller stadiums starting around 1910 meant a huge change in how outfield play was done.

Steve B

[Vintageclout]

FYI, Mantle has ZERO business being on this list. Secondly, many historians don't look at Cobb as a natural centerfielder, but more as a corner outfielder. Where is Willie Mays??? Its either Mays or DiMaggio. For an entire career its Mays, and at peak value DiMaggio wins the prize because he was a more formidable hitter. All depends on how you are judging a ballplayer's career vs. peak value.

Joe T.

[Steve D]

Garry Maddox!

He was after all, nicknamed the Secretary of Defense. Someone also remarked about him:

"Two thirds of the Earth is covered by water, the other third is covered by Garry Maddox."


OK, maybe not; if you include hitting, it's definitely Willie Mays.


Steve

[obcbobd]

Mays of course

[TheBig6]

Cesar Cedeno
Get me another Dome Foam

[travrosty]

i say griffey jr.

[alanu]

Say Hey

[Danny Smith]

"Your mother, trebek" - Sean Connery

[Zone91]

Why so little love for Joe Dimaggio when he won 9 titles!!!

Post # 7

[SteveMitchell]

People who know me know I'm no fan of the Yankees, but... I gotta go with my own (admittedly convoluted) scoring system I devised 15 years ago.

Assigning one point for first place, 2 for second, 3 for third, etc. in 11 offensive* (and no defensive) categories, the center fielder with the lowest total wins.

Final results:

1. Joe DiMaggio, 30 points
2. Ty Cobb, 52
3. Ken Griffey, Jr., 54
4. Earl Averill, 55
5. Al Simmons, 56
6. Mickey Mantle & Willie Mays, 61 each
8. Tris Speaker, 63
9. Duke Snider, 73
10. Edd Roush, 91

*The categories are: Runs, Hits, 2B, 3B, HR, RBI, Batting Average, Slugging Average, Total Bases, Long Hits and Net Runs. This was a statistical analysis of career records based upon 575 at bats representing a hypothetical season with seasons divided into career totals to produce an expected yearly average.

Convoluted scoring systems aside, Griffey's stats only go through 1998 and there is no accounting for defense.

Taking into account defense and the quirks of the baseball eras represented by these players, I think it would be close, and go something like: Mays, Cobb, Griffey and DiMaggio.

[Zone91]

Why then is Mantle SO MUCH more popular and has millions of people who collect his cards? I do not get it if Mays was so much better??? Same with Hank Aaron (I know he has no place here) he had way better stats than Mantle...but almost nobody collects his stuff compared to the Mick!!!

What am I missing here is it just because he played for the Yankees and was a above average player? Why is his name legendary along with the likes of Babe Ruth?

Post # 8

[Eric72]

I say Mays; however, this guy was pretty good, too...

[tedzan]

Originally Posted by Zone91

Why then is Mantle SO MUCH more popular and has millions of people who collect his cards? I do not get it if Mays was so much better??? Same with Hank Aaron (I know he has no place here) he had way better stats than Mantle...but almost nobody collects his stuff compared to the Mick!!!

What am I missing here is it just because he played for the Yankees and was a above average player? Why is his name legendary along with the likes of Babe Ruth?

Post # 8

It's easy....you don't have to be a "Rocket Scientist" to realize why Mantle is beloved more than Mays.

I'm old enough to have seen Mantle and Mays play from 1951 to their career's end. Mantle was a tremendous force on the Yankees
that got them into 12 World Series from 1951 - 1964. He "wowed" us with clutch hitting and 18 HR's in those World Series.

While Mays with the Giants during those years was only in 3 World Series. Incidently, he hit NO HR's in those Series.

Now, my daughters know more about Mickey Mantle than any other ballplayer, because like most Dad's, I passed on to them the legacy
of the mighty Mantle performances. My point that I'm making here is that there is a generational multiplying factor in play.

I could spend pages of story-telling why Mantle is more popular than Mays.

But, I'll leave you with this......Mantle was always a great person to get his autograph from....he was always very friendly.

Contrast that with Mays, who most of the time is an old grouch and not too friendly (this has really turned off many of his fans).


TED Z

[E93]

No brainer, Cobb was the best player ever to walk onto a ball field. He single-handedly transformed the game in which he was playing.
JimB

[oldjudge]

Steve--I'm confused by your last statement. You clearly rank DiMaggio as the best hitting centerfielder ever. He was not just a good fielder, he was a great fielder. If he beat Mays by a decent margin on offense there is no way that Mays catches him based on defense. Mays MAY have been slightly better on defense, but DiMaggio was one of the greatest fielding centerfielders of his era.

BTW, I don't think championships mean much when ranking players. Baseball is a team game, one guy can't carry the team. Mantle on Mays' Giants don't win any more pennants than the Giants did; they may win less. Similarly, Mays replacing Mantle on the Yankees (which would have made him the first Black Yankee--they didn't rush out to sign Black ball players) would have not cost them any pennants. Might have won them an extra World Series too.

[RCMcKenzie]

I guess I understood the question to mean who would I want in centerfield if I were the manager. If it's based on offensive stats, I'd want a hopped-up Barry Bonds in CF.

[auggiedoggy]

Willie Mays!

End of discussion! No really! I have to go to bed now.

[Sean]

Mays.