Who is the greatest baseball player of all time?
 

I was recently asked who was "the greatest baseball player of all time"? I couldn't give a definitive answer. Is it Babe Ruth? Cy Young? Ted Williams? Lou Gehrig?!? If I was forced to choose I would probably have to say Ty Cobb. Would I be wrong?

Player I gotta go with Mays, with apologies to Ruth for his pitching abilities. Hitter I go with Ted Williams.

I’d go Ruth. Highest WAR and all that.

Nobody has ever changed the game, and been famous worldwide, like Ruth.

The answer is Babe Ruth, period. The fact he was universally loved is a bonus.

Ruth. Period. Paragraph.

I like the idea that there isn't a consensus because of just how long our game has been around, and how different things were and are in comparison to now.


In terms of global impact, I would say Ruth, however. No one did for the sport what he was able to do. Talent? Ruth might still be number one, but it'd be hard to discount someone like Oscar Charleston.

I am going with Ruth for all the obvious reasons.

That is not to take away from other greats like Cap Anson, Ty Cobb, Lou Gehrig, Cy young, Mays, Mantle, Mays, Williams etc

But Ruth was the player, the impact on the game etc.

Nobody has ever dominated their time like Ruth. That he was a star pitcher as well is the cherry on the top. I think the gap between Ruth and everyone else is pretty large. Who was #2 is, I think, the competitive question.

Babe Ruth.
Maybe one day the answer to who is the greatest Baseball player of all time changes...but today is not that day.

You put Mays twice. Unless you meant Carl.

Personally, I would NEVER have Anson in the discussion.


.

Willie was that good.

I don't know the answer. All I can say for sure is that the best player I've ever watched play was Willie Mays.

I think all around it's Either babe or Willie. But I think Aaron gets far too little consideration. To me he's the best hitter of all time and was a spectacular fielder as well (though not quite mays level of course).

Babe Ruth, was a very good pitcher, hit for power and avg. Ruth is best ever and not to take anything away from some others that where great players, next best is a distant second.

It's a tough question. It's also extremely tough to compare players pre and post integration.

My gut says Ruth, the numbers and impact on the game say so, but Willie was so incredible!

If I were hard-pressed to do a top 3 right now I would say:

1. Babe Ruth
2. Willie Mays
3. Ted Williams

What person can definitively answer that question?

Everyone has an opinion. Who do YOU think is the greatest?

I am not disagreeing and his political views were bad and he did a lot to cause and continue segregation in the sport but many consider him the greatest pre 1900 era ball player and the first player with over 3000 hits and he was popular and help transform the game.
And since that era of ball is slightly different from others era So I was just trying to include the time.

Ooops my bad or twice for his time with Giants and Mets lol

I can. Ruth.

Always remember scouts and baseball executives talking about 5-tool players as being the best prospects, and eventually the greatest actual players, of the game. Well, sorry to say, but the truth is that Ruth was never a 5-tool player!!!

Mays, on the other hand, most definitely had all 5-tools, in spades. Also, scouts and others often talked about his amazing arm strength and throwing ability, and many surmised he would have actually been a better pitcher than outfielder. In his time coming up though, teams didn't really consider the idea of using a player as both a pitcher and as a position player on their non-pitching days. So, Mays was pushed into the outfield so he could be in the lineup every day. We'll never know for sure how great of a pitcher Willie could have been, but based on many knowledgeable people's opinions, he would have potentially been a great pitcher as well. Now I'm not out and out saying Mays is the greatest player of all time. It is a futile and somewhat pointless argument and waste of time due to all the different eras, changes in rules, equipment, and context that have occurred since baseball first was played to definitively be able to say someone is absolutely better or worse than someone else. But in terms of Ruth versus Mays, Willie was a true 5-tolol player, while Ruth was not. That is indisputable and fact. How great of a pitcher Mays could have possibly been, we'll never know as that is all speculative because Mays was never given the opportunity to pitch in the majors as Ruth was.

And the question was strictly about who was the greatest player ever in baseball , NOT who was the most influential ever. And anyone who doesn't admit and realize those are two entirely different questions is just being ignorant. And even so, for those who would argue Ruth was the most influential baseball player of all time, I'm not so sure Ruth's supposed influence didn't have a lot more to do with him being lucky and in the right place at the right time. MLB was already trying to change the conversation about the game due to the Black Sox scandal, and as a result they changed the ball from a dead to a live ball. They also saw the size and measurements of MLB stadium outfields shortening and making it easier for players to hit home runs. But Ruth himself didn't make or influence such changes, he really just happened to be the one to take the most advantage of the changes that MLB was actually implementing and supporting. So, arguing that it was actually Ruth who was the most influential may actually be more of a case of the tail wagging the dog than a lot of Ruth fans care to admit.

In the meantime, if you want to talk about a player having a possible even more direct, lasting, and influential effect on the game of baseball, I would nominate Curt Flood as potentially the most influential player of all time. He fought to bring about the demise of the reserve clause in baseball, and the onset of free agency. And he did so with absolutely no help or support from MLB as they were fighting against him. There is no denying the fact that the game of baseball dramatically and forever changed with the advent of free agency. Meanwhile, Ruth's impact and influence had a lot more to do with the rules, equipment, and other changes and such that MLB put in place and supported for baseball overall, and which he was able to take advantage of.

Bob that was a lot of words to not answer the question. But you call the idea of the thread “a futile and a somewhat pointless argument and a waste of time” so thanks for chiming in.
I will take Babe Ruth’s actual pitching over Willie Mays’ theoretical pitching ability. Mays is great and certainly in the discussion but total body of work tips the scales towards Ruth… even despite the lack of 5-Tools!?! :D

The first year Ruth became a regular outfielder, 1919 (before the Black Sox scandal) he hit more than twice as many home runs as the next highest player (29 to 12.) The next year (before the Black Sox scandal broke) he hit almost three times as many (54 to 19.) The following year, 1921, his third as an outfielder, he hit almost 2.5 times as many home runs as the next guy (59 to 24.)

But your theory is that MLB decided to liven up the ball first, hoping somebody would transform the game to such an extent that a ballclub would need to build a huge new stadium to accommodate the tens of thousands of fans who would come to see someone hit the ball a mile with some regularity... and Ruth just happened to take advantage of the situation.

I think you have the proverbial cart and horse backwards.

Anson was probably the best non-pitcher of the 19th century and possibly the best counting pitchers. To decide who one thinks is the best of all time would necessitate, I would think, looking at the best of every era. Anson makes perfect sense as a legitimate candidate. Anson, Cobb, Mays, there’s several candidates but I think Ruth’s level of sheer dominance of his time makes him the clear #1.

I would argue that Brouthers ranks above Anson for 19th century hitters. Anson has the counting numbers, but that's about it, as Brouthers even has the edge in batting titles with 5 to Anson's 4. I don't even think it's particularly close, Brouthers takes the best 19th century hitter title. If you dig even further into sabermetrics, Brouthers lead only grows. I added Delahanty to the stats comparison as he ranks ahead of Anson as well, although still behind Brouthers.

As for Ruth and Mays... An argument can be made for both and while I would say Ruth on most days, there are days when I think it is Mays.

I agree that Brouthers is better if one does not factor in longevity and looks only at peak 3, or peak 5. I think there is a lot of value in the massive chasm between their playing time. Sabrmetrics that reward longevity agree, like WAR.

My personal bias is towards Mays of all the greats, but he did not really dominate the game. He ended up the best of his time when all was said and done and is the model of a complete position player, but I can’t see a way to pick him over Ruth who truly dominated the game on a level no one else has (except arguably Bonds, when he was on drugs).


EDIT: After seeing your edit, it appears you are ranking by OSP+. It’s a great stat I like, but if we are using it to rank and overcome even huge career disparities, it would suggest that Ruth is far and away the greatest of all time, and Mays is nowhere even close, in a distant 25th place 51 points below the Babe.

EDIT: I'm not ranking by OPS+ at all. I'm ranking by everything other than counting stats and the amount of XBH's in contrast to how many at bats it took to get there. Also SLG, On Base, etc. The quality of AB's heavily favors Brouthers, most likely due to the late career decline of Anson which was not kind to his numbers outside of his counting stats.


All-time is a much different argument and I would say that none of the 19th century guys make the cut, despite my love for the era.

I would pick Ruth 7 times out of 10, Willie 2 times, and Williams once. All 3 have compelling stories and arguments, but Ruth is king.

The argument gets much more interesting when you divide the game up into eras. Then split pitching and hitting.

If I were to pick the greatest from each of these eras (the eras themselves are up for debate as well), I would probably go...

19th Century (1871-1899) - Dan Brouthers/Kid Nichols *Cy Young 2nd
The Dead Ball Era (1900-1919) - Ty Cobb/Walter Johnson *Cy Young 2nd
The Live Ball Era (1920-1941) - Babe Ruth/Lefty Grove
The Integration Era (1942-1960) - Ted Williams/Warren Spahn
The Expansion Era (1961-1976) - Hank Aaron/Tom Seaver
The Free Agency Era (1977-1993) - George Brett (Gwynn, Schmidt, Boggs also)/Nolan Ryan
The Steroid Era (1994-Present) - Barry Bonds/Roger Clemens

I would say slugging and on base are pretty much the same as OPS+. I like OPS+ a lot for comparing sluggers across era; but I don't like it's favoring of slugging over on base, which doesn't really matter for comparing these two much. Quality per at bat = Brouthers, overall value = Anson, I think.

I do not think the greatest of all time is one of the 19th century players, but whoever one thinks is the top probably belongs in the debate. Personally, I think the debate is over who is #2, not #1. Ruth just annihilated his era, Bonds is the closest comparison I can think of and that was less than honest.

Era cuts are hard, because it really hurts some of the best. Assuming that we are counting ONLY their value within the exact years specified, I would pick:

19th Century (1871-1899) - Cap Anson/Kid Nichols
The Dead Ball Era (1900-1919) - Honus Wagner/Walter Johnson
The Live Ball Era (1920-1941) - Babe Ruth/Lefty Grove
The Integration Era (1942-1960) - Ted Williams/Warren Spahn
The Expansion Era (1961-1976) - Aaron-Mays/Bob Gibson
The Free Agency Era (1977-1993) - Mike Schmidt/Nolan Ryan
The Steroid Era (1994-Present) - Barry Bonds/Randy Johnson

If we expanded 19th century, Creighton was probably the most dominating player in baseball history except for maybe Ruth. That he died before professionalism and at such a young age precludes him, but I think he deserves an honorable mention. By figuring out how to throw hard within the rules on delivery, he almost single handedly changed the game from hitter vs. fielders to hitter vs. pitcher, which has remained the core of the game ever since.

Cy Young really gets cheated by the era cutoff. The GOAT is a toss up between Young, Johnson and Grove, I think, depending on how one values peak vs. longevity. Young's career split in half means he wins neither period independently.

Honus Wagner over Cobb, only because of the era cutoff. Cobb did not produce value until 1906, and kept producing a lot of value every year pretty much until he retired. I don't Cobb 1905-1919 beats Wagner 1900-1917. Even with an era cutoff that heavily favors Honus, Cobb isn't far behind. I do give Honus a significant defense bonus as a great fielding SS, though I think Sabrmetrics of defense from this period are mostly fantasy.

I think Seaver did not pitch enough between 1961 and 1976 to earn it. If it was 1961-1993 as one period, I would take Seaver. Seaver is really hurt by the cutoff, as are several other pitchers.

1961-1976, I had to check and compare. Aaron vs. Mays is tight, Aaron has a 157 OPS+, Mays a 154 in this period. Aaron got in some extra playing time, Mays was a better player at everything except the bat, where they are close. Mays' raw is hurt by Candlestick and Aaron's is aided by playing much of that period in a launching pad designed for him. Tough call.

Free Agency Era pitching is bad. Most of the stars in this period lose a ton of pitching time to the cutoff, on both ends. I think Ryan is probably the most overrated pitcher in baseball history (112 ERA+; he walked in so many runs that he eliminated much of the value of his difficulty to hit). But I'm not sure anyone is really better if you cut them to only 1977-1993 exactly. By far the weakest pick on the whole list.

Johnson over Clemens; because of the era cutoffs. Taking away Clemens first decade is a lot of value; while Randy really only started producing value much over the league average in 1993, so almost all of his productive career is counted. If it was total career, Roger blows him out.

This is a really fun exercise to do.

Love the respect for Spahn here.

Hmmmm! Thanks Rhett, love the comment about my supposedly chiming in with nothing. Just because I refuse to play the game of arguing over something that can never actually be proven, it doesn't mean I still can't provide factual information and statements in regard to such questions/debates. Or are you now suddenly the "thought police" of the forum in charge of what can and can't be honestly talked about?

I wanted to merely point out that in the Mays/Ruth debate for the supposedly greatest player ever, which it looked like this thread was starting to focus on, the term "greatest player" I assume is in regard to a player's overall total baseball related abilities. The question was not who was the greatest offensive baseball player, who had the highest career WAR, or who was the greatest home run hitter, etc. And the last time I looked, they considered the greatest players to be ones that could do ALL the things required of a ballplayer, which included having speed, hitting for power, hitting for average, fielding, and arm strength. I believe that is what most all scouts look for in potential players, and how they end up judging who are going to potentially be the greatest players. So, if those are the main factors they look for in determining MLB prospects, please explain to me why those same factors wouldn't also be applicable to determining who then are considered the greatest MLB players as well?

Both Mays and Ruth hit for power and average, but obviously Ruth was on top of Mays in those categories. But when it comes to fielding and speed, I believe those categories would go to Mays. That leaves arm strength as the final category, which is probably more of a toss-up between the two, with no real way to properly determine/measure them. Ruth was a great pitcher, but Mays was known for his tremendous arm strength and throwing as well. If YOU want to go ahead and attribute more weight to Ruth's offensive numbers, or the fact that he did get to pitch while Mays did not get the opportunity, so be it, you can do what you want. But quit belittling someone else for simply pointing out FACTS that you may not want to hear or agree with.

And for the record, I never said Mays was better than Ruth. I was just putting out factual information to be considered in the conversation. I assume that is still allowed? :D

So do you rank Mays ahead of Ruth?

If I am wrong, I apologize and am happy to admit my error. I totally agree that Ruth was hitting more homers than anyone else. However, do you really think that MLB didn't know, and more importantly didn't think, to proactively start making changes in anticipation of the fallout from the 1919 World Series and the gambling allegations surrounding it, right after it ended? I've always heard/read from different sources that the dead ball era ended in 1919, and the live ball era was to have started in 1920. Your comment is that Ruth was already hitting 54 homers in 1920, BEFORE the Black Sox scandal supposedly broke and became known. I think you may be the one who is a bit off if you truly believe MLB didn't realize and know about all the gambling allegations and rumors while the series was still going on. I even seem to remember seeing/hearing that commentators covering the series, such as Christy Mathewson, were known to have been reporting on the suspicious play of some of the Black Sox players. Something tells me MLB was not that stupid and anticipated negative issues and feedback from the tainted series, and may have gone ahead to liven up the ball in anticipation of the fallout.

The fact that Ruth hit 29 home runs in 1919, his first full season as a position player, and then followed it with 54 homers in 1920, kind of goes along with there possibly being some changes to the balls being used starting in 1920. MLB teams hit a total of only 447 home runs in 1919, and then followed it up with 721 hit in 1920. That increase was not all due to just Ruth, and I didn't go through every prior year, but I don't think was a single prior season where all of MLB hit even 500 total home runs. And if I'm correct, how do you suddenly explain such a huge jump in total home runs across the entire league in that one single season of 1920? Then going forward, MLB teams hit 1130, 1299, 1356, 1236, and 1736 home runs over the next five seasons, from 1921 to 1925, respectively. That evidence seems pretty convincing to me that something changed in 1920, BEFORE your alleged breaking of the Black Sox scandal. Now if you, or anyone else, has more specific factual information and evidence as to exactly when MLB may have livened up the baseballs back then, I would love to see/hear it, proving my theory wrong.

And no one ever said MLB potentially made such changes to be able to have one single person transform the game and capture the attention of the fans, like Ruth did. They were more likely looking to simply create more offense and potential excitement among fans, maybe offsetting at least some of the negativity from the expected gambling scandal fallout. That Ruth was there at the exact right place (New York), and time (right after the scandal), was probably unforeseen by anyone in MLB, and was likely beyond their wildest dreams and expectations that he became the adored player and ambassador of the game that he was. And that was why I surmised that Ruth may have to at least partially thank MLB for some of the changes and such that helped to benefit him and the influence he is credited with having on the game. But think about this, what if back then MLB kept the dead ball throughout the rest if Ruth's career, and he continued hitting his 20-30 HRs every year, still beating out everyone else by a mile. But then, MLB livened the ball up around the time Wilie Mays came into the league (shortly followed by Hank Aaron), and Mays took off with all the home runs he started hitting and he became the phenomenon, legend, and influencer of baseball that otherwise in reality has been credited to Ruth.

Meanwhile, Curt Flood, (with the obvious help and support of Marvin Miller and his attorneys), went up against MLB and broke them of the reserve clause and ushered in free agency, totally changing the game going forward. He got absolutely no help or assistance in changing the game from MLB or in any of its rules, equipment, or anything else. MLB actually fought him to not make any changes to the way things were, and yet he prevailed in court and ended up changing the game of baseball forever. Even in Jackie Robinson's case, it was Branch Rickey who picked and approached him to be the first player to integrate MLB. So Jackie was not solely responsible for being the first player to integrate the majors, certainly not without the unbelievable help and support of Rickey and the Dodgers organization.

Double post/

I don't know. They played in different eras, under different rules, with different equipment, context, and so on. Who is to say that if you could have somehow flipped Willie Mays to have started playing when Ruth did, and vice versa for Ruth, that Mays wouldn't now be considered the legend that Ruth is. Being in the right time and place, and first to make some huge achievement, goes a long way to creating a legend that is virtually impossible to ever argue against.

Sorry, double post.

I hear you. There’s no truly wrong answer. The reason I go with Ruth is comparing him to his contemporaries. He was so far above anyone else it’s basically absurd. Mays was so far above his contemporaries it’s almost as absurd but not quite as much. That’s why I go Ruth.

My sentiments exactly.

Don't forget how far away the fences were in Ruth's era, and he still managed to get to 714 even with all of the 450+ foot fences and essentially losing five years of hitting due to being a Hall-of-Fame worthy pitcher! There were years when he out-homered most or all other teams! Ruth was also a crack fielder and decent runner, at least according to the Babe Ruth candy cards that were produced.

It isn't close enough for me to go with anyone else, but I like the case for Willie Mays being second place.

I would tend to agree with what most people are saying here. Ruth is #1, Mays is definitely #2, and in my opinion, Williams is #3.

Third on the list is where the debate comes in, since we are mostly in agreement with Ruth and Mays at 1 and 2.

I like Williams at 3, but Gehrig, Musial, Bonds, Aaron, and Cobb all have an argument here.

Pitchers would be a fun 1,2,3 debate as well.

Mine would likely be:

1. Cy Young
2. Walter Johnson
3. (I'm going to get opposition here, but...) Nolan Ryan. Wild and unpredictable, but dominant on a level that is almost alien to us mere humans.

Official answer- Babe Ruth

Honest answer- Jose Altuve

I had to…

Very funny, he looks like him, and was almost as tall. When I was a kid, I would have said Terry Puhl.

I think you would see Ted Williams name more in the Goat discussion if he didn't miss five full seasons to military service. If you extrapolate his season average numbers over those 5 years his totals are astounding.

It's all opinions. It's like asking who's the best dentist in a particular state or the best tax attorney in the state. Right ? Right. :D

That an issue is one of opinion, rather than of a strict true or false dichotomy, does not make that issue not worth discussing. Especially if it’s just a little fun for fans, though many very serious issues are also matters of opinion. Everyone knows there is not a strictly true definitive answer, because the question is one of weighting many factors in an arbitrary way.


For the top 3
Position Players:
Ruth
Mays
Cobb (can swap with Mays, picking between them I find very difficult)

I would probably put Williams somewhere around 5-10. If we ignored anything but hitting, he is ~2/3/4 with Cobb and Bonds (who I understand both writing off and counting very highly).

Pitchers are easier. I think the top 3 is a preference between balancing longevity and peak performance, but whichever way I lean at a particular time the top 3 are the same, just in a different order.
1. Cy Young
2. Walter Johnson
3. Lefty Grove

Exactly why I think if you're going to really talk about the "greatest", you almost have to restrict it to the different periods/eras to more properly be able to compare all the different changes in rules, equipment, context, and so on, that have occurred since baseball began. So maybe just look at the 19th century (1869-1899) as say one era. Then look at the modern dead ball era (1900-1919) as another, followed by say the early live ball/pre-war era (1920-1941), then maybe the vintage post-war/pre-expansion era (1942-1960), and so on. In that case it seems to me it is much easier to get wider agreement among people about who was maybe the greatest player during each of the particular eras/generations. So, if you said something like Cobb was the best player in his era/generation, Ruth in his, then Wiliams in his, followed by Mays in his, and so on, I think you'll get a lot more agreement among baseball fans.

It is when you start trying to compare these great players across generations and eras that you run into issues caused by differences in rules, equipment, context, and all the other variables in how the game has changed and morphed over time. And don't forget the various biases that may exist, like how people often feel the players they actually saw and grew up with are the best because of their memories and a familiarity bias, or how people into numbers and statistics are possibly biased by looking at just all these modern statistics nowadays, and making their judgements based solely on those factors and numbers. Truth is, different people are going to have all different players they may have looked up to and thought of as the best or greatest, for any number of different and varying reasons. Not everyone has the exact same definition of what makes a player the "greatest" in their eyes. And none of them are wrong.

What is wrong is all the close-minded people that belittle and put others down and make sarcastic comments about or directed at them for having different thinking and opinions than they do. All I was trying to do earlier was point out that there may be different ways of interpreting and looking at things when it comes to certain players. Like how Ruth is maybe not actually as complete a player as some others in this "greatest' conversation are because he didn't necessarily have great speed, which is one of the definitively agreed upon 5-tools that great players are often expected to have.

Double post.

Sorry, having internet issues and every time I post it double posts for some reason.

You may want to double check the outfield dimensions of Yankee Stadium, which opened in 1923 and where Ruth ended up playing the bulk of his career as a full-time position player. He wasn't primarily playing on fields with 450'+ fences. And before that, when the Yankees were playing at the Polo Grounds, the center field fence may have been about 450' away, but down the foul lines the fences were only about 280' or so away. So for someone that could pull the ball, or hit to the opposite field, and still keep it just fair, it was actually pretty short fences for them to hit homers.

Josh Gibson

162 game average:

BA .374 Hits 218 OBP 458
HR 45 Runs 165 SLG 720
RBI 198 BB 90 OPS 1.178