The First Five, Who Are You Going To Take

[cgjackson222]

Originally Posted by Hankphenom

Oh, I'm sure the players of Johnson's time could hit the fastball, too, they just couldn't hit HIS. Big difference there.

I'm just recognizing that there aren't that many guys that can make a living off one pitch these days. Maybe Johnson could, maybe he couldn't.

[jcmtiger]

Cobb all the way, never pick a pitcher.

[darwinbulldog]

Definitely Ruth.

[Metsfan0507]

Are we taking the player and dropping them into 2023 competition at 18 years old? Or are we guaranteeing that their career turns out exactly the same (ruth hits 714hrs, cobb gets his 4000+ hits, etc). My thinking is that the pitchers won't stand out against today's competition, but if we guarantee their same stats then all those complete games and wins are extremely valuable so I'd take Johnson. If we're dropping them against modern competition with no guarantees, then I'd take cobb or wagner as I think their ability to hit to all fields and good baserunning would stand up best against today's pitchers.

[NiceDocter]

Just have to take the guy who was undefeated in his World Series pitching record with an ERA of 0.87 and 29 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings. That would be Babe Ruth. I rest my case.

[Hankphenom]

Originally Posted by cgjackson222

I'm just recognizing that there aren't that many guys that can make a living off one pitch these days. Maybe Johnson could, maybe he couldn't.

And I'm just recognizing that there was only one who could do it in the old days, or ever, for that matter.

[Hankphenom]

This is a timeless argument: who is more valuable, the great everyday player or the great pitcher who wins consistently every four or five games? I think Ruth's star power and drawing ability, along with his hitting, makes him the pick. But here's the case for Johnson: let's say you're the Washington manager while he's on your staff. He starts 666 games, finishes 532 of them, wins 417 of them, and shuts the other team out in 110. So when you send Walter out to the mound, you know he's going to finish 5 out of 6 games, win 2 out of 3 of them, and in 1 out of 6 the other team isn't even going to score a run! For 21 seasons he's going to do that for you. You'd have to give it some serious thought before letting THAT guy go to another team. Of course, having a shot at any of those players would be a franchise's dream come true.

[butchie_t]

I’m taking the train, The Big Train. Barney is the conductor of the team.

[ValKehl]

Keep in mind that Johnson's peak strike-out years were during the dead-ball era when batters were swinging to make contact, rather than swinging for the fences, which made batters harder to strike out. But, even in the 1920's after the advent of the lively ball and when Johnson was in the downside of his career, he led the A.L. in strike outs three times (1921, 1923 & 1924) and MLB once (1921). I daresay that if Johnson were pitching in the 21st century, IMO, he would accumulate 6,000 or more strike outs because there are so few contact hitters in today's game.

[ksfarmboy]

Thanks for discussing guys! My mindset when I started this was they would have the same career if dumped into 2023, silly maybe. Remember the player is on your team not necessarily the Red Sox and Yankees like Ruth would have been. I also wanted to see some pics and cards of these guys. Thanks for they ones that shared photos. JC what is that Cobb that looks like a Turkey Red? Notebook cover?

[JustinD]

Personal answer is Cobb, logical answer is Ruth.