Most Legendary Players

[Leon]

There was only one...

http://youtu.be/HBOQfr2Lrno


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[bcbgcbrcb]

Jimmy Foxx
Rogers Hornsby

[ls7plus]

Thanks for the video, Leon. Great stuff! Both the Babe and Jimmy Foxx really launched their whole bodies into the pitch (hence the expression "swinging from the heels")--I wonder how that approach would work today, with so many pitchers able to make the ball break both ways, with slider, cutter, curve and circle-type change, that moves like a screwball, but without the wear and tear on the elbow? Or would these types of sluggers have to adopt more of a Miguel Cabrera/Joe DiMaggio approach, with a wider stance, and little more than a lift of the heel of the front foot for a stride?

Thanks for a great site,

Larry

[Hankphenom]

Talk about an overused term, often confused with great. Great isn't good enough to be legendary--there have to be actual "legends" told about them, stories that seem to defy the limits of human ability: the Babe's power; Johnson's speed; Cobb's fire; Robinson's determination; DiMaggio's grace (married Monroe!); William's eyesight (and military service); Gehrig's class; Jackson's perfidy; Mays's hustle; Mantle's--dare I say it--beauty. Every one of these will still be known by most baseball fans 100 years from now, while many other really great players will have been largely forgotten.

[ls7plus]

Originally Posted by Hankphenom

Talk about an overused term, often confused with great. Great isn't good enough to be legendary--there have to be actual "legends" told about them, stories that seem to defy the limits of human ability: the Babe's power; Johnson's speed; Cobb's fire; Robinson's determination; DiMaggio's grace (married Monroe!); William's eyesight (and military service); Gehrig's class; Jackson's perfidy; Mays's hustle; Mantle's--dare I say it--beauty. Every one of these will still be known by most baseball fans 100 years from now, while many other really great players will have been largely forgotten.

Awesomely put, Hank, and truly poetic. I think you hit the nail right on the head with that one!

Best regards,

Larry

[Clutch-Hitter]

Great video. Legend?

Ruth's home-run spray chart away games 1921 and 1927, with the black dots representing balls that were not home runs:

[Matt]

Originally Posted by Leon

There was only one...

http://youtu.be/HBOQfr2Lrno


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The last clip of that collection is fantastic. The pose, the crowd rising and then the trot.

[alanu]

ruth
cobb
gehrig
ott
ted williams
aaron
mantle
mays
rose
nolan ryan

11-roy hobbs

[Donscards]

Here are my top 10=====1.Babe Ruth 2. Ty Cobb 3. Lou Gehrig 4. Joe Jackson 5. Ted Williams 6. Joe Jackson 7. Mickey Mantle 8. Willie Mays 9. Joe D. 10 Sandy Koufax Sorry Hank

[Hankphenom]

Originally Posted by Donscards

Here are my top 10=====1.Babe Ruth 2. Ty Cobb 3. Lou Gehrig 4. Joe Jackson 5. Ted Williams 6. Joe Jackson 7. Mickey Mantle 8. Willie Mays 9. Joe D. 10 Sandy Koufax Sorry Hank

No sweat. Koufax was the best I ever saw.

[phikappapsi]

Originally Posted by Donscards

Here are my top 10=====1.Babe Ruth 2. Ty Cobb 3. Lou Gehrig 4. Joe Jackson 5. Ted Williams 6. Joe Jackson 7. Mickey Mantle 8. Willie Mays 9. Joe D. 10 Sandy Koufax Sorry Hank

Great list... Great.

BUT I feel like ere has to be a dead ball era pitcher in there somewhere...

Walter, Cy, Addie, Matty... Hard to pick one guy, they all have merit...but they pitched with very little relief, on shorter rest, etc etc...

Also, hard to comprehend that not one player of the last 50 years was top ten good. Though I couldn't pick one name so maybe that's right...

Edit:

On second though... Ken Griffey Jr. The guy had a monster career, that should have been even better. Even with multiple lost seasons to injury, he was arguably the best fielder in the game for nearly a decade, and he was clearly one of the greatest power hitters in history. To think what he could've been if healthy is almost unthinkable

[vintagerookies51]

Originally Posted by Donscards

Here are my top 10=====1.Babe Ruth 2. Ty Cobb 3. Lou Gehrig 4. Joe Jackson 5. Ted Williams 6. Joe Jackson 7. Mickey Mantle 8. Willie Mays 9. Joe D. 10 Sandy Koufax Sorry Hank

You have Joe Jackson twice.. although he was a great player!

[alanu]

Originally Posted by alanu

ruth
cobb
gehrig
ott
ted williams
aaron
mantle
mays
rose
nolan ryan

11-roy hobbs

In retrospect, Jackie Robinson should probably be somewhere on my list... in place of Rose

[aljurgela]

i would say oscar charleston... and with far less total cards than 50 (billiken, aguilitas, tomas gutierrez)... still represents the best value to me...

al