Any hurler who achieves the increasingly rare feat of tossing a complete-game shutout in under 100 pitches is unofficially credited with pitching a Maddux, coined by Jason Lukehart. That figure ranks best among all active players by more than .500 points (Joey Votto, .9407), and eighth all-time, less than only Ruth, Williams, Gehrig, Bonds, Foxx, Greenberg, and Hornsby. Stan Musial won seven batting titles over 22 glorious years with the St. Louis Cardinals, but don't overlook his power. You can stand in awe of his career stat line of 27.11 points (fourth all time), 7.4 rebounds and 7.3 assists per game, but James is one of those players whose advanced statistics are even more mind-boggling. Before diving into the rankings, let's take a look at the thought process used to select baseball's best. Sticking around until age 44 helped his counting numbers but sapped some points from his rate statistics. That was the only title of his career, but a relative lack of team success does nothing to tarnish the reputation of the 20-time All-Star and two-time MVP (1954 and 1965). The Sultan of Swat smacked 602 long balls during that timeframe. Baseball-Reference and FanGraphs are not in complete sync with the career stats of the star, who retired a century ago. Advanced stats like weighted on-base average (wOBA) weighted runs created plus (wRC+), adjusted OPS (OPS+), adjusted ERA (ERA+) and fielding independent pitching (FIP) matter as much, if not more. Like DiMaggio, Williams left baseball in his prime for three years in the U.S. military. Ruth 2. (He still hit .330 that year.) In addition to his standing records, Aaron finished his career in 1976 with what were then the second most hits (3,771) and runs scored (2,174) in major-league history. With versatility on both sides of the ball, the Say Hey Kid won 12 Gold Gloves, was a 4-time home-run leader and stolen base leader, NL Rookie of the Year, two time NL MVP, and he once jacked four homers in one game. Counting numbers are nice, but popular benchmarks for evaluating greatness (3,000 hits, 500 home runs, 300 wins) are only part of the puzzle. From 1993 to 2008's last hurrah, Johnson spun a 3.15 ERA, 3.00 FIP and 100.5 fWAR with a much-improved 2.65 BB/9. “The Flying Dutchman” (god, they came up with such good nicknames back in the day) led the National League in batting average eight times over the course of his career and retired with a stellar .328 average despite having played during the offense-killing “dead-ball era.” At the time of his retirement in 1917, he had tallied the second most hits (3,420), doubles (643), triples (252), and runs batted in (1,732) in major-league history, and all of these totals still rank among the top 25 of all time. The consistently superb slugger retired with a .304/.414/.533 slash line, 511 home runs and a 155 OPS+. The game's most well-rounded player, Willie Mays molded elite contact, power and defense to become the greatest center fielder ever. Ty Cobb sets MLB's batting-average benchmark at .366. He also missed most of the 1952 and 1953 seasons due to the Korean War. She was arguably the best fielder in the history of AAGPBL (All American Girls Professional Baseball League, a female baseball league that ran from 1943 to 1954. His single-season homer tally plateaued at 47, but he collected no fewer than 24 from 1955 to 1973. Pitching during a powerless era, Christy Mathewson's 2.13 ERA may oversell his dominance. That's where Ted Williams resides in slugging percentage OPS+, wOBA and wRC+. 41 in its top-100 list. In 1922, the second baseman batted .401 with a career-high 42 home runs. When he shattered that milestone with 54 the following year, nobody else reached 20. Fifth with 660 home runs, Mays also delivered a .302 average and 156 OPS+. A number of modern fans probably know Honus Wagner best as the subject of the most-valuable baseball card in history, the rare 1909–11 T206 Wagner card that was produced by the American Tobacco Company. Quite possibly the greatest person on this list, “Stan the Man” was a historically good player as well as a model citizen. As a hitter, you're doing something right when ranking second behind Ruth. Best MLB Defensive Players of All Time. He is a mix of power and speed, but his vision at the … In 1986 he became one of the rare starting pitchers to win a league MVP award after he posted a 24–4 record with a 2.48 earned run average (ERA) and 238 strikeouts for the Boston Red Sox. And he even redeemed that blemish, riding into a sunset with a .316/.451/.645 end-of-career performance in 1960. New York Yankees legends Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig headlined baseball's most formidable lineup. He reached new heights in 1948, batting an astounding .376/.450/.702 with a career-high 39 home runs and 11.1 fWAR and rWAR. Had the Cy Young Award existed, he would have won plenty. Despite all the accolades (or perhaps because of them), he had a notoriously prickly relationship with the public. Perhaps history will one day prop these burgeoning studs alongside the game's all-time greats. This led to workhorse aces such as Grover Cleveland "Old Pete" Alexander, one of 13 hurlers to exceed 5,000 career innings. But as famed author John Updike put it when Williams refused to come out for a curtain call after hitting a home run in his final career at bat: “Gods do not answer letters.”. Nobody else hit 300. Both sites particularly differ on grading pitchers, with the former preferring superior strikeout and walk rates and the latter focusing on run prevention. Eddie Collins compiled 3,315 hits and 744 stolen bases during a Hall of Fame career that doesn't receive enough attention. He took a second MVP in 1924 as he led the Senators to their first World Series championship. In pursuit of the fullest careers, Joe DiMaggio almost missed the cut. Three years later, he hit .403/.489/.756 with 39 homers and a .540 wOBA. all-time player rankings The only comprehensive rankings of players from baseball history that are updated regularly. Trout has logged at least 27 homers, 67 walks, an on-base percentage of .377, a slugging average of .550, and an OPS of .939 in every season of his career. And this is where readers angrily storm off and prepare angry comments. I am basing this purely on stats. Despite joining the Philadelphia Athletics at age 17, Jimmie Foxx didn't earn his playing time until turning a ripe 20 in 1928. Everyone has their personal preferences and varying standards of greatness. In fact, many of the best pitchers of all time are also World Series champions. Baseball's 100 Greatest Players. If not such a late bloomer, he would belong in the top 10 as the highest-rated hurler. Among FanGraphs' top-200 position players sorted by WAR, only Willie Keeler (144th with a 55.7 WAR) has a lower strikeout percentage (1.7) than Speaker's 2.3. He stole 744 bases (seventh all-time) with an 81.1 percent success rate. For better or worse, it's virtually impossible to compare him to any modern pitcher. The scarcity of the card is a big reason why it can fetch upwards of $2 million in a sale, but it wouldn’t be nearly as valuable if the person depicted on it was just a run-of-the-mill player and not one of the best to have ever stepped on a diamond. Henderson's lethal combination of first-class plate patience and baserunning acumen has set an unreachable bar for every leadoff hitter who has followed. Top 20 Defensive Baseball Players of All Time. He won four ERA titles, five Cy Young Awards—including four in a row from 1999 to 2002—and shared 2001 World Series MVP honors with Curt Schilling for beating the Yankees three times. Despite clocking 117 career home runs, Tris Speaker submitted a .500 slugging percentage with an MLB-record 792 doubles. An unrepentant racist who routinely sharpened his spikes to maximize potential injury to opponents on hard slides and who once fought a fan in the stands, Cobb was nevertheless a supremely talented player who has the greatest lifetime batting average in major-league history (.366). Who Was the First Woman to Run for President of the United States? (Most of the best players, even at the time, were at least 5’11”, including the legendary Ty Cobb who stood at 6’1”.) Ted Williams has long been called “the greatest pure hitter who ever lived.” His .482 lifetime on-base percentage is the highest of all time, and he ranks in the top 20 in total runs scored, home runs, runs batted in, and walks despite having missed almost five full seasons of his prime to military service. Cy Young's name is now synonymous with pitching excellence. Adam Augustyn is Managing Editor, Reference Content at Encyclopædia Britannica. Let’s see how it goes! MLB has gifted fans an unprecedented crop of young stars capable of etching their names among baseball royalty. The 20 Greatest Position Players of All-Time. In his last full season, he hit .295/.410/.523 with 29 home runs. Albert Pujols can push his way into the top 25 with a strong end to his brilliant career. was renowned for his uncanny eye, which helped him post the last major-league season with a .400 batting average (.406 in 1941). Rickey Henderson holds the lowest batting average (.279) and slugging percentage (.419) of anyone on this list, making him a difficult inclusion over Mike Schmidt, Frank Robinson and Ken Griffey Jr. Pretty remarkable career. Maybe he's not flashy enough to share the spotlight with other all-time legends, but the numbers support his standing on that level. Another player on a Cooperstown track later this decade, Guerrero was a five-tool wonder early in his career and he was still a feared power hitter later. So here is the list of the top 10 greatest baseball players of all time. Despite his non-existent power, Collins' .409 wOBA ties with the marks of Willie Mays and Mike Trout. Not content with simply being the best hitter ever, Williams has also been called both the best fisherman and best fighter pilot ever. If playing today, the eight-time batting champ would have probably converted that gap power into fence-clearing pop, but that adjustment wasn't necessary to cement his legacy as an all-time great player. Fearful pitchers walked him 198 times, 68 intentionally. He was 37. Hank Aaron ranks third in all-time hits and second in home runs. Mickey Mantle hit 536 home runs during 18 seasons with the Yankees. From 1918 to 1931, he led or tied the AL in home runs 12 times. He was cantankerous, preening, and almost assuredly a steroid user—not exactly the kind of guy who should get the benefit of the doubt and earn spot number three on this list. Back when strikeouts were still viewed as a cardinal sin, he whiffed or got rung up in 17.3 percent of his plate appearances. Anyone can make their own list of the best ballplayers ever to play the game, making this crowdranking a true consensus on who's the best baseball player of all time. Choosing the premier pitcher between Young and Johnson was a tough call, but Johnson provided enough longevity to receive the slight edge with his superior rates. Japan was a land of mystery to American baseball fans for many years, but it's safe to say the perception has changed. He was even better in 2002. An integral part of Babe Ruth's Yankees, Gehrig was a legend, and a hall of famer in his own right with a slash line of .340/.447/.632. A list of all-time great baseball players, however, didn't feel complete without him. But, well, he was already a surefire Hall of Famer before he allegedly began juicing, and steroids would have had no effect on the unparalleled eye-hand coordination that produced an all-time high 2,558 career walks and staggering .444 lifetime on-base percentage. His homer tally dipped to 46, but he encored the historic season by hitting .370/.582/.799. We’ll start with the 20 greatest position players of all time. Remember him as the guy who kissed his reflection in the mirror, slapped the ball out of Bronson Arroyo's glove and got abruptly pushed into retirement by a franchise that had recently hosted two season-long farewell tours. Stan Musial ranks fourth in hits and third in doubles. Nothing says summer quite like baseball, the American national pastime. The .345 hitter ties Dan Brouthers for 10th in wOBA (.436), just trailing Joe DiMaggio and a tick above Mickey Mantle. ”The Splendid Splinter” (see what I mean about the nicknames?) Christy Mathewson netted a 2.12 ERA in 17 seasons with the New York Giants. Nobody hit more batters, but he's also the only hurler to finish over 100 shutouts. Moreover, he did all this while a number of opposing batters were taking steroids, which resulted in offensive statistics going through the roof at the time. Spending most of his time at first base, which cost him a few spot in the rankings, Foxx scorched American League pitching to a tune of .325/.428/.609. The Mick blasted 290 of his 536 career home runs from 1955 to 1961, a superb peak consisting of three double-digit WAR campaigns from both cited models. His legacy lives on as a hallmark of efficiency. Well, it’s very likely that Clemens himself took steroids, so his accomplishments aren’t quite as stunning for the era as they appear. Wagner 3. Over the course of his illustrious 24-year career, Roger Clemens amassed a record seven Cy Young Awards as the best pitcher of the year in either the American or National League and threw 4,672 strikeouts, the third most of all time. Below is a list of the best Black baseball players of all-time. So let’s just appreciate the incredible statistics Bonds piled up: an unsurpassed 762 home runs (including a single-season record 73 in 2001), a record seven career MVP awards, and 688 intentional walks, which is more than double the amount given to the player with the second most of all time and a striking testament to the unparalleled fear Bonds instilled in opposing pitchers. For now, none of these young pups have accomplished enough to join iconic names like Ruth, Mays, Aaron and Cobb. Breaking Hank Aaron's home run record, Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants rounding the bases as his son, a batboy, celebrates at home plate, August 7, 2007. Plus he’s quite possibly the player I’ve hated the most during my baseball fandom, so he gets a deserved place here but can’t go any higher lest I render this list incomplete by tossing my keyboard out a window in a tizzy. Top 10 Major League Baseball players who ever lived. His 135 ERA+ equals that of Chris Sale, who owns a 3.00 ERA. Of course, boiling down a full catalog of baseball folklore to 25 players will never yield perfect agreement. 8 times MLB All-Star; 11 times MLB Strikeout Leader; 2 times MLB NL ERA Leader; Major League Baseball All-Century Team Member; Former Major League Baseball player Nolan Ryan is currently serving as the chief executive officer of the Texas Rangers and also serving as an executive advisor of the … Although playoff performance was rarely considered in these rankings, Gehrig received a few bonus points for hitting .361/.483/.731 in seven World Series appearances, six of which the Yankees won. If their numbers merited inclusion, players with ties to performance-enhancing drugs were included. You left Jeter and Griffey off the list for Eddie Collins? In 1913 he won 36 games with a 1.14 ERA and an eye-popping 0.78 WHIP (walks and hits per inning pitched; a WHIP below 1.00 is considered stellar) to win the Chalmers Award, the equivalent of the modern MVP. Only the condition—which is now often called Lou Gehrig's disease after his diagnosis raised awareness—could have slowed the Iron Horse down. Besides, Joltin' Joe has quite the excuse for his depreciated counting numbers; he spent three of his peak years serving in the U.S. military during World War II. These honorable mentions—listed in alphabetical order—proved especially tough to exclude. Gehrig, who made the famous retirement speech on July 4, 1939, due to an amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) diagnosis, died on June 2, 1941. Even if fans are now witnessing the second coming of Mays, he was a truly special talent who earned real estate on baseball's Mount Rushmore. Two of them included a top-10 RBI tally for a single season in MLB history. Until 2007, Hank Aaron held the all-time mark for dingers while sporting a career .305 batting average and 155 OPS+. Pedro Martinez and Sandy Koufax were both transcendent aces whose surreal primes beckoned for inclusion, but they combined to pitch only 363 more frames than Mathewson. Palmeiro is one of only four players (along with Hank Aaron, Eddie Murray, and Willie Mays, I think) who have both 3,000 hits and 500 home runs. After debuting with a .240 average in 41 games, he never batted below .316 through 23 seasons. Note: All statistics courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com and FanGraphs. Remember that he stepped away four home runs shy of 700 with a .295/.380/.550 slash line. Just don't forget the three-time MVP who exceeded 50 home runs in three separate seasons after commanding an unprecedented 10-year, $252 million contract from the Texas Rangers. His career 143 ERA+ finished just outside of the top 10 in MLB history, but his 3.09 FIP in 4,916.2 innings give him FanGraphs' highest WAR among all pitchers. For that, the Red Sox legend can credit a 20.6 walk rate elite even by modern standards in an era preaching more plate discipline. That takes liberties in assuming he'd keep hitting like an MVP contender, but it's also worth wondering if the physical and mental toll of Army service cost DiMaggio his peak production upon returning to baseball. Feel free to leave your thoughts and suggestions. Trending Topics: Teams • The Lists • Top Players By Franchise by Position • Best Players From Each State • All-Time Rosters The 20 Greatest Pittsburgh Pirates of All-Time Dave Franks August 29, 2019 4 Comments Players with transcendent but shorter primes (Ken Griffey Jr., Pedro Martinez, Sandy Koufax, Hank Greenberg and Joe Jackson) missed the cut alongside durable studs (Pud Galvin, Phil Niekro, Cal Ripken Jr., Pete Rose and Carl Yastrzemski) whose rate stats don't quite pop enough. His hitting was so consistently good that opponents often resigned themselves to their fate, as noted by pitcher Carl Erskine: “I've had pretty good success with Stan by throwing him my best pitch and backing up third.”. Many highlighted hitters smacked more long balls in a single season. From 1907 to 1919, Walter Johnson posted a 1.65 ERA and 1.86 FIP. WAR from FanGraphs (fWAR) and Baseball-Reference.com (rWAR) were both heavily considered, but not as a definitive gauge. Without enough certainty to tackle the moral conundrum of celebrating the bad person Cobb has been portrayed as, let's simply honor Baseball Hall of Fame's first member with prominent positioning. Willie Mays contributed elite contact, power and defense in center field. Among all outfielders, FanGraphs only credits Andruw Jones with providing more defensive worth. It's a countdown of the top 10 players in baseball history at each position. A solid, yet wildly erratic starter early in his career, the Big Unit finally lowered his walk rate to a passable 3.49 per nine in 1999, his age-29 season. From 1996 to 2003, he batted .247 with a .357 slugging percentage. Of the older all-time legends, Mantle feels most like a modern superstar. Don't mistake that for a lack of peak dominance, as the 1957 National League MVP finished third on the ballot six times. A measure of Wagner’s greatness is found in the 1936 balloting for the inaugural class of the Baseball Hall of Fame, where he was one of the five players selected for that honor among the thousands who had played the game up to that point. "The Hammer" holds the all-time records for runs batted in, extra-base hits and … Also second in triples (295) and fourth in stolen bases (897), he's a top-10 lock. His longevity, however, still deserves recognition. He was so great that he led the AL in strikeouts more often than not, topping the league 12 times over the course of his 21-year career. Yet despite issuing an ERA north of 4.00 in all five of his final seasons, Maddux retired with a 3.16 ERA and 132 ERA+. Congratulations, Jeff Reboulet, you're the best utility infielder of all time. Grover Cleveland Alexander won 373 games with a 2.56 ERA. When he joined the majors in 1914, the all-time record for home runs in a season was 27. Amazingly, these didn't all align with his three MVP trophies. Some of his best power occurred while simultaneously displaying superb contact. Mays 4. The lefty fully utilized Polo Grounds' short right-field porch with 323 home runs, but Ott was far from a product of his surroundings. The success of many players from the Land of the Rising Sun -- from Hideo Nomo to Ichiro Suzuki to Shohei Ohtani-- has proved that Japanese players have what it takes to excel in America's Major Leagues.. This list, however, cares more about results than reputation. His baseball career wasn’t long lived — he only appeared in 13 career games during the 1911 season — but the impact of his presence was felt for decades afterward. He also ranks fourth on the all-time list in Baseball-Reference WAR. The same goes for fans of Ted Williams, Willie Mays, Bob Gibson, Stan Musial, Barry Bonds and everyone else who should be considered among the greatest baseball players of all time.

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