And go.

Hank Aaron

No Say Hey Kid? ETA just checked Mays’ stats, and was shocked to learn that he’s still alive. 91 years old.

Josh Gibson was the Negro League’s best

Einar Diaz

It's hard to do a poll with all the greats. He is up there though

Willie Mays? Ted Williams? Lots missing there.

Mays was probably the best all around player ever.

Nolan Ryan

Pete Rose?
Barry Bonds?

Roberto Clemente

Came to post this.

When you factor in that Babe Ruth was one of the best PITCHERS of his Era early in his career,  the question is who is second best.

Bo Jackson.  Had he not gotten hurt he would be HOF in NFL and MLB.

Yes. He’s typically second in the conversation only behind babe Ruth. What’s even more impressive about his home run totals is that he 1) was in the service for two of his prime years; 2) played the first several years of his career at the Polo Grounds, which was one of if not the most difficult parks to homer in; and 3) he was only 5’10” and 175-180 lbs

Yes he had a career era in the low 2s and 4 or 5 20+ win seasons. Makes his home run stats more impressive to bc he wasn’t playing every day during those seasons

Me too.

Man can take a punch

???

Dave Kingman

Some people would want to fight about this, but Robin Ventura sure won't.

Attached File

+1.  Baseball is a pitcher’s game and he was the best there has been.

To arbitrary...

Roberto Clemente

Willie Mays

Cal Ripken

Poll fail. No Tony Gwynn

Laughs in Babe Ruth

Ohtani has had the best two seasons of anyone ever, by far.  Dude can hit, pitch, and run.

Greatest player in baseball is kinda suggestive, as seen already. It really is a fun discussion though.

It’s not like NBA where Jordan can hold the title and very few would argue against it.

Jackie Robinson and Joe DiMaggio do not belong on that list. Both were great players but there are many that were better.

Ted Williams needs to be way up there. Ken Griffey Jr is the best "modern era" player and has avoided the steroid scandal so he needs to be up there as well.

He’s going to be a fun one to watch. He should only get better from here ??

Really?  A ton of ass-clowns think Lebron James is better.

“Shoeless” Joe Jackson
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Willie mays Hayes

Am I really the first to say Ricky Henderson?

Dude could teleport between bases.

Shoeless Joe or Ty Cobb

Kenny Powers

Alot of the players were outfielders... Stronger legs...

Who's The Best All-Time at Each Position?

Catcher: Josh Gibson

The so-called “black Babe Ruth” accumulated a lifetime average of .359 according to the Baseball Hall of Fame. His Hall of Fame plaque also states he hit “almost 800” home runs in his 17 year career. The Negro Leagues did not compile complete statistics or game summaries so know one knows his exact career numbers.

Second Team: Johnny Bench

First Base: Lou Gehrig

Gehrig had a lifetime batting average of .340, won two MVP’s, and had 13 straight seasons with 100+ RBI including an American League record 184 in 1931. He was also a seven-time All-Star, won the Triple Crown in 1934, and held the record for most consecutive games played (2,130) for 56 years.

Second Team: Jimmie Foxx

Second Base: Rogers Hornsby

Hornsby has the highest career batting average for a right handed hitter at .358 career, won two MVPs, two Triple Crowns, seven batting titles, and was the first National League player ever to hit 40 HRs in a season in 1922.

Second Team: Eddie Collins

Shortstop: Honus Wagner

Wagner was a part of the first Hall of Fame class in 1936, getting the second most votes behind Ty Cobb and ahead of Babe Ruth. He was a .327 career hitter, won eight batting titles, had 3,415 career hits, and also led the league in stolen bases four times. Wagner was also a great fielder, but gold gloves were not given out when he played.

Third Base: Alex Rodriguez  

Rodriguez has already accumulated 518 HRs and was the quickest to 500 HRs in the history of baseball. He also sports a .306 career average, has won three MVP trophies and a batting title, and has appeared in 10 All-Star games. At the ripe age of 32 he is in the middle of his prime and his numbers will continue to accumulate at a rapid pace.

Second Team: Mike Schmidt

Outfield: Babe Ruth

Ruth is arguably the greatest player ever to play the game of baseball. He had a .342 career average; 714 career HRs; was the first player to hit 30, 40, 50 and 60 HRs in a season; had 13 seasons with 100+ RBI; 12 seasons with 100+ runs scored; and had a lifetime 2.28 ERA as a pitcher.

Second Team: Ty Cobb

Outfield: Willie Mays

Mays is arguably the best all-around player in the history of baseball. He is the prototype of a five-tool player. He was the first player to accumulate 3,000 hits and 500 HRs in his career. He also hit 660 career HRs, won two MVPs, appeared in 24 All-Star games, was an 11-time Gold Glove winner, had 100+ RBI 10 times, scored 100+ runs 12 times, and has a .302 lifetime batting average.  

Second Team: Barry Bonds

Outfield: Ted Williams

Arguably the greatest “pure” hitter who ever lived, Williams accumulated a .344 career average, 521 HRs, won two MVP’s, and was a two-time Triple Crown winner. He was also the last player to hit .400 (.406 in 1941), was a 17-time All-Star, scored 100+ runs nine times, and had 100+ RBI nine times

Designated Hitter: Joe DiMaggio

DiMaggio is a three-time MVP, had a .325 career average, and 361 career HRs. Writer Bill James calculated he lost more HRs due to his home park than any player in history. (Left center was 457 feet at Yankee Stadium.) DiMaggio also had nine seasons with 100+ RBI, struck out only 369 times in 6,821 career at-bats, is a nine-time World Series Champion, lost three years in his prime to the military, and was voted “Greatest Living Player” in a 1969 poll. His record of 56 consecutive games with a hit is arguably the greatest record in all of sports.

Second Team: Mickey Mantle

Right Handed Pitcher: Cy Young

Young is the namesake of the Cy Young Award, an award given to the best pitcher in each league on a yearly basis. He ended his career with 511 wins, 7,354 2/3 innings pitched, started 815 games, and had 749 complete games, which all rank first all-time.

Second Team: Walter Johnson

Left Handed Pitcher: Lefty Grove

Grove finished his career with a record of 300-141. He also has a 3.06 career ERA, 2,266 career strikeouts, two pitching Triple Crowns, one MVP, eight 20-win seasons, one 30-win season, and was a nine-time AL ERA champion.  

Second Team: Sandy Koufax

Relief Pitcher: Mariano Rivera

Rivera has accumulated 443 career saves, a 2.35 career ERA, won a World Series MVP, is the all-time postseason leader in saves and ERA, and is a four-time World Series Champion with the New York Yankees.

Many greats made the game though...

It is pointless to compare the pitching stats of somebody like Ruth from over a hundred years ago to today. Ruth had one very good pitching year, and a couple good years. He didn't pitch for very long (not even close by those standards).

Players who played all or most of their careers pre-integration can't really factor in. That isn't fair as they weren't playing in a true "best of the best" league.

It isn't useful to compare pitchers with hitters for the most part. They are two unique and independent aspects of the game. The only way you could have this discussion is with somebody like Shohei Ohtani, who has shown sufficient promise to be both a top ten hitter and a top ten pitcher in the modern era. Do that for a few years, and yeah, you've earned it. That is otherwise unheard of. But in general you can look at pitchers separately from position players, where you evaluate offense, defense, and baserunning. Ted Williams was otherworldly at the plate. He stole 24 bases in his entire career, and he was not much more than above average defensively.

Contrast that with a guy like Willie Mays, who had speed, excellent defense, and excellent offense. It's an interesting argument because despite having a career .940 OPS (which would put him at 5th in the league this year) he isn't even on the same planet as Ted Williams. Williams had a CAREER OPS of 1.116, whereas today Aaron Judge, having one of the best offensive seasons in recent memory, currently sits at 1.121. It is pretty much insane how good Ted Williams was at the plate.

I'll give you top ten pitchers and top ten position players, and you can argue from there. There's too much going on in baseball to say one single player - that is UNLESS somebody like Ohtani does this for ten or fifteen years.

Nolan Ryan, for example, was the single hardest pitcher to hit in baseball history. But other than that, he wasn't a well-rounded pitcher. He's the all-time leader in walks, for example. Compare that with a guy like Sandy Koufax (basically the Barry Sanders of baseball). Or a modern pitcher like Clayton Kershaw. People don't appreciate how hard it is to do multiple things in a professional sport.

Lou Gehrig was 10x the player Babe Ruth was, but he was quiet and didn't get as much attention with the simpletons.

Jim Thorpe.

(Did he even play baseball?)

Pete Rose

I always put Lou Gehrig in that list. He's certainly not the best of all time, and often wasn't even the best on his own team, but he deserves to be on the list.

You could also certainly think about adding Willie Mays, Ted Williams, Stan Musial and possibly Hank Aaron.

Just don't touch his shirt after a home run.. You know. . . . Cause of . . . .Reasons.

Not even the best pitcher. Not even close.

Ever heard of the war hero Mr. Ted Williams?

I have to go with Mantle.

Dude was never 100% and still put up super-human numbers.

Ruth and DiMaggio are up there, too.

Ryan is an absolute freak of nature.  Probably the most dominant pitcher ever.

Koufax could have been Ryan-like, maybe more so.