SteveR Loc: Michigan

I'm going to start off the list with Ted Williams and Babe Ruth.

47greyfox Loc: on the edge of the Colorado front range

Rod Carew.... in the modern era.

SteveG Loc: Norh Carolina

Ditto that!

LWW Loc: Banana Republic of America

That's a good one, and my list today and tomorrow might vary a bit based on my mood:

1 - Henry Aaron. Broke Ruth's home run run record, broke Musial's NL hit record, won a triple crown and did it with a 175-180 lb frame and death threats. Even though he had the lowest career OPS of any on my list, he also played on some totally sorry teams with no support and his last two years were abysmal. Also Henry would drop a bunt down if needed and try for a sacrifice fly if needed.Also I have more first hand experience watching him than any on the list.

2 - Ted Williams. The great unknown. What might his numbers have been had he not served in WWII and the Korean conflict.

3 - I pick Lou Gehrig over Ruth because Ruth had Gehrig batting behind him while Gehrig had Bob Meusel hitting behind him, plus Gehrig had a career cut short by ALS.

4 - George Herman Ruth. Maybe not the best, but the most dominant at his peak. Lou helped.

5 - Tyrus Raymond Cobb. I would place him higher, but he was a very selfish hitter.

6 - Jimmie Fox. Until his early thirties he was top three.

7 - Rogers Hornsby. Hit over .400 three times. Had the only 40 home run and .400 batting average season in history. Thrived in both the dead ball and live ball eras.

8 - Mickey Mantle. ' THE MICK' what more needs to be said. Would have been MUCH higher on the list had it not been for injuries and alcohol.

9 - Johnny Mize. Another great what if due to WWII, but the part we know about was awesome.

10 - Joe DiMaggio. Another WWI what if.

HONORABLE MENTION

1 - Stan Musial. I hate to leave him out, but he played 4 of the 5 war years against inferior competitors which inflate his numbers.

2 - Mike Trout. If you ask me in 2035, he most likely ... barring injury or sudden drug/alcohol abuse ... will make the list.

3 - Joey Votto. At the end of 2017 I would have placed him at #10. You'd have to have watched him daily to really understand why. Joey got old young, but perhaps he can yet put it all together again. HUGE Joe Joe fan here.

DISHONORABLE MENTION

Manny Ramirez. CHEATER.

Mark McGwire. CHEATER

Barry Bonds. CHEATER.

'Shoeless' Joe Jackson. A career cut short by his own hand. A great shame.

Ask name tomorrow and the order may change as several are pretty close.

SteveG Loc: Norh Carolina

This is like choosing the greatest heavyweight champion of all time. When you have reached the level that these ball players have, it becomes a matter of personal preference. Babel Ruth still holds pitching records to this day that most of today's "yutes" don't know. They all reached the pinnacle of their sport and saying one is better than the other, well I don't think that's possible, as great as they all were.

SteveR Loc: Michigan

I googled a good article on Yogi Berra. It went into good detail on various catchers. One question that comes to mind is why Ted Simmons is not in the Hall of Fame.

I caught against Simmons once in high school. Amazing how he could swing a bat. The next year he was in the majors.

SteveG Loc: Norh Carolina

It may be who else during his era may have had better stats

LWW Loc: Banana Republic of America

I've wondered that myself.

SteveR Loc: Michigan

An interesting paragraph from an SI article just after Yogi's passing.

"Even today, Berra's offensive totals more than hold their own among his catching peers. Only four players who spent the majority of their time at catcher (Ivan Rodriguez, Ted Simmons, Carlton Fisk and Jason Kendall) have surpassed him in hits, only three (Mike Piazza, Bench and Fisk) in homers and only two (Rodriguez and Fisk, the Pudges) in runs. Berra remains unsurpassed in RBIs as well as All-Star appearances (18, from 15 seasons plus three of the four years in which two games were played)."

Simmons had more hits than Yogi. Interestingly, no catcher has had more RBI's than Yogi.

LWW Loc: Banana Republic of America

I've also been bothered by Davey Concepcion being left out of the hall of fame.

MrBossHK Loc: The West Valley of Phoenix metro area

If picking only one, my choice is Ted Williams.

He said it best when he said, "A man has to have goals — for a day, for a lifetime — and that was mine, to have people say, "There goes Ted Williams, the greatest hitter who ever lived."

SteveR Loc: Michigan

Let's not forget Stan Musial and Pete Rose. Two 3,000 hit hitters. Stan had over 3600.

DennyT Loc: Central Missouri woods

And musial and mays in top ten easy.
Added Musial only played in 3 war years. Less than 50 at bats in 41.
And didn’t play in 45

pendennis

And Rose could hit the ball anywhere, being a switch hitter. 4,256 hits and 14,053 AB's.

LWW Loc: Banana Republic of America

Yeah, I forgot 1941 ... Pearl Harbor was after the season.