IMHO, those 5 years cost Ted:
200 HR
400+ runs
500+ RBI
1000 hits
IMHO, those 5 years cost Ted:
200 HR
400+ runs
500+ RBI
1000 hits
I'm an asshole! What's your excuse?
Yeah I probably got caught up in the moment with maybe the best ever. I go with this top ten.
1 Babe Ruth
2 Ted Williams
3 Willie Mays
4 Hank Aaron
5 Ty Cobb
6 Walter Johnson
7 Cy Young
8 Lou Gehrig
9 Stan Musial
10 Mickey Mantle
I keep Barry Bonds off the list because of the 'roids. Plus I met him once horrible human being.
Joe D is somewhere in the next 10.
Met Pete Rose a couple of times, he ranges from nice guy glad to meet fans, to can't shut the guy up. But nowhere near the best to ever play. He Joe Morgan and Johnny Bench were my favorite players as a kid. But still not top 20 to ever play. Too many of the early players dominated the game.
A good list. The name I think you're missing is Honus Wagner. Both a great fielding SS and one of the best hitters in the game during his time (something that's seldom been true of SSs). If you discount the 'Roids, Bonds and Clemens would be in the Top 10. In fact, Bonds would be #1. However, I don't think you can discount the fact that he spent nearly a decade of his career blatantly cheating. If I had a HOF vote, I'd probably vote for him, but I don't even really consider him in the greatest ever discussion.
i am not a baseball guy by any stretch of the imagination and i have been chastised for listing Mantle among the greatest.
However, based upon my limited knowledge, I would at least rank him as the most physically gifted on your list with the possible exception of Williams
Griffey Jr has always been one of my favorite baseball players of all times. The game always seemed like it was half speed for him, and nobody had a better swing. If it wasn’t for injuries, his numbers would have been more incredible than they already are (.284 career average, 630 HRs, 13x All Star, 10 Gold Gloves). Junior is definitely a top 15-20 of all time.