My rankings of the greatest baseball players ever, starting with number 1, in order.

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Number 6: Honus Wagner.

What do you call a player who is both the best offensive and defensive player in the league for a period of several years? If he was a basketball player, you might call him Michael Jordan. Wagner is the closest thing to Jordan, I believe, ever seen on the baseball field. Wagner was capable of playing any position, and in his early years he often did. Finally, the Pirates settled on him playing shortstop, generally regarded as the most demanding defensive position excepting catcher.

Wagner as a hitter could do it all; average, power, speed. There was nothing he could not do on a baseball field. By some measures, he was the greatest defensive player ever, and also one of the greatest hitters. He was also, according to most contemporary accounts, one of the nicest men ever to play the game, kind to veteran and rookie alike, and unfailingly polite to fans.

Playing his whole career in Pittsburgh, Wagner became a beloved figure in the Steel City, and coached for the Pirates for many years after the end of his playing career. He is the greatest player in early National League history, and remained a sterling ambassador for the game of baseball.

Wagner earns 294.79 points in the ratings system.

Wagner's stats: .327 average, 722 SB, 101 HR, 1732 RBI, at least 100 games lifetime at SS, RF, 1B and 3B; also played every other position but C. 655 Win Shares.

posted by Shawn Weaver at 1:46 PM

 

Number 5: Ty Cobb.

You like your ballplayer to have "grit" and "desire?" All that, plus a lifetime .367 batting average (the highest ever) compiled mostly during the Dead-ball era, right here in one package. Cobb hit for average and power and wielded great speed, and no one ever tried harder to win. He held the single-season and career marks for stolen bases for many years, but he was not a slap-hitting leadoff hitter; he was the #3 hitter in an often-powerful lineup. A lifetime slugging average of .513 demonstrates his extra-base capability.

Cobb was the most feared baserunner in the AL, with a reputation for sharpening his spikes on the bench, the better to threaten fielders. Everyone knew that if Cobb had to kill you to win a game, he would. A fierce competitor, Cobb was also not an easy man to live with, as well as a consummate racist. On a ballfield, he had few peers. He was not a top-notch defensive player, but held center field until the very end of his career, and was an above-average glove man. He was the top vote-getter in the very first Hall of Fame election, outpolling even Babe Ruth.

Cobb earns 307.05 ratings points.

Cobb's stats: .367 average, 892 SB, 724 doubles, 297 triples, 4192 hits, 2245 runs, 1933 RBI, 722 Win Shares.

posted by Shawn Weaver at 1:39 PM

 

Number 4: Willie Mays.

In 1951, Mays was hitting .462 at AAA Minneapolis. The New York Giants, struggling and needing a spark, called up the talented kid. Manager Leo Durocher put him right into center field, and he promptly went 0-for-21. Just when the team was wondering if the kid was in over his head, Mays homered off Braves ace Warren Spahn, and proceeded to hit reasonably well while playing astonishing defense in the Polo Grounds' huge center field. The Giants staged one of the greatest comebacks in history, won the NL pennant in a playoff over the Dodgers, and lost the World Series in 6 games to the Yankees.

Mays spent most of the next two years in the military, then returned to full-time baseball duty in 1954. He put up tremendous numbers, leading the Giants to a World Series win (and, as it turned out, Willie's only title) and began a 15-year run as the National League's best player. Most years, Willie was the #1 guy in the league, and when he wasn't, he was in the top 5.

The stories of Willie spending his off hours in New York playing stickball with kids in the city streets became legend. Few ballplayers have ever been so loved. Then, with attendance down, and the growing west coast markets beckoning, the Giants moved to the City by the Bay. Willie would become an icon in San Francisco, as his legend continued to grow. His offensive and defensive superiority was undoubted. Playing at the same time as Hank Aaron, Mays overshadowed even the most prolific home run hitter to that time. No one ever played center as well for as long as Willie Mays, and hit so well while doing it. His offensive numbers are impressive, even more so considering they were compiled largely in the low-offense 1960's.

Mays, on his last legs as a player, was traded back to New York to finish his career with the Mets, and appeared in one last World Series in his last year, 1973.

Mays earns 320.04 ratings points.

Mays' stats: .302 average, 660 HR, 1903 RBI, 338 SB. 12 Gold Gloves, 2 MVP awards. 642 Win Shares.

posted by Shawn Weaver at 7:07 PM