Top Ten Best Baseball Players of All Time

Ruth, ah, Babe Ruth. The single greatest player of all time bar none. Number two and so forth really begin at number three at best. May's, Aaron, Mantle, Williams, etc. Very, very good players. Ask what any of them couldn't do? They couldn't pitch. Young, Alexander, Seaver, etc. Couldn't hit. RUTH did it ALL. That's right, he could do it all. How many players had three 20 win pitching seasons and lead the league in batting average and home runs LIFETIME? Yes players lost time to War time service, but RUTH, lost at bats because he was a pitcher for his early years. Take Clemons or Feller or Gibson and tell him "great job pitching, now become one of the greatest hitters, Lifetime Average, Home Runs, etc., not happening, ask Mays, Williams, Aaron, etc., stop hitting and win us 20 games as a pitcher. RUTH, BEST EVER ALL TIME, all who follow are good, only good.

Yes best player ever to play the game because he hit in the dead ball era and hit the ball with power to all fields. He would of had another 40 to 50 home-runs in the 1925 season if he was not suspended because he was having marriage problems with his first wife. Thank God his second wife helped him and he hit the record of 60 home runs in the 1927 season a record that stood until Roger Maris hit 61 in 1961 as a Yankee. Henry Aaron came to bat 2000 times more than the babe and if they did not walk Ruth so much he would of hit 800 or more home runs. He would of been a great manager as well but was never given the opportunity because of prejudice. He was as good as a pitcher as anyone in either league at the time in his career as a Boston Red Sox pitcher. He saved the game because of the 1919 Chicago White Sox scandal where people would of lost interest in the game if it were not for the Babe hitting home runs when others were not hitting them. He made the game our "NATIONAL PASTIME" ...more

This isn't even close. If you pick anyone else, you're just trying to be different and not going with the obvious answer. He was hitting more home runs than entire teams. hitting 60 Home runs in the 1920's would be like hitting well over 100 home runs today. it was unheard of. And really he still holds the record, as they played 10 fewer games in those days (152) and Maris didn't hit #61 till the 162nd game of the season. The only other players to hit 60 were all on steroids. He had a whopping 342 lifetime batting average routinely hit over 50 home runs, even had another year where he hit 59.. And on top of all that he was one of the greatest pitchers of all time. Even if he never picked up a bat, he'd be in the hall of fame as a pitcher. This isn't even a debate

This isn't even close. He's a career 342 hitter with 714 Home Runs. hit 60 home runs in a season, 59 in another, 54 2 other times. And this was when they played 152 games, not 162. That's why when Maris broke the record they didn't recognize it for years, because he had 10 more games to do it. And the 714 HR's, he wasn't even a starting hitter for his first 5 years in the league - He was a pitcher. And he was a phenomenal pitcher, one of the best in baseball. He had pitching records that stood for decades (might still have a couple). He lead Boston to championships, before NY. He'd be in the hall of fame even if he never picked up the bat. This isn't close at all. Choosing anyone else is just silly

Mays was the best overall player in the game. Ruth was known for his home runs. Aaron was also a great all-around player, but not quite the defensive player that Mays was. Pujols just finished his career in the top five in home runs and RBI's. He should be much higher on this list. Gehrig rounds out my top five due to his overall excellence, durability, and championships while he was playing.

Its hard to decide who is better but there all really amazing but based on overall it is about skills and athleticism. Willie Mays and Jackie Robinson were so fast for baseball players baseball does not take as much speed as some other sports but it takes speed too and Willie also has lots of strength and endurance. Athletes like Babe Ruth would naturally have more strength. Also willie mays was more athletic and he had the best skills. He is an amazing legend he could hit more home runs on a regular basis he could be a little better than babe ruth there both so good. Willie Mays had better hitting than pitching and better pitching than catching. He was really good for all of that. A record can always be broken in every 60 years however it is also about trying your best and passion for sports.

To me, Mays was the best player to ever to put on a uniform. One fundamental mistake fans make is that they look solely at career stats and fail to look at context. Career stats only tell part of the story. Mays was clearly a better player than Aaron. Peers of both Aaron and Mays almost universally say that Mays was the better player. And actually Clemente was a better player than Aaron. Mays was a much better fielder and base runner than Aaron. Their hitting prowess is comparable. However, Willie had the disadvantage of 1) playing in the Polo Grounds; 2) playing at windy Candlestick Park; 3) being drafted for military service, interupting his career. If Mays had played his career in Milwaukee's County Stadium and in Atlanta and Aaron had played where Willie played most of their career hitting stats would be reversed (ie. Mays would have 755 HRs and Aaron would have 660 HRs).

While Babe Ruth was a great player, Willie Mays is the best position player ever. He could hit, catch, throw and run with the ability no other player had. As a hitter, he had to face probably the best pitchers that baseball has ever had, nevertheless, he finished his career with 660 homers playing in the extremely huge Polo Grounds first, then in Candlestick Park, where the wind blew in from left field. Two years in the army at the peak of his career surely deprived him of the sixty or so additional home runs that he needed to top Ruth. Also, he was quietly approaching Ruth's career mark in 1955, but at some point his manager, Leo Durocher, made the decision to told Mays to hit less homers and increase his singles and doubles production as Durocher thought that Mays was most helpful to the teams as a higher average hitter. That year Willie finished the season with 51 home runs.

Ruth was a great player. But he spent most of his career at Yankee Stadium, where the right field ...more

I think Aaron should be above Willie Mays because Aaron was three times better than Mays. Of course, he never hit 50 homers in a season, but he had lots of 40 homer seasons. What's surprising is that even though Henry Aaron had more total bases than anyone else, he had a lower slugging percentage than guys like Mays, Hank Greenberg, and Ted Williams. While Babe Ruth was a great player, Aaron was the greatest hitter of all time. Because Ruth was a great hitter and a great pitcher, and Aaron was a great all-around player. If you take away all of his 755 home runs, he would still have 3,000 career hits because he had 3,771 hits in his career and you subtract the total number of home runs from that and he would have 3,016 hits in his career. He had a huge amount of doubles and he had nearly 100 triples in his career. Aaron had more power than Ruth and Mays. I'd say he would still have the home run record because I don't think Barry Bonds deserves it. When he was with the Pirates Bonds was ...more

Hammering Hank was great however because he hardly never hit more than 40 home runs a year none of the pitchers ever decided to walk him that much! The fact that he averaged 40 home runs a year for 15 years was amazing and hit 35 home runs for at least 5 of his 22 year career to go on and top Ruth all time home run record. He did this with death threats to his life and much prejudiced against him and he is to be commended for going on to beat the Babe. Arron came to bat more than 2000 more than Ruth however he is to be con-graduated because he never sustained any major injuries that sidelined him for part or all of any season compared to Mickey Mantle. Henry was also a better right fielder than Ruth and has his gold gloves to prove this. He deserves great respect and honor for his service to the game even after his playing days were over.

Hank had amazing instincts at all phases of the game; fielding, running & batting. Nonchalant, it looked like the game came second hand to him & he was confident, but never showed off or showed up a fellow ball player. After going through the process of breaking Ruth's home run record, he represents what sports should be and Hank Aaron should be taught to the youth of our country.

Aaron certainly has the numbers to back up his lofty status. But no where near the number 3 ranking. He played in very friendly hitter parks and was not as complete a player as some purport he was.
His bitter attitude after retiring towards the younger players and obvious racist overtones tarnished his image.

Imagine if Gehrig had batted third in the lineup, and Ruth batted 4th. If their batting order had been swapped, their stats might be swapped. Think about it.

If Gehrig hadn't gotten sick and continued on his trajectory, he would have broken all of Ruth's records and would be considered the gold standard bearer of baseball. He did it all, played sick, hurt and in the shadow of Ruth but still made an indelible name for himself.

Was the best. Played better than most on here while having ALS and not knowing until he finially started having severe muscle weakness and was only then diagnosed with the disease. Average life span with AlS is three years after diagnosis. Many people have it years before being diagnosed.

Will someone please look at Gehrig's 14 FULL consecutive seasons (25-38) and compare them to the BEST 14 seasons of any player keeping in mind that these years were basically his career contributions. The production of this player is staggering!

I could easily vote for Willie Mays, but no baseball player changed the game today, made everyone play together, not separated, Jackie Robinson earns everyone's respect. As a Giants fan I think Jackie Robinson should be the only athlete in the world to be idolized because of what he did, the pain he went through alone tells you that he's a revolutionary athlete. He's the grandfather of modern sports. Without him there would only be white players in Mlb and not just Mlb but in all other professional sports as well. Because he broke the color barrier, history has changed forever. Thank you Jackie Robinson.

Because he changed the game, he made the game possible for blacks, and players like Roberto Clemente, The kid, Albert pujols and Ichiro and other great players from South America, Mexico, even Asian and Japanese players believe they could play in the MLB. I honestly think he is the greatest for his sportsmanship for the game and especially breaking the color barrier of the MLB. Plus he was a great all around player.

No question that Robinson's impact on the game was and remains huge. But, as a player I don't see where the stats support Jackie being on the top 10. I admit though that Robinson transcends the norm and should be idolized for his phenomenal character that helped him persevere the ugliness of the times. Perhaps in today's game-without all the pressure placed on him, he would have been a number one contender.

This is a complete joke. Robinson deserves a high rank, but top 10? Gimme a break! If a sense of social justice/courage is driving selection (which seems to be the case), then JR should be #1. If it's baseball talent, there are dozens better. Rogers Hornsby should be in this slot or higher. Musial, Dimaggio, Wagner, Johnson, Frank Robinson, Joe Morgan, Yogi Berra, Jeter, Griffey Jr. and many others were better and more strategic players.

Think about this look at his numbers now and think he had five prime years taken away from him. There is no doubt about it he would have literally have had every record in the book hrs, rbi's, hits and maybe gold gloves. He also changed the way baseball was marketed the way magic and bird did in the nba he made baseball relevant and cool again. And forget bonds and everyone else he was the best player of his generation not to mention he just got the highest voting percentage in the history of the hall of fame what does that tell you.

If not for injuries he has over 800 home runs, 3300 base hits, and at least three more gold gloves. Losing 4 and 1/2 years to injury not including the time he missed in Seattle and still hit 630 home runs,.284 batting average, and over 1800 rbi's. That being said Ruth, Williams, Arron, Cobb, and Gehrig are still the greatest but Griffey is at least the six greatest of all time and anyone who knows baseball should agree.

And anyone who thinks using steroids doesn't make people a more dominant person that is just stupid and no users deserve a spot on this list.

I played with Junior as a kid and it was all natural. He was born to play ball. If not for the injuries we would all be talking about him before Willie, Hank and Mickey! Admit it. He could do it all. And his average only dropped a bit late in his career when the lower body and leg injuries took over. Junior and Thome are the only two this generation to crack 600 Homers steroid free. I know Pujols will do it but that only makes 3 in the last how many years?

In my opinion Jr. was one of the greatest pure athletes... Amazing at all aspects of the game...5 tool player... Respected by many of the games top tier players... Like Jeter he had an amazing presence off the field as well... Prettiest swing in baseball history; fluid, powerful, razor sharp... Unbelievably resilient... A kid favorite (which in my opinion makes a huge difference)... One of the most prolific hitters of all time... I could go on for days but you get the idea.

Albert's first 11 seasons in MLB is the best 11 year stretch in MLB history, that alone should put him in top 10. If it wasn't for that juicehead Bonds, Pujols would easily have 6 or 7 MVP awards. His accomplishments get overlooked because his era was tainted due to cheaters like bonds, sosa, a-rod, manny, etc. Also, the nicest human being I've ever met.

Even Lou Gehrig did not match the consistency of performance that Albert Pujols has demonstrated over his first 10 years in MLB. Albert has not benefitted from having the level of players around him that Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig had. In his early years, Albert had Mcquire, Rollins and Edmonds. Currently he has Holliday, Ramus and Ludwick. These do not match up with the players Ruth and Gehrig had on thier teams,

At this moment, 9/24/16, if Albert bats as many times as Hank Aaron, at the pace he has been homers with the Angels, he should hit 766, 11 more than Hammerin' Hank. So I expect Pujols to move up in his due time.

I also give him the 2006 MVP Award, sorry Howard they made a mistake. Pujols had ops, average and if he had the same # of ab's he'd have 149 rbi's, a tie. The tie breaker is he carried the Cards to the playoffs.

Albert is on performance enhancing medications. No questionn in my mind. You can always tell when they take the easy, non-chalant swing, and the ball goes out of the park. Wrist speed too. Don't kid your self; he keeps his weight under control, but he's on stuff. He wont be on any of my lists.

Who cares if he gambled at least he was a tough ball player and was not afraid to get his shoes dirty like the players now who are traded to different teams every couple of years. He deserves to be in the hall of fame not like cal Rippen jr who nobody even knows about or gives a hoot about. I know a lot about baseball and my statement is very true. I am not saying Pete rose should be first place but at least give 3 place or something like that.

Pete Rose should never gave been banned from baseball for life. Other players have done much more to damage the game then Rose and never been banned for LIFE. His sentence was the most disproportionate punishment in the history of baseball, with the exception of the Black Sox scandal.

Pete Rose belongs in the Hall. MLB is turning into the NCAA. They're the holier than thou. If you took all the players in the Hall of Fame out because of infractions that are a detriment to the game, there wouldn't be many left in the Hall.
Arguably the most consistent player of all time, not the greatest.

You can argue that someone is great at playing a position, but Pete Rose was so good he was an 17 time All-Star at 5 positions, still holds 5 MLB records 29 years after his last season as a player. One of the few who truly lived up to his hype as a young player all through his career.

DiMaggio- 13? His 56 game hitting streak will never be broken. He played for 13 years with 3 MVP wins. Also, he made the All-Star game every year! He won the World Series 9 times with 10 pennants. He was one of the greatest fielders to play and he had more home runs than strikeouts. Furthermore, his hitting was phenomenal. He led the AL in home runs and RBI's twice, and was the AL batting champion 2 times. He even stood out outside of baseball. He married Marilyn Monroe, went to war, got shot in his wrist, and proceeded to make the All-Star game... again. He should not be 1 but somewhere in the top 5!

Joe DiMaggio 56 game hitting streak will never be broken! Its amazing that he was robbed of having at least 1 hits in what would of been his 57th game but after the hit streak ended then went on to hit safely in another 18 games.

Joe DiMaggio would of had well over 500 to 600 home runs as a Yankee if he was not playing at the stadium that Ruth built with "Death Valley" in left center field which was 450 feet from home plate and a high wallthat players had to have the ball clear over to hit the home run. I heard Phil Rurrito the former Yankee shortstop tell us as he was a Yankee broadcaster for a long time that if DiMaggio did not have that death valley to face as a right handed hitter he would of hit 800 life time home runs!

I have watched and read old films and articles about Joe. When the Yankees use to have a score that is when Joe really shown.
He was good at coming through in the clutch situations. The Yankee Clipper is obviously one of the top ten greats of all time.

Lts

He does not belong on this list. With all of the great baseball players over the past 100 some years who have put up ridiculous numbers without steroids he shouldn't even be in the top 200 in my mind. He was using steroids like crazy. At 40 years old his head was growing.. What does this tell you? Not only was he juicing but he was juicing like crazy. Sure he was good before steroids but 17th of all time good? Probably not so if that's your argument you need to reevaluate it some. You can't rank this man as the 17th best of all time because "He was good even before steroids! " Yes he was good.. But you can't rank him 17th without knowing how good he actually would've been and how age would have affected his muscles without a performance enhancing drug preserving and improving them. The best of all time have usually found ways of staying good and in some cases even getting better with age. My guess is Bonds saw a noticeable decline in his baseball playing ability, and so he started ...more

Lets look at his situation logically. Early in Barry's career, more specifically the late '80s - early '90s, he was hitting 40 home runs and stealing 40 bases a year... all while striking out less than 100 times per year. This was when he was at least 50 lbs lighter than his 2001 physique (I.e. pre-roids). People, we cannot discredit his athletic achievements solely on the fact that he doped. In the early 2000s, we saw his home run totals drastically rise and his stolen base numbers fall as he migrated to more of a pure power hitter. This man's strength was unreal (look no further than his home run vs. Troy Percival in the 2002 WS). He was one of the greatest players of all time.

The greatest hitter of the modern era, whether or not he used PEDs he demanded more respect than any hitter ever, no one was more dominant and even in his Pittsburgh days before his head grew and his balls shrunk he was still putting up unbelievable numbers of home runs, rbis, batting average, and stolen bases. Personally I grew up hating his guts and continue to strongly dislike the guy, and the decisions I believe he made, and did make but I'm not going to deny him what he truly is and that is the greatest hitter of all time.

Hand eye coordination is not the issue. Every Major league player must have that to get in. When you are stronger in the late innings due to steroids you hit with power when those who don't use them are physically tired and unable to get that punch on the bat. By the way there is no way to measurement for hand eye coordination just because you say it's the best is junk science. Hand eye coordination is smoke and mirrors. He cheated should never be on any list.

To play baseball you need a glove. Roberto Clemente has 12 gold gloves, most for an outfielder. Simply the Great one in the outfield. To play baseball you need a bat. Roberto Clemente has 3,000 hits because a tragedy ended his career early. He is the first of that great 3,000 club that every baseball player wants to be in. All time.317 batting average, including 4 batting titles and two of them with.351 and.357 average. Not to mention 12 All Star games, 1966 NL MVP, 1971 World Series MVP, two World Series Championships. His 21 need to be the second number to be retired in the entire MLB. Robinson & Clemente. Roberto Clemente live Great, play Great and died Great. Roberto Clemente is simple, the GREATEST ONE in Baseball...

Clemente was an all around player, 5 tool player, one of the best ever, period. It amazes me when "experts" avoid to mention this amazing player in whatever list is make. Best Right Fielder to ever lived, best arm that ever played the game, .317 career, 1305 RBI, 3000 hits, 12 GG (1 of 2 player), 15 All Star, 4 Batting Champs! (1 of 2 player), 2 WS, Nl MVP, WS MVP 1971. He was 37 years old when he played his last game (he still had some) , died at 38. He really was not a 5 tool player, he indeed was a 6 tool player, when we add his humanitarian spirit. I've never seen Clemente over Robinson in a list, well.. just compare their numbers and try to explain why is that so (not taking anything away from Jackie, one of the greats), but it makes no sense when some people even mention A (juiced) Rodriguez over THE GREAT Roberto Clemente, I understand to have Willie Mays over Clemente, but not many more players. #retire21.

Roberto Clemente was a pioneering Latin & Black
Player. He was a 5 tool player who played in an era when both Latin & Black players wete routinely discriminated against. The Hallmark of Greatness
In MLB are 3000 hits & Clemente finished with exactly 3000. In truth, he was an even Hreater Man than he was a ball player as exemplified by his death while attempting to deliver relief supplies to earthquake stricken Nicuragua. And did I mention that he had arguably, the Greatest Arm of All Time!

He was an awesome baseball player he lived in Puerto Rico. Then he got a letter saying that he was invited him to America to play baseball. His team was in last place and Roberto dove caught and hit so hard. He is the one that led his team to the national team championship. He went back to his home in Puerto Rico. He heard about an earthquake and set of to sentrel America in the middle of the flight the engines failed and he died.

I'm a Yankee fan all my life. Jeter is a winner. But he is not even close to being the best Yankee. He wasn't even the best shortstop of his era or 2nd best. He had decent range not great. He had an accurate but so-so arm. For a 6'3 guy had little power. But he had all the intangibles and played the game intelligently. Incredibly hard worker and as humble a superstar as ever. He played in NY which helped his star power and got 5 rings because he was an integral part of some GREAT teams. Hall of Fame - NO DOUBT. Best Yankee ever - NO WAY. Top 25 players all-time - BIG ARGUMENT.

Derek Jeter is the best baseball player because he has a terrific swing, he also has a amazing fielding and never gives up and gives it his all. I bet you he would die for baseball because that is where his heart is just placed. So he is the guy I look up to, so that's why I voted for the number one base ball player, Derek Jeter.

Derek Jeter Should be on this list he is probobaly the best all around player that has ever lived. He could make plays and hit like no other. Jeter had stellar play and it was all through out his career. No one else has performed quite like Jeter he was quite astonishing to watch.

One of the greatest shortstops of all time as well as one of the greatest Yankees of all time. It will be interesting to see how much he helps the young players carry on the Yankee tradition as Yogi Berra helped him when he was young and coming up.