Top 10 Best Baseball Players of All Time

If one looks at just the ridiculous numbers alone (hitting and pitching), there can be little doubt about Ruth being the best ever. If it's by the numbers, it's not even close. Yes, Aaron caught and passed the HR record, and it was a monumental achievement, but Ruth set the standard for HR hitters in an era when hitting HRs was still an anomaly.

I've heard many arguments against The Bambino by both the uninformed and the exceptionally well-informed. I must admit, some of the well-informed have given me pause, as the overall pitching talent in Ruth's era was not up to today's standards. In fact, it was not up to 1960s MLB standards. Were there starters throwing at 95-105 mph? There were not. Were there relievers throwing cut fastballs at similar speeds that cut sharply as they approached the plate? There were not.

The players in Ruth's era were not the great athletes, on both sides of the diamond, that we've seen in baseball since at least the '70s and probably much farther back. But we can't project how Ruth and others of his era would have fared against modern pitchers. It's simply not an accurate accounting.

Was Ruth a great athlete? I think it's obvious, even by his day's standards, that he was not. But we simply can't compare. Ruth could smack the heck out of a baseball, plain and simple. His numbers across offensive categories are crazy and untouchable. Numbers vs. numbers (outside the juiced ball and player era), he is the greatest hitter the game has ever seen.

Willie Mays is the best all-around player of all time. Hank Aaron was also great, with phenomenal stats and an RBI record that may never be broken. One shouldn't put any current players on this list. Like other sports, today's baseball players (especially the pitchers) are soft. They feel entitled, can't pitch more than six innings because of the "pitch count," and still get hurt more regularly than ever before.

It's hard to decide who is better, but they're all really amazing. However, based on overall skills and athleticism, Willie Mays and Jackie Robinson were incredibly fast for baseball players.

Baseball does not require as much speed as some other sports, but it does require speed too. Willie also possessed lots of strength and endurance. Athletes like Babe Ruth naturally had 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 and could be a little better than Babe Ruth. They're both so good.

Willie Mays had better hitting than pitching and better pitching than catching. He was really good at all of that. A record can always be broken every 60 years. However, it is also about trying your best and having a passion for sports.

I think Aaron should be ranked above Willie Mays because Aaron was three times better than Mays. True, he never hit 50 home runs in a season, but he had many seasons with 40 home runs. What's surprising is that even though Hank 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. Ruth excelled as both a hitter and a pitcher, but 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. This is because he had 3,771 hits in his career. Subtract the total number of home runs from that, and he would have 3,016 hits.

Aaron also had a large number of doubles and nearly 100 triples in his career. In terms of power, he surpassed both Ruth and Mays. I believe he would still hold the home run record, as I don't think Barry Bonds deserves it.

When Bonds was with the Pirates, he was slim and a really good player, but not exceptional. Once he left Pittsburgh, his home run totals started to increase each year, and he began breaking all sorts of records. I'm a big Pirates fan, and both I and many others in Pittsburgh dislike Bonds. I think he should have been suspended for using steroids.

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.

He was the best. He played better than most here while having ALS and not knowing it until he finally started having severe muscle weakness and was only then diagnosed with the disease. The average lifespan with ALS is three years after diagnosis. Many people have it for years before being diagnosed.

Mickey Mantle is easily in the top three list of the greatest baseball players of all time. Had he been healthy throughout his illustrious career, there is little doubt that he would have hit 800 or more home runs. He was unquestionably the most powerful home run hitter ever, the fastest player ever, especially to first base. He could do it all!

In my view, he was a better player than Mays and Aaron. If Mantle had played in a smaller ballpark, like Ebbets Field or Wrigley Field, he likely would have hit 100 home runs in a season! Perhaps, close to 1,000 for his career!

I could easily vote for Willie Mays, but no baseball player changed the game today, made everyone play together, not separated, like Jackie Robinson did. He 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.

Think about this: look at his numbers now and consider that he had five prime years taken away from him. There is no doubt about it. He would have literally had every record in the book - home runs, RBIs, hits, and maybe Gold Gloves. He also changed the way baseball was marketed, similar to the way Magic Johnson and Larry 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 received the highest voting percentage in the history of the Hall of Fame. What does that tell you?

He is one of the best pitchers in the game. He will end up in the Hall of Fame.

Albert's first 11 seasons in MLB are the best 11-year stretch in MLB history, which alone should put him in the top 10. If it wasn't for that juicehead Bonds, Pujols would easily have six or seven MVP awards.

His accomplishments get overlooked because his era was tainted due to cheaters like Bonds, Sosa, A-Rod, Manny, etc. Also, he's 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 benefited from having the level of players around him that Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig had.

In his early years, Albert had McGwire, Rollins, and Edmonds. Currently, he has Holliday, Rasmus, and Ludwick. These do not match up with the players Ruth and Gehrig had on their teams.

DiMaggio - 13? His 56-game hitting streak will never be broken. He played for 13 years, with 3 MVP wins, and 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 RBIs twice and was the AL batting champion two 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 number 1 but somewhere in the top 5!

Who cares if he gambled? At least he was a tough ball player and was not afraid to get his shoes dirty, unlike players now who are traded to different teams every couple of years. He deserves to be in the Hall of Fame, not like Cal Ripken 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 him third place or something like that.

Pete Rose belongs in the Hall of Fame. MLB is turning into the NCAA, portraying themselves as holier-than-thou. If you removed all the players from the Hall of Fame due to infractions that are a detriment to the game, there wouldn't be many left. Rose is arguably the most consistent player of all time, though not the greatest.

One game. Game 7 of the World Series, or even if the future of the planet hangs in the balance. You can choose any pitcher in their absolute prime. This is the guy you choose, period.

If your life depended on the outcome of a baseball game, you would want Sandy Koufax to pitch for you.

Sandy Koufax was the most dominant pitcher over a five-year period than at any other time in the game.

To play baseball, you need a glove. Roberto Clemente has 12 Gold Gloves, the most for an outfielder. He was simply the Great One in the outfield. To play baseball, you also need a bat. Roberto Clemente amassed 3,000 hits because a tragedy ended his career early. He was the first member of that prestigious 3,000 club that every baseball player aspires to join.

He had an all-time .317 batting average, including 4 batting titles, with two of them being .351 and .357 averages. Not to mention his 12 All-Star selections, 1966 NL MVP, 1971 World Series MVP, and two World Series Championships. His number 21 needs to be the second number retired across the entire MLB. Robinson and Clemente. Roberto Clemente lived greatly, played greatly, and died greatly. Roberto Clemente is simply, the GREATEST ONE in baseball.

Let's look at his situation logically. Early in Barry's career, more specifically in the late '80s to 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-steroids). We cannot discredit his athletic achievements solely on the fact that he used performance-enhancing drugs.

In the early 2000s, we saw his home run totals drastically rise and his stolen base numbers fall as he transitioned to more of a pure power hitter. This man's strength was unreal - look no further than his home run against Troy Percival in the 2002 World Series. He was one of the greatest players of all time.

Bryce Harper is the best baseball player in the world, better than Mike Trout.

Bryce Harper is a boss! Give him more credit!

Bryce Harper should be in the top ten.

The best leadoff man in history. There will be players who eventually break the home run record by Bonds, the all-time hits by Rose, and maybe even the 56-game hitting streak by DiMaggio. But no one will ever come close to the stolen base record. Turning a single or walk into a double and getting into scoring position must have driven opposing managers crazy.

He made pitchers focus on him when on base, which was a complete distraction from what the pitcher's main focus should have been - the hitter. Easily top 5 all-time.

I've been a Yankees 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 the second best. He had decent range, not great. He had an accurate but so-so arm. For a 6'3 guy, he had little power.

But, he had all the intangibles and played the game intelligently. An incredibly hard worker and as humble a superstar as you'll ever find. Playing in New York helped his star power, and he 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.

Tell me who was better than Mike Schmidt at third base? You cannot! He's the most complete player at that position!

You have him at 41? Really? Greatest all-around fielder, arm, and range, with more than 500 home runs. He's a top 10 player.

MLB's best third baseman ever. He should be in the top 20.