2) Ty Cobb
We’re turning back the clock to discuss one of the Baseball Hall of Fame’s original members, Ty Cobb.
“The Georgia Peach” absolutely dominated of the turn of the century Major Leagues. At the time of his retirement, Cobb was credited with creating or equaling more records than any other player, roughly 90 different categories. Cobb still holds a number of those records to this day, including highest career batting average (.366), most career batting titles (11), and most career steals of home (54). Only once in his entire career, in his rookie season, did Cobb post an average of less than .314, and he batted .400 on three separate occasions.
Cobb’s .433 on-base percentage ranks ninth all-time; he led the league seven times in that category. Cobb led the league in slugging percentage eight times, and for his career he sits at .512. Finally, with a career .945 OPS, Cobb’s OPS led the league ten times.
The feisty competitor Cobb played the 5th-most games in Major League history and his career numbers for plate appearances and at-bats also both rank fifth. All-time, Cobb ranks second in runs scored with 2,246; in hits with 4,189; in singles with 3,053; and in triples with 295. Plus he’s seventh with 1,938 runs batted in; fifth with 5,854 total bases; and fourth with 724 doubles and 897 stolen bases.
The one-time AL MVP reached three World Series with the Detroit Tigers but lost them all. Cobb batted .262 in those Series, much lower than his career numbers.
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| #2 Ty Cobb |
1) Babe Ruth
Like the other lists so far, the choice for #1 was extremely simple. The Sultan of Swat. The King of Crash. The Titan of Terror. The Colossus of Clout. The Colossus of Clout. The GREAT BAMBINO!
Babe Ruth.
Ruth is a legend, an athlete that transcends the sport he played in. Michael Jordan and Muhammad Ali: those are his peers, not baseball players. But to get that way, he had to be pretty good at baseball too.
The legend of Ruth begins in Boston where he was a three-time World Series-winning pitcher for the Red Sox. Ruth even still holds the World Series record for consecutive scoreless innings pitched. First playing in 1914, Ruth saw more at-bats every year in the majors. Even as a pitcher, his bat was invaluable. It wasn’t until he was traded to the Yankees though—a move that seemingly crippled Boston for the next 86 years—that Ruth moved to the outfield full-time.
Before Ruth came along, the record for home runs in a season was 27. After seeing a few more at-bats and leading the league with 11 home runs in 1918, Ruth blasted 29 in 1919. Coming to the Yankees in 1920, he hit 54. The following year he hit 59. Then six years later, in 1927 Ruth jacked 60 long balls, a record that stood for the next 34 years. Ruth revolutionized the game and ushered in the “live ball” era. His flair for the long ball and his over-sized personality made everyone want to watch.
What everyone saw was the greatest baseball player of all-time.
The league-leader in home runs twelve times, Ruth’s 714 career home runs record stood for 39 years; that total still stands third all-time. Ruth still holds the MLB career records for both slugging percentage (.690) and OPS (1.164). Ruth’s .342 batting average ranks tenth all-time; he’s second on the all-time RBI list with 2,213; he has the 2nd-highest on-base percentage with a .474 mark; Ruth ranks fourth all-time in runs scored with 2,174; he’s sixth with 5,793 total bases; and his 2,062 walks rank third.
As a pitcher, Ruth posted a 2.28 ERA, which stands as 17th-best all-time. With a 94-46 career record, Ruth also holds the 11th-best win-loss percentage, and he has the 13th-lowest home runs allowed per 9 innings ratio in history.
All told, Ruth won seven World Series (three with the Red Sox and four with the Yankees), one MVP award, was named to two All-Star Games, and was the biggest player baseball’s ever seen.
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| #1 Babe Ruth |
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