Comments on Motown Sports Revival: Top 50 MLB Baseball Players of All-Time

Not sure where you're getting your information fro...

2009-08-07T09:05:19.396-04:00

Not sure where you're getting your information from. Ruth is nowhere near the record for most strikeouts by a hitter. His BB:SO ratio is one of the best in MLB history. It's also hard to call him HR or bust when he hit .342 for his career--the 9th highest batting average in MLB history.

I'm glad to see DiMaggio up there. He was an outst...

2009-08-07T07:48:29.656-04:00

I'm glad to see DiMaggio up there. He was an outstanding player. Equal to Lou Gehrig and better than Babe Ruth. Babe ruth is way overrated. He has close to the record for most strikeouts by a hitter. so basically it was a HR or a SO.

You underated Ken Griffey Jr. BIG time.

2009-07-01T11:45:48.745-04:00

You underated Ken Griffey Jr. BIG time.

Lefty Grove isn't THAT good. He only had 300 wins,...

2009-07-01T11:45:16.222-04:00

Lefty Grove isn't THAT good. He only had 300 wins, and a 3.06 ERA isn't TOO impresive. In my opinion Christy Mathewson is the BEST pitcher of all time, and followed VERY closely by Walter Johnson. Mathewson had a WHOPPING 2.13 ERA, and 373 wins. MUCH better than a 3.06 ERA and 300 wins.

I have to admit that Nolan Ryan ISN"T the best pit...

2009-07-01T11:42:09.394-04:00

I have to admit that Nolan Ryan ISN"T the best pitcher of all time, but no. 76!!! Nolan Ryan IS overated but you TOTALLY underated him. I put him as no. 26 on my list.

only problem i have ... bonds arod manny and cleme...

2009-05-07T15:15:00.000-04:00

only problem i have ... bonds arod manny and clemens all cheated... take them off this list right now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! go pujols who will be the best player ever by the end of his career and get this... he hasnt cheated!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

anonymous said.... your list was alright but hank ...

2008-10-06T21:20:00.000-04:00

anonymous said.... your list was alright but hank aaron and nolan ryan should have been way higher. And how in the world can you not put derek jeter in there he has already done amazing things and he is not even finished. He should have atleast been in the 20's or 30's.And last there is no way you can put mariano rivera at number 50 so low he is hands down the best closer of all time and he is very clutch especially in the post season. Barry bonds should not have been so high because he likes using steroids to break peoples batting records. However there is no doubt babe ruth is number 1 (willie should have been 2nd)
Well anyway ill talk to you later just make sure you get jeter in there

sincerely anonymous

Jeremy,Thanks for the comments. I do think I proba...

2008-08-06T23:28:12.222-04:00

Jeremy,

Thanks for the comments. I do think I probably overrated Walsh and Mordecai Brown just a little bit. I’m not sure where I might end up putting them but I could never find a place that I was comfortable with. Their cases are very unique. Their careers were so long ago and they were so short. As for Joss, I think it’s clear that Walsh has him beat. Joss isn’t a Hall of Famer on any of the Hall of Fame tests. Walsh is one on three of the four. Walsh had a better ERA+ and pitched more innings. Walsh even had a slightly better shutout percentage. However, the difference between the two is pretty small and if Walsh is #33, then Joss should probably be in the top 100. I think it’s more than fair to make that claim. The next time I take a look at my 100 with the intention of making amendments, I wouldn’t be surprised if I ended up moving Walsh and Brown outside of the top 50. Joss is borderline top 100.

Take care!

I enjoyed reading your list. We express similarit...

2008-08-06T22:31:00.000-04:00

I enjoyed reading your list. We express similarities in each others top 100 lists. although, you managed to place Ed Walsh at number 33, you managed to leave Addie Joss off the top 100? Although his career was somewhat brief,he managed to pitch a shutout 1 out of every 5 games he started over a 9 year career and ended his career with a 1.89ERA on second all-time to Walsh's total.

-Jeremy B.

Nolan Ryan is deffinatly top 20...to not have in t...

2008-05-15T09:38:00.000-04:00

Nolan Ryan is deffinatly top 20...to not have in there is just an insult, he is one of the best pitchers the game has ever seen you can not rank so many players who are still playing the game ahead of him. How many no hitters did he throw again? 6 i dont see anyone doing that ever again

What about Ricky Hendersen?? Baseball's all time l...

2008-05-01T14:28:00.000-04:00

What about Ricky Hendersen?? Baseball's all time leader in stolen bases and runs scored. All-time leader in walks until Bonds passed him. A few of these records may have been because he played for 25 years but I don't think we ever see anybody steal bases like he did.

no "Charlie Hustle"?banned from baseball or not, P...

2008-04-04T09:10:00.000-04:00

no "Charlie Hustle"?

banned from baseball or not, Pete Rose was the best hitter since Ted.

Babe Ruth was the best of all time, without questi...

2008-01-08T01:25:00.000-05:00

Babe Ruth was the best of all time, without question. Not only are his career numbers unbelievable, a fact that many baseball fans don't know about is his prowess as a pitcher. He was 94-46, with a 2.38 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 17 shutouts in 1221.1 innings. He also set a World Series records for consecutive shutout innings (29.2) and had 9 shutouts in 1916, a record matched only by Ron Guidry among left-handed pitchers. Yet more compelling evidence that Babe Ruth was the best of all time. Is there anybody else in history that could have made the HOF as a pitcher or as a hitter? His pitching win totals starting in 1915 were 18, 23, 24 and 13 (he only pitched 20). By 1920 he was a full time outfielder. The question remains, would B*O*N*D*S* have passed him up in career home runs if Ruth had just played full time outfield from the beginning? Only the dead ball knows...

Whoa Nelly! Man your list needs some help.First of...

2007-12-30T23:54:00.000-05:00

Whoa Nelly! Man your list needs some help.
First of all Ty Cobb should be number one, followed by Ted Williams and Wille Mays. Ruth is third. Koufax needs to be on the list. Also where is Tony Gywn, Cal Ripken Jr., Rod Carew, Nolan Rollie Fingers, and Wade Boggs? Also you make it obvious that you are a Yankee fan. Remove all Yankees from the list and replace them with Red Sox. Thanks and continue the good work.
P.S. Roger Clemens is a sissy.

Michael,Thanks for the comment but I have to disag...

2007-11-30T07:30:57.807-05:00

Michael,

Thanks for the comment but I have to disagree. I liked George Brett. He was a great player. However, I don’t think he was better than Mike Schmidt and I don’t think he was one of the top 50 players of all-time let alone top 25.

I’m sure you know this but OPS is on-base percentage + slugging percentage. That encompasses pretty much every measurable offensive statistic with the exception of stolen bases—not just HRs. OPS+ is OPS compared to the league average. Brett’s OPS+ was 135. Schmidt’s was 147. That is a fairly significant difference. Schmidt was, by far, the better player with respect to the rest of the players in his league.

Schmidt also won three MVP awards to Brett’s one. Only nine players in baseball history have done that.

You mentioned that Brett was equally good defensively. I think you are considerably mistaken on this issue. Brett only played 62% of his career games at third base. He spent three seasons at first base and three more seasons at DH. Schmidt spent 92% of his career games at third base. If Brett was anywhere close to as good as Schmidt, he would have played third base more often. Also, Schmidt won 10 Gold Gloves and is considered one of the greatest defensive third-basemen of all-time. Brett won one Gold Glove. The voting process of the Gold Glove award is questionable at times but you don’t win 10 without being a great defensive third baseman. Considering the flawed Gold Glove system that often rewards players with good offensive statistics, Brett had the popularity and requisite offensive numbers to merit the GG if people were convinced that he was a great defensive third basemen. They weren’t and he didn’t.

Lastly, according to baseball-reference.com, here are the 10 most familiar players (using a formula, not opinion) to each player…

Mike Schmidt

1. Eddie Mathews (920) *
2. Sammy Sosa (856)
3. Gary Sheffield (851)
4. Harmon Killebrew (847) *
5. Mickey Mantle (844) *
6. Ernie Banks (840) *
7. Willie McCovey (839) *
8. Ken Griffey (836)
9. Willie Stargell (822) *
10. Reggie Jackson (819) *

George Brett

1. Al Kaline (850) *
2. Paul Molitor (828) *
3. Goose Goslin (805) *
4. Robin Yount (795) *
5. Al Simmons (787) *
6. Dave Parker (785)
7. Luis Gonzalez (783)
8. Dave Winfield (776) *
9. Roberto Clemente (773) *
10. Andre Dawson (771)

There is no question that Schmidt’s list is significantly more impressive than Brett’s. Schmidt is similar to some of the greatest offensive players in MLB history. All ten are HOF’s with ease. Brett’s list—impressive in its own right—features a mix of HOF’s who are almost never regarded as one of the top 50 players of all-time and non-HOF’s alike.

Brett was very good. He certainly was one of the best third basemen to play the game. I just don’t think much of an argument could be made that he was better than Mike Schmidt.

Thanks again for the comment.

Take care,
Jake

Hello everyone. Everybody overlooks George Brett....

2007-11-30T02:16:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone. Everybody overlooks George Brett. Compare his stats Schmidts. He has him beat in every offensive stat except HR's. His defensive stats are equal too. He only won a few gold gloves compared to Schmidts 10 This does not make any sense. What about his 390 average in 80? Over 3000 hits, 600 doubles, 300 HR's and 200 steals. Not to mention half the strikeouts of Schmidt with 3 more seasons played as well. The guy always hustled and played everyday. An easy top 25.

Michael

bonds and clemens are way 2 high...how can you put...

2007-10-24T15:03:00.000-04:00

bonds and clemens are way 2 high...how can you put roiders on any top ten list?

why the hell did you bash Bonds about steroids, ye...

2007-10-24T00:05:00.000-04:00

why the hell did you bash Bonds about steroids, yet give clemens a favorable rating?

It's a shame that being a quiet, non-controversial...

2007-10-12T12:19:00.000-04:00

It's a shame that being a quiet, non-controversial player leads pleople to totally forget you. This is the only way i can see that Eddie Murray was left off the list and all of the comments. 500 HRs and 3,000 have only been posted by Mays, Aaron,Palmiero and Murray.

I’m sure you are a big baseball fan but it doesn’t...

2007-09-05T22:52:50.011-04:00

I’m sure you are a big baseball fan but it doesn’t take a whole lot of research to see why Frank Thomas has been a better baseball player than Nolan Ryan. In fact, I’m glad you brought this up because Frank Thomas is the perfect example of why Ryan isn’t on the list. I have Thomas at #48. Thomas destroys Ryan in a straight-up comparison. If Ryan can’t sniff the #48 player on my list, then there are two reasonable conclusions 1). I have Thomas rated too low, or 2). Ryan isn’t a top-50 player. I’m willing to admit that the first one is possible. I’m certain that the second is true.

Anyhow, here is why Thomas destroys Ryan in the shortest possible explanation…

Frank Thomas has a 157 OPS+ which is 19th on the All-Time list. OPS—in case you are not familiar—is slugging percentage + on-base-percentage. OPS+ is simply OPS compared to the league average so players across eras can be compared more reasonably. Everything a player does offensively goes in to calculating an OPS+. Your contention that Thomas has simply been a home run is insane/crazy/absurd/ignorant (or whatever word least offends you). Thomas has been one of the greatest all-around hitters in MLB history. The “157” proves it and then some.

Nolan Ryan, on the other hand, has an ERA+—which you might have guessed is ERA compared to league average—of 112 which is good for 258th on the all-time list (!!!). For a guy you’re trying to argue should be in a top-50 MLB list is nowhere near “good”. Ryan is, by far, the most overrated pitcher in MLB history.

In 27 years, Ryan won zero Cy Young Awards. Thomas has won two MVP awards.

ERA and OPS are very likely the two most important measures when comparing the merits or a pitcher and a hitter. They are also why Ryan was nowhere close to Thomas.

I appreciate the comments and I apologize I could not give in to the urge to overrate Ryan as so many have.

Take care!

Nolan Ryan? On the bubble? May I ask what you are...

2007-09-05T21:13:00.000-04:00

Nolan Ryan? On the bubble? May I ask what you are thinking? The man destroys all other pitchers in the K department by over 1,000 k's. I would also say 300+ career wins is quite the asset. Rationale on how we give Frank Thomas a spot on the list and not Mr. Ryan? Sure Frank Thomas is on the 500 club, but is he close to the 3,000 hits club? The man can hit home runs. Period.

i agree with jake about if griffey jr didn't get a...

2007-08-29T21:34:00.000-04:00

i agree with jake about if griffey jr didn't get all of those injurys he propbably would have been the all time home run leader

pete rose is the best contact hitter of all time h...

2007-08-29T21:29:00.000-04:00

pete rose is the best contact hitter of all time he should be in the top ten

(*&^&*%$#@

the list was good but how is nolan ryan not in the...

2007-08-29T21:27:00.000-04:00

the list was good but how is nolan ryan not in the top 50? he is one of the greatest players of all time and if not the best pitcher of all time

Joe,Thanks for the comments. You probably aren’t g...

2007-08-28T17:58:48.443-04:00

Joe,

Thanks for the comments. You probably aren’t going to find too many people that view Albert Belle’s career more favorably than me but I can’t rank him anywhere near the top 50. He only played until he was 33. His career is very similar to Juan Gonzalez’s career. I don’t believe either player is a top 50 of all-time player. Although, if Kirby Puckett is a Hall of Famer, then Albert Belle should be too. But, it’ll never happen because nobody liked Belle. That shouldn’t matter but unfortunately it will. I loved Bags and Biggio. I don’t believe they are top 50 but they were both two of my favorite players for many years.

I’m not going to complain too much about your top 50 list. Everyone has their own opinion and since these lists are based entirely on opinion, it’s difficult to fault much.

I will make a couple comments….

Babe Ruth—His numbers were so much better than anyone else that it’s difficult to fault him for not being a good base-runner or a fielder (although I have not heard too much about him being a terrible fielder). Any negative there was more than made up for by his contributions as a pitcher.

Jeff Bagwell—As much as I like Bags, I don’t think I could put him as high as you have him. His numbers are absurd though. Also, I can’t rate Bagwell ahead of Thomas because Thomas has better overall numbers and better averages even taking into consideration part-effects.

Ivan Rodriguez—Pudge has been one of the better catchers in MLB history but I think his OPS+ should keep him much lower.

Roger Clemens—I like that you have Clemens rated the second best pitcher ever—I think he is actually the best—but I think the best pitchers have to rank higher than 17-19.

I enjoyed the list.

Thanks again for the comments.

Take care!

Jake