In yesterday’s chat, I was asked to name the first ten players I’d put into a restarted Hall of Fame, and came up (off the top of my head) with these names:
Babe Ruth
Ted Williams
Honus Wagner
Walter Johnson
Cy Young
Lefty Grove
Mickey Mantle
Rogers Hornsby
Rickey Henderson
Warren Spahn
The question of today, of course: Who would be your ten, using only actual HoF-eligible players and not giving it too much thought or research? (Since I answered off the cuff, I’m asking all of you to do the same.)
I’ll also throw a link up here when the Mike Leake piece is posted.
Ruth
Williams
Cobb
Mathewson
Hornsby
Wagner
Mays
Johnson
Aaron
Grove
damn, ten is a bit to inclusive
Ugh. “too”
Babe Ruth
Ted Williams
Honus Wagner
Walter Johnson
Christy Matthewson
Mickey Mantle
Cy Young
Rickey Henderson
Willie Mays
Lefty Grove
I will think of my own list a little later, but I was surprised at no Mays. Not saying he HAS to be on that list, I’m just used to seeing him on such lists.
Mays before Mantle otherwise mine would be the same. Maybe Cobb before Cy Young.
Babe Ruth
Lou Gehrig
Honus Wagner
Willie Mays
Ted Williams
Jackie Robinson
Walter Johnson
Joe DiMaggio
Satchel Paige
Ricky Henderson
Babe Ruth
Ted Williams
Lou Gehrig
Stan Musial
Honus Wagner
Walter Johnson
Rogers Hornsby
Willie Mays
Jackie Robinson
Yogi Berra
And my special 11th man: Jim Rice
Gehrig
Ruth
Aaron
Williams
Wagner
Mays
W Johnson
Mathewson
Cy Young
Koufax
Ruth
Musial
Williams
Joe D
Mays
Cy Young
Cobb
Robinson
Aaron
Rose
Cobb
Wagner
Ruth
Gehrig
Johnson
Mathewson
Williams
Mays
Aaron
Spahn
Surprised that no one’s mentioned Musial yet.
KLAW, I looked all over the site yesterday to find the chat and couldn’t find it… Is there a link or something that works every week?
Babe Ruth
Willie Mays
Ty Cobb
Ted Williams
Cy Young
Lefty Grove
Walter Johnson
Jackie Robinson
Honus Wagner
Josh Gibson
Ben – There seems to be a link in my RSS feed each week, but I’m also going to try to post a note and link here, especially during spring training where the chats may come at irregular intervals.
Oh, Tyler: $5.
Though we can’t know for sure, it seems likely that Mays was the best two-way player of all time. That in mind:
Mays
Ruth
Williams
Wagner
W Johnson
Paige
Gehrig
Grove
Aaron
Mantle
Babe Ruth
Walter Johnson
Tom Seaver
Hank Aaron
Honus Wagner
Rogers Hornsby
Ty Cobb
Jackie Robinson
Cy Young
Mickey Mantle
Ruth
W. Johnson
C. Young
Mays
Aaron
J. Robinson
Williams
Cobb
R. Henderson
Wagner
If anyone talks to Bert Blyleven, tell him he was THIS close to making it.
Babe Ruth
Ted Williams
Hank Aaron
Willy Mays
Walter Johnson
Mickey Mantle
Rickey Henderson
Cy Young
Jackie Robinson
Lefty Grove
Pretty impossible to do it justice in 10 names.
Babe Ruth
Honus Wagner
Willie Mays
Hank Aaron
Walter Johnson
Ty Cobb
Satchel Paige
Ted Williams
Stan Musial
Mickey Mantle
Babe Ruth
Honus Wagner
Cy Young
Joe Dimaggio
Willie Mays
Hank Aaron
Ted Williams
Walter Johnson
Ty Cobb
Christy Mathewson
Ruth
Williams
Mays
Cobb
Johnson
Gehrig
Wagner
Robinson
Young
Aaron
1. Babe Ruth
2. Hank Aaron
3. Willie Mays
4. Ted Williams
5. Ty Cobb
6. Honus Wagner
7. Stan Musial
8. Jackie Robinson
9. Lou Gehrig
10. Mickey Mantle
Wow, 10 isn’t very many. It pains me to leave off Joe D. Maybe I’m just not quite as familiar with how great he was. Also, I hate pitchers, so my list my be a little biased against them.
1. B. Ruth
2. S. Musial
3. L. Gehrig
4. B. Gibson
5. H. Aaron
6. T. Williams
7. J. DiMaggio
8. C. Young
9. T. Cobb
10. R. Henderson
Surprised that many are leaving Mathewson off the list.
Ruth
Wagner
Williams
Cobb
WJohnson
Mathewson
Young
Mays
Mantle
Hornsby
Ruth
Wagner
Cobb
Mays
Walter Johnson
Williams
Mantle
Young
Maddux
Bonds
I struggle with how much (if at all) to discount the racist era players as they didn’t play against the top talent of the time …
Ruth
Mays
Wagner
Mantle
Williams
Johnson
Morgan (not as a broadcaster, though)
Grove
Gehrig
Aaron
Ruth
Mays
Williams
Mathewson
Musial
Gehrig
Johnson
Cobb
Henderson
Gehrig
Ruth
Wagner
Williams
Gehrig
Mays
Mantle
Johnson
C. Young
Mathewson
Sizemore
Ruth
Williams
Aaron
Mays
Hornsby
Cobb
Wagner
W. Johnson
Mathewson
J. Robinson
In no particular order.
Ruth
Mays
Williams
Wagner
Musial
Bonds
Clemens
Cobb
Grove
Johnson
If you want to go PED-Free, Aaron and Seaver for Bonds and Clemens
Babe Ruth
Ted Williams
Willie Mays
Walter Johnson
Cy Young
Sandy Koufax
Joe DiMaggio
Mike Schmidt
Christy Matthewson
Hank Aaron
In no particular order:
Mickey Mantle
Honus Wagner
Rogers Hornsby
Tris Speaker
Babe Ruth
Barry Bonds
Walter Johnson
Christy Mattewson
Ted Williams
Willie Mays
Babe Ruth
Hank Aaron
Willie Mays
Ted Williams
Honus Wagner
Walter Johnson
Christy Mathewson
Stan Musial
Jackie Robinson
Greg Maddux
Ruth
Mays
T Williams
Gerhig
Josh Brown
Koufax
Matthewson
Aaron
Bench
Paige
Ruth
Mantle
Mays
Young
Johnson
Robinson
Musial
Wagner
Gibson
Gehrig
ruth
mays
dimaggio
aaron
cobb
williams
musial
johnson
mathewson
cy young
1. Ruth
2. Mays
3. Ted Williams
4. Gehrig
5. Musial
6. Walter Johnson
7. Honus
8. DiMaggio
9. Johnny Bench
10. Frank Robinson
Sub Hank Aaron in for Frank R. Duh…
Babe Ruth
Ty Cobb
Honus Wagner
Walter Johnson
Christy Mathewson
Cy Young
Willie Mays
Ted Williams
Jackie Robinson
Tom Seaver*
*Showing my Mets fan bias
In no particular order:
– Ruth
– Wagner
– Cobb
– Gehrig
– Young
– W. Johnson
– Mays
– Williams
– Mathewson
– Musial
I intended to put in Josh Gibson, not Brown (?).
Hank Aaron
Ty Cobb
Lou Gehrig
Walter Johnson
Christy Mathewson
Willie Mays
Stan Musial
Jackie Robinson
Babe Ruth
Ted Williams
Ellsbury
Pedroia
Ortiz
Youkilis
Bay
Drew
Lowell
Lowrie
Varitek
Beckett
Ruth
Williams
Wagner
Bonds
Hornsby
Johnson
Mathewson
Grove
Mays
Mantle
and I can’t read. Replace Bonds with Cy Young.
And what have we learned from this activity? That it was probably much easier to be an outlier the further one goes back in time? I mean 70% of the best players were the best ever even though technologically and the knowledge of the game, mechanics, strength etc were at the lowest? But I guess this is really an exercise in who belongs in the Hall, and not necessarily whether or not Ruth was better than Pujols.
David Eckstein (gritty)
Darin Erstad (tough and gritty)
Luis Sojo (clutch)
Joe McEwing(cause he could hit Randy Johnson)
Juan Pierre (speed alters pitchers approach)
Jason Varitek (leadership!)
Brad Ausmus (cause he calls a great game)
Scott Speizio (for his soul patch)
Aaron Rowand ($11 million per to destroy outfield walls)
Sean Casey (for letting me know who plays the game right while on MLB network)
God I miss FJM
Babe Ruth
Christy Mathewson
Honus Wagner
Mickey Mantle
Willie Mays
Sandy Koufax
Walter Johnson
Josh Gibson
Ty Cobb
Rickey Henderson
Mantle
Ruth
Mays
Williams
Cobb
Aaron
Gehrig
Reggie
Seaver
Berra
I think Chuck’s list should cost him $50, at least. Trying to get someone at each position:
Ruth
Mantle
Mays
Williams
Schmidt
Wagner
Joe Morgan
Pujols
Cy Young
Berra