Friday semi-open thread.

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.

Comments

  1. Matt (Cohasset)

    Ruth
    Williams
    Cobb
    Mathewson
    Hornsby
    Wagner
    Mays
    Johnson
    Aaron
    Grove

    damn, ten is a bit to inclusive

  2. Matt (Cohasset)

    Ugh. “too”

  3. Babe Ruth
    Ted Williams
    Honus Wagner
    Walter Johnson
    Christy Matthewson
    Mickey Mantle
    Cy Young
    Rickey Henderson
    Willie Mays
    Lefty Grove

  4. 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.

  5. Mays before Mantle otherwise mine would be the same. Maybe Cobb before Cy Young.

  6. Francis Borchardt

    Babe Ruth
    Lou Gehrig
    Honus Wagner
    Willie Mays
    Ted Williams
    Jackie Robinson
    Walter Johnson
    Joe DiMaggio
    Satchel Paige
    Ricky Henderson

  7. 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

  8. Gehrig
    Ruth
    Aaron
    Williams
    Wagner
    Mays
    W Johnson
    Mathewson
    Cy Young
    Koufax

  9. Ruth
    Musial
    Williams
    Joe D
    Mays
    Cy Young
    Cobb
    Robinson
    Aaron
    Rose

  10. Cobb
    Wagner
    Ruth
    Gehrig
    Johnson
    Mathewson
    Williams
    Mays
    Aaron
    Spahn

  11. 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?

  12. Babe Ruth
    Willie Mays
    Ty Cobb
    Ted Williams
    Cy Young
    Lefty Grove
    Walter Johnson
    Jackie Robinson
    Honus Wagner
    Josh Gibson

  13. 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.

  14. Oh, Tyler: $5.

  15. 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

  16. Babe Ruth
    Walter Johnson
    Tom Seaver
    Hank Aaron
    Honus Wagner
    Rogers Hornsby
    Ty Cobb
    Jackie Robinson
    Cy Young
    Mickey Mantle

  17. Zach from Wiley

    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.

  18. 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.

  19. Babe Ruth
    Honus Wagner
    Willie Mays
    Hank Aaron
    Walter Johnson
    Ty Cobb
    Satchel Paige
    Ted Williams
    Stan Musial
    Mickey Mantle

  20. Babe Ruth
    Honus Wagner
    Cy Young
    Joe Dimaggio
    Willie Mays
    Hank Aaron
    Ted Williams
    Walter Johnson
    Ty Cobb
    Christy Mathewson

  21. Ruth
    Williams
    Mays
    Cobb
    Johnson
    Gehrig
    Wagner
    Robinson
    Young
    Aaron

  22. 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.

  23. 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

  24. Surprised that many are leaving Mathewson off the list.

    Ruth
    Wagner
    Williams
    Cobb
    WJohnson
    Mathewson
    Young
    Mays
    Mantle
    Hornsby

  25. 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 …

  26. Ruth
    Mays
    Wagner
    Mantle
    Williams
    Johnson
    Morgan (not as a broadcaster, though)
    Grove
    Gehrig
    Aaron

  27. Ruth
    Mays
    Williams
    Mathewson
    Musial
    Gehrig
    Johnson
    Cobb
    Henderson
    Gehrig

  28. Ruth
    Wagner
    Williams
    Gehrig
    Mays
    Mantle
    Johnson
    C. Young
    Mathewson
    Sizemore

  29. Ruth
    Williams
    Aaron
    Mays
    Hornsby
    Cobb
    Wagner
    W. Johnson
    Mathewson
    J. Robinson

  30. 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

  31. Babe Ruth
    Ted Williams
    Willie Mays
    Walter Johnson
    Cy Young
    Sandy Koufax
    Joe DiMaggio
    Mike Schmidt
    Christy Matthewson
    Hank Aaron

  32. In no particular order:

    Mickey Mantle
    Honus Wagner
    Rogers Hornsby
    Tris Speaker
    Babe Ruth
    Barry Bonds
    Walter Johnson
    Christy Mattewson
    Ted Williams
    Willie Mays

  33. Babe Ruth
    Hank Aaron
    Willie Mays
    Ted Williams
    Honus Wagner
    Walter Johnson
    Christy Mathewson
    Stan Musial
    Jackie Robinson
    Greg Maddux

  34. Ruth
    Mays
    T Williams
    Gerhig
    Josh Brown
    Koufax
    Matthewson
    Aaron
    Bench
    Paige

  35. Ruth
    Mantle
    Mays
    Young
    Johnson
    Robinson
    Musial
    Wagner
    Gibson
    Gehrig

  36. ruth
    mays
    dimaggio
    aaron
    cobb
    williams
    musial
    johnson
    mathewson
    cy young

  37. 1. Ruth
    2. Mays
    3. Ted Williams
    4. Gehrig
    5. Musial
    6. Walter Johnson
    7. Honus
    8. DiMaggio
    9. Johnny Bench
    10. Frank Robinson

  38. Sub Hank Aaron in for Frank R. Duh…

  39. 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

  40. In no particular order:

    – Ruth
    – Wagner
    – Cobb
    – Gehrig
    – Young
    – W. Johnson
    – Mays
    – Williams
    – Mathewson
    – Musial

  41. I intended to put in Josh Gibson, not Brown (?).

  42. Hank Aaron
    Ty Cobb
    Lou Gehrig
    Walter Johnson
    Christy Mathewson
    Willie Mays
    Stan Musial
    Jackie Robinson
    Babe Ruth
    Ted Williams

  43. Ellsbury
    Pedroia
    Ortiz
    Youkilis
    Bay
    Drew
    Lowell
    Lowrie
    Varitek
    Beckett

  44. Ruth
    Williams
    Wagner
    Bonds
    Hornsby
    Johnson
    Mathewson
    Grove
    Mays
    Mantle

  45. and I can’t read. Replace Bonds with Cy Young.

  46. 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.

  47. 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

  48. Babe Ruth
    Christy Mathewson
    Honus Wagner
    Mickey Mantle
    Willie Mays
    Sandy Koufax
    Walter Johnson
    Josh Gibson
    Ty Cobb
    Rickey Henderson

  49. Mantle
    Ruth
    Mays
    Williams
    Cobb
    Aaron
    Gehrig
    Reggie
    Seaver
    Berra

  50. 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