MLB: Who’s the greatest hitter of all time?

[CySmurf]

Ike Turner

 

[Isualum13]

Bartolo Colon. End of discussion.

 

[AuH2O]

Crazy that Aaron is so underrated. Holds* the most hallowed record in sports, was a great all around player with great consistency, and rarely gets mentioned as the best ever.

Roids and all, there were a few years where Bonds was so much better than everybody in the era. He pretty much never saw a fastball strike. If he did he absolutely smoked it.

 

[Kaner04]

Albert Pujols is the best I’ve ever seen with my own two eyes. Loved him as a Cardinal when I was younger

 

[BWRhasnoAC]

Pete Rose.

 

[Cy$]

Pablo Sanchez. The real ones know

i was decent too

 

[Cyismymonkey]

Bartolo Colon. End of discussion.

Colon was a good hitter, had some power.

 

[Macloney]

Crazy that Aaron is so underrated. Holds* the most hallowed record in sports, was a great all around player with great consistency, and rarely gets mentioned as the best ever.

Roids and all, there were a few years where Bonds was so much better than everybody in the era. He pretty much never saw a fastball strike. If he did he absolutely smoked it.

Aaron and Rose played 23 seasons each. Are they compilers or did they just play at such a high level for so long? Maybe both?

Jeter was a career. 310 guy with almost 3500 career hits over 20 seasons. I think this career is the perfect example of compiling good numbers over a lengthy career. Hall of Fame numbers no doubt, but I don't think anyone on here would consider him the best hitter of all time.

It should also be noted that Hank had a season in the Negro League that would have surely resulted in additional MLB stats.

 

[AuH2O]

Aaron and Rose played 23 seasons each. Are they compilers or did they just play at such a high level for so long? Maybe both?

Jeter was a career. 310 guy with almost 3500 career hits over 20 seasons. I think this career is the perfect example of compiling good numbers over a lengthy career. Hall of Fame numbers no doubt, but I don't think anyone on here would consider him the best hitter of all time.

It should also be noted that Hank had a season in the Negro League that would have surely resulted in additional MLB stats.

Aaron was a compiler but at an incredibly high level. His peak years weren’t as high as some other guys, but he sustained greatness longer than anyone. Aaron is the rare guy that had a 5, 10, and 12 year peak where he was a top 3 player in the game, and had additional years outside those peak years where he was a top 5, top 10 player. There isn’t anyone that combined great peak years and incredible consistency over a long time. And he was very good defensively and as a base runner.

 

[Turn2]

Josh Gibson

Josh Gibson wasn’t just thought to be the best hitter in the Negro Leagues but one of the best hitters to ever live. Gibson’s reputation has risen to mythological heights. At 18, Gibson supposedly hit a 480-foot home run, and Gibson was also said to have hit a ball completely out of Yankee Stadium, a feat Babe Ruth never accomplished. He has been credited with as many as 84 home runs in one season.

Gibson played from 1930 to 1946, spending most of his career with the Homestead Grays and the Pittsburgh Crawfords, and in his 17-year career, Gibson has often been credited with over 800 home runs. The 238 homers that Seamheads gives him is a far cry from that, but Negro Leagues teams often played in exhibition games which haven’t been included.

Four of Gibson’s seasons came after falling into a coma in early 1943 and being diagnosed with a brain tumor. Gibson died of a stroke at age 35 in January 1947.

 

[CYdTracked]

If it weren't for the roids era Bonds probably would win this hands down. Teams were afraid to pitch to him when the game was still in doubt in his peak years. If you look at his OBP he finished his career .444 but from 2001-2004 his OBP was .515, .582, .529, .609. That is nuts to think that over half his plate appearances he either got on base with a walk or a hit. In 2004 617 PA and he was walked 232 times and 102 of those were intentional walks. He hit some monster home runs that even if he wasn't taking roids those homers would still leave the park easily.

I voted for Henry Aaron. He's the guy that some recognize as the true all-time HR leader instead of Bonds that did it with out steroids. I won't argue with Williams, Cobb, or Ruth either. Ruth also pitched for part of his career so some bonus points there for being a 2 way player.

 

[deadeyededric]

"That's the furthest ball ive ever seen hit"-Tim Salmon

 

[CyGuy5]

George Brett

 

[SCyclone]

No doubt Cobb was one of the best, but you have to question numbers from a time when guys pitched 9 innings every day.

Same thing with Cy Young. Great numbers, but I don't know if you can really take them seriously.

And certain teams averaged over .300. As a team.

 

[SCyclone]

I have to go with Terrible Ted. He was a student of hitting. There was an article years ago in Sports Illustrated with Ted talking to Boggs and Mattingly about hitting.....I got lost. They were in a conversation so far over my head that I couldn't even see it.

Best slugger? I'd have to go with Ruth. If you look at some of his seasons, the numbers are just numbing.....the only thing he didn't gobs of were triples, because no speed. But he'd walk 100+ times a year, too. Of course he had the best protector hitting behind him he could have wanted (Gehrig).

Gwynn, Carew, and Suzuki were examples of great singles hitters. How many batting titles between the three of them? Seemed like they could put the ball just about wherever they wanted, like a slow-pitch softball hitter.

 

[nautical12]

Pablo Sanchez. The real ones know

 

[Sigmapolis]

Career hitting WAR from Baseball Reference --

 

[Royalclone]

Opinion | Rogers Hornsby’s Unbreakable Record

For a five-year period in the 1920s, he hit better than .400. That won’t happen again.

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