ESPN's top 100 MLB players.

[Bucky F. Dent]

So my loathing blinded me to the fact that I was watching the 7th best player of all time (Clemens)?

[Boondock Saint]

Originally Posted by Bucky F. Dent

So my loathing blinded me to the fact that I was watching the 7th best player of all time (Clemens)?

Same here. I don't think he belongs nearly that high. He certainly isn't the greatest pitcher of all time.

[WhiteSox5187]

Originally Posted by Boondock Saint

Same here. I don't think he belongs nearly that high. He certainly isn't the greatest pitcher of all time.

Well he played for both the Yankees and the Red Sox so that accounts for a lot of bonus points with ESPN.

[GABP]

Jeter at 32 is terrible. So overrated

[getonbckthr]

Griffey should be top 10. When he was healthy he was the closest thing to perfect on a baseball field.

[Mr. Jinx]

Originally Posted by WhiteSox5187

Well he played for both the Yankees and the Red Sox so that accounts for a lot of bonus points with ESPN.

Winning 7 Cy Youngs and 1 MVP certainly doesn't hurt either.

[TDog]

Originally Posted by RKMeibalane

Frank Thomas should be higher on that list. The DH may have been held against him.

I have Stan Musial in my top five, as he ranks only second to Ted Williams among the best pure hitters of all time. Phenomenal.

If you are talking best players of all time, you should be holding DHing against men who made the list. By all accounts, Williams was a better hitter than Barry Bonds, but Bonds was higher on the list because of his defense. Nohwere do more people think more of Bonds than San Francisco, but few San Francisco fans would rank Bonds higher than Mays.

I might have put Mays ahead of Ruth (although I never saw Ruth play) if Ruth hadn't pitched so well, once holding the record for consecutive shutout World Series innings, 29.2.

Of course, the list really doesn't mean anything. Shoeless Joe Jackson was a better player than Derek Jeter, or even Reggie Jackson.

[chicagowhitesox1]

Originally Posted by getonbckthr

Griffey should be top 10. When he was healthy he was the closest thing to perfect on a baseball field.

No way is he a top 10 player. He should actually be a little lower in this list.

[chicagowhitesox1]

Originally Posted by TDog

If you are talking best players of all time, you should be holding DHing against men who made the list. By all accounts, Williams was a better hitter than Barry Bonds, but Bonds was higher on the list because of his defense. Nohwere do more people think more of Bonds than San Francisco, but few San Francisco fans would rank Bonds higher than Mays.

I might have put Mays ahead of Ruth (although I never saw Ruth play) if Ruth hadn't pitched so well, once holding the record for consecutive shutout World Series innings, 29.2.

Of course, the list really doesn't mean anything. Shoeless Joe Jackson was a better player than Derek Jeter, or even Reggie Jackson.

The thing about this is Joe Jackson just didn't have the career as the players you mentioned. Would he have been better, no question he would have been. Should he be top 100? I personally feel he's a no doubt top 100 player.

It's hard to say with Frisco fans picking Mays over Bonds. I feel most of em nowdays are pretty biased towards Bonds. I also think think Yankee fans take a back seat to the arrogance of SF fans.

[chicagowhitesox1]

Originally Posted by Mr. Jinx

Winning 7 Cy Youngs and 1 MVP certainly doesn't hurt either.

Since these guys aren't holding PED's as a factor you are 100 percent right.

[MrT27]

Not sure what the criteria is for this list, if you had to have been a MLB player. But it's a crime that Josh Gibson is no where to be found on here.

[chicagowhitesox1]

Originally Posted by MrT27

Not sure what the criteria is for this list, if you had to have been a MLB player. But it's a crime that Josh Gibson is no where to be found on here.

They only used Major League stats. One of the writers did talk about the stars of the Negro Leagues. I think Gibson and Charleston would be top 10-15 players if they were allowed to play. But it is hard to rank them without knowing what they did on a MLB field. Josh Gibson could have been another Bo Jackson, I think he woulda been more like Ruth or Foxx but it still is hard to say.

[DoItForDanPasqua]

Originally Posted by chicagowhitesox1

They didn't discount steroids or character or count Negro League stats, only what players did in the field. These are the top 100.

Honorable mentions

125. Roy Campanella...3 MVPS should have him ranked higher even though he missed out alot of years due to integration.
124. Arky Vaughan....He's deff a top 100 player, I have him as 2nd or 3rd best shortstop of alltime.
123. Don Drysdale......Carl Hubbell and Ed Walsh are top 100. Drysdale is with Catfish Hunter, Jim Bunning and Early Wynn
122. Edgar Martinez...One of the ESPN voters felt he deserved top 100 and that voter is probably why this list is off.
121. Ed Delahanty.....19th century guys are gonna get snubbed no matter what. He should be higher though.
120. Billy Williams
119. Rube Waddell
118. Lou Boureau
117. Sam Crawford
116. Dennis Eckersley
115. Tim Keefe
114. Goerge Sisler...always liked him but I really can't argue.
113. Bill Dickey
112. Ryne Sandberg.....Same voter who wanted Edgar Martinez in top 100 wanted Sandberg as top 100 too.
111. Pud Galvin......for 19th century pitchers John Clarkson is usually regarded as a top 5 so Pud Galvin shouldn't be on this list.
110. Harry Heilmann
109. Don Sutton
108. Rafael Palmeiro....Honestly if theyr'e not discounting steroids I would think he would be higher.
107. Johnny Mize.....Huge snub, he's at least top 75 maybe top 60.
106. Whitey Ford
105. Curt Schilling
104. Dave Winfield
103. Eddie Plank.....He's a pretty big snub for top 100 too.
102. Joe Jackson....He's deff deserving of top 100 but short career and obvious reasons probably hurt him. I would have him top between 80 and 90.
101. Luke Appling
.....................................
100. Phil Niekro
99. Al Simmons
98. Joe Cronin
97. Ron Santo....He is a top 6 thirdbaseman but I don't think he makes my top 100.
96. Tim Raines....He's deff a saber god but he wouldn't make my list either.
95. Sammy Sosa.....There is no way he makes my list even without discounting peds.
94. Jim Thome
93. Tom Glavine
92. Roy Halladay....I like him but its hard to include him since he's not finished yet.
91. Paul Waner
90. Craig Biggio......a bit of a compiler, he's ranked a little high.
89. Jim Palmer
88. Cap Anson
87. Frankie Frisch
86. Gary Carter
85. Manny Ramirez
84. Willie Stargell
83. Mark McGwire
82. Kid Nichols
81. Duke Snider
80. Charlie Gehringer
79. Robin Roberts....ranked a little high
78. Mike Piazza.....I would take him over Fisk.
77. Paul Molitor
76. Carlton Fisk....I think both Carter and Piazza were better.
75. John Smoltz....He's deff ranked too high.
74. Barry Larkin....overrated
73. Roberto Alomar.....overrated
72. Bert Blyleven
71. Ivan Rodriguez
70. Juan Marichal
69. Frank Thomas....not trying to be biased but he should be a little higher.
68. Jeff Bagwell
67. Mariano Rivera
66. Gaylord Perry
65. Eddie Murray
64. Harmon Killebrew
63. Hank Greenberg
62. Fergie Jenkins
61. Tony Gwynn
60. Ozzie Smith....I'm starting to like his career more but he's probably a little high.
59. Bob Feller
58. Robin Yount
57. Willie McCovey
56. Yogi Berra
55. Reggie Jackson
54. Wade Boggs
53. Rod Carew......Boggs was better.
52. Jackie Robinson.....He deff would have been a top player but discounting Mize and Campanella isn't really fair.
51. Ernie Banks
50. Pete Alexander......Ridiculous, one of the best pitchers of all time.
49. Chipper Jones
48. Nap Lajoie.....underrated, third best 2ndbasema of alltime.
47. Lefty Grove.....another strange pick...hands down the best lefty ever.
46. Al Kaline
45. Warren Spahn
44. Sandy Koufax...good peak but no way better than Grove or Spahn careerwise.
43. Brooks Robinson....no way should he be in the top 50 let alone top 43.
42. Eddie Collins..he's a top 20-25 player for me.
41. Pedro Martinez
40. Carl Yastrzemski
39. Eddie Mathews
38. Derek Jeter....I'm surprised ESPN didn't put him in the top 20. overrated.
37. Pete Rose....he should be in the 70-80 range.
36. Mel Ott
35. Nolan Ryan....same with Pete Rose, 70-80 range.
34. Ken Griffey Jr. he's a little high for me.
33. Roberto Clemente...he should be where Kaline is ranked but since he's the saint of baseball he's gonna be ranked alot higher.
32. Bob Gibson
31. Cal Ripken Jr....I wouldn't put him this high
30. Goerge Brett
29. Christy Mathewson
28. Jimmy Foxx.....He would make my top 20.
27. Johnny Bench
26. Steve Carlton....does ESPN really feel he's the 2nd best lefty of alltime..Big mistake here.
25. Tris Speaker
24. Tom Seaver
23. Randy Johnson....he's ranked a little high, i'd have Speaker over him.
22. Frank Robinson
21. Joe DiMaggio....he's somewhat glorified but he's top 25.
20. Joe Morgan.....I don't think so but these saber guys love him.
19. Albert Pujols....Its still too early to put him in the top 20.
18. Alex Rodriguez
17. Cy Young...I don't really agree but its not a horrible choice.
16. Mike Schmidt
15. Roger Hornsby
14. Rickey Henderson
13. Greg Maddux
12. Walter Johnson...I would pick him over Clemens
11. Lou Gehrig
10. Honus Wagner
9. Mickey Mantle....I'd switch Gehrig and him
8. Stan Musial
7. Roger Clemens
6. Ty Cobb...he's better than Aaron
5. Hank Aaron
4. Ted Williams
3. Barry Bonds...I would take him over Mays but Mays is still a good choice.
2. Willie Mays
1. Babe Ruth

Great point about Arky Vaughan; I think he should be ranked higher than Jeter. I'm also a little surprised about Berra not being given a better ranking.

[DoItForDanPasqua]

Originally Posted by chicagowhitesox1

The thing about this is Joe Jackson just didn't have the career as the players you mentioned. Would he have been better, no question he would have been. Should he be top 100? I personally feel he's a no doubt top 100 player.

It's hard to say with Frisco fans picking Mays over Bonds. I feel most of em nowdays are pretty biased towards Bonds. I also think think Yankee fans take a back seat to the arrogance of SF fans.

It's difficult to rank someone who did not play for many years as with Shoeless Joe. One cannot assume he will play at the same level and simply fill in the blanks. This is unfortunate for players who got injured (Al Rosen), those who fought in wars (Virgil Trucks), and those who got into trouble (Jackson). Still, during his 12 years, he complied the third highest batting average of all time and was definitely one of the great hitters of the deadball era. He belongs in the top 100.

[chicagowhitesox1]

Originally Posted by DoItForDanPasqua

It's difficult to rank someone who did not play for many years as with Shoeless Joe. One cannot assume he will play at the same level and simply fill in the blanks. This is unfortunate for players who got injured (Al Rosen), those who fought in wars (Virgil Trucks), and those who got into trouble (Jackson). Still, during his 12 years, he complied the third highest batting average of all time and was definitely one of the great hitters of the deadball era. He belongs in the top 100.

I agree, it's too bad he didn't get to play longer or at least started earlier. The Philadelphia A's would have been a force if he never got homesick during his first few years.

I always thought those WW2 players should get more consideration for the hof. Cecil Travis, Mickey Vernon, Johnny Pesky in my opinion should already be in. I always thought Cecil Travis and his case for the Hall of Fame was interesting yet he's completly forgotten to the veterans commitee.