Chipper

Chipper may really hit .400.

Damn, I'm Good

So right now I'm watching The Babe on HBO Family and it's at the end where the Babe gets traded to Boston (National League). It (historically inaccurately) shows the Babe hitting 3 home runs in his final game and (historically inaccurately) explains how these home runs are the first ever home runs at Pittsburgh's old Forbes Field. Anyway, I begin to notice that the Pittsburgh pitcher looks very familiar. He has a big chaw in and he's wearing a hat and DOESN'T have a pony tail, but it soon clicks where I've seen this guy before. The Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher at the end of the movie The Babe was the bad-guy gangster dead-beat dad from Kindergarten Cop... I still need to look it up on IMDB but I'm positive...

as I'm IMDBing Kindergarten Cop (I may be one the first ten people of all time to IMDB Kindergarten Cop) I notice that this is one of those dumbass movies where two twins play the same role. The little shit Dominic is played by both Joseph and Christian Cousins. What is wrong with these people?


I have just confirmed that the pitcher at the very end of The Babe (1992) who gives up 3 (historically inaccurate) home runs to Babe Ruth is also "Crisp", the dead-beat murdering dad, from Kindergarten Cop (1990). His name is Richard Tyson and if you look at his picture on "Yahoo Movies" you will laugh. He looks like that mug shot of Nick Nolte.

Ted Williams Top 20 Hitters List

Caution: Corny baseball post.

The first list I ever made (when I was 8 or 9) was loosely based on an article I read in Baseball Digest after Ted Williams released his famous Top 20 Hitters list, based on his own secret formula. I figured I may as well post it here. He did not want to list himself due to his own modestly, but it is rumored that his formula put himself second after Ruth. (parentheses is where I have them ranked)

20.	Ralph Kiner (35)
19.	Mike Schmidt (21)
18.	Frank Robinson (13)
17.	Harry Heilmann (24)
16.	Mel Ott (14)
15.	Johnny Mize (18)
14.	Al Simmons (33)
13.	Tris Speaker (9)
12.	Mickey Mantle (6)
11.	Hank Greenberg (26)
10.	Willie Mays (12)
9.	Hank Aaron (10)
8.	Joe Jackson (17)
7.	Stan Musial (8)
6.	Ty Cobb (3)
5.	Joe DiMaggio (20)
4.	Rogers Hornsby (4)
3.	Jimmie Foxx (7)
2.	Lou Gehrig (5)
1.	Babe Ruth (1)

http://www.baseball-almanac.com/legendary/lited20.shtml

BALDERDASH?!?!

Caution: Corny baseball post.

Denny, Alaska said...

Balderdash. Ty Cobb is the greatest hitter ever; period. "Stolen bases have nothing to do with 'hitting?'"If I remember the rules of baseball correctly, one has to get on base (and getting a hit is a generally accepted way to do just that) before one can advance a base via stealing. How many stolen bases did Cobb manage during his career? How many steals of home? When was the last time *any* major leaguer stole home?

Denny I totally understand your point; however, I don't think you understand mine. Stealing bases has a lot to do with a player's ability to help his team score runs, which is the object of the game. For this reason, I would listen to an argument that Ty Cobb is the greatest OFFENSIVE BASEBALL PLAYER of all time or possibly even the greatest baseball player of all time. My objective when making this list was to put these players in order by their ability to HIT the baseball. Therefore, stealing is irrelevant for this list because the act of running from from one base to another without being put out does not make one neither a worse nor a better hitter, while it is very relevant when listing how skillful a baseball player is. My whole purpose in making the statement that you have quoted was because I, in fact, agree with what you say regarding stolen bases and felt it was necessary to explain why players such as Willie Mays were not higher on the list despite the common opinion that they are better baseball players than some of the players listed higher than them. Thanks for the comment.

THE LIST

Caution: Corny baseball post.

Writing that last blog got me pumped about my list, so I'm just going to throw it out there right now and with no introduction or explanation (for the time being). Without further ado, this is Texas Tom' official list of the greatest hitters who ever played major league baseball (excluding anyone who began their career during or after 1985 {coincidentally, the year in which Jose Canseco joined Major League Baseball}).

Group III Hitters
29. Sam Crawford (1899-1917; Cincinnati Reds, Detroit Tigers; HOF 1957) - 2517 Games, .309 BA, 2961 Hits, career-high .378 BA (1911)

28. Harmon Killebrew (1954-1975; Washington Senators/Minnesota Twins, Kansas City Royals; HOF 1984) - 2435 Games, 573 HR, .256 BA, 1583 RBI, career-high 49 HR (1964 & 1969)

27. Reggie Jackson (1967-1987; Kansas City Athletics/Oakland Athletics, Baltimore Orioles, New York Yankees, California Angels, HOF 1993) - 2820 Games, 563 HR, .262 BA, 1702 RBI, 1551 R, 2597 K,

26. Hank Greenberg (1930-1941, 1945-1947; Detroit Tigers, Pittsburgh Pirates, HOF 1956) - 1394 Games (missed 1942-1944 due to military service), .313 BA, 331 HR, .605 SLG, .412 OBP, career-high 58 HR (1938), career-high 183 RBI (1937)

25. Eddie Mathews (1952-1968; Boston Braves/Milwaukee Braves/Atlanta Braves, Houston Astros, Detroit Tigers, HOF 1978) - 2391 Games, .271 BA, 512 HR

24. Eddie Collins (1906-1930; Philadelphia Athletics, Chicago White Sox, HOF 1939) - 2826 Games, 3315 hits, .333 BA, 744 SB

23. Harry Heilmann (1914, 1916-1930, 1932; Detroit Tigers, Cincinnati Reds, HOF 1952) - 2148 Games, .342 BA, 1539 RBI, career-high .403 BA (1923)

22. Willie Stargell (1962-1982; Pittsburgh Pirates, HOF 1988) - 2360 Games, 475 HR, 1540 RBI, .282 BA, career-high 48 HR (1971)

21. Mike Schmidt (1972-1989; Philadelphia Phillies, HOF 1995) - 2404 Games, 548 HR, 1595 RBI, .267 BA, career-high 48 HR (1980)

20. Joe Dimaggio (1936-1942, 1946-1951; New York Yankees, HOF 1955) - 1736 Games (missed 1943-1945 due to military service), .325 BA, 361 HR, 1537 RBI, 1390 R, career-high .381 BA (1939), .579 SLG, career-high 155 RBI (1948)

19. Dick Allen (1963-1977; Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals, Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago White Sox, Oakland Athletics) - 1749 Games, .292 BA, 351 HR, 1119 RBI ,1099 R

18. Johnny Mize (1936-1942, 1946-1953; St. Louis Cardinals, New York Giants, New York Yankees, HOF 1981) - 1884 Games, .312 BA, 359 HR, 1337 RBI, career-high 51 HR (1947)

17. "Shoeless" Joe Jackson (1908-1920; Philadelphia Athletics, Cleveland Naps/Cleveland Indians, Chicago White Sox, banned from baseball in 1920) - 1332 Games, .356 BA, .423 OBP, career-high .408 BA (1911)

16. Napoleon Lajoie (1896-1916; Philadelphia Phillies, Philadelphia Athletics, Cleveland Naps; HOF 1937) - 2480 Games, 3242 hits, .338 BA, 657 doubles, 1599 RBI, 1504 R, career-high .426 BA (1901)

15. Willie McCovey (1959-1980; San Francisco Giants, San Diego Padres, Oakland Athletics; HOF 1986) - 2588 Games, 521 HR, 1555 RBI, .270 BA, career-high .656 SLG (1969)

14. Mel Ott (1926-1947; New York Giants, HOF 1951) - 2730 Games, 511 HR, 1860 RBI, 1859 R, .304 BA

13. Frank Robinson (1956-1976; Cincinnati Reds, Baltimore Orioles, Los Angeles Dodgers, California Angels, Cleveland Indians; HOF 1982) - 2808 Games, 586 HR, 1812 RBI, 1829 R, 2943 Hits, .294 BA, career-high 49 HR (1966)

Group II Hitters
12. Willie Mays (1951-1952, 1954-1973; New York Giants/San Francisco Giants, New York Mets; HOF 1979) - 2992 Games, 660 HR, .302 BA, 1903 RBI, 2062 R, 523 Doubles, 140 Triples, career-high 52 HR (1965), career-high .667 SLG (1954)

11. Honus Wagner (1897-1917; Louisville Colonels, Pittsburgh Pirates; HOF 1936) - 2792 Games, 1732 RBI, 1736 R, .327 BA, .391 OBP, career-high .381 BA (1900)

10. Henry "Hank" Aaron (1954-1976; Milwaukee Braves/Atlanta Braves, Milwaukee Brewers; HOF 1982) - 3298 Games, 755 HR, .305 BA, 2297 RBI, 2174 R, 3771 Hits, 624 Doubles

9. Tris Speaker (1907-1928; Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Indians, Washington Senators, Philadelphia Athletics; HOF 1937) - 2789 Games, .345 BA, 3514 Hits, 1882 Runs, 792 Doubles, 222 Triples, 1529 RBI, 432 SB, .428 OBP, struck out 8 times in 523 at-bats in 1927

8. Stan Musial (1941-1944, 1946-1963; St. Louis Cardinals; HOF 1969) - 3026 Games, .331 BA, 1949 Runs, 3630 Hits, 725 Doubles, 177 Triples, 475 HR, 1951 RBI, .417 OBP

7. Jimmie Foxx (1925-1942, 1944-1944; Philadelphia Athletics, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies; HOF 1951) - 2317 Games, .325 BA, 534 HR, .428 OBP, 1922 RBI, 1751 R, career-high 58 HR, 169 RBI, .749 SLG (1932)

6. Mickey Mantle (1951-1968; New York Yankees; HOF 1974) - 2401 Games, .298 BA, 536 HR, .421 OBP, 1509 RBI, 1677 R, career-high 54 HR (1961), career-high .705 SLG (1956)

5. Lou Gehrig (1923-1939; New York Yankees; HOF 1939) - 2164 Games, .340 BA, 493 HR, 163 Triples, 534 Doubles, .447 OBP, 1995 RBI, 1888 R, .632 SLG, career-high .765 SLG (1927), career- high 49 HR (1936 & 1934)

4. Rogers Hornsby (1915-1937; St. Louis Cardinals, New York Giants, Boston Braves, Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Browns; HOF 1942) - 2259 Games, .358 BA, 1584 RBI, 1579 R, 2930 Hits, 541 Doubles, 169 Triples, 301 HR, .434 OBP, career-high .424 BA, .507 OBP (1924), career-high .722 SLG (1922)

3. Ty Cobb (1905-1928; Detroit Tigers, Philadelphia Athletics; HOF 1936) - 3035 Games, .366 BA, 724 Doubles, 295 Triples, 2246 R, 4189 Hits, 1937 RBI, 892 SB, .433 OBP, career-high .420 BA (1911)

Group I Hitters
2. Ted Williams (1939-1942, 1946-1960; Boston Red Sox; HOF 1966) - 2292 Games, .344 BA, 521 HR, 525 Doubles, 1798 R, 1839 RBI, .482 OBP, .634 SLG, career-high .406 BA, .553 OBP, .735 SLG (1941)

1. Babe Ruth (1914-1935; Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, Boston Braves; HOF 1936) - 2503 Games, .342 BA, 714 HR, .690 SLG, .474 OBP, 2217 RBI, 2174 R, 506 Doubles, 136 Triples


PS
Don't look too closely at the stats I list, they play a minor role in the rankings (especially the rate statistics, which include years in which the players were not in their respective primes). They are just the most common or traditional stats or stats with which people typically identify these players. Stolen bases are sometimes listed but were not considered in these rankings (Stolen bases have nothing to do with "hitting").

Lists

Caution: Corny baseball post.

Everyone Loves lists. Especially baseball nuts. Or maybe it's just me. Before I took a break, I promised revealing my master list of the greatest hitter of all-time. A couple years ago, I was drunk and shared with my roommates my list of the 20 greatest hitters that I had created when I was 10. This is similar. Before taking a break, I promised to reveal the list I had worked an entire summer creating. Well, I didn't begin the summer with the intention of creating a list of the greatest hitters of all-time. I thought I already knew that. I just wanted to know where everyone stood in a given year of baseball and try to compare that the current state of baseball. For example, we can say that we are watching living legends who have faded (Ken Griffey, Jr.) playing alongside guys just past their dominant prime (Alex Rodriguez) who are playing alongside players in their early 20's who will one day take their place in baseball history alongside these greats. Well, it's easy to take all the players today and analyze them in a vacuum (how are they doing THIS year) without really looking at what stage these guys are in a their careers or where they stand or will one day stand from a historical standpoint. Last night we watched Manny Ramirez hit his 500th homerun. This is a guy who, from his baggy pants, Bob Marley hair and crazy antics, you would probably never think in a historical sense. He just doesn't look the part. That is until he hits a historical homerun. Do you see what I am getting at? It's Manny freaking Ramirez alongside Jimmie Foxx. That's just crazy to me. It's insane when you get to see an entire career unfold from start to finish. As it's happening, you don't think about one day watching his 500th home run or something like that. One reason is because you don't really know who was a flash in the pan or who is going to be an actual consistent superstar. It's hard to look at a guy like Manny and use the term consistent just from looking at him and watching his antics. His career kind of flew by (not that it's over, but he's 36 and that's usually the start of the true decline in a superstar's career). I'm loving it. But I digress. What interested me last summer were questions like "who battled for best player in the league every year from 1900 to now" or who was the most popular player in 1907 or how old was Ty Cobb when Babe Ruth rose to stardom, what actual stage in his career was Ruth when Gehrig showed up, what would be the modern-day equivalent of Ted Williams missing 5 years of his prime to go to war at two different stages in his career?

Just to show you what type of research I actually did, I'll answer those random questions right now without going to any outside resource besides my brain. Ok I'm not going to answer the first one (right now), but starting with the second...

In 1907, Honus Wagner was the most popular player in Major League Baseball. He had been in the league for about 10 years, was in his early 30's and had won various league titles in several different categores. He had probably been considered the best player in the league for 4 or 5 years by this point, after taking that title from Nap Lajoie (who was about the same age but had peaked in popularity early than Honus). Actually he may have been sharing this title with Nap Lajoie, who was the consensus top player when the century turned. People probably argued about who was actually the best until these two guys were already past their primes (think of A-Rod now being Lajoie and Pujols being Honus or something like that. If you really made someone say who is the best right now, and this person knows baseball, 2/3 or more is going to say A-Rod or Pujols... although in the future when these two guys are long gone, we may look back and say no, Hanley Ramirez was already better by that time. But right now, we don't really know how good Hanley is. In 1907, I could look back at stats and say, Cobb was already better than these two by this time. But IN 1907, people didn't know how good Cobb was even though he had already started his prime. See what I mean?)

Next question... In 1920, Babe Ruth hit 54 home runs. He was like 24-25 years old or so and had already his 29 home runs the year before, breaking the record. But 1920 was when things started to get ridiculous and that was also his first year with the Yankees. Cobb was like 33-34 years old. Think of Cobb being thought of like Jeter and Ruth being Prince Fielder. See, people knew what Cobb was bringing to the table by now and that he was probably toward the end of his prime. Ruth was a loose cannon. No idea where he's going with his career, we just know he can hit the crap out of the ball and he's young. You also have to add that Ruth had been a prominent pitcher in the league since he was like 19 or 20. So, really we have no comparison nowadays when we're talking about Babe Ruth. But you get the point.

Next question... Gehrig "showed up" in 1927 on the greatest team of all-time. He played well the few years leading up to this, but this is when his real prime began. He was 23-24 and Ruth was 32 and had already become what we think he is now. Actually he added to his legacy in this specific year. This would be the equivalent of Melky Cabrera busting out this year for the Yankees and hitting like 50 home runs, while Alex Rodriguez hits 75 home runs (1927 is when Ruth hit 60) and the Yankees win the World Series (you'd also have to tack more postseason success to really use A-Rod as Ruth but that will probably stand true for any comparison in which I use A-Rod). Also, add some more off-the-field chaos, alcohol and arrogance to A-Rod and a very fan-friendly and shy attitude to Cabrera (in 1927, New York fell in love with Gehrig and kind of looked at Ruth as inhuman and didn't really identify with him anymore). You may think Cabrera is a bad example to be the "Gehrig" here but trust me, if he goes off and hits 50 home runs this year and then went on to have one the greatest careers of any player ever you would have to agree with the comparison. However, I will admit that Gehrig was already thought of more highly at the time than Cabrera is right now, but 1927 was when he really busted out.

The Ted Williams question is the most difficult. He was 24 years old when he served our country in World War II. He missed 3 prime years of 24, 25 and 26 years of age. He also left to serve our country in Korea in 1952 (33 years old), after playing 6 games. He came back to the major leagues late in the 1953 (34 years old) season after having an ear infection and being relieved from duty. He was able to play 37 games in 1953. That's 5 years of his prime. Add 150 home runs or so (which is conservative). He would have hit about 670 home runs or more. The most comparable situation we have today is the injuries that plagued Griffey during his prime. They are somewhat similar players. While they were healthy, people regarded them as the best. They were young when they rose to greatness. Most of all, they have the 2 sweetest swings that I have ever seen, they played the game with passion and were fan favorites. There will always be the question of "what if" when people talk about these two baseball legends. Another way to view it would be to imagine that Alex Rodriguez joined the service voluntarily in the year 2000 (by then, he was established as the next big thing if not already the big thing with God-knows-what potential. Also, it was his last year in Seattle, which is perfect because now you have to imagine the conversation in which A-Rod informs Scott Boras that he has decided to join the Army during a contract year). He returns in 2003 (so, basically pretend A-Rod never went to Texas and take away all those homers he hit at The Ballpark) and continues his career. Now imagine that next year we attack Iran and A-Rod reluctantly returns to active duty during the middle of the season and returns for the last month of 2010. For the record, A-Rod would be sitting at 375 career home runs right and would be missing 2 future years. Instead of chasing Bonds, he'd be chasing Williams himself. I'm just saying. While we're on the topic- check out Ted Williams stat line from 1941 http://www.baseball-reference.com/w/willite01.shtml . He had 10 more home runs than he did strikeouts. If Ryan Howard would have done that last year, he'd have hit 209 home runs. SPOILER: Williams is second on my official list and it's not really debatable.

Back to Normal (Sort of)

Caution: Useless blog post explaining blog posts.

I hope you don't mind, but this blog is probably going to focus entirely on baseball for a while. Since I have moved twice in the past 3 months, I haven't had a consistent internet service an am a little rusty with my poker. I want to thank everyone who read my crazy-long e-mail about getting robbed and let me know they were glad to see that I am ok. Which I am. So, for those of you who liked to read about my poker shenanigans, I apologize. It will get back to that, I promise. I am going to read a little Harrington and play some low-level live tournaments until I feel that I am back in the swing of things and ready to profit. Until then, I don't want to cut into my online bankroll that I have worked so hard to build just for the sake of my blog. If I had to guess, I'd say I'll be playing online cash games about an hour per night starting in late July. Like I said, it'll be mostly baseball and miscellaneous, irrelevant nonsense until then...