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.
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?