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View Full Version : In your opinion what do you think is the greatest hitter?


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12-11-2007, 02:57 PM
Posted By: <b>Sean</b><p>babe ruth<br />no doubt

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12-11-2007, 03:15 PM
Posted By: <b>barrysloate</b><p>Babe Ruth...no doubt.

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12-11-2007, 03:16 PM
Posted By: <b>Clint</b><p>No doubt...Babe Ruth.

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12-11-2007, 03:18 PM
Posted By: <b>rob</b><p>Leon Luckey...perhaps some doubt

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12-11-2007, 03:18 PM
Posted By: <b>Brian</b><p>Babe Ruth, with just a touch of doubt

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12-11-2007, 03:21 PM
Posted By: <b>Fred C</b><p>Babe Ruth<br /><br />

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12-11-2007, 03:22 PM
Posted By: <b>H Murphy</b><p>Ted Williams, without a doubt!

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12-11-2007, 03:23 PM
Posted By: <b>Howard</b><p>The Babe!

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12-11-2007, 03:23 PM
Posted By: <b>Sean</b><p>lol what now we have some thing with doubt

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12-11-2007, 03:35 PM
Posted By: <b>Steve</b><p>The Black Bambino

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12-11-2007, 03:36 PM
Posted By: <b>brock</b><p>The Babe. But I also like Lou Gehrig(hes number 1 in my book).

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12-11-2007, 03:42 PM
Posted By: <b>Joann</b><p>babe ruth<br />no doubt

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12-11-2007, 03:48 PM
Posted By: <b>Jeremy W.</b><p>Teddy Ballgame

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12-11-2007, 04:16 PM
Posted By: <b>jay wolt</b><p>Greatest Hitter - Ty Cobb<br />Greatest Slugger - Babe Ruth<br />Greatest All around Hitter - Ted Williams<br /><br />So to answer the question, Ty Cobb is the greatest hitter.<br />Highest career batting average can attest to that.

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12-11-2007, 04:19 PM
Posted By: <b>leon</b><p>Babe

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12-11-2007, 04:19 PM
Posted By: <b>Dave Haas</b><p>I agree with Jay, it's Ty Cobb. Without a doubt.

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12-11-2007, 04:31 PM
Posted By: <b>Rhett Yeakley</b><p>Joe Sewell (only 114 total strikeouts in 7,132 AB's is unbelievable)<br /><br />...seriously though I would go along with Jay, best "pure hitter" is Cobb, best "slugger" would be Ruth.<br />-Rhett

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12-11-2007, 04:37 PM
Posted By: <b>Jerry Rucker</b><p>I'll put in a token vote for RAJAH<br />Averaged over 400 BA. in a 5 yr stretch, Tough Out..I would say.

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12-11-2007, 04:44 PM
Posted By: <b>Frank Wakefield</b><p>Mr. Cobb has been the best absolute hitter.

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12-11-2007, 04:48 PM
Posted By: <b>Ed Ivey</b><p>If character counts, Stan Musial.

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12-11-2007, 04:54 PM
Posted By: <b>cmoking</b><p><img src="http://photos.imageevent.com/kingyao/cards/websize/FS1920W519BabeRuthAuthentic.jpg">

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12-11-2007, 04:56 PM
Posted By: <b>brock</b><p>"Joe Sewell (only 114 total strikeouts in 7,132 AB's is unbelievable)"<br /><br />Is that the lowest ever for that amount of AB's. All i can say is WOW. A total of 114, today player have that in one year.

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12-11-2007, 04:59 PM
Posted By: <b>leon</b><p>Nice card!!! I like some obscure strips and that is one I do....<br /><br /><img src="http://www.network54.com/Realm/tmp/1197334739.JPG">

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12-11-2007, 05:01 PM
Posted By: <b>Dave F</b><p>Jeff Blauser<br /><br />Sorry I've been drinking <img src="/images/happy.gif" height=14 width=14><br />

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12-11-2007, 05:06 PM
Posted By: <b>cmoking</b><p>Leon, nice card - what is it? I've never seen it before

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12-11-2007, 05:13 PM
Posted By: <b>Clint</b><p>Leon, is that postcard sized? I'm pretty sure I saw one that was advertised as a postcard.<br /><br />Clint

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12-11-2007, 05:35 PM
Posted By: <b>Tony Andrea</b><p>It's a toss up. Babe Ruth & Ted Williams stand tall above the rest.<br />You can't go wrong with either one as your choice.<br /><p>Tony

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12-11-2007, 06:00 PM
Posted By: <b>boxingbaseballgolf33</b><p>Ted Williams Boston Red Sox<br /><br />

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12-11-2007, 06:03 PM
Posted By: <b>Richard L.</b><p>The Cobb/Ruth match-up is a tough one to call. Cobb started<br /> his career a bit earlier and before the big homerun seasons.<br /> Ruth started out as a pitcher(a darn good one too) and one <br />could say he "invented" the big homerun season after being<br /> converted to an outfielder. Here are some stats from<br /> baseballreference.com<br />Based on a 162 game season average <br />(although the season was 154 games then).<br />I find it interesting Ruth averaged 40 more HR's<br />per season, but only 40 RBI's more per season.<br /><br /> ab h 2b 3b hr rbi bb so avg ob% slug.% <br /><br />COBB 610 224 39 16 6 103 67 19 366 434 512 <br /><br />RUTH 544 186 33 9 46 143 133 86 342 474 690<br /><br /><br />Led League:<br /><br />Cobb:------------- Ruth: <br />hits-8------------ hr-12<br />rbi-4------------- rbi-6<br />total bases-6----- total bases-6<br />batting-11-------- slugging-13<br /><br />rbi per hr ratio:<br />Cobb 16 to 1<br />Ruth 3 to 1<br /><br /><br />

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12-11-2007, 06:12 PM
Posted By: <b>neal</b><p>In my opinion:<br /><br />#9 The Splendid Splinter- Theodore Samuel Williams!!!!

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12-11-2007, 06:17 PM
Posted By: <b>leon</b><p>It's the size of a postcard and was a 1921 Barnstorming Ruth Premium. It's on heavy cardboard as can be seen. I haven't ever seen it offered as a postcard but it wouldn't surprise me. Here's an excerpt if anyone is interested, about the 1921 Barnstorming team....I found it at "howstuffworks.com".....<br /><br />__________________________________________________ ___________________________<br />ca.1920<br /><br />When Commissioner Landis heard that Ruth, Bob Meusel, and a few others were planning to take their show on the road, he acted instantly, calling Ruth to command that he stay home. Ruth, not surprisingly, refused. He was on his way to catch the train that would take him to Buffalo, first stop in the tour.<br /><br />"Oh, you are, are you? That's just fine. But if you do, it will be the sorriest thing you ever did in baseball," the enraged judge shouted before he slammed down the receiver. He proceeded to rail at length about the young Ruth's boldness in gutter language. <br /><br />Landis saw the World Series as his domain, and he desperately needed to establish the legitimacy of that Series as a championship, not just another exhibition. Anyone trying to challenge that was defying him personally.<br /><br />Ruth wasn't intimidated. What could Landis do -- refuse to pay him his World Series share? The fact is, playing the World Series cost Babe Ruth money. A good barnstorming tour could put $25,000 in his pocket. <br /><br />Landis laid down the law in frighteningly direct terms: "This case resolves itself into a question of who is the biggest man in baseball, the Commissioner or the player who makes the most home runs." Ruth's bosses, Huston and Ruppert, quietly concurred with the chief.<br /><br />The tour didn't make much money. Bad weather rained out many games. Other cities feared Landis's wrath and cancelled. Many minor league teams, also cowed by the commissioner, forbade the barnstormers to use their fields.<br /><br />The baseball barnstorming over, Ruth went on a vaudeville tour with performer Wellington Cross. The biggest laugh of their act came when a "messenger" delivered a "telegram." <br /><br />Ruth said his line, "It's from Judge Landis."<br /><br />Cross would then respond, "Is it serious?" <br /><br />"I'll say," Ruth replied. "Seventy-five cents, collect."<br /><br />Landis waited until December to hand down his rulings. He withheld World Series shares from Ruth and Meusel and then suspended them from playing until May 20, 1922. It would cost them each 39 days without pay. Ruth was advised to beg for leniency. He went quail hunting instead.<br /><br />The Babe Muddles Through<br /><br />Although an athlete of rare proportions, the 26-year-old Ruth was still an adolescent emotionally. He was good-hearted -- with his first 1922 paycheck he bought a Cadillac for St. Mary's -- but confused.<br /><br />Imagine the poor Babe's emotional muddle. Here he was, a supremely gifted athlete playing the game he loved most dearly at a level of profound excellence no one had ever seen before. His awesome physical skills were at their peak. He was making money no ballplayer had ever approached, more money in one season than most Americans would see in 10 years of work. <br /><br />Early in 1922, he signed a three-year contract for $52,000 a year, more than three times as much as the next highest-paid Yankee. (The story goes that the extra $2,000 was determined by a coin flip because Babe "liked the idea" of making a thousand dollars a week.) He was earning that much again in outside deals, endorsements, vaudeville, and barnstorming. <br /><br />Yet here he was, banned from playing baseball. Banned from doing what he did best (not to mention better than anyone else), and banned from making money at it. The reason?<br /><br />He had played baseball and made money at it.<br /><br />Spring Training 1922<br /><br />Interestingly, the ban of Ruth and Meusel did not apply during spring training. Ruth had singlehandedly turned the expected dollar losses of southern spring workouts into positive cash flow for the team. People paid to see the big lug, no matter where it was. So the team made money. <br /><br />Some say the Yankees made enough on spring training ticket sales to pay Ruth's salary for the entire season. The imperious Landis had no qualms about penalizing the boy-man and his cohort for disobedience, but he could not see fit to take money out of the ample pockets of Ruppert and Huston.<br /><br />During the spring, Landis made a trip to New Orleans (a curious place to locate spring training for a high-living bunch like the Yankees). There, Ruth and Meusel met with him to plead their case for early reinstatement. Landis had already received a petition signed by 10,000 New Yorkers begging for just that. <br /><br />When the two players left, apparently having heard both barrels of a full-blown Landis diatribe, only Babe could speak. His comment: "That guy sure can talk." That night Landis attended a charity game and auction. He proceded to outbid everyone ($250) to win a Ruth-autographed baseball.<br /><br />But Landis wanted more than contrition. He wanted a promise that Ruth would never go on off-season barnstorming tours again. Unless, of course, they were tours from spring training north, in which the Yankees would make most of the money. <br /><br />Ruth bristled against that idea until Huston asked him, "What would happen to the Yankees if you and Meusel got suspended for a whole year?" The Babe saw the light. He was also named captain, a largely honorary title, but one that meant much to him.<br /><br />

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12-11-2007, 06:21 PM
Posted By: <b>Marty Kohler</b><p>The best hitter..........Ruth,.... But if the HOFer`s are standing in line for a pickup game and I get to pick first......... Lou Gehrig <br><br>GO YARD

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12-11-2007, 06:36 PM
Posted By: <b>Dan Bretta</b><p>Hmmm...Ruth was far and away better than any of his contemporaries. Moreso than anyone in the history of the game.<br /><br />Ted Williams I'd put at a close second - what kind of career number would he have without WWII and Korea? Easily 600+ homers.

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12-11-2007, 06:41 PM
Posted By: <b>Joe_G.</b><p>Best Hitter = Cobb<br /><br />Best Regards,<br />Joe Gonsowski

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12-11-2007, 06:50 PM
Posted By: <b>anthony</b><p>cobb and ruth were two different types of hitters but both great.<br /><br />greatest hitter = TY COBB

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12-11-2007, 06:51 PM
Posted By: <b>Frank</b><p>Read Baseball Between The Numbers by Baseball Prospectus for some interesting insight on this topic. They compare Ruth vs Bonds in both relative and absolute terms. Fascinating stuff.

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12-11-2007, 06:59 PM
Posted By: <b>Ted Zanidakis</b><p>LEON<br /><br />Great story on the Babe vs Kenesaw Mtn. Landis.<br /><br />There's another Georgian that a young Ruth got the best of....Ty Cobb. Cobb taunted the young Southpaw in his early pitching years<br /> with Boston. And, more often than not, Ruth would strike him out. It was a battle of Lefty vs Lefty and Ruth prevailed.<br /><br />When comparing Ruth to Cobb, the most meaningful measurement is their Runs Produced Index (RPI).<br /><br />Ruth's RPI = 2.3.....or a Run scored or driven in every 2.3 times at bat.<br /><br />Cobb's RPI = 2.8<br /><br />Ruth wins in this Statistic.<br /><br /><br />TED Z

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12-11-2007, 07:04 PM
Posted By: <b>RC</b><p>Thanks Leon,<br /><br />Interesting story regarding Ruth and the barnstorming tours.<br /><br /><br />RC<br /><br />Oh yeah, greatest hitter... I have to go with the Babe.

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12-11-2007, 07:16 PM
Posted By: <b>Dan Bretta</b><p>Hmmm...interestingly enough I was outbid earlier today on a panorama which has Bob Meusel playing a barnstorming game against the Shell Oil team in California in Nov of 1923.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.shopgoodwill.com/viewItem.asp?ItemID=3203436" target="_new" rel="nofollow">http://www.shopgoodwill.com/viewItem.asp?ItemID=3203436</a>

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12-11-2007, 07:44 PM
Posted By: <b>Dan Koteles</b><p>Cobb<br />Babe Root<br />Phinneus J. Woofee

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12-11-2007, 07:51 PM
Posted By: <b>Lyle</b><p>batting against Ruth . He batted at a .328 clip but I suppose it is lower than his career average of .366 .<br /> COBB all the way !

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12-11-2007, 08:06 PM
Posted By: <b>Chad</b><p>The best I've ever seen, regardless of how he got there.<br /><br />--Chad

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12-11-2007, 08:27 PM
Posted By: <b>joe</b><p>Of course, Ty Cobb, Ruth was a great slugger though.<br /><br />Joe<br /><br /><br /><br /><img src="http://www.network54.com/Realm/tmp/1197347208.JPG"> <br><br>Ty Cobb, Spikes flying!

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12-11-2007, 08:36 PM
Posted By: <b>MVSNYC</b><p>ruth<br />cobb<br />jackson<br /><br />period.

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12-11-2007, 09:03 PM
Posted By: <b>Jeff Lichtman</b><p><img src="http://www.network54.com/Realm/tmp/1197349298.JPG"> <br /><img src="http://www.network54.com/Realm/tmp/1197349375.JPG">

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12-11-2007, 09:06 PM
Posted By: <b>Joann</b><p><img src="http://www.network54.com/Realm/tmp/1197349554.GIF"> <br /><br /><br />(Jeff - don't you also own the Herp's Cobb? A post of that is always in order.)

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12-11-2007, 09:16 PM
Posted By: <b>Jeff Lichtman</b><p>Damn, Cobb cards are great, right?<br /><br /><img src="http://www.network54.com/Realm/tmp/1197349918.JPG"> <br /><img src="http://www.network54.com/Realm/tmp/1197349982.JPG"> <br /><img src="http://www.network54.com/Realm/tmp/1197350088.JPG"> <br />

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12-11-2007, 09:43 PM
Posted By: <b>JK</b><p>Jeff, <br /><br />Great Oxford and Novelty cards.

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12-11-2007, 09:54 PM
Posted By: <b>Frank Wakefield</b><p>I agree with Ed Ivey, that if it is character, then it is Mr. Musial.<br /><br /><br />I recall reading about Cobb going for home runs one day in St. Louis. It was in the 20s, after Ruth had been pounding home runs. He told a writer he would go for home runs that day, I think he hit 4, along with a double or two, in a double header. Maybe I remember that better than it was... Cobb told the reporter that he could do what the Babe was doing, but that his normal style of play was a better approach toward winning. <br /><br />I'll see if I can find that. But I'm sure it won't sway the Ruth diehards.

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12-11-2007, 10:27 PM
Posted By: <b>JimB</b><p><img src="http://img266.imageshack.us/img266/2013/t206cobbbatoffwo7.jpg">

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12-12-2007, 12:34 AM
Posted By: <b>Ken W.</b><p>This one goes to eleven:<br /><br />1. Cobb<br />2. Williams<br />3. Hornsby<br />4. Ruth<br />5. Jackson<br />6. Musial<br />7. Wagner<br />8. Mays<br />9. DiMaggio<br />10. Gehrig<br />11. Mantle<br /><br /><br />

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12-12-2007, 01:06 AM
Posted By: <b>Noel</b><p>Wow, Babe Ruth the 4th greatest hitter of all time? Ruth was the greatest hitter by a landslide. .342 lifetime average and nobody of his era could come close to his power numbers. <br /><br />Honorable mention:<br /><br />Williams<br />Cobb<br />Bonds

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12-12-2007, 01:44 AM
Posted By: <b>David Davis</b><p>Ted Williams, Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Rogers Hornsby, Barry Bonds, and Ty Cobb, in that order. All the others have a better career OBP, and better power numbers than Cobb. Even if you think he belongs in the top 1 or 2, who would you rather face; someone who will most likely single if he gets a hit, or someone who can just as easily clear the bases? <br /><br />In addition, check out the runs created stat. Lifetime Cobb is #5, but for single season highs, he is way down the list.

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12-12-2007, 03:00 AM
Posted By: <b>Anonymous</b><p>No opinion one way or the other except I don't think there is one single greatest hitter. Ruth, Cobb, Jackson, Hornsby, who knows? Good stats will beat good anecdotes everytime and vice versa. Saw Mantle and Williams alot when I was a kid, Musial and Mays some. They were all baseball gods already; I guess Williams was the purest hitter. Of the modern players I have seen, Ichiro comes to mind as the most electrifying hitter. That guy plays like he's trying to bat a thousand. Bonds is a bloody freakshow but he is the definition of danger at the plate. Of the oldtimers mentioned I think I would have most liked to have watched Cobb at bat. His baseball skills along with that crazy edge had to have been really something to witness. <br /><br /><img src="http://www.network54.com/Realm/Dec07/DSC05301.JPG"><br />Here's a snapshot I took in Cooperstown this fall for you Babe Ballgame fans.<br />

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12-12-2007, 06:18 AM
Posted By: <b>Ted Zanidakis</b><p>Absolutely....George Herman Ruth<br /><br />Consider this....Ruth's ability to produce a RUN every 2.3 times At Bat during regular season play....and, produce a RUN every 2.0 times At Bat<br /> during World Series play is simply amazing....and, unequalled.<br /><br />#1 <br /><img src="http://www.freephotoserver.com/v001/tedzan/baberuth49.jpg"><br /><br />#2<br /><img src="http://www.freephotoserver.com/v001/tedzan/cobbsov350.jpg"><br /><br /><br />#3<br /><br /><img src="http://www.freephotoserver.com/v001/tedzan/bowmangumcotedwilliams.jpg"><br /><br /><br />#4<br /><br /><img src="http://www.freephotoserver.com/v001/tedzan/bowman52leaf49musial.jpg"><br /><br /><br /><br />TED Z

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12-12-2007, 06:45 AM
Posted By: <b>Joe D.</b><p>my time:<br />Tony Gwynn<br /><br /><br />all time:<br />Ted Williams?

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12-12-2007, 09:32 AM
Posted By: <b>Kevin Saucier</b><p><br /><br />Pete Rose.

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12-12-2007, 10:00 AM
Posted By: <b>Jason L</b><p>For the body-of-work that was their Major-League careers, I would say Cobb, Hornsby, Shoeless Joe, and Musial.<br /><br />But in terms of single season performance, I would have to go with...<br /><br />ME! I had a killer year in Tee-Ball in 1977. I actually had more hits than AB, my sligging percentage was 8.000, and I was the reason that leagues nationwide got rid of the Tee for kids older than age 6. true story. <br />sort-of.<br /><br />

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12-12-2007, 10:37 AM
Posted By: <b>Rob</b><p>I can't pick just one ...<br /><br />Cobb<br />Ruth<br />Hornsby<br />Bonds<br />Williams<br />Musial<br /><br />The 6 guys above are IMO the greatest hitters ever. I think Wade Boggs deserves honorable mention ... amazing #s from 1983-1989 where he led the AL in AVG 5 of 7 years, and OBP 6 of the 7 years. <br /><br />Rob<br /><img src="/images/happy.gif" height=14 width=14>