Quote:
Originally Posted by MattyC
Fun hypothetical. No wrong answers here, that's for sure!
I personally value peak performance most of all-- and also am assuming we are making this choice in a hypothetical parallel reality, in which each man is starting from their rookie season over with of course the same talent and potential. As if they were alive today and all three were there for the drafting.
Given Mantle's freak injury in that early stage of career, and given how teams today can better "life coach" their players (Josh Hamilton notwithstanding), I would choose The Mick. When all three were performing at their peak level, he had the edge. He also had that "je ne sais quoi," that x-factor, that star quality, which put butts in seats like no other (though the other two had it as well, just to lesser degrees).
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Maybe. But I'm thinking Mays and Aaron might have been even better had they been able to sleep on comfortable beds, eat real meals, not heard "nigger" yelled at them while they played, and been supported and accepted by all their teammates. It's obviously hypothetical, but I think these things would have impacted their stat lines and star power were they playing today vs during Jim Crow.