Posted By:
Frank WakefieldTo be clear, my thinking is still that Wagner was the best player of all time.
This 1942 Sporting News thing was seeking the opinion of 100 former players and managers. I don't know who they all were. I'd think their mental faculties at the time would have been ok, I don't think they were any more addle-minded than we here are now. TSN was asking about who the BEST PLAYER was, ever.
I perceive Walter Johnson as the greatest pitcher ever. Walter pitched to Cobb, Ruth, and Wagner. In 1942 Johnson voted Cobb the best player all time.
As I stated at the start, I first thought Cobb the best, then after several years I considered Ruth the best. Now I think that Wagner was the best. The stats folks look at are deceptive... but if you go by what contemporary baseball men thought, that seems more meaningful. I still think Wagner the best, but this 1942 TSN think has me leaning back to Cobb.
You have to know that TSN isn't asking a bunch of knuckleheads on a baseball card board who was the best. The were asking many current and soon to be HOFers... Connie Mack, Walter Johnson, Tris Speaker, Eddie Collins... 60 guys of that caliber voted for Cobb. Put your record books down and ask if the Babe was the best, why are they voting for Ty? It isn't because he was a good friend of theirs. Maybe Ty was the best. Not the best home run hitter. Not the best pitcher + player. Not the biggest personality. Maybe not the best stats. Just the best player.