Top 30 Pre-WWII Players

[MMarvelli]

Originally Posted by conor912

Again, different eras so I still feel like were comparing apples to oranges, but I will indulge your WS point. Look at the guys who batted around Ruth in the order and those who batted around Cobb. It takes a whole team to win. Look at all those other HOFers on the Yankees! Had Ruth been the only superstar on his team like Cobb was, he never would have seen one pitch to hit.

It seems to me that is faulty logic. A player is judged on what he actually did, not what he could have done if things were different. In that case a player like Ernie Banks should be in the top 5 of the post war 30 because he would have been outstanding if he switched places with Mantle. Cobb was on a team and his stats were his stats to live with. Ruth was on a team and his stats and impact were his to live with. That is the luck of the draw.

Ruth saved the game after the Black Sox scandal put baseball in a tailspin. Ruth took the game to a higher level that is still the model for today. If the argument then reverts to the fact that Ruth did not play with a dead ball, I would agree. Cobb didn't change the game he just played it. Dead ball sucks for Cobb!