Who is the greatest player of the Pre-War Era?

Frankish · #1 09-23-2021, 10:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrreality68

But it is baseball and we always compare players and teams across different era in baseball
It is part of the Allure of baseball and the history of baseball that makes it fun but also endless debates.
WE all use different criteria, we use different stats, we use the same stats but use it differently.

Exactly. This is what makes it fun. In this case, particularly the definition of "greatest."

My vote went to Ruth. I've read some good arguments for Wagner and Cobb but, in the end, to my mind they don't overshadow the case for Ruth. Maybe it's just how I think about greatness....

Sadly, we will never really know about the Negro League players. I'm not an expert, but I suspect that Oscar Charleston and Josh Gibson (and Martin Dihigo) would have excelled in the majors, not just survived there but been star players. There's really no way to know if either of them could have matched the babe, but since (to my mind) no one else in that era did, I think the inconclusive result should go in Ruth's favor.

Also, for what it's worth, with respect to NL players vs Satchel Paige for a few at bats, etc., I don't think we can draw much in the way of useful conclusions. There just isn't enough data. If we were able to make those extrapolations, then the greatest Pre-War player might be Eiji Sawamura....

akleinb611 · #2 09-26-2021, 05:25 PM

Many, many, (MANY!) years ago, a college friend, who was an outstanding logician, answered this question thusly:

Babe Ruth was the greatest player who ever lived, because if someone asks you who the greatest player who ever lived was, and your answer ISN'T Babe Ruth, your first job is to explain why your answer isn't Babe Ruth.

I can't improve on that.

Alan

Fred · #3 09-26-2021, 05:28 PM

At first, I thought it was a trick question...

FourStrikes · #4 09-28-2021, 08:54 AM

Boom!, sir!

Quote:

Originally Posted by akleinb611

Many, many, (MANY!) years ago, a college friend, who was an outstanding logician, answered this question thusly:

Babe Ruth was the greatest player who ever lived, because if someone asks you who the greatest player who ever lived was, and your answer ISN'T Babe Ruth, your first job is to explain why your answer isn't Babe Ruth.

I can't improve on that.

Alan

View Poll Results: Sorry for the initial misstep in posting this poll. Please weigh in with your vote.
Ty Cobb	100	18.69%
Honus Wagner	21	3.93%
Rogers Hornsby	3	0.56%
Joe Jackson	3	0.56%
Lou Gehrig	16	2.99%
Josh Gibson	9	1.68%
Babe Ruth	355	66.36%
Frank Baker	2	0.37%
Walter Johnson	7	1.31%
None of the above	22	4.11%
Multiple Choice Poll. Voters: 535. You may not vote on this poll

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