Who is the greatest right handed hitter of all time?

[molenick]

If you mean just as a hitter, I will say Hornsby. If you mean as an overall player, I will say Mays.

[Tyruscobb]

Rajah was the greatest right-handed hitter and it’s not even “that” debatable. He has the second highest lifetime batting average; three .400 seasons; two Triple Crowns; seven batting titles; two MVPs; and a partridge in a pear tree.

Every other mentioned player is just vying for second place.

[Scocs]

Originally Posted by molenick

If you mean just as a hitter, I will say Hornsby. If you mean as an overall player, I will say Mays.

+1

[Tabe]

I wouldn't call him the best ever but Miguel Cabrera deserves to be mentioned ahead of guys like Pete Browning. 500 homers, 3000 hits, .300 average, and a Triple Crown. Know how many right-handed hitters have done that? One. Miggy.

[darwinbulldog]

Originally Posted by molenick

If you mean just as a hitter, I will say Hornsby. If you mean as an overall player, I will say Mays.

This^

[skelly423]

Originally Posted by molenick

If you mean just as a hitter, I will say Hornsby. If you mean as an overall player, I will say Mays.

That’s exactly what i meant when I asked the question. Rogers was a terrible fielder.

[Tomi]

Frank Robinson should be on a list like this.

[jsfriedm]

Not sure how people want to consider this, but Mantle was a much better right-handed hitter than lefty - he hit .330 for his career righty. So can we include right-handed Mantle on the list?

[Seven]

Originally Posted by jsfriedm

Not sure how people want to consider this, but Mantle was a much better right-handed hitter than lefty - he hit .330 for his career righty. So can we include right-handed Mantle on the list?

Mantle also was never the same from the left handed side of the plate after Red Schoendist landed on his right shoulder in the World Series.

As for the question, I'd probably say Hornsby or Foxx. I think depending on how the rest of his career shapes up, however, we might be able to say Mike Trout.

[rats60]

Dead Ball Era - Honus Wagner
Pre-integration Live Ball Era - Rogers Hornsby
Modern Era - Willie Mays

[obcbobd]

Originally Posted by rats60

Dead Ball Era - Honus Wagner
Pre-integration Live Ball Era - Rogers Hornsby
Modern Era - Willie Mays

Good choices, I might go with Aaron over Mays.

One guy no one has mentioned Manny Ramirez. He certainly has his negatives but man could he hit

[packs]

Rickey Henderson was right handed too. I don't know everyone's definition of hitter but if I'm fielding a team I'm probably gonna look twice at a guy who leads of all baseball in runs.

[HistoricNewspapers]

Originally Posted by rats60

Dead Ball Era - Honus Wagner
Pre-integration Live Ball Era - Rogers Hornsby
Modern Era - Willie Mays

Good classifications.

I would add one more era, a combo era; 2nd Live ball/Modern era 1990's-present. You can add Pujols, Cabrera, Trout, Frank Thomas etc to get their proper due as they played in a much different era than Mays too.

[CurtisFlood]

Originally Posted by molenick

If you mean just as a hitter, I will say Hornsby. If you mean as an overall player, I will say Mays.

Agree on both.

[5-Tool Player]

Originally Posted by molenick

If you mean just as a hitter, I will say Hornsby. If you mean as an overall player, I will say Mays.

Amen.....Hornsby could weld a bat, but "Say Hey" Willie Mays could bring it and then some. Willie was a site to see.

Make it a GREAT week !

[FrankWakefield]

It's about hitting... period.

It's not who has the best WAR, MVPs, or anything else. It's not about most homeruns. The question was hitting.


Koufax has 4 World Series rings, and an MVP award... he must have been a great right handed hitter.

[nolemmings]

Frank,

I'm waiting for your Kirby Puckett nomination as greatest right-handed hitter, given your strenuous support of his HOF enshrinement

[1952boyntoncollector]

muhammad Ali was a right handed hitter boy could he hit..best all time

[FrankWakefield]

Todd, Jake, thank you both, you've given me smiles to start my day.

I guess I should suggest Mike Schmidt as the greatest right handed hitter... but then I'd have to post about how misguided that would be. He was a mediocre hitter. He could crunch home runs, excellent fielder, great arm on those long throws from third base. He had a lot of walks, some attributable to a good eye and plate discipline, some intentional walks, and some because the defense just wanted to pitch around him given the situation.

I saw Mays and Aaron in the mid 60s. Aaron could move the bat through the strike zone with what seemed minimal effort; a quick, smooth swing. As a kid then, I didn't appreciate what was involved in moving the hands closer to the plate, or further away, because the pitch was out or in... Aaron was a smooth fielder, he would run, field, and throw in a way that didn't draw attention to what he was doing. Mays was different. He'd catch balls on the move. If the ball was hit 20' to his right, he'd break late and be moving as he got to where the ball was; if the ball was 70' to his left he'd break on the ball and be moving as he caught that ball. And he'd do that basket catch that little league coaches hated. If he was throwing a ball back in with no one on, it most likely was thrown underhanded. Running the bases he'd lose his hat; rounding third his arms would be churning on those broad shoulders and he looked like a freight train heading toward the plate. Catchers in their gear were hardly a match for Willie with a head of steam heading for the plate.

I remain unconvinced that there's been a better right handed hitter since Rogers Hornsby. Aaron and Mays were great right handed sluggers, and hitters. Wagner was pretty good, he wasn't just a face on a ball card. In a few years when we see the final totals on Trout, I think they'll be a slightly short of Pujols' numbers.

So I think that Mr. Reality 68 back up there in post #11 has the top five listed:

Hornsby
Aaron
Mays
Wagner
Pujols


It'd take a bunch of listing before we reached whatever number Kirby P would be.

[Stuke1976]

Originally Posted by nolemmings

Frank,

I'm waiting for your Kirby Puckett nomination as greatest right-handed hitter, given your strenuous support of his HOF enshrinement

If you compare Trout to Puckett, how close are the stats?

Trout leads in HR and BB, which lend to higher OBS percentage. Puckett played 150 games 8 times, Trout 4. Trout has great stats for generating WAR. Puckett would take a swing versus a walk. Personally, I would rather have a guy up there swinging with runners in scoring position. Look how low Tony Gwynn's WAR is for being such a great hitter. Low walk totals each year. It just appears to me that BB, which are better than outs most of the time, are overrated.

Back on point, my number 1 Right-Handed Hitter would be Josh Gibson.

[FrankWakefield]

Best right handed HITTER from all time...

[FrankWakefield]

Rajah!!!