Who was the best center fielder of all time?

[barrysloate]

Willie Mays.

[RCMcKenzie]

Mike Trout or Tris Speaker.

[EvilKing00]

Originally Posted by rcmckenzie

mike trout or tris speaker.

rofl!

[Cardboard Junkie]

Say Hey!

[TUM301]

thought of Mays right off the bat but then saw he wasn`t on the list.

[bender07]

Awesome poll that doesn't include the most likely choice. Mays is the best.

[oldphil]

Richie Ashburn you fools. Richie was very good at fouling pitches off trying to work a walk. Once he hit a lady seated down the third base line who needed medical attention and had to be removed from the park. Unfortunately as she was being removed Richie hit her with another foul ball. Actually my choice is Mr. Mays.

[oldjudge]

Ty Cobb, and I don't think it's close. Offensively, the only advantage Mays has is in HRs. Mays was probably a better fielder, but it would have been interesting to see Mays play with the glove Cobb had to use.

[Seiklis]

Mays

[sycks22]

Devon White?

[Zone91]

Why would Ken Griffey jr pass before Mantle he never won a world series and Mantle won 7 of them?

Post # 6

[Paul S]

Originally Posted by Zone91

Why would Ken Griffey jr pass before Mantle he never won a world series and Mantle won 7 of them?

Post # 6

Griffey Jr. didn't play in NY.

[71buc]

Due to absence of Mays in this poll I will go with Griffey. Perhaps I am biased being in the Northwest but Jr is the greatest all around talent I ever saw. I can tell this is the pre war forum. Ty Cobb over Griffey is like believing a Chalmers would beat a Ferrari in a race

[bender07]

Originally Posted by Zone91

Why would Ken Griffey jr pass before Mantle he never won a world series and Mantle won 7 of them?

Post # 6

If Junior plays for the NYY from '51 to '69 he's winning 7 titles too.

[Sean]

Originally Posted by Zone91

Why would Ken Griffey jr pass before Mantle he never won a world series and Mantle won 7 of them?

Post # 6

Adrian, maybe this could be your next poll:
Who was the best player to never play in a World Series?

1- Napoleon Lajoie
2- George Sisler
3- Ernie Banks
4- Rod Carew
5- Ken Griffey Jr.

Did I miss anyone?

[deadballfreaK]

Mays! Mays in the live ball era. Speaker in the deadball era. Cobb was not a great fielder. Dimaggio was the third best CF in his family as far as fielding. Vince and Dom were better. Mantle was third. The NY bias is so great.

[Rickyy]

Playing first in that weird Polo Grounds and then getting rewarded by next being tortured in that windblown Candlestick for years...Willie gets tops...if not at least in the top 3.

Ricky Y

[itjclarke]

Mays.. and not because I'm a Giants fan. He just influenced a game on every level (power, hit for average, glove, RF caliber throwing arm, speed on basepaths on balls in play, speed to steal bases, and intellectually).

Seems like Mays has a huge lead here, which surprises me some since it was nearly neck and neck in the Mantle vs. Mays thread a few weeks back.

[Cardboard Junkie]

Wasn't it Durocher who said of Mays, "If he could cook I'd marry him!".

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by oldjudge

Ty Cobb, and I don't think it's close. Offensively, the only advantage Mays has is in HRs. Mays was probably a better fielder, but it would have been interesting to see Mays play with the glove Cobb had to use.

Better power hitter and better fielder, that's a pretty good start for a center fielder, no? I would give the advantage, by a slight margin, to Mays, although it's always somewhat artificial to compare players across eras. Had Grifffey's career continued at the same trajectory through his 30s, he certainly would be in the discussion, but of course it didn't.

[MMarvelli]

Willie Mays

"The only man who could have caught that ball, hit that ball"

[oldjudge]

Peter-Cobb played in the dead ball era when scoring was lower than during Mays' time, yet Cobb had more RBIs. During most of Cobbs career no one hit a lot of HRs. Otherwise, he compares very favorably to Mays in doubles and triples. As to fielding, Mays was probably better but how do you compare?

[Wymers Auction]

I think we can all agree that Mays should have been a choice. Fun topic.

[RCMcKenzie]

Here are the all-time OF assist leaders by career and season...

http://www.baseball-reference.com/le...f_career.shtml

http://www.baseball-reference.com/le...f_season.shtml
n172ryan169.jpgdiamondsrichardson049.jpg

Ryan is third all-time in assists, and although he is listed as a RF in the n172 series, he also played CF.

Richardson is known primarily as a 2B, but is credited with as many as 45 OF assists in 1881 with Buffalo.

[travrosty]

i say griffey jr.

[auggiedoggy]

Willie Mays!

End of discussion! No really! I have to go to bed now.

[the 'stache]

Willie Mays. Great power, great fielder, and let's not overlook the speed that helped him to be a great fielder. Willie was so fast, he's the only hitter I could think of that would hit a ball up the middle and have it hit him in the butt as he was sliding into second.

[EGreenwood]

That would be Willie Mays

[milkit1]

Tris speaker without a doubt. Everyone says willie mays cause of one great catch caught on film. Speaker was so good he'd play as shallow as possible thus having more unassisted double plays by any outfielder ever. Willie mays? Give me a break.

[steve B]

Originally Posted by milkit1

Tris speaker without a doubt. Everyone says willie mays cause of one great catch caught on film. Speaker was so good he'd play as shallow as possible thus having more unassisted double plays by any outfielder ever. Willie mays? Give me a break.

Speaker could only play that shallow at home and then only after 1911. The stadium was much smaller, allowing him to aggressively chase balls that in other parks were not reachable or couldn't be gone after that hard because missing the ball meant a very long chase back to the wall. A very shallow left also meant he had a lot more chance of backup on a missed ball.

That's one reason it's hard to compare eras, smaller stadiums starting around 1910 meant a huge change in how outfield play was done.

Steve B

[Vintageclout]

FYI, Mantle has ZERO business being on this list. Secondly, many historians don't look at Cobb as a natural centerfielder, but more as a corner outfielder. Where is Willie Mays??? Its either Mays or DiMaggio. For an entire career its Mays, and at peak value DiMaggio wins the prize because he was a more formidable hitter. All depends on how you are judging a ballplayer's career vs. peak value.

Joe T.

[Pinstriper780]

Ty Cobb (obviously great hitter, but VERY average fielder)

I'm going with Mick or Mays. Power and both were above excellent defensively.

[oldjudge]

It wasn't so much that Mantle didn't take care of himself; the problem was he tore up his knee early in his career on a sprinkler head (I believe) in the outfield at Yankee Stadium and he was never the same player again. He used to have his knee taped for every game thereafter and many times the bandage were bloody when the game was over. I saw most of Mantle's and Mays' careers so I can answer Ted's question. I was a rabid Yankee fan, but I never thought that Mantle was a clutch player. The guys you could rely on in a close game were Berra, Skowron and Richardson. Mantle was a good, not a great fielder. In fact, later in his career he was taken out in later innings for defensive purposes and replaced by Jack Reed. Mays was a terror to play against. When he got on the bases he was a big distraction to pitchers. However, when I watched him play, I never thought of him as an all time great. He was a very good hitter who played a long time and put up some big numbers.Getting back to Mantle, I can tell you that throughout his career in NY there was never any question in fan's minds who was a better centerfielder, Mantle or DiMaggio. Everyone I knew who had seen both play thought DiMaggio was better. Every all time all star team I ever saw put together through the 1970s always had the outfield of Ruth, Cobb and DiMaggio. Somehow, people who have never seen these players play have decided to somehow downgrade DiMaggio. I think this is a mistake.

[tedzan]

Originally Posted by oldjudge

It wasn't so much that Mantle didn't take care of himself; the problem was he tore up his knee early in his career on a sprinkler head (I believe) in the outfield at Yankee Stadium and he was never the same player again. He used to have his knee taped for every game thereafter and many times the bandage were bloody when the game was over. I saw most of Mantle's and Mays' careers so I can answer Ted's question. I was a rabid Yankee fan, but I never thought that Mantle was a clutch player. The guys you could rely on in a close game were Berra, Skowron and Richardson. Mantle was a good, not a great fielder. In fact, later in his career he was taken out in later innings for defensive purposes and replaced by Jack Reed. Mays was a terror to play against. When he got on the bases he was a big distraction to pitchers. However, when I watched him play, I never thought of him as an all time great. He was a very good hitter who played a long time and put up some big numbers.Getting back to Mantle, I can tell you that throughout his career in NY there was never any question in fan's minds who was a better centerfielder, Mantle or DiMaggio. Everyone I knew who had seen both play thought DiMaggio was better. Every all time all star team I ever saw put together through the 1970s always had the outfield of Ruth, Cobb and DiMaggio. Somehow, people who have never seen these players play have decided to somehow downgrade DiMaggio. I think this is a mistake.

OK Jay....well said. However, I have to differ with you on certain events.

1st....Mantle's "sprinkler injury" occurred in his rookie year in the 1951 World Series. Sure, he suffered from it with chronic leg problems; however, it did not stop Mantle
from being the fastest AL player running down to 1st base in a quick 3.0 seconds.

It also didn't stop Mickey from covering a lot of ground in that spacious outfield in Yankee Stadium. Indeed, his tremendous catch of Gil Hodges deep, deep drive to the
Monuments in Don Larsen's Perfect Game in the 1956 World Series was an amazing event to see....and, I did see it that day in October.

2nd....this comment of your's....."I never thought that Mantle was a clutch player".....tells me that you could not have seen Mickey play in the 1950's (or early 1960's).
If time allowed, I could fill up pages of events where I saw Mantle produce in the "clutch". I will never forget in the 1953 World Series when Mantle hit a GRAND SLAM to
beat the Dodgers at Ebbets Field.

I also saw Joe DiMaggio play from 1947 - 1951. And, I certainly agree with you that Joe D. as a Centerfielder was better than Mantle (and, even Mays).


T-Rex TED
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[Hcom24]

The Say Hey Kid