Who is the greatest baseball player of all time?

[Carter08]

Originally Posted by BobC

Hmmmm! Thanks Rhett, love the comment about my supposedly chiming in with nothing. Just because I refuse to play the game of arguing over something that can never actually be proven, it doesn't mean I still can't provide factual information and statements in regard to such questions/debates. Or are you now suddenly the "thought police" of the forum in charge of what can and can't be honestly talked about?

I wanted to merely point out that in the Mays/Ruth debate for the supposedly greatest player ever, which it looked like this thread was starting to focus on, the term "greatest player" I assume is in regard to a player's overall total baseball related abilities. The question was not who was the greatest offensive baseball player, who had the highest career WAR, or who was the greatest home run hitter, etc. And the last time I looked, they considered the greatest players to be ones that could do ALL the things required of a ballplayer, which included having speed, hitting for power, hitting for average, fielding, and arm strength. I believe that is what most all scouts look for in potential players, and how they end up judging who are going to potentially be the greatest players. So, if those are the main factors they look for in determining MLB prospects, please explain to me why those same factors wouldn't also be applicable to determining who then are considered the greatest MLB players as well?

Both Mays and Ruth hit for power and average, but obviously Ruth was on top of Mays in those categories. But when it comes to fielding and speed, I believe those categories would go to Mays. That leaves arm strength as the final category, which is probably more of a toss-up between the two, with no real way to properly determine/measure them. Ruth was a great pitcher, but Mays was known for his tremendous arm strength and throwing as well. If YOU want to go ahead and attribute more weight to Ruth's offensive numbers, or the fact that he did get to pitch while Mays did not get the opportunity, so be it, you can do what you want. But quit belittling someone else for simply pointing out FACTS that you may not want to hear or agree with.

And for the record, I never said Mays was better than Ruth. I was just putting out factual information to be considered in the conversation. I assume that is still allowed?

So do you rank Mays ahead of Ruth?