Top 3 — Most Important

[Casey2296]

Originally Posted by todeen

I think we're cutting hairs asking about generational game-changers. All of the following are exceptional choices for top three most impactful individuals:
1) Anson....for good and bad.
2) Ruth.... popularized the game around the world and helped keep interest after 1919 cheating scandal.
3) Rickey & Jackie should be a pair honored together.
4) Curt Flood for his free agent lawsuit.
5) McGwire and Sosa should also be considered as a trio with Bud Selig. Their choices and opportunities for good and bad changed baseball.
6) Rob Manfred...I think he's an idiot, he can't censor himself, but he's trying to modernize the game to attract younger viewers and in 20 years he might be revered for his actions.

Sent from my SM-G9900 using Tapatalk

In 20 years Manfred may also be known as the first commissioner to allow gambling to infiltrate MLB.

[BobbyStrawberry]

Originally Posted by Casey2296

In 20 years Manfred may also be known as the first commissioner to allow gambling to infiltrate MLB.

And the guy who permanently ruined extra inning baseball during the regular season

[cgjackson222]

Originally Posted by BobbyStrawberry

I would argue with it, as King Kelly was the game's first superstar, not Cobb

Yeah, its hard to pin down one original superstar.

There was Ross Barnes, George Wright, Jim Creighton, King Kelly, and Dan Brouthers among other early stars of the game.

[FrankWakefield]

Quite a few well thought out responses...

1 Cap Anson
2 Babe Ruth
3 Jackie Robinson


4 AG Spalding
5 Curt Flood
6 Ty Cobb
7 Christy Mathewson (people would go to see the college boy pitch)
8 John Montgomery Ward
9 Lou Gehrig
10 John McGraw

[Casey2296]

Lefty O'Doul should be on the list somewhere for fostering professional baseball in Japan.

[Schlesinj]

Originally Posted by Casey2296

Lefty O'Doul should be on the list somewhere for fostering professional baseball in Japan.

The Philadelphia Royal Giants helped too.

[Bigdaddy]

I think when we are talking about most important, we have to ask "If I had to tell the tale of baseball to a stranger and could only mention three players, who would they be?"

I have no argument against the Big 2 mentioned earlier - Ruth and Jackie. Both had immense impact on the game, on and off the field. But if we look back, Jackie's debut in 1947 was 76 years ago and the game of baseball has undergone some pretty significant changes in those 76 years. To me, the biggest was the introduction of free agency in the 1970's. Curt Flood started down that path, but he only only cracked the wall, he didn't bring it down. It was Catfish Hunter, on New Year's Eve of 1974, whose contract with the A's was voided enabling him to sign with whatever team he desired. There were some more legal maneuverings after that, but Catfish was officially the first free agent. That was the first big change in the balance of power in the majors and would set the stage for where we are today with player's salaries.

So my Top 3 Most Important are:

Babe Ruth
Jackie Robinson
Catfish Hunter

[EddieP]

1) Doc Adams: wrote the “Rules of Baseball”, invented the shortstop position, advocated for the 9 man and 9 inning game, set the base paths 90 feet apart. Should be in the HOF.
2) Babe Ruth
3) Jackie Robinson

[Misunderestimated]

Harry Wright
Ruth
Jackie
=====
Ruth and Jackie are undeniable....I also thought about Spalding and Ward instead of Harry Wright for the 19th Century slot..... Others who come to mind are Rube Foster (the father of the first Negro Leagues and a great pitcher), Cal Ripken (for reinvigorating the game post-strike), John McGraw for strategic impact, Ned Hanlon for his "managerial tree" (which included McGraw !); Amos Rusie and Bob Gibson both semed to bring about rule changes; Ted Williams (not just for his singular excellence as a hitter but for speaking out for including the Negro Leaguers in the HOF); Roberto Clemente; and, projecting out a little, I think Ichiro Suzuki will be considered very important.

Other players were truly great but I'm not sure how "important" they really were: Nichols, Young, Cobb, Speaker, Gehrig, Hornsby, Ott, DiMaggio, Mantle, McGwire, Barry Bonds, Pujols and ARod...

[Tabe]

Ruth & Jackie are obvious.

Curt Flood is an interesting choice though, ultimately, he failed. Andy Messersmith and Dave McNally were the ones who ended the reserve clause.

Maybe Barry Bonds - his destruction of the record book brought us steroid testing.

[toledo_mudhen]

Originally Posted by Casey2296

In 20 years Manfred may also be known as the first commissioner to allow gambling to infiltrate MLB.

Does that mean that Pete Rose will be eligible to play again?

[Mark]

After Ruth and Jackie Robinson, one possibility for a distant 3rd is Matty. Back in the 19th century, ballplayers were a pretty rough bunch. Mathewson was a good looking, very clean cut, college man who didn't pitch on Sundays. He made baseball seem more respectable to lots of people, and he did alot to make NYC crazy about baseball at the start of the 20th century.

[Casey2296]

Originally Posted by toledo_mudhen

Does that mean that Pete Rose will be eligible to play again?

Might as well let him and Joe Jax in the Hall, when you have sportscasters keeping you updated on the betting line the Horse has clearly left the barn.

[Touch'EmAll]

Important. In my lifetime, Aaron's lead up to and breaking the Babe's 714 is tops. But is anyone in my lifetime making this list of 3 ?

Can't go wrong with choosing Jackie Robinson and all the importance that brings to the table.

My instinct then goes to Cobb and Ruth.

[Rhotchkiss]

Originally Posted by Casey2296

Might as well let him and Joe Jax in the Hall, when you have sportscasters keeping you updated on the betting line the Horse has clearly left the barn.

Regarding Joe Jackson- his exclusion from the hall of fame is a huge part of his fame and notoriety. At this point, considering he and likely all his immediate next of kin and everyone who ever saw him play are dead, his legacy may actually be better preserved/honored by keeping him out and keeping the legend of the black sox scandal alive and well. Moreover, his career was cut short because of the ban. Who knows what he would have done with a full career. The continued exclusion validates that (not sure that’s the right word, but I hope you get my point that putting him the HOF would discount what his career would have been had he had a full career).

Thus, at this point, I think it would almost be wrong to Joe to put him the HOF; it would dilute or alter his legacy which is rightly and currently larger than the typical tier 1 HOFer

[jsfriedm]

Ryan, your reasoning sounds a lot like what I think about the declaration that the Negro Leagues are Major Leagues and the inclusion of Negro League statistics in the official record. No, the Negro Leagues were not Major Leagues - they were created because Blacks were excluded from the Major Leagues, that is the whole point. Posthumously pretending they weren't doesn't help them, and it shouldn't assuage anyone's conscience either. And cobbling together a few box scores to pretend we know how many home runs Josh Gibson hit in 1938 doesn't help his legend either, it diminishes it. We are better off accepting that they were excluded, that it was unjust, and that we will never really know how good they were or what they could have accomplished.

[LincolnVT]

I thought this was interesting: https://www.sportworldnews.org/boxin...e-final-top10/

[oldjudge]

Reflecting on this some more I think to be one of the three most important players your fame needs to transcend the sport. You have to be known to people who know nothing about baseball. To me that makes it clear that it is Ruth, Robinson and DiMaggio. While players like Mantle, Mays and Cobb were great, they really weren't household names outside of baseball. DiMaggio may not has been as great as Mays but he was certainly better known.

[G1911]

Originally Posted by LincolnVT

I thought this was interesting: https://www.sportworldnews.org/boxin...e-final-top10/

Interesting take. "Tom Brady has won multiple Super Bowls and established himself as one of football's most iconic faces. His professionalism and consistency inspired many young players and helped make football one of the most popular sports in America." As if Football wasn't 'one of the most popular spots in America' decades before Brady.