#7 - Bob Gibson (1935- )

"Hoot"  "Gibby"

Teams:
St. Louis Cardinals (1959-1975)

Career Statistics:
W-L:  251-174
W-L %:  .590
ERA:  2.91
Strikeouts:  3,117
BB:  1,336
CG:  255
SHO:  56
IP:  3884.1
WHIP:  1.188

Pack Robert Gibson was born in Omaha, Nebraska in 1935.  His father died of tuberculosis three months before his birth, and Bob was named Pack in honor of him.  Bob didn't particularly like the name Pack, and later officially changed his first name to Robert.  Though he suffered from numerous health problems as a child, notably rickets and asthma, he excelled in sports, such as basketball and baseball. 

He attended Omaha Technical High School where he participated in track, baseball, and basketball.  He was named to the All-State basketball team his senior year by a newspaper in Lincoln, and later won a full athletic scholarship to Creighton University.  At the end of his junior year of college, he was averaging 22 points per game for the basketball team and made third team Jesuit All-American.  After he graduated, he courted offers from both the Harlem Globetrotters and the St. Louis Cardinals.  He was offered a $3,000 signing bonus to play for the Cardinals, which he accepted, though he spent a year playing with the Globetrotters.  He continued playing basketball in the offseason after beginning his baseball career, but later quit when Cardinals general manager, Bing Devine offered him $4,000 to hang it up.  Gibson attended spring training in 1958 with the Cardinals before being sent to the minors for the regular season.

He was assigned to the Cardinals major league roster in 1959 and made his big league debut on April 15 as a relief pitcher.  He was sent back to the minors briefly before returning July 30 as a starting pitcher.  He earned his first win as a pro that day.  In 1960, he was shuffled back and forth between the Cardinals and their Rochester affiliate until mid-June.  After compiling a 3-6 record and 5.61 ERA for the season, he traveled to Venezuela to play winter ball.  In 1961, Cardinals skipper Solly Hemus rotated Gibson back and forth between starting pitcher duties and the bullpen for the first half of the season.  When Hemus was replaced by Johnny Keane in July, Gibson was moved permanently into the starting rotation.  He posted an 11-6 record with a 3.24 ERA.

In late May of the 1962 season, Gibson pitched 22 2/3 scoreless innings and was named to his first All-Star team.  In spite of suffering a broken ankle late in the season, Gibson still managed to strike out over 200 batters.  His rehabilitation was slow and he had only posted one win May 19, 1963.  He then rattled off six straight wins by late-July.  His offensive production was also impressive, driving home 20 runs which exceeded the combined RBI totals of all other National League pitching staffs.

In 1964, Gibson's pitching prowess led the Cardinals to the World Series, where they faced the New York Yankees.  Gibson and Yankees ace Mel Stottlemyre faced one another in three of the series' seven games.  Gibson lost Game 2, but prevailed in Game 5.  In Game 7, Gibson pitched into the ninth inning, but gave up homeruns to Phil Lenz and Clete Boyer, making the score 7-5, Cardinals.  As a reliever was warming up in the bullpen, Gibson retired Bobby Richardson, winning the game and the Series for the Cardinals.

On July 15, 1967, the Pirates' Roberto Clemente hit a line drive off Gibson's right leg.  He faced three more batters before the bone snapped right above the ankle.  He returned September 7 and the Cardinals soon secured the National League pennant.  In the World Series that season, the Cardinals faced the Boston Red Sox.  Over three complete games, Gibson allowed only three earned runs and fourteen hits.  The Cardinals prevailed once again, with Gibson pitching the decisive Game 7, and even hitting a homer in the game.

In 1968, Gibson posted a 1.12 era, which remains a record in the "live-ball" era.  He threw 13 shutouts, and between June 2 and July 30, allowed only two earned runs in ninety-two innings pitched.  Opposing hitters batted a meager .184 off of him, with .233 OBP.  He also pitched forty-seven consecutive scoreless innings on his way to the National League MVP award.  In Game 1 of the 1968 World Series, Gibson struck out 17 Tiger's batters, a record which still stands.  The Cardinals ultimately lost the Series 4-3.

Gibson's stellar performance in 1968 is widely considered to be one of the driving forces behind lowering the pitcher's mound from 15 inches to 10 inches starting in the 1969 season.  However, this did not change anything, as Gibson posted a 20-13 record with a 2.18 ERA, 4 shutouts, and 28 complete games in '68.  On August 4, 1971, Gibson earned his 200th career victory.  Ted days later, he pitched a no-hitter against the Pittsburgh Pirates.  On July 17, 1974, he fanned his 3,000th batter.

Bob Gibson's hitting prowess was unusual among pitchers.  He was sometimes used as a pinch hitter and ended his career with a .206 batting average, 44 doubles, 5 triples, 24 homers, and 144 RBI.  Eventually, Gibson's wild delivery began to take its toll on his right knee.  In 1975, his final season, he put up a 3-10 record with a 5.04 ERA.  Early that season, he announced his retirement.  In his final appearance, he was brought in as a reliever against the Cubs in a game that was tied 6-6.  He ended up giving up the game-winning grand slam.  In his career, Gibson won nine Gold Glove Awards, the World Series MVP in '64 and '67, and the Cy Young Award in '68 and '70.

Gibson was known throughout his career as a fierce competitor who was not afraid to throw brushback pitches to show the batters who was in charge.  Young players were often warned by veterans not to dig in against Gibson because he would knock them down.  Hank Aaron once said that he would knock his own grandmother down if she challenged him.  Still yet, he had excellent control, hitting only 102 batters in his career.  When his friend and teammate, Bill White, was traded to the Phillies, Gibson hit him in the arm.  In 1992 during an Old-Timer's Game, Reggie Jackson hit a homerun off of Gibson.  At the following year's Old-Timer's Game, Gibson threw Reggie a brushback pitch and he ended up not getting a hit. 

After retirement, Gibson returned to Omaha and served on the board of a local bank, became the principal investor in a radio station, and opened his own restaurant.  He also worked as a color analyst for ABC's Monday Night Baseball in 1976.  He returned to baseball in 1981, working as a coach for Joe Torre, who was managing the New York Mets.  He was also inducted into the Hall of Fame that year.  He stuck with Torre after he accepted a job as the manager of the Atlanta Braves and remained in that position until 1984.  He then began hosting a pre- and post-game show for Cardinals games from 1985 to 1989.  After that, he worked as a color commentator for ESPN in 1990, but resigned due to the time he had to spend away from his family.  Gibson currently serves as Vice President of the Baseball Assistance Team, an organization dedicated to helping former baseball players through financial and medical hardships.

#8 - Pedro Martinez (1971- )

Teams:
Los Angeles Dodgers (1992-1993)
Montreal Expos (1994-1997)
Boston Red Sox (1998-2004)
New York Mets (2005-2008)
Philadelphia Phillies (2009)

Career Statistics:
W-L:  219-100
W-L %:  .687
ERA:  2.93
Strikeouts:  3,154
BB:  760
CG:  46
SHO:  17
IP:  2,827.1
WHIP:  1.05

Pedro Jaime Martinez was born in Manoguayabo, Dominican Republic in 1971.  In 1988, he was signed as an amateur free agent with the Los Angeles Dodgers.  He spent several years in the Dodgers's farm system, and was finally called up to the majors on September 24, 1992, where he worked two scoreless innings of relief against the Cincinnati Reds.  On September 30, he made his first start, also against the Reds, though it was in a losing effort.  Dodgers skipper, Tommy Lasorda, often used Martinez as a reliever, as he felt him too small to be a reliable starting pitcher. 

In 1993, Martinez became the Dodgers's setup man, posting a 10-3 record with a 2.61 ERA and 119 strikeouts in 65 games played.  Prior to the 1994 season, Martinez was traded to the Montreal Expos for Delino DeShields because the Dodgers were in dire need of a second baseman due to a contract dispute with Jody Reed.

It was with the Expos that Martinez began developing into a top pitcher.  On June 3, 1995, he pitched nine perfect innings against the San Diego Padres before giving up a hit in the bottom of the 10th inning.  He was promptly removed from the game, but ended up being credited with the win.  In 1997, he sported a 17-8 record and led the league in ERA (1.90), strikeouts (305), and complete games (13).  The 13 complete games gave him the tie for second most in a season.  He would also win the National League Cy Young Award that season.

Martinez was traded to the Boston Red Sox in November 1997 as he was approaching free agency.  His impact was immediate, as he went 19-7 and finished second in the American League in strikeouts, ERA, WHIP, and in Cy Young voting.  1999 saw Martinez post one of the greatest pitching performances in history with a 23-4 record, 2.07 ERA, and 313 strikeouts.  These numbers gave him the pitcher's Triple Crown for '99.  He was unanimously selected as the AL Cy Young winner and came in second in MVP voting, though many felt he had been robbed in this regard.

Despite the amazing year Pedro had in 1999, 2000 was even more impressive.  His ERA was a miniscule 1.74 which was nearly half the second-lowest ERA in the American League (Roger Clemens's 3.70).  He also gave up only 128 hits in 217 innings pitched, which translated to 5.13 hits per 9 innings pitched, the third lowest mark on record.  He also won his third Cy Young.  Though his record was 18-6, those numbers don't reflect what a phenomenol season he had that year.  In his six losses, he had 60 strikeouts, 8 walks, and only 30 hits allowed with a 2.44 ERA and .79 WHIP.  He averaged eight innings per start.  In two of his losses, he was beaten by the Yanks's Andy Pettitte, one of the premier pitchers of the time.  The other four losses were each by only one run.  In fact, his first loss of the season 1-0 complete game in which he fanned 17 batters and walked only one.  His WHIP this season was 0.74  which broke the record set by Walter Johnson in 1913.

Midway through the 2001 season, Martinez suffered a rotator cuff injury and was placed on the disabled list.  He ended up finishing with a 7-3 record, and 2.39 ERA, and 163 strikeouts in only 116 innings pitched.  He rebounded in 2002, and led the league in ERA (2.26), WHIP (0.923), and strikeouts (239), and amassed a 20-6 record.  However, the Cy Young Award ended up going to the Oakland A's Barry Zito, in spite of the fact that he had a higher ERA, higher WHIP, fewer strikeouts, and lower winning percentage.  It was the first time since the introduction of the Cy Young Award that the pitcher who led the league in all of these statistics didn't win the trophy.

Pedro posted a 14-4 record in 2003, led the league with a 2.22 ERA, a 1.04 WHIP, and finished second in strikeouts by a single K.  He came in third in the Cy Young voting.  In spite of an unusually high 3.90 ERA, Martinez managed a 16-9 record in 2004 and helped the Boston Red Sox win their first World Series in 86 years.

Pedro Martinez became a free agent after the 2004 championship season, and ended up signing a 4-year contract with the New York Mets.  In his first season, he posted a 15-8 record with a 2.82 ERA, 208 strikeouts, and a 0.95 WHIP, which led the league.  Opposing hitters batted only .204 against him.  Martinez had a very promising start in 2005, but it fizzled quickly.  By the end of May, he was 5-1 with a 2.50 ERA with 88 strikeouts.  However, on May 26, 2005, he was told by the umpires that he needed to change his undershirt.  As he was walking down the players' tunnel to the locker room, he slipped and fell, injuring his hip.  Although he finished the game, it was a losing effort.  But beginning on June 6, he went 4-7 with a 7.10 ERA with a couple of visits to the DL thrown in.  For the last two months of the season, he was hobbled by a calf injury.  MRI's revealed a torn muscle in Martinez's left calf, as well as a torn rotator cuff.  He ended up requiring surgery which sidelined him for most of the 2007 season.

On September 3, 2007, Martinez returned from the disabled list and earned his 207th career win and collected his 3,000th strikeout.  He ended up going 3-1 in five starts with a 2.57 ERA.  However, his last start was a 3-0 loss during the Mets's historic collapse at the end of the season.  Martinez performed well in the game, pitching seven innings, giving up two earned runs, seven hits, one walk, and eight strikeouts. 

The injury woes followed Pedro into 2008, as he strained his left hamstring just four innings into his first game of the season.  He was out for two months.  He ended up posting a paltry 5-6 record, the first true losing season of his career.  His ERA and WHIP were also the highest ever (5.61 and 1.57, respectively).

Martinez became a free agent after the conclusion of the 2008 season, though he failed to sign with a team during the winter.  He instead joined the Dominican Republic's team for the 2009 World Baseball Classic, hoping that a Major League team would take notice of his arm and sign him to a contract, even if just as a backup.  He pitched well, but his team was eliminated early and no contracts were offered.  Later, he was offered a one-year contract with the Philadelphia Phillies.  He made his debut August 12, 2009, earning a win.  Philadelphia ended up winning each of Pedro's first seven starts.  He pitched well in the NLCS, and in the World Series against the New York Yankees.  However, he ended up giving up four hits in four innings to the Yanks in Game Six, giving them the championship. 

After the Series, Pedro announced that he had no intention of retiring, though 2010 came and went without him signing with any club.  In December 2010, Pedro said he didn't expect to ever pitch again, but was reluctant to officially announce his retirement.  Though some inquiries were made prior to the 2011 season, Pedro remains unsigned.

Martinez's career has been saddled with several close-calls.  On April 13, 1994, he took a perfect game into the eighth inning, when he hit Cincinnati's Reggie Sanders with a pitch.  Sanders charged the mound, and was later lambasted by fans and the press for believing that a pitcher would ruin a perfect game just to intentionally hit him with a pitch.  On June 3, 1995, he technically threw a perfect game by sitting down the first 27 Padres batters he faced.  However, the game was tied 0-0 and ended up going into extra innings.  Pedro ended up surrendering a double on the 28th batter he faced and was removed from the game.  The Expos would go on to win the game.  Prior to 1991, he would've been awarded a perfect game, but a new rule stated that the pitcher must remain perfect for the duration of the game, no matter how far past nine innings the game goes.  On September 10, 1999, he faced just 28 Yankees batters, struck out 17, and walked none.  Martinez hit Chuck Knoblauch to lead off the game and surrendered only a homerun to Chili Davis in the second inning.  On August 29, 2000, Martinez took a no-hitter into the 9th against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.  He lost it on a lead-off single to John Flaherty.  What's more impressive is that Pedro accomplished all of this after being punched in the face after hitting Tampa Bay's lead-off batter, Gerald Williams, to start the game. 

To date, Martinez has never pitched a perfect game or a no-hitter, but he has put up far more impressive numbers throughout his career than many other pitchers who have.

#9 - Nolan Ryan (1947- )

"The Ryan Express"

Teams:
New York Mets (1966; 1968-1971)
California Angels (1972-1979)
Houston Astros (1980-1988)
Texas Rangers (1989-1993)

Career Statistics:
W-L:  324-292
W-L %:  .525
ERA:  3.19
Strikeouts:  5,714
BB:  2,795
CG:  222
SHO:  61
IP:  5,386
WHIP:  1.247

Lynn Nolan Ryan, Jr. was born in Refugio, Texas.  When he was 6 weeks old, his family moved to Alvin, Texas.  When he was a boy, he enjoyed throwing rocks at any target, so his father encouraged him to play baseball to save their windows.  He joined Alvin Little League Baseball when he was nine, and threw his first no-hitter a few years later.

After graduating Alvin High School in 1965, Ryan was drafted by the New York Mets in the 12th round of the 1965 Major League Baseball Draft.  He was assigned to the Marion Mets of Marion, Virginia in the Appalachian League.  He was called up the Mets the following year, and logged his first strikeout against Pat Jarvis.  He later gave up his first career homer to future-manager Joe Torre.

He missed much of the next season due to illness, an arm injury, and service with the Army Reserve.  He only managed to pitch seven innings for the Met's minor league equivalent in Jacksonville, Florida.  In 1968, he finally returned to the Mets for good, though he was unable to crack the Mets rotation, due to superstars Tom Seaver and Jerry Koosman.  He was used more as a reliever and spot starter in 1969.  In the 1969 postseason, Ryan pitched seven innings of relief in Game 3 against the Braves.  Later, in that season's World Series, Ryan pitched 2 1/2 shutout innings of relief against the Baltimore Orioles, which gave the Mets a 2-1 series lead.  The Mets would eventually win the Series, but it would be Ryan's first and last World Series appearance.

On April 18, 1970, Ryan tied a Mets record by striking out 15 batters in one game, though teammate Tom Seaver broke the record four days later by fanning 19 batters.  In 1971, Ryan posted a 10-14 record, and was finding himself increasingly frustrated with baseball.  At one time, he even contemplated retiring.  He informed the Mets that he was not happy playing in New York and requested a trade.

His request was granted December 10, 1971 when he was traded to the California Angels.  In his first season, he was given the opportunity to be in the starting rotation and he ended up leading the league with 329 strikeouts.  He also set a Major League record by allowing only 5.26 hits per game, as well as having a 2.28 ERA.  For a majority of Ryan's time in California, the Angels didn't manage to drag themselves above a .500 record, but Ryan put up some notable winning seasons:  19-16 in '72, 21-16 in '73, and 22-16 in '74.  However, Ryan actually led the league in losses in 1975 with a 17-18 record, though the numbers are a bit skewed due to the fact that most ball clubs at the time used only a four-man rotation and expected their starting pitchers to pitch for a majority of the game, which resulted in few no-decisions for him.

In 1973, Ryan struck out 383 batters, beating Sandy Koufax's record by one.  He also threw two no-hitters this season, striking out 17 batters in the second.  In 1974 and 1975, he added to more no-hitters to his resume, and also managed to twice strike out 19 batters in a game in 1974.  This tied the record set by former teammate, Tom Seaver, and flamethrower, Steve Carlton (Roger Clemens broke the record in 1986).  In 1979, his final season with the club, he helped the Angels reach the ALCS.  He pitched seven innings with the Orioles, though he ended up with a no-decision.  The Orioles took the Series in four games.  Ryan led the American League in strikeouts seven of his eight seasons with the Angels, though he also led the league in walks six of those years, and came in second the other two.  This is a common complaint lodged against Nolan Ryan because he was incredibly prone to walking batters, though he usually made up for it by striking out so many others. 

Nolan entered into free agency after the 1979 season, and eventually signed with the Houson Astros.  He got his season off with a bang by hitting a three-run homer (one of two in his career) against Don Sutton in his first game with the Astros.  On July 4, 1980, he struck out his 3,000th career batter.  On September 26, 1981, Ryan threw his fifth career no-hitter, breaking Sandy Koufax's record.  Ryan posted a mere 1.69 ERA that year.  Throughout the 1982 season, Ryan and Steve Carlton were battling to surpass Walter Johnson's all-time strike-out record.  Ryan finally took the top spot with his 3,059th K.  Carlton would pass the original record two weeks later.  In 1987, Ryan, at the age of 40, led the league in ERA (2.76) and strikouts (270), but ended up with a 8-16 record because of poor run support from his teammates.

Due to a contract dispute, Ryan left the Astros after the 1988 season and signed with the Texas Rangers.  On August 22, 1989, Nolan Ryan struck out his 5,000th batter.  In June 11, 1990, he threw his sixth career no-hitter and earned his 300th win on July 31.  On May 1, 1991, Ryan hurled his seventh and final no-hitter at the age of 44. 

Prior to opening day of 1993, Ryan announced that he would be retiring at the conclusion of the season.  On August 4, Ryan participated in one of the most memorable fights in baseball history.  Ryan beaned the Chicago White Sox's Robin Ventura, which prompted him to charge the mound against Ryan, who was twenty years older.  When Ventura reach the mound, Ryan put him in a headlock and pummeled his perfectly-coiffed head six times before catcher Ivan Rodriguez intervened.  Ryan later quipped that it was the same maneuver he used on the cattle he had to brand at his ranch.  Ventura was ejected from the game and Ryan ended up pitching hitless ball the remainder of the game.

Nolan Ryan's career ended up coming to a close two games earlier than he had planned when he tore a ligament in his arm on September 22, 1993.  Though he initially tried to play through the pain, it soon became unbearable.  He threw his final pitch, torn ligament and all, at 98 mph.  Ryan closed out his career pitching in a major league-leading 27 seasons.

After his retirement, Nolan Ryan purchased interest in two minor league ball clubs:  the Corpus Christi Hooks (in AA Texas League) and the Round Rock Express (in AAA Pacific Coast League).  Ryan also served as special assistant to the general manager of the Houston Astros, and then became president of the Texas Rangers in 2008.  He has co-written six books, three of which are autobiographies, one about contemporary pitchers, and two instructional books.  In addition to his ownership in minor league teams, he was also majority owner and chairman of Express Bank of Alvin, though he sold his interest in 2005.  He also owns a restaurant, served on the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission, and appeared as a spokesman for Advil.

He has also joined the federal government in promoting physical fitness, though he himself suffered a heart attack in 2000 and had to receive a double bypass.  His sons, Reid and Reese both pitched for the TCU Horned Frogs, and Reid pitched in the minor leagues for a brief time.  They have recently become part-owners with Nolan of the Round Rock Express and Corpus Christi Hooks.  Nolan currently lives in Georgetown, Texas with his wife.

#10 - Walter Johnson (1887-1946)

"The Big Train"

Teams:

As a player:
Washinton Senators (1907-1927)

As a manager: 
Washinton Senators (1929-1932)
Cleveland Indians (1933-1935)

Career Statistics:
Win-loss:  417-279
W-L%:  .599
Earned Run Average:  2.17
Strikeouts:  3,508
Base-on-Balls:  1,363
Complete Games:  531
Shutouts:  110
Innings Pitched:  5,914.1
Walks Plus Hits Per Innings Pitched:  1.061

Walter Perry Johnson was born on a rural farm near Humboldt, Kansas.  When he was fourteen, his family moved to Orange County, California.  When he was young, he busied himself playing baseball, working the oil fields, and riding horses.  He attended Fullerton High School, where he managed to strike out 27 batters during a 15-inning game against Santa Ana High School.  Later, he moved to Idaho where he worked for the local telephone company and pitched in the Idaho State League.  In 1907, at the age of nineteen, he was spotted by a scout and soon signed a contract with the Washington Senators.

The surly Ty Cobb remembered him from his rookie season thusly:  "On August 2, 1907, I encountered the most threatening sight I ever saw in the ball field.  He was a rookie, and we licked our lips as we warmed up for the first game of a doubleheader in Washington.  Evidently manager Pongo Joe Cantillon of the Nats (a name the Senators were sometimes known by) had picked a rube out of the cornfields of the deepest bushes to pitch against us . . . He was a tall, shambling galoot of about twenty, with arms so long they hung far out of his sleeves, and with a sidearm delivery that looked unimpressive at first glance . . . One of the Tigers imitated a cow mooing, and we hollered at Cantillon:  'Get the pitchfork ready, Joe - your hayseed's on his way back to the barn' . . . The first time I faced him, I watched him take that easy windup.  And then something went past me that made me flinch.  The thing just hissed with danger.  We couldn't touch him . . . every one of us knew we'd met the most powerful arm ever turned loose in a ballpark."

At the time, there was no reliable radar equipment to clock the speed of Walter Johnson's fastball.  In 1917, a Connecticut munitions lab recorded his fastball at 134 feet per second (about 91.36 mph).  This would've been an amazing speed at this point in baseball history, as weight training and conditioning didn't play the significant part in players' development as they do today.  He also pitched with a submarine-style delivery, which made things especially difficult for right-handed batters, as the ball often looked to be coming from third base.

Johnson held the record for most career strikeouts for 55 years until Nolan Ryan finally claimed the top spot.  He currently ranks ninth on the all-time strikeouts list.  This is also impressive considering only two other pre-World War II pitchers ever fanned more than 1,000 batters in a career:  Cy Young and Tim Keefe.  Johnson is also only one of two pitchers to have ever won more than 400 games in a career (along with Cy Young, who won 511).  Johnson managed to accumulate twelve 20-win seasons during his 21 year career, ten of which were consecutive.  His stats also include 110 shutouts, which remains a record to this day.  Sixty-five of the games he lost were due to the fact that his team failed to score a run.

In 1913, 1918, and 1924, Walter Johnson won the pitcher's Triple Crown, and twice (1913 and 1924) won the American League Most Valuable Player Award. 

In 1913, Johnson won 36 games.  In April and May of that year, he pitched 55.2 consecutive scoreless innings.

Though he often played on a losing team, Johnson finally led his team to the 1924 World Series.  He lost the first and fifth games of the Series, but later pitched four scoreless innings in relief during Game Seven, winning the Series for the Senators.  Walter led them to the Series once again the following year, but his experience was the opposite:  wins in the first two games, and a loss in the seventh game.

Johnson was also a fairly accomplished hitter with a career batting average of .235, including a .433 average in 1925.  He also made thirteen appearances in the outfield during his career.  In 13 of his 21 seasons, he hit over .200, hit three homers in 1914, and 12 doubles and a triple in 1917.  For his career, he had 23 home runs, which remains the ninth-highest total for a pitcher.

He began his managerial career in 1928, managing the Newark, New Jersey team of the International League.  He later moved up to the majors, managing the Washington Nationals/Senators (1929-1932) and the Cleveland Indians (1933-1935).

Johnson was one of the first five players to be elected to the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame.  In 1938, he served as a commissioner in Montgomery County, Maryland.  In 1939, Johnson worked as a radio announcer for the Senators.  In 1940, he ran for Maryland's 6th district Congressional seat, but ultimately lost to William D. Byron.  On Tuesday, December 10, 1946, Johnson died of a brain tumor at the age of 59.

#1 - Willie Mays (1931- )

"The Say Hey Kid"

Position:
Center Field

Teams:
New York/San Francisco Giants (1951-1952; 1954-1972)
New York Mets (1972-1973)

Career Statistics:
Batting Average:  .302
Home Runs:  660
RBI:  1,903
Slugging Percentage:  .557
On-Base Percentage:  .384
Hits:  3,283

William Howard Mays, Jr. was born in Westfield, Alabama, which lies just outside of Birmingham.  His father was a gifted baseball player who played on a Negro League industrial team for the local iron plant.  His mother was a talented basketball and track star in high school.  Mays inherited his parents' athletic gifts and excelled in many sports, such as basketball and football, in addition to baseball.

In 1947, while still in high school, Mays played a short time for the Chattanooga Choo-Choo's in Tennessee after school let out for the summer.  He then returned home to Alabama to play for the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro American League.  He led the team to the 1948 Negro League World Series, but they ultimately lost to the Homestead Grays.  He was a standout defensively and on the base-paths, though his batting average was only .226.  Over the next several years, multiple scouts from different Major League Baseball teams came out to watch Willie play.  The first team to scout him, the Boston Braves, passed on him.  Then the Brooklyn Dodgers rejected him because they felt he couldn't hit the curveball.  Finally, the New York Giants took notice and signed Willie to their class-B affiliate in Trenton, New Jersey in 1950.

After posting a .353 batting average in Trenton, Willie was moved up to the class AAA Minneapolis Millers of the American Association.  After hitting .477 and playing stellar defense, Mays was called up to the New York Giants on May 24, 1951.  He went hitless in his first twelve at-bats, but he rocketed a homer over the fence in his thirteenth against Warren Spahn.  He continued to improve throughout the season, though his .274 average, 20 homers, and 68 RBI were the lowest of his career.  Despite this, he still managed to win Rookie of the Year.  His Giants met the New York Yankees in the World Series that year, though they lost the Series 4-2, with Mays performing poorly.

Mays was drafted by the United States Army in 1952 and ended up missing most of the '52 season and all of the '53 season.  He spent most of his service time playing baseball in Fort Eustis, VA.

He returned to the Giants in 1954, leading the league with a .345 batting average and hitting 41 homers.  He won the National League MVP that season, and once again led the Giants to the World Series where they swept the Cleveland Indians.  This Series is best remembered by what is now referred to as "The Catch," Mays's over-the-shoulder running grab in deep center field of the Polo Grounds.  This is one of the most memorable plays in the history of baseball, and it also prevented two Indian runners from scoring, preserving the tied game. 

During the last three years the Giants spent in New York, Mays continued to perform at a high level.  In 1956, he hit 36 home runs and stole 40 bases.  In 1957, he won the first of twelve consecutive Gold Glove Awards (this was the first year the Gold Glove was awarded).  In 1957, he became only the fourth person to join the 20-20-20 club (20 doubles, 20 triples, 20 home runs), as well as stealing 38 bases.

In 1958, the Giants relocated to San Francisco.  This season, Mays narrowly missed winning the National League batting title, when his .347 average couldn't quite top the Phillie's Richard Ashburn's .350.  On April 30, 1961, Mays hit four homers against the Milwaukee Braves.  He remains the only Major Leaguer to have both a four homer game and a four triple game.  The following season, the Giants made it to the World Series, but Willie struggled, hitting just .250.  They lost in seven games to the Yankees. 

In both the '63 and '64 seasons, Mays drove in over 100 runs and hit a combined 85 homers.  He won his second MVP in 1965 with a career-high 52 home runs.  On September 13, 1965, Willie hit his 500th career home run.  Willie set a major league record for playing in over 150 games for 13 consecutive seasons.  He hit career homer 600 in September 1969 against the San Diego Padres. 

In May 1972, the 41-year old Mays was traded to the New York Mets.  The Giants franchise had been losing money and they could not guarantee Willie an income after retirement.  The Mets, on the other hand, offered him a position as a coach after his retirement.  In his May 14, 1972 debut, he hit a fifth-inning home run against his former team.  Then, on August 17, 1973, he hit his 660th and final home run against the Cincinnati Reds.  He ended up playing a season-and-a-half with the Mets before announcing his retirement.  He was honored in a ceremony on September 25, 1973.  He capped off his career by playing in the World Series against the Oakland Athletics, though he was limited in playing time.  The Mets ended up losing in seven games.

Mays remained active after leaving baseball, appearing on television, movies, and other non-sports related media.  He stayed with the New York Mets as their hitting instructor until 1979.  On January 23, 1979, Willie was elected to the Hall of Fame.  Over the next few years, Willie took up golf, and became quite adept at it, playing to a handicap of 4.  Shortly after being elected to the Hall of Fame, Willie took a job at the Park Place Casino in Atlantic City, working as Special Assistant to the Casino's President, and as a greeter, a job he performed alongside Mickey Mantle.  When Bowie Kuhn (Commissioner of Baseball) found out about this, he suspended Mays and Mantle from having any involvement in baseball because of the rules against gambling.  Kuhn successor, Peter Ueberroth, rescinded the suspension in 1985.  Since 1986, Willie has served as Special Assistant to the President of the San Francisco Giants, as well as serving on the advisory board of the Baseball Assistance Team, an organization dedicated to helping former Minor, Major, and Negro League baseball players through financial hardships. 

It was difficult trying to decide whether to place Willie Mays or Hank Aaron atop this list.  Their numbers were both incredibly impressive.  In some cases, Hank Aaron's were slightly better.  In other cases, Willie Mays's were.  And I do mean slightly.  However, I feel that Willie Mays was a better all-around player.  Here's a comparison of their numbers:

Willie Mays                                                                            Hank Aaron
Batting Average:  .302                                                            Batting Average:  .305
Home Runs:  660                                                                   Home Runs:  755
RBI:  1,903                                                                            RBI:  2,297
Slugging %:  .557                                                                   Slugging %:  .555
On-Base %:  .384                                                                  On-Base %:  .374
Hits:  3,283                                                                            Hits:  3,771
2B:  523                                                                                2B:  624
3B:  140                                                                                3B:   98                                                        Stolen Bases:  338                                                                 Stolen Bases:  240
Caught Stealing:  103                                                             Caught Stealing:  73
Steal Success:  .766                                                               Steal Success:  .766
Base-on-balls:  1,464                                                             Base-on-balls:  1,402
Strike-Outs:  1,526                                                                Strike-outs:  1,383
On-Base plus Slugging:  .941                                                 On-Base plus Slugging:  .928
Total Bases:  6,066                                                                Total Bases:  6,856
Fielding %:  .981                                                                    Fielding %:  .98

Many of their numbers are nearly identical.  A .002 difference in batting average, a 95 difference in homers, 394 difference in RBI, a .002 difference in slugging, a .01 difference in OBP, a difference of 488 in hits, 101 difference in doubles, a 42 difference in triples, a 98 difference in stolen bases, an identical steal success, a difference of 62 in walks, 143 difference in strike-outs, .013 difference in OPS, a 790 difference in total bases, and a .001 difference in fielding percentage. 

It's obvious why it was such a difficult choice.  I briefly considered having both of them share the top spot, but I didn't want a tie.  The main factor it finally rested on was fielding ability.  While their fielding percentages were nearly identical, the fact is that Willie Mays played center field and Hank Aaron played mostly right field.  Center field is a much more difficult position to play than right, as more balls are generally hit in that direction .  Also, Willie Mays spent the first seven years of his career playing at the Polo Grounds in New York, which was a whopping 483-feet to center field.  Willie had much more ground to cover than Hank Aaron ever did, and he covered it nearly flawlessly.  That is what ultimately tipped the scale in Willie's favor.

Now, on to the pitchers!

#2 - Hank Aaron (1934- )

"Hammerin' Hank"

Position:
Right Field
First Base

Teams:
Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves (1954-1974)
Milwaukee Brewers (1975-1976)

Career Statistics:
Batting Average:  .305
Home Runs:  755
RBI:  2,297
Slugging Percentage:  .555
On-Base Percentage:  .374
Hits:  3,771

Henry Louis Aaron was born in Mobile, Alabama, though he spent much of his time in Toulminville.  Aaron's family was very poor and could not afford any real equipment for Hank to play baseball with, so he would often hit bottle caps with sticks.  He would sometimes craft his own balls and bats out of material he would find lying around.  As a freshman and sophomore, he attended Central High School and led his team to the Mobile Negro High School Championship each year that he played.  He was also an excellent football player and received several scholarship offers, but he turned them all down to focus on baseball.  In 1949, when he was 15, he tried out with the Brooklyn Dodgers, but did not manage to make the team.  He returned to school and finished out his education at the Josephine Allen Institute.  When he was a junior he joined the Mobile Black Bears, an independent Negro League team.  On November 20, 1951, Aaron was signed to a minor league contract with the Indianapolis Clowns.

In 1952, his first year with the Clowns, he helped them win the Negro League World Series.  This resulted in him receiving offers from both the New York Giants and the Boston Braves.  The Braves offered slightly more money, so he signed with them.  During his stint in the Negro Leagues, he was credited with a .366 batting average, 5 homers, 33 RBI, 41 hits, and 9 stolen bases. 

After signing with the Braves, Hank was assigned to the Eau Claire Bears, the Braves's Northern League Class-C farm team.  At the end of his first season in the minors, he was unanimously selected as Rookie of the Year.  Out of just 87 games he played in, he batted .336, scored 89 runs, had 116 hits, hit 9 homers, and drove in 61 runs.

In 1953, he was promoted to the Jacksonville Tars, the Braves's Class-A affiliate in the South Atlantic League.  Aaron led the league in runs (115), hits (208), doubles (36), RBI (125), total bases (338), and batting average (.362).  He helped his team win the championship and was award the Most Valuable Player Award.  Aaron spent the winter of '53 playing in Puerto Rico where he received tutelage on how better to hit the ball for power to all fields.  The Braves also relocated to Milwaukee in the 1953 season.   

On March 13, 1954, Bobby Thompson (Braves left fielder) broke his ankle during spring training.  Aaron was allowed to make the start in his place the following day and hit a home run.  After this, the Braves offered him a major league contract.  He made his regular season debut on April 13, but was hitless against the Cincinnati Reds.  He finally got his first hit on April 15 and his first homer on April 23.  During the next 122 games, Hank batted .280 with 13 homers before fracturing his ankle on September 5. 

In 1955, Hank made his first of 21 All-Star appearances.  That season, he hit .314 with 27 homers and 106 RBI.  In '56, he hit .328, won his first National League batting title, and was The Sporting News National League Player of the Year.  Nineteen fifty-seven saw Hank win his first, and only, MVP award, batting .322 and leading the league in homers and RBI.  His batting prowess led the Braves to the World Series that year, where they defeated the New York Yankees. 

In 1958, Hank batted .326 with 30 home runs and 95 RBI.  The Braves made it to the Fall Classic again, but ultimately lost a seven-game series to the Yankees.  Aaron remained steady over the next few years, putting up huge numbers and blasting homers with regularity.  In 1963, he nearly won the Triple Crown.  He led the league in home runs and RBI, but fell behind to third place in batting average.  After the 1965 season, the Braves relocated to Atlanta.

On July 31, 1969, Aaron hit his 537th career homers, surpassing Mickey Mantle and sliding into third place on the all-time list (Willie May and Babe Ruth were ahead of him).  On May 17, 1970, he became the first player to hit 500 homers and get 3,000 hits.  During the strike-shortened 1972 season, Hank passed Willie Mays to claim second place on the all-time home run list with his 661st homer.  At the end of the '72 season, he also passed Stan Musial's record for total bases, with 6,134. 

Aaron's popularity was soon soaring throughout the country and many expected him to break the Babe's home run record.  Hank downplayed much of the frenzy surrounding him, although he also began receiving hate mail and death threats because some did not want to see a black man top the beloved Babe Ruth. 

On September 29, 1973, Hank hit his 713 homer, bringing him within one of tying the Babe's record.  With one game left in the season, Hank was unable to tie the record and was forced to wait until the 1974 season began. He tied the Babe in his very first at-bat of the 1974 season, against the Cincinnati Reds. 

The team returned to Atlanta for a series of home games, and on April 8, 1974, in front of 53,775 fans, Aaron hit home run 715 off of Al Downing of the Los Angeles Dodgers.  The stadium erupted and two white college students ran onto the field to congratulate Hank as he rounded the bases.  Long-time Dodgers announcer, Vin Scully, stated:  "What a marvelous moment for baseball; what a marvelous moment for Atlanta and the state of Georgia; what a marvelous moment for the country and the world.  A black man is getting a standing ovation in the Deep South for breaking a record of an all-time baseball idol.  And it is a great moment for all of us, and particularly for Henry Aaron . . . And for the first time in a long time, that poker face in Aaron shows the tremendous strain and relief of what it must have been like to live with for the past several months."

Aaron hit his 733rd and final homer as a Brave on October 5, 1974.  Shortly thereafter, he was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers.  On May 1, 1975, he broke the all-time RBI record with 2,217.  On July 20, 1976, Hank Aaron hit his 755th and final career home run at Milwaukee County Stadium.  He retired after the '76 season.

On August 1, 1982, Hank Aaron was elected to the Hall of Fame.  He was then named the Atlanta Braves's vice president and director of player development.  Since December of 1980, he has served as senior vice president and assistant to the Braves's president.  He is also the corporate vice president of community relations for TBS, as well as a member of the company's board of directors, and the vice president of business development for The Airport Network.  Aaron also owns a BMW dealership in Union City, Georgia, as well as Mini, Land Rover, Toyota, Hyundai, and Honda dealerships throughout the state.  In 2007, he sold all but the Toyota dealership. 

There was some speculation during Barry Bonds's chase to top Aaron's home run record that Aaron didn't approve of Barry breaking the record because of the allegations of steroid abuse.  This was due to the fact that Aaron said that he would not be present when Bonds broke the record.  However, Hank made it clear that his reluctance was based upon the fact that believed baseball wasn't about breaking records, but rather about playing to the best of one's potential. 

When Bonds hit his 756th homer on August 7, 2007, breaking Hank's record, Aaron appeared on the park's JumboTron and stated:  "I would like to offer my congratulations to Barry Bonds on becoming baseball's career home run leader.  It is a great accomplishment which required skill, longevity, and determination.  Throughout the past century, the home run has held a special place in baseball and I have been privileged to hold this record for 33 of those years.  I move over now and offer my best wishes to Barry and his family on this historical achievement.  My hope today, as it was on that April evening in 1974, is that the achievement of this record will inspire other to chase their own dreams."

#3 - Babe Ruth (1895-1948)

"The Bambino"  "The Sultan of Swat"

Position:
Right Field
Pitcher

Teams:
Boston Red Sox (1914-1919)
New York Yankees (1920-1934)
Boston Braves (1935)

Career Statistics:
Batting Average:  .342
Home Runs:  714
RBI:  2,217
Slugging Percentage:  .690
On-Base Percentage:  .474
Hits:  2,873

As a pitcher:
Record:  94-46
ERA:  2.28

George Herman "Babe" Ruth, Jr. was born in Baltimore, Maryland.  Not much is known about his early life, but it is known that his mother was constantly sick (later dying of tuberculosis when he was a teenager).  When he was seven, his father sent him away to live in a reformatory and orphanage, called St. Mary's Industrial School for Boys.  He remained there for twelve years, only seeing his family on special occasions.  While he was at the orphanage, he was taught how to play baseball by the Head of Discipline, a man named Brother Matthias Boutlier, who also taught him how to read and write.  Ruth began to look to Boutlier as more of a father than his own ever was.

In 1913, when Ruth was nineteen years old, his school's team was playing against Mount St. Mary's University.  Joe Engel, a former student at Mount St. Mary's and pitcher for the Washington Senators, was attending the game that day.  He was so impressed with Ruth's pitching abilities, that he brought him to the attention of Jack Dunn, the owner and manager of the Baltimore Orioles (which was a minor league team at the time).  After watching Ruth perform, Dunn signed him to a contract, though he was obligated to become Ruth's legal guardian because the age of majority was 25 at the time.  When the other players saw Ruth, they called him "Jack's newest babe."  From then on, George would always be "Babe."  On July 9, 1914, Dunn sold Ruth's contract to the Boston Red Sox.

As a pitcher, Babe picked up his first major league win on July 11, 1914.  He only appeared in five games that season because the Red Sox lineup was so full of star players.  He was soon sent to the minors to play for the Providence Grays, where he helped them win the International League penant.

In 1915, Babe secured a spot in the Red Sox pitching rotation.  He went on to an 18-8 record, while batting .315.  He also hit his first four homers.  That year the Sox would go on to win the World Series.  In 1916, he went 23-12 with a 1.75 ERA, and had nine shutouts.  Again, Boston won the World Series.  In 1917, Ruth went for a 24-13 record with a 2.01 ERA and six shutouts, as well as hitting .325.  The Sox ended up falling to second place that year to the Chicago White Sox.  In 1918, Ruth posted a 13-7 record with a 2.22 ERA, though the Sox were beginning to use him more and more as an outfielder.  He also hit a league-leading eleven homers.  The Red Sox would again win the World Series, this time defeating the Chicago Cubs.  By 1919, Ruth only pitched in 17 out of 130 games and set a single-season home run record with 29.

On December 26, 1919, Ruth was sold to the New York Yankees because Ruth was demanding a raise that the Red Sox were unwilling to give him. 

In his first season with the Yankees (1920), Ruth obliterated his single season home run record by hitting 54 homers, while batting .376.  His slugging percentage was .847, which was a record until Barry Bonds broke it in 2001.  He performed even better the following season, belting 59 homers and batting .378 with a .846 slugging percentage.  On July 18, Babe Ruth became the all-time home run leader with 139.  Ruth's Yankees made it to the World Series that year, but ultimately lost to the New York Giants.  Ruth's productivity during the Series was diminished because of a badly scraped elbow.

The Babe started the next season suspended because he had played in some exhibition games in the off-season, which was prohibited.  Ruth returned to the lineup May 20, 1922, but his production slipped slightly from the previous season.  The Yankees would again lose to the Giants in the World Series.

Ruth finished the 1923 season with a career-high .393 batting average and 41 homers.  Once again, the Yanks met the Giants in the World Series, which Ruth dominated.  He batted .368, walked eight times, scored eight runs, hit three homers, and slugged 1.000.  The Yankees won the series 4-2, their first championship.

Ruth nearly won the Triple Crown in 1924.  He hit .378, led the league with 46 home runs, and drove in 121 runs, which was just short of Goose Goslin's 129.  However, the Yankees finished second that year to the Washington Senators, who would go on to win their first and only title (while based in D.C.).  Due to illness, Ruth was limited to 98 games in 1925.  This would be his most unproductive season as a Yankee, hitting .290 with 25 homers.  They came in next to last place, sporting a losing record which wouldn't be repeated until 1965.

He came back with a vengeance in 1926, batting .372 with 47 homers and 146 RBI.  The Yanks met the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series that season.  In Game 4, Ruth hit three home runs, but ended up making a baserunning blunder trying to steal second base that ended the game and the Series.  In 1927, Ruth and his "Murderer's Row" teammates won a then-record 110 games (out of 154).  They took the penant by 19 games and swept the Pittsburgh Pirates in the World Series.  The 1926 season was also notable because Ruth broke his own single season home run record with 60.  This record would stand until broken by Roger Maris in 1961.  Ruth also batted .356, drove in 164 runs and slugged .772.

Ruth got off to a hot start in 1928, but was soon hobbled by a bad ankle that limited his performance.  He ended up batting .323, but still hit 54 homers.  This would be the fourth and final season he would hit over 50.  When his Yankees faced the Cardinals in the World Series that year, Ruth erupted for a .625 batting average, while also having another three home run game.  They destroyed the Cardinals in four games.

The Yankees failed to make the World Series in 1929 for the first time in four years.  The team itself had slipped, but Babe still put up impressive numbers, leading or tying the lead in home runs each year between 1929 and 1931.  In 1930, Ruth was called on to pitch for the first time since 1921.  He pitched a complete-game victory.  In 1932, the Yankees returned to prominence, posting a 107-47 record.  The Babe batted .341 with 41 homers, and 137 RBI.  The Yanks swept the Cubs in the World Series that year.  During Game 3, Ruth (after already hitting one homer) hit what is now known as Babe Ruth's Called Shot.  Supposedly, the Babe pointed to centerfield, and then proceeded to drive a monster home run to that same spot.  There is some doubt, however, that he was actually calling his shot.  Some believe he was either pointing at the pitcher or at the Cubs dugout, where he was being heckled.

Ruth batted .301 with 34 homers and 103 RBI in 1933, though it was becoming painfully obvious that he was gaining weight at a rapid pace.  Towards the end of that season, he was called on to pitch again, and got a complete-game victory.  Babe's numbers dropped in 1934, as he recorded an average of  .288 with 22 homers.  By the time the All-Star break rolled around, Ruth had 700 career homers and was ready to retire. 

Ruth's ambition was to retire as a player and become the Yankees manager.  However, Yankees owner Jacob Ruppert, had no desire to replace skipper Joe McCarthy.  Soon, Ruth began shopping himself to other teams around the league, offering his services as a player or a manager.  Some serious discussions began with the Detroit Tigers, but Ruth failed to show up at a meeting, so any deal was called off.  Emil Fuchs, the owner of the Boston Braves was drowning in debt and thought the addition of Ruth was just what was needed to improve attendance.  On February 26, 1935 the Yankees traded Ruth to the Braves.  In addition to his capacities as a player, Ruth would become vice president and would be consulted on all transactions.  He would also be assistant manager to Bill McKechnie.  Fuchs also promised Babe a share of the Braves's profits, as well as the possibility of becoming co-owner of the team.  He also raised the possibility that Ruth could eventually become the Braves's manager. 

Interest in the Braves spiked once fans learned that the legendary Babe Ruth was going to be part of their lineup.  But it soon became obvious that Babe had lost it.  He could still hit, but his fielding was abysmal, and he could little more than trot around the bases.  Before long, he'd lost his hitting touch, as well.  His abilities in the field were so bad that several Braves pitchers refused to take the mound if Ruth was allowed onto the field.  Ruth soon discovered that he was vice president and assistant manager in name only. 

On May 25, 1935, the Babe hit the last home runs of his career.  He went 4-for-4, drove in 6 runs, and hit 3 homers.  Five days later, he played his last major league game.  Two days after this game, he spoke to reporters and announced his retirement.  He had hit a paltry .181 with only six homers.  His Braves team finished with a 38-115 record, which remains the third-worst record in history.

In 1936, Babe was one of the first five players to ever be inducted into the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame.  Two years later, he was offered a job as first base coach for the Brooklyn Dodgers.  He took the job, but only stayed for one season.  It would be the last job he ever had in Major League Baseball.

In 1946, he began to experience pain over his right eye.  After a visit to the hospital, Babe learned that he had a malignant tumor in his neck that was wrapped around his carotid artery.  The tumor was removed and he had to undergo radiation treatment.  By the time he left the hospital in February 1947, he had lost 80 pounds.  In June 1947, he began receiving a new, experimental chemotherapy drug that had shown some promise in clinical trials.  Ruth had been experiencing headaches, hoarseness, and difficulty swallowing.  On June 29, he began a regimen of these chemotherapy drugs, to which he responded very well.  We now know that Ruth was suffering from nasopharyngeal carcinoma, a tumor located in the back of the nose. 

On April 27, 1947, a ceremony was held to honor Babe at Yankee Stadium.  He spoke to a crowd of more than 60,000 people, and gave a heartfelt speech outlining his love for the game and his encouragement for the children in attendance to play.

Shortly thereafter, the cancer returned.  Babe attended the 25th anniversary of the opening of Yankee Stadium on June 13, 1948.  He got to reconnect with many of his old teammates from the 1923 team who were in attendance.  Soon after, he was back in the hospital, where he received hundreds of cards and letters from fans and well-wishers.  He was able to leave the hospital temporarily on July 26, 1948 to attend the world premiere of the film The Babe Ruth Story.  By this time he was barely able to speak.  He was visited by Commissioner of Baseball, Ford Frick.  Frick later said, "Ruth was so thin it was unbelievable.  He had been such a big man and his arms were just skinny little bones, and his face was so haggard." 

The day after Ford's visit, August 16, 1948, Babe Ruth died of pneumonia.  He was 53.  According to an autopsy, the cancer had begun in his nose and mouth and spread widely inside his body. 

After his death, the New York Times called him "a figure unprecedented in American life.  A born showman off the field and a marvelous performer on it, he had an amazing flair for doing the spectacular at the most dramatic moment."

#4 - Barry Bonds (1964- )

Position:
Left Field

Teams:
Pittsburgh Pirates (1986-1992)
San Francisco Giants (1993-2007)

Career Statistics:
Batting Average:  .298
Home Runs:  762
RBI:  1,996
Slugging Percentage:  .607
On-Base Percentage:  .444
Hits:  2,935

Barry Lamar Bonds was born in Riverside, California but grew up in San Carlos, attending Junipero Serra High School, where he excelled in baseball, basketball, and football.  His father was the legendary Bobby Bonds, who made a name for himself primarily as a member of the San Francisco Giants, as well as several other teams.

From the years 1980-1982, Bonds was a star on his high school varsity baseball team and hit .467 during his senior year.  Barry was drafted by the Giants in the second round of the 1982 Major League Baseball Draft, but they couldn't come to an agreement on a contract, so Barry opted out and attended college instead.  He attended Arizona State University, where he hit .347 with 45 homers and 175 RBI.  In 1984, he batted .360 and swiped 30 bases.  During the '85 season, he hit 23 homers with 66 runs driven to go along with a .368 batting average.  He graduated from college in 1986, and was then drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the first round of the draft (sixth pick).  He began his playing career in the minors, playing for the Prince William Pirates of the Carolina League, and then for the Hawaii Islanders of the Pacific Coast League.

Barry Bonds made his major league debut on May 30, 1986.  In the early years of his career, he batted in the lead-off position.  That season, he led all National League rookies with 16 homers, 48 RBI, 36 stolen bases, and 65 walks.  He failed to win Rookie of the Year, however (the award went to Todd Worrell, a pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals).  In 1987, Bonds smacked 25 homers, drove in 59 runs, and stole 32 bases.  He remained steady in 1988, hitting .283 with 24 home runs. 

Bonds won his first MVP award in 1990, hitting .301 with 33 homers and 114 RBI.  He also managed to steal 52 bases.  He also helped to lead his team to the postseason for the first time since 1979, though they lost the NLCS to the Cincinnati Reds.  Bonds hit 25 homers and drove in 116 runs in 1991, on his way to another Gold Glove and Silver Slugger Award.  He finished in second place in the MVP voting that year, behind Atlanta's Terry Pendleton.  In 1992, he took home his second MVP, hitting .311 with 34 homers and 103 RBI.  He took the Pirates to their third straight National League East division title, though they lost the National League Championship Series to the Atlanta Braves.  It was expected that Bonds would likely be snatched up by another team after the season was over as he was set to become a free agent. 

In 1993, Bonds signed a contract worth a record (at the time) $43.75 million for 6 years with the San Francisco Giants.  Bonds made an immediate impact, batting .336 with 46 home runs and 123 RBI, leading him to his second consecutive (third overall) MVP award.  During the strike-shortened season in 1994, Bonds hit .312 with 37 homers and 74 walks.  In '95 he had a somewhat down year, hitting .294, drove in 104 runs, though he still hit 33 home runs.

In 1996, Bonds became the second (and currently only four) to hit 40 home runs and steal 40 bases in a season.  He drove in 129 runs and walked a then-National League record 151 times.  He also became only the fourth player in history to hit 300 homers and steal 300 bases in his career.  1997 saw Barry hit 40 home runs with 101 RBI, though is batting average was the lowest it had been since '89 at .290.  He also again led the league in walks with 145.

In 1998, he became the first player to ever hit 400 homers and steal 400 bases in a career, while also batting .303 with 37 homers and 122 RBI.  In 2000, Bonds hit .306 with 49 homers.  He also had a career-best (at the time) slugging percentage of .688.

On April 17, 2001, Bonds hit his 500th career home run off of Terry Adams of the Los Angeles Dodgers.  That season saw Barry Bonds break the record for most home runs during a season with 73 (Roger Maris's record of 61 had been broken in 1998 by Mark McGwire, who belted 70).  He also hit .328 that season, with 137 RBI, drew a major league record 177 walks, and posted an incredible .863 slugging percentage.  He also gained his fourth MVP award.

In '02, Bonds signed a five-year, $90 million contract with the Giants.  He then went on to hit 46 home runs, slugged .749, and also walked 148 times.  In 2003, he became the sole member of the 500/500 club, with 500 homers and 500 stolen bases.  2004 was perhaps Bonds's best season overall.  He hit .362, while breaking his own record with 232 walks, as well as slugging .812.  He also managed to hit 45 home runs while only striking out 41 times.  That year, he won his fifth MVP award.  On July 4, 2004, Bonds broke Rickey Henderson's all-time walks record with 2,191.  Bonds would again win the MVP in 2005.

By the time 2006 rolled around, it was becoming fairly obvious that Bonds had a very legitimate shot of topping Hank Aaron's all-time home run record of 755.  He entered the season with 708 homers, just six shy of tying Babe Ruth for second place on the list.  On May 20, Bonds tied Ruth, and then surpassed him for second on the list on May 28.  However, he would finish 2006 only playing in 130 games (out of 162) with 26 homers and 77 RBI and posting a .270 batting average. 

On August 4, 2007, Bonds tied Hank Aaron with his 755th homer off Clay Hensley of the San Diego Padres.  Finally, on August 7, Bonds hit his 756th homer to claim the top position on the all-time home run list with a monster 435-foot shot off Mike Bacsik of the Washington Nationals.  He finished the '07 season batting .276 with 28 homers, 66 RBI, and 132 walks. 

The Giants stated in September 2007 that they would not be re-signing Bonds after the season was over.  A mad dash to sign the star player was expected, but because of the cloud of suspicion of steroid use that was hanging over Bonds, no team signed him in 2008 or 2009.  To this day, Bonds remains unemployed, though he has never officially announced his retirement.  He has, however, noted that he's not in good enough shape anymore to play Major League Baseball, so it seems very likely that he has played his last game.

It was tough to determine exactly where I wanted to place Barry Bonds on this list.  As I said in the intro, Kalb had him as the greatest baseball player of all time, but I just can't agree with that placement.  Steroid use aside, I believe that there are three other players who have put up more impressive numbers overall than Bonds.

The steroid scandal surrounding Barry Bonds has polarized many people, but I believe it to be a bit overblown.  Do I believe he took steroids?  Absolutely.  Many people compare the fact that his body is so incredibly different from his debut in the league, when he was a lean, speedy lead-off hitter, to the end of his career when he had a muscular frame that was more adept at blasting homers. 

But look at how much his head has grown from his younger days up till now!

 














If this guy hasn't used 'roids he needs to see a doctor because there is some serious swelling going on in that brain.

But does usage of performance-enhancing drugs nullify all of a player's accomplishments?  I don't think so.  Steroids didn't make Bonds a great hitter.  They may have helped make him a more powerful hitter, but steroids didn't give him the careful eye that allowed him to walk a record number of times or the impeccable timing required to make perfect contact with the ball.  Barry Bonds is an immensely talented baseball player who deserves recognition for the things he has accomplished.  He's an enormous jerk by all accounts, but that doesn't mean his stats shouldn't be recognized.  And who knows?  There's an excellent chance he could've broken Hank Aaron's record without steroids.  Most people forget that Aaron wasn't exactly muscle-bound.  He was just a great power hitter, which is exactly what Bonds is.  When Hank Aaron hit his final home run, number 755, he was 42 years old.  When Bonds surpassed Aaron with his 756th homer, he had just turned 43.  So it's not as though Bonds broke the record ten years earlier than Aaron did; he was actually older. 

Here is a year-by-year comparison of Bonds's and Aaron's home run totals:

Hank Aaron:                           Barry Bonds:                            
1954:  13                                1986:  16
1955:  27                                1987:  25
1956:  26                                1988:  24
1957:  44                                1989:  19
1958:  30                                1990:  33
1959:  39                                1991:  25
1960:  40                                1992:  34
1961:  34                                1993:  46
1962:  45                                1994:  37
1963:  44                                1995:  33
1964:  24                                1996:  42
1965:  32                                1997:  40
1966:  44                                1998:  37
1967:  39                                1999:  34
1968:  29                                2000:  49
1969:  44                                2001:  73
1970:  38                                2002:  46
1971:  47                                2003:  45
1972:  34                                2004:  45
1973:  40                                2005:  5
1974:  20                                2006:  26
1975:  12                                2007:  28
1976:  10

Aaron out-homered Bonds in 11 seasons (omitting the one season extra that Aaron played).  Bonds out-homered Aaron in 9 seasons.  Granted, when Bonds out-homered Aaron, it was sometimes by a pretty considerable margin (42-24, 49-29, 73-44, etc.).  Aaron started producing pretty large home run numbers starting with his fourth year in the league; Bonds started producing these numbers during his seventh year.  It seems like a fairly good comparison

Do we believe that Arnold Schwarzenegger should be stripped of his seven Mr. Olympia titles because he admitting to taking steroids during training?  No, because every other competitor was taking them, too.  So should we strip Bonds of his lifetime statistics because he likely took steroids?  No, because a considerable number of baseball players are probably taking them.  The difference is, Schwarzenegger was the best at what he did.  He was blessed with amazing genetics that aided him; the steroids were a supplement.  Likewise, Bonds was endowed with phenomenal athletic abilities; the steroids supplemented that.  No one else has put up the kinds of numbers Bonds has in many years. 

So do I advocate taking steroids?  No way.  The risks far outweigh the advantages.  I'm not sure that I would go so far as to say that these players are cheating by using them because I don't think they give the player a necessary advantage, as I showed with the Bonds-Aaron comparison.  They might, however, turn a 400-foot home run into a 475-foot home run.  But for every Barry Bonds, there is a Pablo Ozuna, or a Henry Owens, players who tested positive for steroids, but never put up anything approaching impressive numbers.  Players like Bonds, are in a league all their own, and he deserves to be recognized as such, in spite of the fact that he's a jerk.

#5 - Ty Cobb (1886-1961)

"The Georgia Peach"

Position:
Center Field

Teams:
As a player:
Detroit Tigers (1905-1926)
Philadelphia Athletics (1927-1928)

As a manager: 
Detroit Tigers (1921-1926)

Career Statistics:
Batting Average:  .366
Home Runs:  117
RBI:  897
Slugging Percentage:  .512
On-Base Percentage:  .433
Hits:  4,189

Ty Cobb once said, "Sure, I fought.  I had to fight all my life just to survive.  They were all against me.  Tried every dirty trick to cut me down, but I beat the b******s and left them in the ditch."  Such was the temperament and surly demeanor of Tyrus Raymond Cobb.  Perhaps no player this side of Barry Bonds has alienated and polarized so many baseball fans as has this incredibly talented hitter, ironically nicknamed "The Georgia Peach."

Cobb was born in Narrows, Georgia to Amanda and William Cobb.  He initially spent his baseball career as a member of the Royston Rompers, the semi-pro Royston Reds, and the Augusta Tourists of the South Atlantic League.  The Tourists released Cobb on the second day of the season.  He then joined the Anniston Steelers of the Tennessee-Alabama League.  He began a regimen of sending postcard to sports editor Grantland Rice of the Atlanta Journal as a means of self-promotion.  Rice soon began to take notice of his accomplishments.  After three months, Cobb returned to the Tourists.  He ended up hitting .238 in 35 games.  In August 1905, the Tourists sold his contract to the Detroit Tigers.

On August 30, 1905 in his first major league at-bat, Cobb hit a double.  He ended up batting .240 in 41 games.  The following season, he became the Tigers full-time centerfielder and hit .316 in 98 games.  He would lead the Tigers to three straight American League penants, though they lost each year in the World Series with Cobb under-performing.  Four separate times throughout his career beginning in 1907, Cobb would get on base with a single, then steal second, steal third, and then steal home.  At the end of '07, he was batting .350 with 212 hits, 49 steals, and 119 RBI.  He became the youngest player to ever win the batting title at age 20 (Al Kaline broke the record in 1955 when he was twelve days younger than Cobb was).  Cobb again won the title the following season, batting .324.

In 1909, Cobb came into his own, winning the Triple Crown with a batting average of .377 with 107 RBI and nine homers, all of which were inside-the-park.  However, Cobb faltered once again in the World Series, as his uninspired performance allowed the Pittsburgh Pirates to win the championship.

By the end of the 1910 season, Cobb had a .004 lead on Nap Lajoie for the American League batting title.  Cobb ended up benching himself for the final game so as not to lower his batting average.  Lajoie, on the other hand, got eight hits during his team's doubleheader.  Six of these hits were bunt singles, and they later came under scrutiny, so Cobb was awarded with the higher average of the two.  It was discovered, however, that one of the games Cobb had played was counted twice, but the decision to award Cobb with the title stood.

Cobb had an amazing year in 1911, though he was still trailing Cleveland Naps outfielder Shoeless Joe Jackson by .009 points.  Though the two were friendly with one another, Cobb engaged in intense mind games when his Tigers played against Jackson's Naps at the end of the season.  Cobb felt that these mind games caused Jackson's average to fall to .408 while Cobb finished with .420.  In addition to his sky-high batting average, Cobb also finished 1911 with 127 RBI, 83 stole bases, 47 doubles, 24 triples, and a .621 slugging percentage.  He ended up winning the American League MVP that year.

In 1915, Cobb set a new record for stolen bases in a season with 96, a record which stood until broken by Maury Wills in 1962.  His streak of five batting titles ended the following year when he came in second behind Tris Speaker.  In 1918, Cobb enlisted in the Chemical Corps of the United States Army.  He served 67 days in France before being honorably discharged and sent back home.

In 1921, Cobb signed a contract to take over managerial duties of the Detroit Tigers from Hughie Jennings.  He was not incredibly successful in this capacity, though he often blamed Tigers owner Frank Navin for not allowing him to acquire any major talent.

On August 9, 1921, Cobb collected his 3,000th hit.  He still remains the youngest player to ever reach this milestone, at 34 years old. 

As the 1920's emerged, it became clear that a new style of baseball was rearing its head.  Babe Ruth was hitting monster shots out of the park, and Cobb was not impressed.  Prior to Ruth's rise to prominence, baseball was in what was called the "deadball" era.  Players focused more on getting hits and then stealing bases than trying to swing for the fences.  Cobb was openly hostile towards Ruth, feeling that he was a threat to his beloved style of play.  So to show Ruth than any good hitter could do what he did, Cobb decided to play Ruth's game.  On May 5, 1925, Cobb went 6-for-6 with two singles, a double, and three home runs.  His 16 total bases set a new American League record.  The following day, he collected three more hits, two of which were homers.  By the time the series ended, Cobb had gone 12-for-19 with 29 total bases.  He then promptly returned to his old style of play.

At the end of the season, Cobb was once more battling another player, this time his own teammate Harry Heilmann, for the batting title.  Heilmann ended up besting Cobb .393 to .389.

In November 1926, Cobb ended his career, though it was soon revealed that he and Tris Speaker had both been coerced into retirement when information came to light that the two of them had placed bets on baseball games.  They both denied any wrongdoing, and the charges were eventually dropped when their accuser, former pitcher Dutch Leonard, failed to show up at the hearing.  Cobb returned to baseball and signed with the Philadelphia Athletics in 1927.  He returned for the 1928 season, but his skills had diminished with age.  On September 3, 1928, Cobb got his last hit in the major leagues, hitting a double against the Washington Senators.  He then announced his retirement.  He finished his career with 23 consecutive seasons batting .300 or better.  His final career batting was .366, a record which still stands.

Cobb retired a very rich man due to careful money management, as well as his investment in the Coca Cola Company.  At the time of his death, he owned 20,000 shares of stock as well as three bottling plants.  He also served as a celebrity spokesman.  He was named to the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame in 1936, though by this time he was beginning to smoke and drink heavily.  As his health began to suffer, he started rethinking the way he had lived his life.  He donated considerable amounts of his fortune to his hometown so that it could build a modern hospital, which was named Cobb Memorial Hospital.  In 1959, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure, and Bright's Disease.  He checked himself into Emory Hospital on June 17, 1961, carrying a bag containing $1 million in negotiable bonds.  He died a month later on July 16, 1961.

Ty Cobb is a difficult player to assess.  As I stated in the introduction, he played in a different era, one that favored finesse over power, so it's hard to say how good a player he truly was.  However, I find that the fact that he could, indeed, hit home runs when he desired, shows that he was an incredibly smart, disciplined player who did what he needed to do to get on base. 

His surly demeanor also turns a lot of people off to him because he was, without a doubt, an overly-aggressive, sometimes dirty, player.  Cobb was incapable of enduring the typical rookie hazing he received from his teammates during his first year in the league.  This ended up alienating many of his peers. 

He was also a notorious racist, which wasn't extremely unusual at that time.  However, he took it to lengths most others didn't dare approach.  He once got into a fight with a black groundskeeper because he didn't approve of the condition of the Tigers's spring training field.  When the groundskeeper's wife intervened, he choked her.  He also once climbed into the stands to fight a heckler, who, it turned out, had only one hand (and the other was missing three fingers).  He slapped a black elevator operator because he was being "uppity."  When a black night watchman stepped in, Cobb stabbed him.  Most notoriously, though, was Cobb's habit of sharpening his spikes before a game to...I don't know...disembowel the catcher, I guess.

Ty Cobb cannot really be defended.  He did some terrible things to undeserving people.  Judged based on character alone, he wouldn't crack the top 1,000 of anyone's greatest baseball players list.  But there is no denying the prowess he possessed for the game of baseball, and although his achievements can't overshadow the egregious things he did off the diamond, his talent for the game is without question.