Batting average still stands, and most likely will stand way into the future. Imagine if other managers had the guts to let him hit. Negro League legends Satchel Paige and Josh Gibson were seriously considered, but both fell short due to an inability to properly compare the leagues' talent levels. The best switch hitter there ever was. When people think of great baseball players catcher doesn't usually come to mind first. Alongside the lefty's 475 home runs, he accrued MLB's third-most doubles (725) behind Rose and Speaker. What else … Without enough certainty to tackle the moral conundrum of celebrating the bad person Cobb has been portrayed as, let's simply honor Baseball Hall of Fame's first member with prominent positioning. There are a lot more than 25 great baseball players. In seven seasons before enlisting in the Army, DiMaggio averaged 193 hits, 31 home runs and 7.5 fWAR. Yep. Despite joining the Philadelphia Athletics at age 17, Jimmie Foxx didn't earn his playing time until turning a ripe 20 in 1928. The all-time leader in homers also holds exclusive membership to the 500-homer, 500-steal club. Ah, the crack of the bat. He would of been a great manager as well but was never given the opportunity because of prejudice. The best thing about him is that he didn't use or need steroids to be such an amazing player. From 1969 until 1991, the Montreal Expos, the gloriously doomed stepchild of major-league baseball, wore a baseball cap sectioned off into red, white, and blue, with a tricolor "M" on the front. The only players who should be above Wagner are Ruth and Gehrig. I don't know what the official "criteria or template" is to determine who the greatest player ever is-but there isn't a single player who excelled in more areas of the game than Ty Cobb. Those Cy Young Award seasons are arguably the most dominant four-year stretch ever. He stole home when he was 42 years old, Aaron was great but has become overrated in hindsight. Sure he was good before steroids but 17th of all time good? He is the one that led his team to the national team championship. Cobb also retired near the top of the all time putouts & assists records for outfielders so he wasn't just a great hitter who couldn't play defense (ala Ted Williams). Commonly known for the iconic T206 card sold for more than $3 million, Honus Wagner is also the greatest shortstop of all time. Back when strikeouts were still viewed as a cardinal sin, he whiffed or got rung up in 17.3 percent of his plate appearances. His 135 ERA+ equals that of Chris Sale, who owns a 3.00 ERA. However, his 755 career homers (a record for 33 years) are just the tip of the iceberg for “Hammerin’ Hank.” His all-time-best 2,297 runs batted in and 6,856 total bases are, of course, indicative of his legendary power, but he also put up a solid career .305 batting average and won three Gold Gloves for his play in the outfield. How many times have you seen LL Cool J’s actual head? Take Clemons or Feller or Gibson and tell him "great job pitching, now become one of the greatest hitters, Lifetime Average, Home Runs, etc., not happening, ask Mays, Williams, Aaron, etc., stop hitting and win us 20 games as a pitcher. A manager's dream leadoff hitter, "Cocky" amazingly drew 1,499 walks while submitting a minuscule 286 strikeouts. He also produced a 3.24 ERA and 308 strikeouts in a career-defining season which signaled his maturation into an all-time ace. You left Jeter and Griffey off the list for Eddie Collins? That takes liberties in assuming he'd keep hitting like an MVP contender, but it's also worth wondering if the physical and mental toll of Army service cost DiMaggio his peak production upon returning to baseball. Playing injured and compromised by his destructive lifestyle (that he admitted) throughout the second half of his career he was still one of the most dominant players in the game. If not for the change of position and PED drama, he may have went down as the game's greatest shortstop. Fearful pitchers walked him 198 times, 68 intentionally. Joe DiMaggio 56 game hitting streak will never be broken! Cobb is second to no one, let alone 3rd! Greatest Mom Of All Time Baseball Cap. Because he broke the color barrier, history has changed forever. Not only did Mays rack up astounding totals at the plate—including 3,283 hits, 660 home runs, and 1,903 runs batted in—but his outstanding play in the outfield produced 12 consecutive Gold Glove Awards (1957–68) and led many observers to call him the greatest all-around player the game has ever seen. He led the American League (AL) in batting average a ridiculous 12 times in his 24-year career but was by no means merely a singles hitter, as he also led the AL in slugging percentage (a statistic that measures a hitter's power production) on eight occasions.