As for #5 it's debatable between Pujols & Joe D.
Pujols being the greatest player ever c'mon, its Ted Williams by a mile, then Ruth. Pulhous in the top ten! After Williams and Ruth there are about 15
great players anyone could be considered #3!
As for the greatest #96 its Bill Voiselle of the NL 1948 champs Boston Braves.
His hometown was 96 North Carolina!
Specialization is more than counteracted by the dilution of talent. Back in the days before expansion .250 hitters didn't make it out of the minors.
With the training available today, the cushy travel conditions and the weak 4 and 5 pitchers in rotations on which to fatten a batting average, one can only imagine what a guy like Babe Ruth would hit.
Unless he took a liking to the fast food available now and ate himself out of the game...
Pulhous I root for & do think he's the best of this era and can be counted as one of the best 15 of all-time, but he's no Williams. When stating "back in the day everybody was hitting .330" you are probably refering to the years from 1920-1938 when only 5 of 38 batting champs had averages below .350. Williams came on in 39 & from then on batting champs stats were more pedestrian except for Williams.
Think about this in Pulhous 8 years as a pro he led the league in batting
1 times, HR's 0 times & RBI's 0 times. In Ted Williams first 8 yrs. he led the league in batting 4 times, HR's 4 times & RBI's 4 times. I could go on & on about the uniqueness of Ted Williams career but I'd be making this post
much to long. This is just thr tip of the iceberg!
BigTenD wonders: Why is it Williams by a mile?
Bar: one word....Duh
(smile)
BigTenD: Also, you know it goes to show the stats back in the day were a joke. Everybody was hitting .330.....
Bar: Are you sure? (and yes, I realize your wording means "a lot of guys")
I'm going to guess that you're unwittingly distracted by the many players who played prior to Williams time in MLB who had lifetime BAs of .330 or higher.
The Splendid Splinter had a lifetime BA of .341 in a career that ran from 1939 thru 1960 began his career in 1939
Guess how many other players who played during those 22 years retired with a lifetime average of .330 or higher?
Think carefully and no peeking at Record books
Ready?
Number of players who played during 1939-1960 besides Ted Williams who retired with avg of .330 or higher
ONE
UNO for you espanolas out there
Stan "The Man" Musial (.3308)
The only two MLB players who played after 1939 and have a lifetime BA of .330 or higher other than Williams and Musial would be
Yep
Albert Pujols .336
and
Ichiro Suzuki .332
Followed by Todd Helton at .328
That's it.
Your top 5 BA men since 1939
Teddy Ballgame
Al Pujols
Ichiro
Stan Musial
Todd Helton (just BARELY ahead of W Boggs)
Bar: one word....Duh
(smile)
BigTenD: Also, you know it goes to show the stats back in the day were a joke. Everybody was hitting .330.....
Bar: Are you sure? (and yes, I realize your wording means "a lot of guys")
I'm going to guess that you're unwittingly distracted by the many players who played prior to Williams time in MLB who had lifetime BAs of .330 or higher.
The Splendid Splinter had a lifetime BA of .341 in a career that ran from 1939 thru 1960 began his career in 1939
Guess how many other players who played during those 22 years retired with a lifetime average of .330 or higher?
Think carefully and no peeking at Record books
Ready?
Number of players who played during 1939-1960 besides Ted Williams who retired with avg of .330 or higher
ONE
UNO for you espanolas out there
Stan "The Man" Musial (.3308)
The only two MLB players who played after 1939 and have a lifetime BA of .330 or higher other than Williams and Musial would be
Yep
Albert Pujols .336
and
Ichiro Suzuki .332
Followed by Todd Helton at .328
That's it.
Your top 5 BA men since 1939
Teddy Ballgame
Al Pujols
Ichiro
Stan Musial
Todd Helton (just BARELY ahead of W Boggs)
Thus, it's not unreasonable to slot Al Pujols as being on track to retire as "The Greatest Hitter in the Post WWII era" (the long agreed line of demarcation between the "old MLB" and the "modern era".
But he's still got about ten years to go...and I for one would not be surprised to see him hang up his spikes with many or most numbers equal to Ted Williams.
But he's still got about ten years to go...and I for one would not be surprised to see him hang up his spikes with many or most numbers equal to Ted Williams.
