Baseball is a sport which has the most following in the United States and Canada. More and more UK fans, many of which know where to find the Best Bookmakers in the UK, are starting to follow this magnificent sport. The statistics say that there are many fans from the UK that stay up late just to watch a match. Incredible, right?! As such, it is only to be expected that we should consider the MLB and its long and rich history. From a period where monitoring in sports was lax, to say the least, to today, where athletes are frequently tested for steroids and other illegal drugs, there have been a plethora of amazing players. But only a couple of them could be considered the best. Here is our take on which MLB players are the best.
Babe Ruth
Easily one of the greatest baseball players to have ever swung a bat and hit 54 home runs in a single season. Prior to that season, he broke the current record and hit 29 home runs in 1919. He did most of his impressive numbers in the Yankees, but he also played for the Red Sox prior to that. His statistics alone put him at the top of the ladder, even when playing as an outfielder. Babe Ruth was and still is one of the most amazing baseball players.
Willie Mays
The man who played almost 3000 professional games. He played until he was 42. He was an amazing player throughout his career, playing for teams like the San Francisco Giants and his last two professional years in the New York Mets. He is one of the best players at doing everything at a very high level, still to be challenged by others.
Lou Gehrig
A man often known more about his disease, ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, had also been a fantastic batter, with scores which were cut short due to his condition. His retirement speech is known to all baseball fans, and some even know the story of his final two years, which he spent in agony, trying to find a solution for a then unknown disease. He played 2130 consecutive games, a record not to be broken until 1998.
Honus Wagner
This man was immortalized as one of the greatest shortstops to have ever played the game. With his scores adjusted, he is the only shortstop who has a career wOBA over .400. Apart from his success on the field, his story continued when his trading card, the notorious T206, sold for a sum which exceeds three million dollars.
Ty Cobb
He is the Baseball Hall of Fame first’s member, the man who became notorious after his death. His scores are impressive and his career is definitely something people can only dream of. The unfortunate reality is that his career was slandered post-mortem, with reports from various “journalists”, claiming that he was extremely difficult to work with, as well as having other very negative traits.
Hank Aaron
With 25 All-Star appearances and over 700 home runs, he has the statistics behind him. Though, statistics aren’t everything, but it helps when you have the numbers to back you up, as well as the personality. As consistent as they can get, Hank Aaron is the foundation upon which you could build a great player.
When ranking players as the best and most successful, it is important to note that you can never list all of them, especially considering that different criteria is often used. There are many more legends to talk about, but you definitely already know some of them.