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Sort of OT: Mount Rushmore of Baseball

BrucePa

Well-Known Member
Sep 23, 2001
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Going to 11
With Hank Aaron's passing, I thought this would be a good topic. My four faces on baseball's Mount Rushmore are:

Hank Aaron
Babe Ruth
Jackie Robinson

And one more -- Who do you have?

Lou Gehrig? They named a disease after him.
Tommy John? They named a surgery after him.
Willie Mays? Maybe the best all-around ballplayer.
Casey Stengel? Among the most quotable of all players and managers.
Walter Johnson? We need a pitcher to be represented.

Maybe I should have created this as a poll.
 
Babe Ruth, Cy Young, Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson

Mickey Mantle, Ted Williams, Sandy Koufax, Bob Gibson

Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemons

There’s 12 and doesn’t include Honus Wagner, Lou Gehrig, Josh Gibson, and many other all time greats. Choosing four that could get some consensus is an impossible task.
 
With Hank Aaron's passing, I thought this would be a good topic. My four faces on baseball's Mount Rushmore are:

Hank Aaron
Babe Ruth
Jackie Robinson

And one more -- Who do you have?

Lou Gehrig? They named a disease after him.
Tommy John? They named a surgery after him.
Willie Mays? Maybe the best all-around ballplayer.
Casey Stengel? Among the most quotable of all players and managers.
Walter Johnson? We need a pitcher to be represented.

Maybe I should have created this as a poll.
Rocky Colavito
 
How about someone more knowledgeable than me offer up a best at each position - 8 position players, a starter, and a reliever. I don’t need no stinking DH.
 
i just happened to be looking up Ted Williams stats. Some really amazing things in there, not the least of which is that he hit .356 with 36 HRs, 137 RBIs, and a .499 on base % the year before leaving to go to war for three years (ages 24-26) then returned and hit .342 with 38 HRs, 123 RBIs and a .497 on base % after being out for 3 years. Amazing.
 
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i just happened to be looking up Ted Williams stats. Some really amazing things in there, not the least of which is that he hit .356 with 36 HRs, 137 RBIs, and a .499 on base % the year before leaving to go to was for three years (ages 24-26) then returned and hit .342 with 38 HRs, 123 RBIs and a .497 on base % after being out for 3 years. Amazing.
Yeah, he would have hit 640 home runs if not for his service.
 
C- Bench
1B- Gehrig
2B- Joe Morgan
SS- Ripken*
3B- Schmidt
OF- Williams
OF- Mays
OF- Ruth
DH- Aaron

pitching Rotation + closers

Koufax
Johnson Walter and/or Randy
Ryan
Clemens
Maddox
Martinez
Rivera - closer.
Eckersly- closer.
*early 1900’s Wagner, just seems like a different game, so I went with Ripken over A-Rod.
 
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I think you have to have one for hitter and another for pitchers. It’s too hard to compare the groups and pitchers are under valued.

Hitters:
  • Ruth
  • Williams
  • Mays
  • Aaron
Pitchers:
  • Walter Johnson
  • Cy Young
  • Nolan Ryan (based on sheer power and longevity)
  • Sandy Koufax (based on being near unhittable at his peak)
 
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i just happened to be looking up Ted Williams stats. Some really amazing things in there, not the least of which is that he hit .356 with 36 HRs, 137 RBIs, and a .499 on base % the year before leaving to go to was for three years (ages 24-26) then returned and hit .342 with 38 HRs, 123 RBIs and a .497 on base % after being out for 3 years. Amazing.
An anecdote about Ted Williams eye sight. After returning from Korea where he missed the most of another two seasons, he took batting practice at Fenway. He told Tom Yawkey the owner that home plate was not aligned properly with the field. Yawkey thought BS, had the field measured again to humor Williams and found out home plate was out of sync by half an inch.
 
Cobb's intensity makes Rose look like a slacker. If I only had one choice he would get it by a huge margin.
 
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With Hank Aaron's passing, I thought this would be a good topic. My four faces on baseball's Mount Rushmore are:

Hank Aaron
Babe Ruth
Jackie Robinson

And one more -- Who do you have?

Lou Gehrig? They named a disease after him.
Tommy John? They named a surgery after him.
Willie Mays? Maybe the best all-around ballplayer.
Casey Stengel? Among the most quotable of all players and managers.
Walter Johnson? We need a pitcher to be represented.

Maybe I should have created this as a poll.

Jackie Robinson over Musial, Mays, Cobb, Gehrig, Williams...etc? There are at least 40 players more deserving than than Robinson.
 
C- Bench
1B- Gehrig
2B- Joe Morgan
SS- Ripken*
3B- Schmidt
OF- Williams
OF- Mays
OF- Ruth
DH- Aaron

pitching Rotation + closers

Koufax
Johnson Walter and/or Randy
Ryan
Clemens
Maddox
Martinez
Rivera - closer.
Eckersly- closer.
*early 1900’s Wagner, just seems like a different game, so I went with Ripken over A-Rod.
If A-rod and Bonds didn't chose the cream and the clear they both probably would have been in the conversation of top 5 ever at their positions.
 
Branch Rickey
Babe Ruth
Ty Cobb
Joe DiMaggio

Rickey had a brilliant baseball mind, invented the farm system to baseball and integrated it finally among other things. Ruth, besides being Babe Ruth saved baseball after the Black Sox scandal. Cobb brought a fierceness and intensity never before seen in the game. IMO, DiMaggio was the most graceful and seemingly effortless all around player ever.
 
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