Friday, July 5 Updated: July 17, 1:42 PM ET Is Mays now the Greatest Living Player? By Jayson Stark ESPN.com |
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He was more than a man with the prettiest numbers of all time. Ted Williams was a man with an aura. Once the great DiMaggio died, Ted Williams seemed to inherit that aura -- America's Greatest Living Player. And he wore it like the golden crown it was. There was something in the way he moved, something in the way he spoke about his sport, something in the way people reacted when he walked through the ballpark gates, that gave Ted Williams that Greatest Living Player glow, whether he truly was or not.
We once referred to Williams in print as America's Greatest Living Player. We found out fast that not everyone agreed. We heard from the Willie Mays proponents. We heard from the Stan Musial fans. We heard from the Hank Aaron people. We heard from the Pete Rose Fan Club. They all had their cases. Yet there was a certain -- what's the word? -- reverence that people seemed to have for Ted Williams that was somehow different from the way they reacted to those other men. So now, sadly, that Ted is gone, who inherits that mantle? Who becomes our Greatest Living Player now? Remember, when you think about that question, don't think only about the numbers. Think about that scene before the '99 All-Star Game in Fenway. Think about today's players crowding around Ted Williams, then talking about it with an astonishing awe. Think about all of it. Now mull this over one more time: Who is our Greatest Living Player? These would be the prime candidates:
1. Willie Mays Then add to that the 12 Gold Gloves, the Gold Gloves Mays would have won had they even existed in the early 1950s, the record for most putouts and chances by any outfielder in history and the most famous catch ever made. Add in his annual show at the All-Star Game. For all-around greatness, almost nobody who ever lived tops Willie Mays.
2. Hank Aaron
Aaron is still the all-time leader in homers, RBI, total bases and extra-base hits. He won three Gold Gloves. He has worked in the Braves' front office for more than a quarter-century. He made a hilarious commercial with Barry Bonds. And he deserves extra points in this debate just for all the abuse he took for having the nerve to challenge the Babe's home run record.
3. Stan Musial He won back-to-back MVP awards. He was the only National Leaguer between the 1930s and the 1990s to have a .700 slugging percentage in a season. He leads all living players in harmonicas played. Hard to believe he needed a committee to step in and add him to the All-Century team.
4. Frank Robinson Cracked the top five in stolen bases three times. Won a 1-0 World Series game with a home run off Don Drysdale. Even hit a home run in his first at-bat as a player-manager. Robinson exuded fire and greatness every time he walked onto a field -- and still does.
5. Pete Rose He had more 200-hit seasons (10) than Ty Cobb, or anyone else. Three batting titles. The longest hitting streak of the post-DiMaggio era (44 games). A Rookie of the Year and an MVP award. Four straight seasons without a missed game. Scored more runs than all but four players who ever played (Rickey Henderson, Ty Cobb and Ruth). Left an All-Star Game memory by steamrolling Ray Fosse. Left a World Series freeze frame by catching a pop-up that squirted out of his catcher's glove. Rose's exile from baseball might keep him out of the Hall of Fame, but it has added to his larger-than-life profile -- and that might help him in this debate.
Other names for consideration (active)
Other names for consideration (retired) Jayson Stark is a senior writer for ESPN.com. |
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