Let's fill out the all-time infield ... from left to right, it's Schmidt, Wagner, and Hornsby, and the first baseman is ...
| Jeff Bagwell |  4 (3.15%) |
| Ernie Banks | 1 (0.79%) |
| Jimmie Foxx | 12 (9.45%) |
| Lou Gehrig | 85 (66.93%) |
| Hank Greenberg | 9 (7.09%) |
| Harmon Killebrew | 6 (4.72%) |
| Willie McCovey | 1 (0.79%) |
| Eddie Murray | 4 (3.15%) |
| George Sisler | 1 (0.79%) |
| Other (who?) | 4 (3.15%) |
127 votes | 10 featured comments
Rankings again thanks to our friends at The Baseball Page
... but again, tweaked to eliminate 19th-century candidates (sorry, Dan
Brouthers) and also moving Ernie Banks onto the liist in place of Dick
Allen -- come to think of it, Banks probably could have been a
candidate in the shortstop poll, too (he played 1,259 games at 1B and "just" 1,125 at SS) ...
The next guy in the Baseball Page rankings after the candidates listed in the poll (and those eliminated from it) is Frank Thomas, so still no Blue Jays on any of these top-nine lists. Maybe that will change when we move to other positions?
The next guy in the Baseball Page rankings after the candidates listed in the poll (and those eliminated from it) is Frank Thomas, so still no Blue Jays on any of these top-nine lists. Maybe that will change when we move to other positions?
The Iron Horse it has to be. The fact we share a birthday has no influence on this vote :)
That's why the first three letters of my name are "Doh!" zep. I miss
obvious stuff -- Alomar, of course, the inspiration for the question
that inspired this series, was in fact a Blue Jay. So there has been
the one.
My heart said Harmon Killebrew but my head said Lou Gehrig. I went with my head for once.
Obviously, the easiest choice at any position. By far. For one thing, with the exception of Sisler, all of the other contenders are essentially the same type of player as Gehrig - power hitters, who also drew walks, hit for excellent averages, and played good defense. The comparison between them is pretty simple.
As everyone knows, the illness that killed Gehrig at age 37 first drastically reduced his productivity in his age 35 season. Had that not happened, he could very, very conceivably have ended up with about 650 homers and more than 3500 hits.
Not to mention at least more than 2400 runs scored and driven in. Which would be well more than anyone. Ever, or in the foreseeable future as well. As great as he was, and is universally recognized to have been, he was even greater than most people quite realize.
As everyone knows, the illness that killed Gehrig at age 37 first drastically reduced his productivity in his age 35 season. Had that not happened, he could very, very conceivably have ended up with about 650 homers and more than 3500 hits.
Not to mention at least more than 2400 runs scored and driven in. Which would be well more than anyone. Ever, or in the foreseeable future as well. As great as he was, and is universally recognized to have been, he was even greater than most people quite realize.
Not that the rightfielder will require more than a quarter of a second
to vote. Hey, don't blame me for the slow reactions, I'm old...
I'd be interested in knowing who the four "other" votes have been for [I'm guessing Pujols was one...] and the reasons behind the votes. I understand thinking Pujols could, in the future, be considered the best first baseman ever, but at this point?
I'm sympathetic to HH... it's possible that Pujols is indeed the best ever, and the rest of us are just slow to render judgment. I like being slow to judgement, though, and so while waiting for Albert to put up another four good seasons I will say it's still Gehrig.