Greatest baseball player of all time?

Too many variables, but I'd say you can name the top 5 greatest hitters & pitchers:

Hitters:

1. Babe Ruth

2. Hank Aaron

3. Willie Mays

4. Ty Cobb

5. Ted Williams

(Albert Pujols? Alex Rodriguez (juice-head)? Barry Bonds (juice-head)? Griffey Jr.? Lou Gehrig? Mickey Mantle? Too many great names, this is a truly difficult list to put together)

Pitchers:

1. Walter Johnson

2. Randy Johnson

3. Nolan Ryan

4. Tom Seaver

5. Warren Spahn

(Roger Clemens (juice-head)? Gred Maddux? Pedro Martinez? Christy Mathewson? Grover Alexander? Steve Carlton? Just too many great pitchers to leave off the list)

**Sorry, forgot about Pete Rose, there's just too many greats to single out 1 as the greatest, IMHO, there's too many factors & variables. Otherwise, MLB would have the Greatest Player of All Time election, instead of the H.O.F. & there'd be only 1 hitter & 1 pitcher, or maybe 1 player at each position, that'd be kinda boring for a lot of fans...)**

Other then maybe answering "Mickey Mantle" why would anyone not answer "Babe Ruth" to this question. It has been asked several times and always interesting to see that some people think anyone else comes close. It took Aaron almost 4000 more turns at bat to break Ruth's record. How many times did Aaron steal home....Ruth did it 10 times. Who held the scoreless pitched innings in the World Series before Whitey Ford...Not Aaron, it was Ruth!....give him those 4000 more turns at bat and he would have finished with over 1100 home runs!....still always have to pay homage to the great yet "hated" Stinkin Red Sox'er by the name of Ted Williams....he was truly the greatest hitter....521 homers with 5 1/2 years time off to serve his country.....that might have been the answer to this question should he have been around for those years!........BABE RUTH IS THE ANSWER!

Babe Ruth is the greatest player of all time. He was an extraordinary pitcher and an even better hitter. If he stuck with pitching he'd probably be on the same level as Cy Young but since he was such a good hitter they put him in the lineup and you've seen how that's gone. Babe Ruth, greatest player of all time.

kazera actually makes a very good point. It is difficult to choose just one player. Who is better: Walter Johnson or Ty Cobb? If Cobb, what makes him better just because he was a batter? If Johnson, again, why?

Fortunately, Babe Ruth happened to be on course for a Hall of Fame career as a pitcher before switching to the outfield. A lot of guys have switched from pitcher to something else or vice versa, but none were Hall of Fame potential at both. That is why people choose Ruth. That is also why I do.

Willie Mays. Did absolutely everything -- the first real five tool player, and still stands, the best all-around player to play the game. Fielding, Hitting for Power, Hitting for Average, Stealing Bases, Clutch Hitting, etc.

Gotta be Babe Ruth. Anyone who can smoke like a chimney, drink like a fish, party with whores and still be America's sweetheart for his ability to hit a round ball with a stick has to be something special.

Bambino

Ted Williams

I gotta go with Mr. Cub Ernie Banks.

Babe Ruth but only when he was on the Red Soxs