who do you think was the best pitcher ever?
366485
i think cy young's victory record is the only record that is unbreakable.  i suppose that doesn't make him necessarily the best.  walter johnson was supposed to be awesome.  ever hear the story about bob feller?  he threw a called strike to a guy, and the batter said "it sounded low."
799565
In no particular order!\n\n1.Jose Reyes is the best SS in the game right now\n2 Albert Pujols - the best player in the game right now\n3. Johann Santana - by far the best pitcher in baseball\n4. Ryan Howard - crazy strong and talented hitter\n5. Alex Rodriguez - had incredible numbers in his OFF year\n6. David Ortiz - even though he doesnt play the field he is one of the best today\n7. Carlos Beltran - The best CF in the game in my opinion\n8. Derek Jeter - a proven winner and the likely 2006 AL MVP\n9. Joe Mauer - the best catcher in baseball\n10. Vladimir Guerrero - great hitter, and one helluva arm\n\nhonorable mentions: Chris Carpenter, Roy Halliday Travis Hafner, and Justin Morneau
926343
I grew up with Rickey Henderson as my favorite baseball player ever.  I loved the guy, hell i even had his book, and comic book.  OH yeah, he had a comic book.  Anyways he dominated the game, the best leadoff hitter of all time, hands down.  He should be a first ballot hall of famer.  Lets not forget his records in leadoff game home runs either.
163535
Although I never got to see the All Time Greats, I'd have to say Ted Williams. Stan Musial was great also. Ty Cobb was no slouch either. Adding power you need to add Willie Mays and Babe Ruth.
25158
Take your pick, Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, or Mickey Mantle.  All three hit with power and ran with speed when they were in their prime. \n \nI believe the pitching is watered down now days with some many major league teams that there is not enough solid pitching to go around.  So it's difficult to compare today hitters with players from the 1920s to the 1970s.
295716
harmon killebrew\nkirby puckett\ntony oliva\nrod carew\nkent hrbek\n\nin my opinion, johan santana and joe mauer will crack that list someday.
1142997
Ive read a lot about him and he seems to be one of the great unheralded pitchers of all time.  If he would have played in the regualr MLB isntead of only the negro leagues his name would be mentioned as one of the greats of all time
905996
Of all the Japanese MLB players in the past and now, Nomo, Ichiro, Matsui are definitely the best 3 (followed by Jojima and Iguchi). Matsuzaka will be the best one ever.\n\nI am Japanese, and I have been watching Matsuzaka for the past 7 years. He is definitely one of the best 3 pitchers in Japan. \n\nAlthough he does not throw "gyro ball," he can throw 4 or 5 really nasty breaking balls in addition to well-controlled fast ball (97mph). \n\nWhen Ichiro was still with a Japanese Professional Baseball team in 1999, Matsuzaka was a rookie pitcher fresh from high school. In their first "match" Matsuzaka struck Ichiro out three at bat in a row. Even Ichiro (he had been the leading hitter for five consecutive years by then) had terribly hard time with only 18-year-old Matsuzaka back then.\n\nTurning 26, at the peak of his pitching career (for another 4 or 5 years), Matsuzaka makes an astonishing debut in MLB. Wow!
603037
I would choose francisco liriano... because hes a lefty who throws mid 90s and hes only 22 and i would say david wright... he has one of the best swings in baseball and hes a good defensive player... the cubs need a solid third baseman and a pitcher who can actually pitch in 30 games rather be hurt for 100...\nBTW im not a cubs... but i do like derrick lee... sacramento boy and im from sacramento...
1160696
Greg Maddux because he never had the blistering fastball that all the pro scouts look for these days.  We may never see a pitcher who can do more with "average" stuff than Maddux has done during his career.
450758
Ted Williams may have been the greatest hitter ever, but he was only an OK fielder (not because he didn't have the ability to field, he just didn't put much effort in that direction. He was also not the best base runner ever either, not even close).\n\nWillie Mays and Hank Aaron both were incredible "five tool" players... Aaron was a better hitter than Mays, Mays was a little better fielder than Aaron.  Mickey Mantle was also a better hitter than Mays when they were both at their peak, but injuries (and his lifestyle) prevented Mantle from putting up the career numbers that Mays had.  Mantle was a much, much better post-season player than Mays ever was (Mantle's teams won 8 of 12 World Series, Mays' teams lost 3 of 4.  However, two of Mays' World Series teams were the '51 Giants of his rookie year and the '73 Mets in his last year, when he was 42 years old). Mays' Giants lost the World Series to Mantle's Yankees in 1951 and 1962.\n\nMantle hit 18 post-season home runs...all in the World Series, of course, as the playoff system did not start until 1969, the year after Mantle retired. Nowadays, with umpteen rounds of playoffs, players are setting all kinds of 'post-season' records, without ever having to even play in a World Series. No telling how many 'post=season' HR's Mantle would have hit if he had 3 rounds (i.e two extra rounds per year) of playoffs...\n\nBut Babe Ruth would have to get the nod as the greatest player of all time. He was well on his way to a Hall of Fame pitching career before his move to the outfield. He then became either the best or 2nd best hitter (Ted Williams) of all time, with only Barry Bonds recently clouding the issue as to who's the best...\n\nBabe Ruth simultaneously held the World Series records for (1) Most home runs hit, with 15  AND  (2) most consecutive scoreless innings pitched (29+)  !!!!!!  The thought of one man holding BOTH records is amazing, but even more amazing is that he held both records for over 30 years... his pitching record was set with the Red Sox (who won the W.S. with Ruth in 1915, 1916 and 1918) and was not broken until Whitey Ford's performance in 1961.   His HR record (last W.S. HR hit in 1932) was not broken until Mantle hit his 16th in 1964.\n\nBill James' top 10 players of all time\n\n1. Babe Ruth\n2. Honus Wagner\n3. Willie Mays\n4. Oscar Charleston (Negro League player)\n5. Ty Cobb\n6. Mickey Mantle\n7. Ted Williams\n8. Walter Johnson\n9. Josh Gibson (Negro League player)\n10. Stan Musial\n\nfollowed by \n\n11. Tris Speaker\n12. Hank Aaron\n13. Joe DiMaggio\n14. Lou Gehrig\n15. Joe Morgan\n16. Barry Bonds (first active player listed, this was ab.2000)\n17. Satchel Paige (Negro League pitcher, played briefly in majors)\n18. Eddie Collins\n19. Lefty Grove\n20. Grover Cleveland Alexander\n\nOther recent players include \n21 Mike Schmidt \n24. Frank Robinson  \n26 Rickey Henderson   \n30 George Brett   \n31. Mark McGwire  \n33. Pete Rose  \n35 Craig Biggio    \n37 Carl Yastrzemski  \n38 Tom Seaver    \n44 Johnny Bench   \n45 Jeff Bagwell   \n46 Bob Gibson   \n48 Cal Ripken   \n49 Roger Clemens   \n54 Tony Gwynn  \n55 Robin Yount   \n57 Reggie Jackson     \n58 Ryne Sandberg   \n60 Wade Boggs   \n61 Eddie Murray  \n63 Harmon Killebrew   \n64 Rod Carew    \n69 Willie McCovey   \n73 Griffey Jr   \n75 Frank Thomas   \n77 Ernie Banks  \n78 Steve Carlton   \n79 Mike Piazza  \n80 Robbie Alomar   \n71 Tim Raines   \n92 Greg Maddux  \n97 Carlton Fisk   \n98 Kirby Puckett  \n100 Billy Williams
76203
The game was completely different back in Cy Young's day and it's not really fair to compare those guys to the ones pitching today. I mean, it's been almost 100 years since Cy Young pitched -- baseball's changed.\n\nI'd take Warren Spahn for lefties (pitched into the sixties, won 360 games, nearly 60% of his decisions) and Roger Clemens for righties (pitching currently in hitter friendly times, 340 wins so far, wins nearly two-thirds his decisions).
510026
i wasn't around when koufax was (tho i wish i could've seen him- he rocks!!!- not playing on yom kippur and stuff), but the best pitcher i ever saw was mariano rivera. the dude just rox!!!
622675
Jeter ...his clutch hitting in the World Series always fascinated me. He was the first pro athelete my age I saw have real success, I've always been a little in awe of that.
719531
Mike Schmidt of the PHILLIES, one of the best (if not the best) third baseman's to play the game. As a kid I used to watch him crank out homers at Veterans Stadium. Michael Jack Schmidt was THE MAN.
850093
I agree!!!  Santana is "Da Man" and is clearly the best pitcher not only in the AL but in baseball right now.  Trever Hoffman, at least in my mind, should have received the award in the NL.  He had a million saves again plus he broke Lee Smith's all time saves record.  I realize that there is the "Fireman" award for relief pitchers but it was still the best pitcher in the NL.  I have a lot of concerns about the egg heads who run the voting.  So many are completely out of touch with the game it's not funny.
620265
1. Pujols\nBest 1b of all time-btw-hit more HR in first 4 seasons than Ruth, Maris\n2. Gurrero\nBest All-around player in the game, deserved the MVP 2 years ago\n3. A. Rodriguez\nHandled the transition from SS to 3b smoothly, and is still one of the best hitters\n4. Hafner\nBig DH for the Indians is one of the early picks for MVP in the AL: hits for power and avg.\n5. Big Papi\nCarried the Red Sox to a title in '04, is an icon of the MLB and is the consummate DH