Okay, after 38 polls, no real surprises -- it's Willie from NYG-SFG/NLW/NL and Babe from NYY/ALE/AL. So, Bauxites -- greatest player ever?
Willie Mays | 50 (24.04%) |
Babe Ruth | 148 (71.15%) |
If I have to choose, my head will explode -- it's a tie! | 10 (4.81%) |
I admit it -- I broke up the shutout. Of the first 16 votes, I'm the only one to go with Mays??
Sure, sure, give Ruth the time pitching as bonus points. But Mays was a tremendously better defensive outfielder -- Ruth probably had a better (pitcher's) arm, but Willie was, IMNSHO, the greatest player the game ever saw. AGold-Glove, base-stealing, triple-crown-threat, 50-homer guy? So he couldn't pitch like a Hall of Famer? Well, The Sultan of Swat didn't pitch (except as an occasional stunt) during his glory years as a hitter, regardless of his capability.
I'll take Willie. And this is not an "I saw him play" argument -- I only remember (and barely at that) the shell-of-a-star Met Willie from the early '70s. Besides, I'm a Yankees guy, so voting for a Giant/Met really takes some wherewithal!