This is my tenth, and final entry in my list of my 100 greatest baseball players. A few notes. I am not going to include players who primarily played before 1903, since the rules were so different back then. I also will not include Negro League players who did not play in the Majors. I know this seems unfair, but it is hard to rank someone who does not have credible statistics. I'm also leaving out some good players who just have begun their careers, like Pujols and Ichiro, but I'm sure they will rank here eventually, its just too early to determine where. I also deduct a few points for accused steroid users, but hopefully I can know for certain about the drug use in baseball, so my rankings can be more justified. So I hope you enjoy my list.
91. Robin Roberts- A real workhorse with great control. Won 286 games, and finished in the top 3 in WHIP 9 times. Led the league in wins 4 years, in innings 5 years, in complete games 5 years, and in strikeout to walk ratio 5 years. Had the Cy Young award been around in his day, he could have won 4 of them.
92. Chipper Jones- Not much of a fielder, but a heck of a hitter. Owns a .300/.400/.500 career mark, and 405 home runs. 49th alltime in runs created, with time to add some more.
93. Harry Heilmann- Won 4 batting titles, with averages of .394, .403, .393, .398. Slow runner with little fielding range. One of the best hitters of the 20s, with a .342 career batting average.
94. Mickey Cochrane- 2 time MVP, was a good hitting catcher, batting .320 in his short career. 3 time World Champion, part of many great teams.
95. Brooks Robinson- Spectacular fielder. Won 16 Gold Gloves, an MVP award, and a WS MVP award. Made many unbelievable plays at third.
96. Jim Thome- Eagle eyed power hitter. 532 career homers, and 1530 career walks. Owns the 4th best AB per home runs ratio in history.
97. 3 Finger Brown- Has an awesome nickname, and the 6th best ERA ever. May have been the first closer in histroy, leading the league in saves 4 times. Won 239 games and lost only 130.
98. Dick Allen- Bill James painted an unfair pitcure of Allen, saying he was a clubhouse cancer. Many of Allens teammates and coaches said all of the stuff James said was a lie. I will believe them. Has a career 156 OPS+, and won a ROY and MVP. His numbers dont look too impressive into todays world, but back then they were amazing.
99. Ron Santo- Great fielder, and a good hitter. Had a terrific arm at third, and overall good range. Won 2 OBP titles, 4 BB titles, and 3 times on base titles. Hit 342 homers in his career, and should be in the Hall of Fame.
100. George Sisler- Sisler is not one of the 100 greatest players of alltime. I am only including him because a certain poster, who will remain nameless, harrassed me everday to include Sisler. But lets be honest, Sisler has the lowest OBP of any player that batted over .340. Gene Tenance has a better OBP. Sisler fielded below average in his career, and had little power. Had good speed, but there are plenty of better players, like Barry Larkin, who deserve the 100 spot other than George "Singlesfest" Sisler.
So that includes my list. I thank everyone who has read my blog. I hope you enjoyed it. I will to continue to write some more baseball blog stuff, but this 100 list is the main point.