The 100 Greatest in 100 Days: #87 Johnny Mize

Prowling into the list at #87 is the original Big Cat Johnny Mize. Mize had one of the longest peaks in history as he led the league in home runs, slugging % and extra-base hits four times, RBIs, OPS, and total bases 3 times, OPS+ twice, and batting average, runs, and doubles once. When he wasn’t leading the league, he was coming awfully close as he consistently finished near the top of every major statistical category for nearly a decade. He finished in the top-3 in slugging % and OPS+ a remarkable nine times. He finished in the top-3 in extra-base hits and offensive WAR eight times and home runs, total bases, and RBIs seven times. Indicative of his immense power, Mize is 14th all-time in slugging % and 17th all-time in OPS+. He finished in the top-10 of the MVP voting six times including back-to-back runner-up finishes in 1939 and 1940 in which he was unquestionably the best hitter in the American League. Mize joins Mark McGwire as the only two players to lead the league in home runs twice in the American League and the National League. He was also a part of five World Series titles with the Yankees where he had a robust .584 slugging % and a .909 OPS. It’s hard to believe that Mize put together such a stellar career despite missing three full seasons of his prime serving in WWII.

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Hi (hopefully) awesome reader! I welcome your comments. However, please be aware that I make all of my arguments using facts, statistics, and logic. Unfortunately, the average comment on a top-100 list goes something like this:

"UR StooPid. (Insert player) is trash. I've watched (pick a sport) for (pick a number of years) and (pick a player) is better than everyone. UR DUMB. HAHA6969."

–Some Jabroni

As cognitively stimulating as this species of comment is, it ends up being a missed opportunity to share a nuanced perspective. I reply to all comments that show even the most basic levels of thought and humility. The people who make the comments like the example above are under the assumption that the three seconds of thought that popped into their brains after reading the list is more than the 1000s of hours that I put into creating and maintaining the lists. I would be happy to defend any placement, or make an adjustment if one is warranted. If you are a jabroni, like the one above, then your comment will die in the lonely void of the unpublished comments section.

For everyone else, I look forward to your comments!

P.S. The theme of this site and the top-100 lists is that athletes from previous generations have historically been grossly overrated by sports publications in a way that is statistically improbable. Click on the "About" dropdown menu to see just how badly the average top-100 list disproportionately favors athletes from older generations when leagues were smaller, race quotas existed, and globalization wasn't a thing. Also, please consider reading "The History" section of the sport you are commenting on.

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