The 100 Greatest in 100 Days: #75 Ernie Banks

Coming in at #75 is Mr. Cub Ernie Banks. Banks obliterated conventional wisdom by proving it was possible for a shortstop to be an offensive force. By the time he finished his career in 1971, his 512 career home runs were more than double the total of any other shortstop in history, paving the way for future power-hitting shortstops like Cal Ripken Jr., and Alex Rodriguez. Banks became the first shortstop in the modern era to lead the National League in home runs and lead the league in home runs twice. He was named NL MVP in 1958 and 1959 becoming the first shortstop to win multiple MVPs.

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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 If you are a jabroni, like the one above, then your comment will die in the lonely void of the unpublished comments section.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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