The 100 Greatest in 100 Days: #69 Eddie Mathews

Swinging in at #69 is Braves slugger Eddie Mathews. When Mathews retired in 1968, he was without question the greatest third baseman in Major League Baseball history, ranking first in home runs, runs, RBIs, slugging % and OPS+ (among third basemen who played a min. of 10 seasons). Mathews still ranks second all-time among third basemen in both home runs and WAR and is in the top five in RBIs, walks, and OPS+. Mathews twice finished runner-up in National League MVP voting and is the only third baseman to finish in the top-6 in offensive WAR for 11 consecutive seasons. He also led the league in walks four times, home runs twice, and is the only third baseman in history to hit at least 46 home runs twice. Mathews teamed with Hank Aaron to power the Braves to the 1957 World Series title, reaching base 13 times in a thrilling seven-game series with the Yankees.

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 If you are a jabroni, like the one above, then your comment will die in the lonely void of the unpublished comments section.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