The 100 Greatest in 100 Days: #82 Sammy Sosa

Next up at #82 is Sammy Sosa. Slammin’ Sammy’s 10-year stretch with the Cubs from 1995 to 2004 produced the greatest home run barrage Major League Baseball has ever seen, literally. Sosa’s 479 home runs over that period are the most ever over 10 years. In fact, Sosa also holds the records for most home runs over a 5-year, 6-year, 7-year, 8-year, and 9-year stretch. Sosa is the only player in history with three seasons of 60+ home runs. He also shares the record for the most 50-home run seasons with four. He’s the only player in history with more than 60 home runs and 140 runs in a single season. He’s the only player to have more than 65 home runs, 150 RBIs, and 130 runs in a single season. He’s the only player in history with a season of at least 64 home runs and 155 RBIs and he did it twice. Sosa, Alex Rodriguez, and Rafael Palmeiro are the only three players in history with nine consecutive seasons of 35 home runs and 100 RBIs. He was the NL MVP in 1998 and the runner-up in 2001. Remarkably, Sosa led the league in home runs twice, but not in any of his 60-home run seasons.

The 100 Greatest in 100 Days: #83 Bob Feller

Rifling in at #83 is Cleveland great Bob Feller. Like many of the elite players of the 1940s, Bullet Bob’s career was interrupted by service in WWII. Feller missed three-and-a-half seasons just as he was establishing himself as the best pitcher in the world. It’s not hard to imagine Feller leading the league in wins for what would’ve been an unbreakable record of nine consecutive seasons had he been stateside for his entire career. In fact, he’d likely hold the records for most consecutive seasons leading the league in strikeouts and innings as well. Despite his lengthy absence from the majors, Feller put together one of the most impressive pitching careers MLB baseball has ever seen. He was the best pitcher in the American League the three years before left for the war and arguably in his first two full seasons after returning from the war. Feller is one of only 10 pitchers to throw at least 3,800 innings with an ERA+ of at least 122. He also led the league in strikeouts seven times, wins six times and innings pitched and games started five times each.

The 100 Greatest in 100 Days: #84 Robin Roberts

Popping in at #84 on our list is Phillies great Robin Roberts. No pitcher in MLB history had a six-season run quite like the one Roberts went on from 1950-1955. During this stretch, Roberts became the only pitcher ever to lead the league in games started for six consecutive seasons. He also became the first pitcher in history to have separate streaks of leading the league in wins four consecutive seasons and innings pitched five consecutive seasons. Roberts was the best pitcher in baseball in 1952 and 1955, finishing highest among pitchers in NL MVP voting, and he was the second-best pitcher in 1953 and 1954. He is the only pitcher in MLB history to lead the league in wins, innings, games started, and complete games for four consecutive seasons. Roberts is the only pitcher since the dead-ball era with a season of at least 28 wins and a BB/9 of 1.3 or less.  Roberts also led the league in WAR for Pitchers and strikeout-to-walk ratio five times and BB/9 four times.