Every ranking update ever (Last golf update: 2/25/25 Next golf update: December ’25)

The making of the list.

The Rules

If you disagree with the placement of an athlete whose prime occurred before 1975, please read The ChatGPT Cautionary Tale before commenting.

Historically undervalued: 🔵

Rank	Player			Years	Country
1	Tiger Woods		Why?	1999-active	USA
2	Jack Nicklaus			1957-2005	USA
3	Phil Mickelson	🔵	Why?	1990-active	USA
4	Ben Hogan			1934-1967	USA
5	Sam Snead			1937-1983	USA
6	Arnold Palmer			1952-2004	USA
7	Tom Watson			1970-2016	USA
8	Gary Player			1956-2009	S. Africa
9	Bobby Jones			1916-1948	USA
10	Rory McIIroy			2007-active	N. Ireland
11	Ernie Els	🔵		1989-active	S. Africa
12	Nick Faldo			1976-2015	England
13	Seve Ballesteros			1975-2007	Spain
14	Lee Trevino			1966-2000	USA
15	Greg Norman	🔵		1977-2009	Australia
16	Brooks Koepka			2012-active	USA
17	Walter Hagen			1913-1942	USA
18	Gene Sarazen			1920-1976	USA
19	Byron Nelson			1934-1966	USA
20	Vijay Singh			1989-active	Fiji
21	Nick Price			1975-2006	Zimbabwe
22	Dustin Johnson			2008-active	USA
23	Bernhard Langer			1976-2023	Germany
24	Billy Casper			1956-2005	USA
25	Raymond Floyd			1963-2009	USA
26	Scottie Scheffler			2016-active	USA
27	Jordan Spieth			2012-active	USA
28	Ben Crenshaw			1970-2015	USA
29	Hale Irwin			1966-2004	USA
30	Payne Stewart			1981-1999	USA
31	Xander Schauffele			2017-active	USA
32	Pádraig Harrington			1996-active	Ireland
33	Jon Rahm			2016-active	Spain
34	Justin Thomas			2014-2024	USA
35	Sergio Garcia			1996-active	Spain
36	Jason Day			2010-active	Australia
37	Justin Rose			1998-acitve	England
38	Adam Scott			2000-active	Australia
39	Julius Boros			1950-1980	USA
40	Harry Vardon			1893-1929	Jersey
41	John Henry Taylor			1893-1929	England
42	James Braid			1894-1938	Scotland
43	José María Olazábal			1984-2018	Spain
44	Johnny Miller			1966-1994	USA
45	Larry Nelson			1976-2011	USA
46	Davis Love III			1986-2020	USA
47	Fred Couples			1979-2024	USA
48	Jim Furyk	🔵		1994-2022	USA
49	Cary Middlecoff			1946-1971	USA
50	Lanny Wadkins			1970-2001	USA
51	Tom Kite			1970-2004	USA
52	Tom Weiskopf			1965-2004	USA
53	Reteif Goosen			1999-2012	S. Africa
54	Louis Oosthuizen	🔵		2004-active	S. Africa
55	Henrik Stenson			2001-active	Sweden
56	Lee Westwood	🔵		1995-2022	England
57	Martin Kaymer			2008-active	Germany
58	David Duval			1990-2022	USA
59	Steve Elkington	🔵		1988-2011	Australia
60	Justin Leonard			1993-2024	USA
61	Hubert Green			1969-1996	USA
62	Curtis Strange			1975-2002	USA
63	Mark O’Meara			1980-2018	USA
64	Ian Woosnam			1982-2021	Wales
65	Fuzzy Zoeller			1976-2009	USA
66	Tom Lehman			1986-2019	USA
67	Collin Morikawa			2019-active	USA
68	Bubba Watson			2004-active	USA
69	Bryson DeChambeau			2015-active	USA
70	Zach Johnson			2004-active	USA
71	Angel Cabrera			1997-2019	Argentina
72	Sandy Lyle			1974-2013	Scotland
73	Lee Janzen			1985-2015	USA
74	David Graham			1970-1995	Australia
75	Jerry Pate			1975-2011	USA
76	Dave Stockton			1968-1997	USA
77	Paul Azinger			1983-2009	USA
78	Hal Sutton			1980-2005	USA
79	Leo Diegel			1920-1939	USA
80	Jimmy Demaret			1935-1967	USA
81	Denny Shute			1926-1972	USA
82	Tony Jacklin			1963-2007	England
83	Colin Montgomerie	🔵		1990-2016	Scotland
84	Luke Donald			1999-2024	England
85	Craig Wood			1925-1964	USA
86	Ralph Guldahl			1930-1973	USA
87	Ian Poulter			2000-2022	England
88	Rickie Fowler			2008-active	USA
89	Hideki Matsuyama			2011-active	Japan
90	Matt Kuchar			1998-active	USA
91	Tommy Fleetwood			2014-active	England
92	Corey Pavin			1981-2010	USA
93	Darren Clarke			1991-active	N. Ireland
94	Stewart Cink			1996-active	USA
95	Peter Thomson			1951-1984	Australia
96	Steve Stricker	🔵		1993-2021	USA
97	Craig Stadler			1974-2014	USA
98	Andy North			1974-1995	USA
99	John Daly			1986-2024	USA
100	David Toms			1996-2019	USA

The rest of the best golfers of all time.

Every ranking update ever (Last baseball update: 11/17/24 Next baseball update: December ’25)

The making of the List

The Rules

If you disagree with the placement of an athlete whose prime occurred before 1975, please read The ChatGPT Cautionary Tale before commenting.

Historically undervalued: 🔵

Rank	Player			Position	Years
1	Barry Bonds		Why?	OF	1986-2007
2	Babe Ruth			OF	1914-1935
3	Willie Mays			OF	1951-1973
4	Roger Clemens			SP	1984-2007
5	Lou Gehrig			1B	1923-1939
6	Randy Johnson	🔵	Why?	SP	1988-2009
7	Hank Aaron			OF	1954-1976
8	Ted Williams			OF	1939-1960
9	Greg Maddux			SP	1986-2008
10	Alex Rodriguez			SS	1994-2016
11	Mike Schmidt			3B	1972-1989
12	Albert Pujols			1B	2001-2020
13	Ty Cobb			OF	1905-1928
14	Clayton Kershaw			SP	2008-active
15	Mike Trout			OF	2011-active
16	Pedro Martinez	🔵		SP	1992-2009
17	Justin Verlander			SP	2005-active
18	Rogers Hornsby			2B	1915-1937
19	Mickey Mantle			OF	1951-1968
20	Stan Musial			OF	1941-1963
21	Walter Johnson			SP	1907-1927
22	Lefty Grove			SP	1925-1941
23	Mariano Rivera			RP	1995-2013
24	Max Scherzer			SP	2008-active
25	Jimmie Foxx			1B	1925-1945
26	Tom Seaver			SP	1967-1986
27	Manny Ramirez	🔵	Why?	OF	1993-2011
28	Rickey Henderson			OF	1979-2003
29	Miguel Cabrera			1B	2003-2023
30	Warren Spahn			SP	1942-1965
31	Joe DiMaggio			OF	1936-1951
32	Christy Mathewson			SP	1900-1916
33	Ken Griffey Jr.			OF	1989-2010
34	Frank Robinson			OF	1956-1976
35	David Ortiz			DH	1997-2016
36	Frank Thomas			1B	1990-2008
37	Reggie Jackson			OF	1967-1987
38	Bob Gibson			SP	1959-1975
39	Johnny Bench			C	1967-1983
40	Sandy Koufax			SP	1955-1966
41	Willie Stargell			OF	1962-1982
42	Mel Ott			OF	1926-1947
43	Cy Young			SP	1890-1911
44	Tris Speaker			OF	1907-1928
45	Jim Palmer			SP	1965-1984
46	Steve Carlton			SP	1965-1988
47	Honus Wagner			SS	1897-1917
48	Chipper Jones			3B	1993-2012
49	George Brett			3B	1973-1993
50	Carl Yastrzemski			OF	1961-1983
51	Curt Schilling	🔵	Why?	SP	1988-2007
52	Joe Morgan			2B	1963-1984
53	Pete Alexander			SP	1911-1930
54	Pete Rose			OF	1963-1986
55	Derek Jeter			SS	1995-2014
56	Yogi Berra			C	1946-1965
57	Jeff Bagwell			1B	1991-2005
58	Jim Thome			1B	1991-2012
59	Vladimir Guerrero			OF	1996-2011
60	Mike Piazza			C	1992-2007
61	Tom Glavine			SP	1987-2008
62	Gaylord Perry			SP	1962-1983
63	John Smoltz			SP	1988-2009
64	Roy Halladay			SP	1998-2013
65	Cal Ripken Jr.			SS	1981-2001
66	Nolan Ryan			SP	1966-1993
67	Gary Sheffield			OF	1988-2009
68	Whitey Ford			SP	1950-1967
69	Eddie Mathews			3B	1952-1968
70	Johan Santana	🔵	Why?	SP	2000-2012
71	Wade Boggs			3B	1982-1999
72	Al Kaline			OF	1953-1974
73	Roberto Clemente			OF	1955-1972
74	Harmen Killebrew			1B	1954-1975
75	Ernie Banks			SS	1953-1971
76	Carl Hubbell			SP	1928-1943
77	Hal Newhouser			SP	1939-1955
78	Mark McGwire			1B	1986-2001
79	Willie McCovey			1B	1959-1980
80	Tony Gwynn			OF	1982-2001
81	Rod Carew			2B	1967-1985
82	Sammy Sosa			OF	1989-2007
83	Bob Feller			SP	1936-1956
84	Robin Roberts			SP	1948-1966
85	Ferguson Jenkins			SP	1965-1983
86	Hank Greenberg			1B	1930-1947
87	Johnny Mize			1B	1936-1953
88	Nap Lajoie			2B	1896-1916
89	Adrian Beltre			3B	1998-2018
90	Brooks Robinson			3B	1955-1977
91	Rafael Palmeiro			1B	1986-2005
92	Eddie Murray			1B	1977-1997
93	Paul Molitor			DH	1978-1998
94	Freddie Freeman			1B	2010-active
95	Pudge Rodriguez			C	1991-2011
96	Dennis Eckersley			RP	1975-1998
97	Joey Votto			1B	2007-2024
98	Ichiro			OF	2001-2019
99	Gary Carter			C	1974-1992
100	Edgar Martinez			DH	1987-2004

The rest of the best baseball players of all time.

It’s rare that the biggest “What if?” in the history of a sport also just happens to come from one of the greatest players that sport has ever seen. This is the weird intersection where Mario Lemieux’s resume exists. Lemieux missed four full seasons due to lymphoma, and large portions of several others as a result of a litany of physical ailments. He played in just 64% of Pittsburgh’s games during his playing career. However, what he did in that 64% is quite literally the highest level of play that hockey has ever seen. It’s fair to say that Lemieux’s relatively meager games total keeps him from being a serious challenge to Wayne Gretzky on the GOAT throne. Gretzky isn’t just the greatest hockey player of all-time, he’s the greatest athlete in the history of team sports. Joining Gretzky ahead of Lemieux is Alexander Ovechkin, who led the NHL in goals a record nine times and has the most goals in the history of the NHL. Throw in the fact that both Gretzky and Ovechkin played close to 600 more games than Lemieux and it becomes pretty hard to argue they are not the two greatest hockey players of all-time. That third spot, however, is a tight race between Lemieux and Gordie Howe. Bobby Orr had a remarkable peak, but he’s just not a strong candidate for the third spot, having played only 657 games in the weakest era in NHL history. It’s hard to begrudge anyone for going with Howe in the third spot given his longevity, but he played in a league with just six teams, and never produced the high-end seasons that Lemieux did. As astonishing as it might seem, Lemieux–even playing just 64% of Pittsburgh’s games–seems to have done enough to lock down the 3rd spot. 

The most telling statistic to convey Mario Lemieux’s historical magnificence is the fact that he won six Ross Trophies (league scoring titles) and three Hart Trophies (league MVP) while playing smack dab in the middle of Gretzky’s prime. Unbelievably, he did this despite playing 65+ games in a season just six times in his entire career. In the 13 seasons from 1984-85 to 1996-97, Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux each won six Ross Trophies. During this same span, Gretzky won four Hart Trophies while Lemieux won three, and it should’ve been 4-3 in favor of Lemieux had MVP voters not lost their collective minds by awarding Gretzky the Hart following the 1988-89 season in which Lemieux outscored Gretzky by 31 points. Almost immediately after Lemieux entered the NHL, Gretzky’s stranglehold on league dominance ended. It was Lemieux who not only ended Gretzky’s run of eight consecutive Hart Trophies, but also his seven consecutive Ross Trophies. 

While Lemieux’s greatest achievement was playing a stalemate with the greatest athlete who ever lived, the statistics that he compiled to do so are, unsurprisingly, out of this world. Gretzky holds the NHL record with a hilariously scalding 1.92 points per game. Lemieux is right on his heels at a similarly sizzling 1.88 points per game. No other retired player in the history of hockey even reached 1.50 points per game. Even more impressive, Lemieux is actually the record holder for most adjusted points per game (1.68), which attempts to equalize all NHL players based on competition level and playing conditions. Furthermore, consider there have been 13 seasons in the history of hockey that resulted in 160+ points. Gretzky has nine of them, Lemieux has four, and the rest of the players in NHL history combined have zero. Lemieux put up 199 points in the 1988-89 NHL season which is 45 more than any non-Gretzky player in NHL history. Lemieux even has Gretzky beat in career goals per game and goals created per game. While Lemieux’s regular season exploits are a marvel–and it’s definitely easy to lose hours of your life falling into the rabbit hole of Lemieux’s statistical greatness–it’s unlikely that his regular season output alone would be enough to claim the third spot in a sport that is built on the legacies of playoff immortals. If you don’t know if Lemieux is one of those immortals, well, this is Mario Lemieux we’re talking about. 

Entering the 1990-91 NHL season, the Pittsburgh Penguins had not won a single playoff series in franchise history. Then Super Mario happened. Lemieux not only led the Penguins to their first ever series win, he brought the Stanley Cup to Pittsburgh on the heels of a virtuoso playoff performance. Lemieux scored 44 points on his way to the Conn Smythe Trophy (playoff MVP). Lemieux’s 44 points were the second most in the history of the NHL playoffs behind only–you guessed it–Wayne Gretzky. Lemieux would go on to lead the Penguins to a second consecutive Stanley Cup in 1991-92, and once again took home the Conn Smythe, becoming the first skater ever to win back-to-back Conn Smythe trophies. Lemieux’s 78 points over two consecutive NHL playoffs are the second most in history behind only Gretzky (82 points in ‘83-84 and ‘84-85). He is second all-time (behind Gretzky) in points per game and goals created per game in the playoffs. 

Eddie Vedder once sang, “I know I was born and I know that I’ll die…The in between is mine.” Mario Lemieux’s career left the hockey world wanting more, so much more. Injuries and health scares derailed what could’ve been the greatest career in the history of sports. Still, what Lemieux accomplished in between is so magnificent that it is very difficult to make the case that more than two players in NHL history deserve to be rated ahead of him on the all-time list. Le Magnifique gets the nod at three.