The 100 Greatest in 100 Days: #2 Babe Ruth

Slugging in at #2 is the Sultan of Swat, the Colossus of Clout, the King of Crash, “The Great Bambino” Babe Ruth. Without the context of competition level, Babe Ruth is the greatest baseball player of all time. He dominated the league in a way no other player in history has been able to duplicate. Ruth led the league in home runs 12 times which is the most all-time and four more than anyone else. He had 11 forty home run seasons which are the most all-time and three more than anyone else. He had four seasons of at least 54 home runs which are the most in history. He had nine seasons of at least 46 home runs, nobody else has more than five. His six consecutive seasons of at least 46 home runs is the longest streak of all time. Ruth’s home run power was so prodigious that he nearly tripled the ML single-season home run record in 1919 and nearly doubled it again in 1920. Ruth’s home run ledger is just the appetizer to a resume that is stuffed with statistics that seem, well, made up. He’s #1 all-time with a .690 slugging percentage, a 1.164 OPS, and a 206 OPS+. He’s #1 all-time in WAR, #2 in RBIs, on-base percentage, and runs created, #3 in home runs and walks, #4 in runs and extra-base hits, and #10 in batting average. He’s the only player in history with 2,200 RBIs, 2,100 runs, and 2,000 walks. He led the league in slugging percentage 13 times which is the most all-time and four more than anyone else. He had nine seasons with at least 500 plate appearances and a .700 slugging percentage. No other player has more than four. His four seasons with at least a .750 slugging percentage and 600 plate appearances are the most all-time. There have only been four seasons in history with at least a .800 slugging percentage and 600 plate appearances and Ruth has two of them. Ruth’s 10 seasons of at least 130 RBIs are the most all-time. His nine seasons of 135 runs are tied for most all-time, and his 10 seasons of at least 125 walks are also tied for most all-time. Ruth had three seasons of 150 RBIs and 150 runs and five seasons of 140 RBIs and 140 Runs. Both are the most in history. His eight seasons of 130 RBIs and 130 runs are tied for most all-time. There have only been 11 seasons of 130 RBIs, 130 Runs, and 130 walks in history; Ruth has seven of them. No other player has more than two. There have only been eight seasons of 135 RBIs, 135 Runs, and 135 walks in history. Ruth has six of them. Ruth led the league in OPS 13 times which is the most all-time and OPS+ 12 times which is tied for the most all-time. His 10 seasons of at least 40 home runs and a 200 OPS+ are the most ever and twice as many as any other player. He had seven seasons with at least a 1.200 OPS and 500 plate appearances which is the most all-time. No other player has more than four. He had eight seasons with at least a 215 OPS+ and 500 plate appearances. Nobody else has more than four and only two other players have more than one. He led the league in WAR 10 times which is tied with Willie Mays for most in history. He led the league in runs eight times which is the most in history. He led the league in runs created nine times and extra-base hits seven times; both are tied for the most all-time. There have only been 11 seasons in history when a player hit at least .355, with 40 home runs and a 210 OPS+. Ruth has eight of them. His four seasons with at least a .370 batting average and 90 extra-base hits and his five seasons of 40 home runs with a .500 on-base percentage are the most ever. He joins Barry Bonds as the only two players in history to hit at least .340 with 45 home runs in three consecutive seasons. There have only been eight seasons in history with 45 home runs and a .500 on-base percentage and Ruth has four of them. In 1921, Ruth hit 119 extra-base hits and had 457 total bases; both are the most in history. He also scored 177 runs in 1921 which is the most since MLB was formed in 1903. To get even sillier, Ruth was the best pitcher in the American League in 1916, leading the league in ERA, games started, H/9, and winning percentage (min. 23 starts) while also giving up 0 home runs in 323.2 innings. He’s the only player in MLB history to lead the league in ERA in one season and home runs in another. While Ruth shattered regular-season records on a nightly basis, he was truly the king of the post-season. He led the Yankees to four World Series titles in seven appearances and the Red Sox to three World Series titles in three appearances. On the mound, he went 3-0 with a .87 ERA and a .935 WHIP in three World Series starts with the Red Sox, including a 14 inning 1-run complete game masterpiece in Game 2 of the 1916 World Series at 21 years old. That is still—and will probably always be—the postseason record for most innings pitched in a single World Series start. At the plate, his .744 postseason slugging percentage is the highest in history and 54 points higher than his career regular-season mark and his 1,214 postseason OPS is tied with Lou Gehrig for the highest in history.

The 100 Greatest in 100 Days: #3 Willie Mays

Snagging the list at #3 is the greatest centerfielder of all time, Willie Mays. Firmly in the running for the greatest offensive and defensive centerfielder of all time, “The Say Hey Kid” spent 22 seasons patrolling centerfield in New York and San Francisco. Many statistics jump off the page for Mays, but perhaps the most impressive is that he led the league in WAR an astounding 10 times which is tied with Babe Ruth for most in history. He’s also the only player in history to lead the league in home runs and stolen bases four times each, and he’s the only player in MLB history to lead the league in home runs four times and triples three times each, demonstrating his elite power/speed combo. Mays won the NL MVP in 1954 and 1965 and finished in the top-6 for 10 consecutive seasons. He’s 3rd all-time in total bases, 5th in WAR, 6th in home runs and extra-base hits, 7th in runs and runs created, 12th in RBIs, 15th in intentional walks, and 17th in slugging percentage. His 156 WAR is the most ever by a centerfielder and his dWAR of 18.2 is the 3rd highest among center fielders. He joins Mike Trout and Cal Ripken Jr. as the only players in history with at least two MVPs and two All-Star Game MVPs and he is tied with Stan Musial for the second-most All-Star game selections (24). Mays is the only player in history with at least 35 home runs, 35 stolen bases, and 20 triples in a single season. He’s the only player in history with at least 6,000 total bases and 300 stolen bases. He’s the only player with 3,200 hits, 600 home runs, and 300 stolen bases. He’s the only player in history with 600 home runs and 140 triples and he joins Barry Bonds as the only two players with 660 career home runs and 330 stolen bases. Mays led the Giants to four World Series appearances including a World Series title in 1954.

The 100 Greatest in 100 Days: #4 Roger Clemens

Hurling in at #4 is “The Rocket” Roger Clemens. Even among the elite pitchers in baseball history, Clemens stands out. His 24-year career is littered with one-of-a-kind accomplishments and an eye-popping run of peak longevity. Clemens’ seven Cy Youngs are the most all-time, two more than any other pitcher. He finished in the top-3 10 times which is the most ever. He won the 1986 AL MVP, making him the only pitcher in history with more than three Cy Youngs and an MVP. Clemens’ Cy Young Awards were won over a span of 19 seasons which is, by far, the longest stretch in history. He was the 7th youngest pitcher in history to win the award in 1986 at the age of 24, and was the oldest pitcher to win it in 2004 at the game of 42. He won the 1986 All-Star MVP, making him the only pitcher in history to win the Cy Young Award, MVP, and All-Star MVP, and he did it all in the same season. What makes Clemens’ career so remarkable is his resume stacks up not just against the elite pitchers of the last 50 years, but against the OGs from more than 100 years ago. Since Major League Baseball formed in 1903, his seven seasons of at least a 160 ERA+ and 200 innings are tied for the 2nd most all-time and his eight seasons of at least a 150 ERA+ and 200 innings are tied for the most all-time. His 10 seasons of at least a 140 ERA+ and 200 innings are tied for the most all-time and his 13 seasons of at least a 130 ERA+ and 200 innings are also tied for the most all-time. His 14 seasons of at least 120 ERA+ and 200 innings are the most in history and his 19 seasons of greater than a 100 ERA+ and 170 innings are tied for the most in history. Clemens’ six seasons of at least 20 wins and fewer than 10 losses are tied for the most in history and his five seasons of at least 20 wins and fewer than eight losses are the most all-time. He pitched 12 seasons with at least 30 starts and no more than 10 losses which are the most in history. He pitched three seasons with at least an .800 winning percentage and 30 starts which are also the most all-time. He’s the only pitcher in history with at least 600 career starts and at least a .658 winning percentage and the only pitcher in history with at least 4,000 strikeouts and a .658 winning percentage. Clemens had three seasons of at least a 210 ERA+ and 210 innings which are tied for the most since 1919. His 143 career ERA+ is the highest since 1929 (min. of 3,000 innings). Clemens led the league in ERA+ eight times which is the most since 1929 and the 2nd most by a pitcher. He led the league in field independent pitching nine times which is tied for the most all-time and shutouts six times which is the most since 1913. Clemens took six teams and three different franchises to the World Series and led the Yankees to back-to-back World Series championships in 1999 and 2000 in which he pitched a combined 15.2 innings with a .57 ERA and .51 WHIP.