My Initial Predictions for the GOAT

What are my predictions?

Before starting, I figured that we would see

The usual suspects

(in no particular order):

1. Ty Cobb – Highest Lifetime Batting Average
2. Babe Ruth – The quintessential Power Hitter against whom all are measured
3. Ted Williams – Possibly the best “Eye” in history
4. Lou Gehrig – The Original Ironman and often in the shadow of The Babe
5. Willie Mays – The Say Hey Kid had a fabulous combination of power, speed, and longevity
6. Mickey Mantle – Also, speed, power, and spectacular long-distance clouts
7. Hank Aaron – Unmatched in power, consistency, and longevity
8. Barry Bonds – The all-time leader in home runs
9. Tris Speaker – The Gray Eagle is still the all-time leader in doubles
10. Honus Wagner – The Flying Dutchman was considered the greatest at the turn of the century
11. Jimmie Foxx – Double XX had years of great power
12. Mel Ott – Got started young and finished in the Top 10 all-time in homers
13. Stan Musial – Stan the Man was a steady, perennial all-star
14. Carl Yastrzemski – Yaz was a contemporary great
15. Eddie Collins – Almost as good a hitter as Cobb and a great fielding second baseman to boot
16. Nap Lajoie – It was said that Lajoie with Cobb’s speed might hit .500!
17. Frank Robinson – A contemporary superstar
18. Joe Jackson – Shoulda, woulda, coulda
19. Cap Anson – The first superstar
20. Joe DiMaggio – The Yankee Clipper and 3-time MVP lost 3 peak years to WWII

Along with some newer folks:

1. Rickey Henderson – Arguably the greatest leadoff hitter of all time
2. Eddie Murray – Arguably the greatest switch hitter of all time
3. Albert Pujols – Better than Gehrig?
4. Miguel Cabrera – The last Triple Crown winner and maybe the next 3000 hit, 500 homer man
5. Derek Jeter – 6th all-time in hits
6. Alex Rodriguez – 3000 hits, almost 700 homers… jeez
7. Ken Griffey Jr.– Had a 10-year string where his hit 400 dingers
8. Rod Carew – No one hit like him in the 70s
9. Mike Schmidt – Redefined what was expected at third base
10. Ichiro Suzuki – Combined with his Japanese League stats, well over 4,000 hits, including a season-record 262

And with some young upstarts:

1. Mike Trout – as of this writing, has never finished below 4th in MVP voting
2. Troy Tulowitzki – While in Colorado, he was spectacular
3. Andrew McCutchen – He’s tailed off some but was solid through 2015
4. Josh Donaldson – MVP in 2015
5. Jacoby Ellsbury – Pretty solid before the injuries

And Some folks whose playing talents I have often not fully appreciated:

1. Wade Boggs – Knew how to hit and could take a walk
2. Pete Rose – Well, 4,256 hits… nuff, said
3. Reggie Jackson – Mr. October hit a lot of home runs when it wasn’t that easy to do so
4. Cal Ripken Jr.– Hits, homers, and always in the lineup
5. Robin Yount – 2-time MVP and over 3,000 hits

And some guys who I thought might be surprises:

1. Kenny Lofton – How is he not in the Hall of Fame?
2. Tim Raines – He could hit and steal bases like nobody’s business
3. Lou Brock – He stole bases when nobody else did
4. Eddie Matthews – Overshadowed by Hammerin’ Hank
5. Roberto Clemente – No decline phase

For a total of 45. I am very curious as to how it will all play out. Please join me for the fun.