There have been many legendary Major League Baseball players in the Baseball history. Baseball is a sport which has been played for more than 150 years in the United States.
So today we have compiled a list of some of the best baseball players of all time.
Ted Williams
Theodore Samuel Williams known as Ted Williams was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played his entire 19-year Major League Baseball career, primarily as a left fielder, for the Boston Red Sox from 1939 to 1960.
Ted Williams couldn’t play for three seasons due to military service during World War II and the Korean War.
He was Nicknamed ‘Teddy Ballgame’, ‘The Kid’ , ‘The Splendid Splinter’, and ‘The Thumper’, Williams is regarded as one of the greatest hitters in baseball history and to date is the last player to hit over .400 in a season.
Williams was a nineteen-time All-Star, a two-time winner of the American League (AL) Most Valuable Player Award, a six-time AL batting champion, and a two-time Triple Crown winner.
He finished his playing career with a .344 batting average, 521 home runs, and a .482 on-base percentage, the highest of all time. His career batting average is the highest of any MLB player whose career was played primarily in the live-ball era, he was tied for 7th all-time with Billy Hamilton.
Williams earned triple crowns and MVPs twice in his career. Furthermore, he is a 6-time batting champion, 4 times home run leader, and RBI leader.
Williams retired from playing in 1960. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame on July 25 of 1966.
After getting retired, Williams managed the Washington Senators/Texas Rangers franchise from 1969 to 1972.
Military service
Apart from being a great baseball player, Williams was also served as a Naval Aviator during the World War II, for the U.S. Army.
He received his gold Naval Aviator wings and his commission as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps on May 2, 1944.
Williams also served as a flight instructor at NAS Pensacola teaching young pilots to fly the complicated F4U Corsair fighter plane.
He also took part in the Korean War on 2 May 1952.
Roger Clemens
Next up on the list is 1986 AL MVP “Rocket” Roger Clemens.
William Roger Clemens, is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 24 seasons in Major League Baseball, primarily with the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees.
Clemens was one of the most dominant pitchers in major league history, tallying 354 wins, a 3.12 earned run average (ERA), and 4,672 strikeouts, the third-most all time.
An 11-time All-Star and two-time World Series champion, he won seven Cy Young Award winner during his career, more than any other pitcher inthe MLB history.
Clemens was known for his fierce competitive nature and hard-throwing pitching style, which he used to intimidate batters.
He was born in Ohio, but went school and college to the Houston, Texas. He was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in 1983 in the first round draft.
Clemens was a eleven time all Star, one time AL MVP awards winner and a two time triple crown in 1997 and 1998.
Roger Clemens name was not inducted in the Hall of fame wall due to some controversies of using performance enhancing drugs, but he was clearly one of the best pitchers of the game. He was arguably one of the best baseball players of all time.
Oscar Charleston
Oscar McKinley Charleston also known as was an American center fielder and manager in Negro league baseball. In 1915, after serving three years in the U.S. Army, the Indianapolis, Indiana, native continued his baseball .
Charlton spent all his career in the Negro leagues. He played for five different teams over his 18 years career. He saw most of the success with the Pittsburgh Crawfords.
The 1932, Crawfords are considered as the greatest Negro team ever, as the had a record of 99-36. The team also included other hall of fame players including, Bob Gibson and Satchel Paige.
Many of Charleston’s career achievements and stats are unknown as the Negro leagues were not well documented. Still it can be said, that Charleston would have been one of the best players in the Major League Baseball history, if the racism era didn’t prohibited.
He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1976.
Tom Seaver
George Thomas Seaver, nicknamed “Tom Terrific” and “the Franchise”, was an American professional baseball pitcher who played 20 seasons in Major League Baseball.
He played for the New York Mets, Cincinnati Reds, Chicago White Sox, and Boston Red Sox from 1967 to 1986.
During his MLB career, he compiled 311 wins, 3,640 strikeouts, 61 shutouts, and a 2.86 earned run average, and he threw a no-hitter in 1978.
He was a World series Champion in 1969. Seaver won the NL Rookie of the Year Award in 1967, and won three NL Cy Young Awards as the league’s best pitcher.
He was a 12-time All-Star and ranks as the Mets’ all-time leader in wins.
Tom Seaver was inducted into the Hall of fame in 1992. The New York Mets retired the number 41 Jersey in honour of him.
Seaver is also a member of the New York Mets Hall of Fame and the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame.
Honus Wagner
Johannes Peter “Honus” Wagner known as Honus Wagner, was an American baseball shortstop who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball from 1897 to 1917, almost entirely for the Pittsburgh Pirates. He also played three seasons for the Louisville Colonels 1897-99.
In 1900, Wagner won his first batting championship with a .381 mark and also led the league in doubles (45), triples (22), and slugging percentage (.573).
Wagner won eight batting titles during his career, including four in a row from 1906 to 1909. He also led the National League in stolen bases five times.
He also won the World Series Champion in 1909. He is also a five time NL RBI Leader.
He was inducted into the Hall of fame wall in 1936. The Pittsburgh Pirates retired the number 33 Jersey in honour of him.
Randy Johnson
Randall David Johnson, is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball for six teams, primarily the Seattle Mariners and Arizona Diamondbacks.
Nicknamed,”The Big Unit”, Johnson won five Cy Young Awards, a World series MVP award, and also led MLB in strikeouts nine times. He got better with age.
At 6 ft 10, Johnson was the tallest player and feared pitcher in the MLB history when he entered the league, he had an extremely intimidating persona and pitching style. He is particularly known for his overpowering fastball and devastating slider.
From his age 29-44 (1993-2008), Johnson compiled a 3.08 ERA with a 1.1 WHIP, 11.1 K/0 and 4.19 K/BB.
Johnson was one of two World Series Most Valuable Players in 2001, in the Series, Johnson won three games and led the Arizona Diamondbacks to a World Series victory over the New York Yankees in the fourth season of the team’s existence. He won the pitching Triple Crown in 2002.
Johnson’s 303 career victories are the fifth-most by a left-hander in MLB history, while his 4,875 strikeouts place him second all time behind Nolan Ryan and first among left-handers.
Johnson is a ten-time All-Star, and five time the Cy Young Award (best pitcher), and is one of only two pitchers to win four straight Cy Young Awards from (1999–2002). Johnson won Cy Young Award in both leagues.
He is also one of five pitchers to pitch no-hitters in both leagues, and one of 20 pitchers in history to record a win against all 30 MLB franchises.
Randy Johnson retired at the age of 46, and was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2015, his first year of eligibility. He is the first member of the Hall to be depicted in a Diamondbacks uniform on his plaque.
Ty Cobb
Tyrus Raymond Cobb, nicknamed “the Georgia Peach”, was an American Major League Baseball center fielder. He was born in rural Narrows, Georgia.
Cobb spent 22 seasons with the Detroit Tigers, the last six as the team’s player-manager, and finished his career with the Philadelphia Athletics.
In an era when batting average reigned supreme, Cobb was the greatest of all. He won a record 12 batting titles, hit .400 three times and finished with the highest lifetime average in MLB history.
Known as an elite hitter, Cobb also stole many bases, having stole nearly 900 bases over his career.
Conb played a total of 3,035 games over 22 seasons which puts him on the 5th all time games played.
In 1999, the Sporting News ranked Ty Cobb third on their list of “Baseball’s 100 Greatest Players.”
Cobb is a twelve time AL Batting Champion, and one time AL MVP, he also won the triple crown in 1909.
Walter Johnson
Walter Perry Johnson, nicknamed “Barney” and “The Big Train”, was an American professional baseball player and manager.
He played his entire 21-year baseball career in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher for the Washington Senators from 1907 to 1927. He won the 1924 world series title with the Senators.
Walter Johnson is often regarded as one of the best pitchers in the MLB history. Johnson established several pitching records, some of which remain still unbroken nine decades after he retired from baseball.
He remains by far the all-time career leader in shutouts with 110, second in wins with 417, and fourth in complete games with 531. He held the career record in strikeouts for nearly 56 years, with 3,508, from the end of his career in 1927 until the 1983 season, when three players (Steve Carlton, Nolan Ryan and Gaylord Perry) finally passed the mark.
Johnson also holds the record of 110 game shoutouts which will probably never be broken. He is the only pitcher in Major League history to record over 400 wins and strike out over 3,500 batters.
After his retirement he served as manager of the Senators from 1929 through 1932 and of the Cleveland Indians from 1933 through 1935.
In 1936, Walter Johnson was inducted into the Hall of fame wall. He was probably one of the best baseball players of all time.
Barry Bonds
Barry Lamar Bonds also known as Barry Bonds is an American former professional baseball left fielder who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball.
Bonds was a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1986 to 1992 and the San Francisco Giants from 1993 to 2007.
Barry Bonds holds the record for most home run hits, 762 with 73 home runs in a single season record in 2001.
Barry Bonds was one of the most dominant hitters of the late 1900’s and early 2000’s. Bonds won a record seven NL MVP awards and 12 Silver Slugger awards, along with 14 All-Star selections.
He also won eight Gold Glove awards, due to his defensive ability.
Barry Bonds is considered to be one of the best baseball players of all time.
Despite all this achievements, Barry Bonds was never included in the Hall of fame wall, due to scandals claiming of him using performance enhancing drugs. Barry Bonds became one of the biggest disappointments of the baseball fans.
Lou Gehrig
Henry Louis Gehrig was an American professional baseball first baseman who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball for the New York Yankees.
Gehrig was renowned for his prowess as a hitter and for his durability, which earned him his nickname “the Iron Horse”.
He had a .340 batting average, .632 slugging average, and a .447 on base average. He hit 493 home runs and had 1,995 runs batted in (RBI).
He still has the highest ratio of runs scored plus runs batted in per 100 plate appearances (35.08) and per 100 games (156.7) among Hall of Fame players.
He was a six time World Champion and a member of the Major League Baseball All-time team. He also won two AL Batting titles.
He also holds the record for hitting the most home runs (4) in one game. He was a one time triple crown winner.
The New York Yankees retired their number 4 in honour of Lou Gehrig. He was inducted into the Hall of fame in 1939. He was arguably one of the best baseball players of all time.
Cy Young
Denton True “Cy” Young was an American Major League Baseball pitcher. Born in Gilmore, Ohio, he worked on his family’s farm as a youth before starting his professional baseball career.
Young entered the major leagues in 1890 with the National League’s Cleveland Spiders and pitched for them until 1898.
He was then transferred to the St. Louis Cardinals franchise. In 1901, Young moved to the American League and played for the Boston Red Sox franchise until 1908, helping them win the 1903 World Series.
He finished his career with the Cleveland Naps and Boston Rustlers, retiring in 1911.
He made some records which will probably never be broken, like his innings pitched record of 7356 during his career.
Cy young won the first ever World series in 1903 as a 36 year old, Cy Young was probably one of the most dominant pitchers in the baseball history.
The best pitcher award is named after Cy Young in his honour. In 1937, Cy Young was inducted into the Hall of fame wall.
Stan Musial
Stanley Frank Musial, nicknamed “Stan the Man”, was an American baseball outfielder and first baseman.
He spent 22 seasons in Major League Baseball, playing for the St. Louis Cardinals, from 1941 to 1944 and from 1946 to 1963.
He won seven batting titles over 22 years, he was named the National League’s (NL) Most Valuable Player (MVP) three times and was a member of three World Series championship teams.
He also shares the major league record for the most All-Star Games played (24) with Hank Aaron and Willie Mays.
He batted .331 over the course of his career and set National League (NL) records for career hits (3,630), runs batted in (1,951), games played (3,026), at bats (10,972), runs scored (1,949) and doubles (725). His 475 career home runs then ranked second in NL history behind Mel Ott’s total of 511.
He was inducted into the Hall of fame in 1969. The St.louis Cardinals retired their number 6 Jersey in honour of him.
Ken Griffey jr
George Kenneth Griffey Jr also known as Ken Griffey Jr, is an American former professional baseball outfielder who played 22 years in Major League Baseball.
He spent most of his career with the Seattle Mariners and Cincinnati Reds, along with a short stint with the Chicago White Sox
Nicknamed “The Kid” and “Junior”, he was the No.1 pick in the 1987 MLB Draft of the Seattle Mariners.
He was a 13 time All-Star selection and 7 time Silver Slugger award winner.
Griffey is one of the most prolific home run hitters in baseball history, his 630 home runs rank as the seventh-most in MLB history.
Griffey was also an exceptional defender and won ten Gold Glove Awards in center field. He is tied for the record of most consecutive games with a home run (eight, with Don Mattingly and Dale Long).
Ken Griffey Jr was inducted into the Hall of fame in 2016.
Willie Mays
Willie Howard Mays Jr., nicknamed “the Say Hey Kid” and “Buck”, is a former center fielder in Major League Baseball, played in the National League between 1951 and 1973, almost entirely for the New York Giants/San Francisco Giants.
His career began with the Birmingham Barons in the Negro league, he played one season for them before getting signed by the New York Giants in 1951.
He also played one season for the New York Mets in 1972-73 season.
Willie Mays played 21 season for Giants in the Major League Baseball. Before moving to the San Francisco.
He won the Rookie of the season with the New York Giants in 1951, but spent nearly two seasons in the U.S Army as he served them during the Korean War.
Mays was an elite hitter, averaging 40 home runs per season from 1954 through 1966. And he ran with the best of them, leading the majors in stolen bases for four straight years from 1956 to 1959. His unmatched collection of skills made him the greatest center fielder in the MLB history.
Mays won twelve golden gloves duento his great defensive ability. He was a 24 time All-Star, and two time NL MVP Award winner. Mays won the World Series in 1954. He also won the Robert Clement award in 1971.
He was probably one of the best baseball players of his generation. Willie Mays was inducted into the Hall of fame wall in 1979.
Hank Aron
Henry Louis Aaron known as Hank Aron, was pan American professional baseball right fielder who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball, from 1954 through 1976.
Nicknamed, “Hammer” or “Hammerian Hank”, he spent 21 seasons with the Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves in the (NL) and two seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers in the American League (AL).
He was an All-Star in his every 22 year long season except his rookie season with the Milwaukee Braves and his last season with the Milwaukee Brewers.
Hank is considered as one of the best sluggers of his time. Many baseball fans even consider him one of the greatest home run hitter of the game, as Bonds used performance enhancing drugs to enhance his ability.
He was a great hitter, as evidenced by his .305 lifetime batting average and 3,771 hits. Aaron’s 2,297 RBIs remain the career MLB record, one that is probably safe for a long time to come.
Hank Aron won the World Series title in 1957. He was also a three time Gold Glove Award (1958-1960).
He was also 4 time NL Home run leader and two time NL Batting Champion.
Hank Aron was inducted into the Hall of fame in 1982.
Babe Ruth
George Herman “Babe” Ruth Jr also known as Babe Ruth was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935.
Nicknamed “the Bambino” and “the Sultan of Swat”, he began his MLB career as a star left-handed pitcher for the Boston Red Sox, but achieved major success as a slugging outfielder for the New York Yankees.
In 1914, Ruth was signed to play Minor League baseball for the Baltimore Orioles but was soon sold to the Red Sox.
He aslo played one season for the Boston Braves in 1935.
By 1916, he had built a reputation as an outstanding pitcher who sometimes hit long home runs, a feat unusual for any player in the pre-1920 dead-ball era.
He led his league in home runs 12 times, often out-homering entire teams, and 13 times in slugging percentage and 1.195 OPS, 209 OPS+ and 653 home runs. He slugged .690 for his career. He slugged .744 in 41 World Series games
During his career, Babe Ruth won four World series titles with the New York Yankees.
The MLB Player had the best batting average in MLB in 1924 and the best ERA as a pitcher in 1916. He hit 714 career home runs, which stood as a MLB record until Hank Aron broke it in 1974.
A twelve time World champion with the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, babe Ruth is arguably the best baseball player of all time.
He was a 5 time AL RBI Leader, and two time All-Star. He was also twelve time AL Leader board Champion.
Babe Ruth is regarded as one of the greatest sports heroes in American culture and is considered by many to be the greatest baseball player of all time.
In 1936, Babe Ruth was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame as one of its “first five” inaugural members.
New York Yankees retired their number 3 Jersey in honour of him.
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