When it comes to a discussion about the greatest first basemen in MLB history, the shortlist usually includes names like Albert Pujols, Jimmie Foxx, Lou Gehrig, Hank Greenberg, etc. In particular, with Babe Ruth helping to usher in a new age of baseball post the dead-ball era, offense exploded in the 1920s and 1930s. At the vanguard of this renaissance were Jimmie Foxx and Lou Gehrig, two first basemen who are closely linked to Ruth: Foxx was arguably the second-greatest power hitter of the era (after Ruth), while Gehrig protected Ruth as the cleanup hitter in the New York Yankees’ lineup for a decade. Between these two legendary sluggers, as fans continue to debate their careers and places in history, we ask the question:
Throughout baseball history, there have been great catchers in every era in different shapes and forms, from Mickey Cochrane to Bill Dickey to Yogi Berra to Johnny Bench to Carlton Fisk to Gary Carter, etc. In the 1990s and 2000s, MLB’s catching landscape was dominated by two figures, Mike Piazza in the NL and Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez in the AL. As different as the two were, Piazza being the big slugger with at-best average defensive skills and Rodriguez being the all-around hitter and Gold Glover backstop, each was a dominant player at the position for well over a decade and has been immortalized in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Given their overlapping and highly accomplished careers, it is only natural to ask:
Note: Updated for Larry Walker’s 2020 Hall of Fame selection.
Every major league baseball team is constantly on the lookout for the next great five-tool player (speed, power, hitting for average, fielding, arm strength), with the best example in today’s game being Mike Trout. In recent memory, two of the best five-tool talents of the 1990s and 2000s were Carlos Beltran and Larry Walker, who between the two of them, had nearly 5,000 hits, 800 home runs, 3,000 runs scored, 3,000 runs batted in, and 500 stolen bases, and were honored with All-Star selections, Gold Gloves, Silver Sluggers, batting titles, and MVPs. Though each player’s respective Hall of Fame credentials have been (and in Beltran’s case, will be) debated among Cooperstown voters, between the two of them, the question is:
In the long and storied history of professional baseball, while power pitchers have been an enduring archetype, very few fireballers have achieved both dominance and longevity. In fact, there are currently only four pitchers in the 300+ win, 4,000+ strikeout club: Steve Carlton, Nolan Ryan, Roger Clemens, and Randy Johnson. While today’s fans may better remember the more recent Cy Young-winning ways of the right-handed Clemens and the southpaw Johnson, the duo of Carlton and Ryan was the original lefty/righty power pairing – given their careers essentially overlapped and the interesting contrasts between their games (besides righty and lefty, Cy Youngs vs. no-hitters, NL vs. primarily AL, etc.), this inevitably leads to the question:
The Atlanta Braves of the 1990s and early 2000s were one of the great baseball dynasties in recent memory, winning 14 consecutive division titles from 1991 to 2005 (though only one World Series title). These great teams were led by Hall of Fame manager Bobby Cox, All-Star and Hall of Fame hitters such as Chipper Jones, Fred McGriff, and David Justice, but perhaps most importantly, a trio of Hall of Fame pitchers in Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, and John Smoltz. Among the Big Three, Maddux is generally regarded as the alpha dog and one of the greatest pitchers ever, but Glavine and Smoltz were no slouches either, with both winning 20+ games on numerous occasions and taking home NL Cy Young honors at least once. Between these two star Atlanta pitchers, the question is:
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