Tag Archives: sports comparisons

H2H 116: Vladimir Guerrero vs. Manny Ramirez – Who was Better?

Disclaimer: I am well aware that Manny Ramirez tested positive numerous times for steroids during his MLB career and this is the primary reason why he is currently not in the Baseball Hall of Fame.  With all of this background in mind, this head-to-head between Vladimir Guerrero and Manny Ramirez is meant to compare them based solely on their career numbers and achievements without judgment on Ramirez’s steroid use during his career.

The end of the 2011 MLB season marked the last time that baseball fans would see two of the greatest Dominican-born players ever suit up for a major league game – for nearly two decades apiece, Vladimir Guerrero and Manny Ramirez were two of the game’s best sluggers.  Moreover, they were among the unique characters in the game, from Guerrero’s penchant for swinging at anything to Ramirez’s personality of “Manny being Manny”.  Even though Ramirez’s legacy has been tarnished by a number of positive steroid tests, he and Guerrero still sit at or near the top of most career hitting categories among their countrymen, thus making this an apt comparison:

Who was better – Vladimir Guerrero or Manny Ramirez?

Continue reading

Countdown 85: Top 10 MLB Players of the 1950s

Who are the top MLB players of the 1950s?  Here is our top 10 countdown:

Continue reading

H2H 115: Toni Kukoc vs. Detlef Schrempf – Who was Better?

Note: Updated for Toni Kukoc’s 2021 Hall of Fame selection.

The modern NBA is a verifiable United Nations of players, with many of its brightest stars hailing from overseas: Giannis Antetokounmpo from Greece, Luka Doncic from Slovenia, Joel Embiid from Cameroon, Rudy Gobert from France, just to name a few.  However, their paths to basketball stardom were paved by the pioneering foreign players of the 1980s and early 1990s, such as Sarunas Marciulionis, Arvydas Sabonis (whose son Domantas is now an NBA star in his own right), Drazen Petrovic, Vlade Divac, etc.  Notably, during the 1990s, Toni Kukoc from Croatia and German-born Detlef Schrempf were key components of championship-caliber teams for the Chicago Bulls and Seattle SuperSonics, respectively, and early prototypes for today’s long and versatile European players.  As basketball becomes more and more of a global game, let us look back on the 1990s and ask:

Who was better – Toni Kukoc or Detlef Schrempf?

Continue reading

Countdown 84: Top 10 NFL Players of the 1950s

Who are the top NFL players of the 1950s?  Here is our top 10 countdown:

Continue reading

H2H 114: Sergei Gonchar vs. Sergei Zubov – Who was Better?

As one of the world’s hockey superpowers, Russia (and before that, the Soviet Union) has historically been renowned for producing explosive and high-scoring forwards, e.g. Alexander Mogilny, Pavel Bure, Sergei Fedorov, Alex Ovechkin, Evgeni Malkin, etc., just to name a few.  Nevertheless, the country has also had its share of firepower from the blue line – in fact, outside of Sweden’s Nicklas Lidstrom and Borje Salming, the two highest-scoring European-born defensemen in NHL history both hail from Russia (and share the same given name): Sergei Gonchar and Sergei Zubov.  The two Sergeis were among the elite defensemen of the late 1990s and 2000s, particularly when it came to quarterbacking the offense – while Zubov is a recent Hall of Fame inductee and Gonchar remains on the outside looking in, their careers are nevertheless comparable in statistics and achievements, thus bringing about the question:

Who was better – Sergei Gonchar or Sergei Zubov?

Continue reading

Countdown 83: Top 10 NHL Players of the 1950s

Who are the top NHL players of the 1950s?  Here is our top 10 countdown:

Continue reading

H2H 113: Hank Greenberg vs. Johnny Mize – Who was Better?

During World War II, many of MLB’s biggest stars lost years of their playing careers to military service, e.g. Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams, Bob Feller, etc., just to name a few.  Two of the most productive first basemen of the 1930s, Hank “Hammerin’ Hank” Greenberg and Johnny “The Big Cat” Mize, both served in the war effort for three plus seasons during their prime and consequently, their overall career numbers were impacted greatly by the prolonged absence.  Nevertheless, when they were in the lineup, the duo were among the best first basemen to ever play in the major leagues – in addition to thinking about what could have been, let us compare these two great sluggers and ask:

Who was better – Hank Greenberg or Johnny Mize?

Continue reading

Countdown 82: Top 10 NBA Players of the 1960s

Who are the top NBA players of the 1960s?  Here is our top 10 countdown:

Continue reading

H2H 112: Brandon Marshall vs. Reggie Wayne – Who was Better?

With the NFL becoming more and more of a passing league, there has been no shortage of outstanding wide receivers since the turn of the 21st century.  In addition to the no-doubt Hall of Famers like Randy Moss, Larry Fitzgerald, or Calvin Johnson, the recent group of top-flight pass-catchers has tremendous depth and includes underrated, but highly prolific and consistent receivers like Brandon Marshall and Reggie Wayne.  While Marshall and Wayne were never quite THE best receivers in the league, each one was an annual 1,000-yard pass-catcher and a weekly fixture in fantasy football starting lineups; with their careers largely overlapping in the 2000s and 2010s, it is only natural to line them up side-by-side to compare and wonder: 

Who was better – Brandon Marshall or Reggie Wayne?

Continue reading

Countdown 81: Top 10 MLB Players of the 1960s

Who are the top MLB players of the 1960s?  Here is our top 10 countdown:

Continue reading