WHO IS THE GREATEST?
This post will be a list of what I feel would be the greatest teams to ever assemble in professional sports. Well actually in just the MLB and NBA
MLB
LF- Barry Bonds
I know a lot of people are going to be upset with a few of my choices, and this is one of them, but let's just look strictly at the stats. 762 Home Runs (Most All-Time), 1,996 RBI (4th All-Time), 2,227 Runs Scored (3rd All-Time), 514 Stolen Bases, 688 Intentional Walks (1st All-Time), 2,986 Games Played (10th All-Time), 8 Gold Gloves, 14 All Star Games, and 7 MVP Awards. Take out the PED use and look at performance alone and this guys is probably the greatest ever. He is the only member of the 500/500 club (Homeruns/Stolen Bases) which I think is one of the most impressive feats ever achieved in sports. Starting with his 73 Home Run season, from 2001-2004 there was no person in the history of baseball as feared as Barry Bonds. Although I have no respect for the man as a person, he is the greatest Left Fielder of All-Time.
CF- Ty Cobb
This was so hard for me to not put Ken Griffey Jr. in the spot, but injuries just made me keep him off this list. Ty Cobb was not known for his power, but his .366 career batting average(1st All-Time), 2,246 Runs Scored (2nd All-Time), 4,189 Hits (2nd All-Time), 3,053 Singles, 724 Doubles (4th All-Time), 295 Triples (2nd All-Time), 1,938 RBI (8th All-Time), 897 Stolen Bases (4th All-Time), 12 Batting Titles, 1 Triple Crown, and 1 MVP made him one of the greatest offensive players in the history of the game.
RF- Hank Aaron
Still the true Home Run King in many people eyes, Hank Aaron was truly one of the greats. He is the all time leader in Total Bases and RBI. In 23 years of playing he made 21 All-Star teams and won the NL MVP in 1957. Probably one of the most consistant players of All-Time he only led the league in Home Runs 4 times in his career, but still had 15 seasons where he went yard 30 or more times. He won 3 Gold Gloves in RF and has a career .305 Batting Average. Though it is a close race between Aaron and Stan Musial, I think Hank is the greatest Right Fielder of All-Time.
3rd Base- Alex Rodriguez
I know he hasn't played 3rd his whole career, and most of his stats came as a SS, but Alex is so much better than Mike Schmidt that I had to put him on this list. Remember we are talking purely numbers here. Alex has been in the league right now right at 20 seasons if you can believe it. From 1998-2010 Alex had over 30 Home Runs and 100 RBI each seasons, including 6 straight seasons with 40 Home Runs, and also adding two 50 Home Run seasons in there as well. Say what you want about him personally, but he is a 3 time MVP, 14 time All-Star, has 10 Silver Slugger Awards, and 2 Gold Gloves. He is 5th on the Home Run list with 654, 6th in RBI with 1,969, and 6th All-Time in Extra Base Hits. I hate to say it, but Alex has been one of the most productive players the game has ever seen.
2nd Base- Rogers Hornsby
The best second baseman the game has ever seen, at least from an offensive standpoint, Rogers Hornsby has the second-highest career batting average in baseball history at .358.
He won seven batting titles, hitting over .400 three different times, and he also win the Triple Crown in 1922 and 1925. Hornsby finished his career with 541 doubles, 169 triples, 301 home runs, 1,584 RBI and 1,579 runs scored as one of the most productive hitters of all time.
1st Base- Lou Gehrig
A career that was cut short due to what was later named "Lou Gehrig's Disease" Lou was able to put up some amazing numbers in his time. A career .340 hitter, Lou was one of the main reasons for Babe Ruth's tremendous success. Not just a singles hitter, Lou almost made it to the 500 Home Run mark, hitting 493 bombs before retiring at the age of 35. Lou was close to passing a few other milestones as he was just short of 2,000 RBI with 1,992 and about 2 years short of 3,000 hits with 2,721. Lou won 2 MVP Awards, 1 Batting Title Award, and 1 Triple Crown.
Short Stop- Honus Wagner
Another guy not known for his power, he still was able to drive in 100 RBI 9 times in his career, leading the league 5 times in that category. A career .328 hitter Honus is undoubtedly the greatest SS of All-Time and in my opinion will hold that title for a long time. 3,420 hits in 21 seasons and won 8 batting titles. He was a member of the 1st ever Hall of Fame Class and 2nd leading vote getter behind Babe Ruth
Catcher- Ivan Rodriguez
This is a no brainer for me. Pudge has been my Baseball Idol since I started watching the sport. Pudge is the All-Time leader in Games Caught and Put Outs. He was elected to 14 All-Star Games, Won 13 Gold Gloves, 7 Silver Sluggers, and 1 MVP Award. Offensivley he was as solid as they come as well. Again, not a power hitter but he still managed 311 Career Home Runs, 1,332 RBI, and hit .296 over 21 seasons. No question he is the GREATEST of All-Time
DH- Babe Ruth
Babe Ruth will always be the greatest Baseball Player to ever live. He revolutionized the game and turned the Home Run into what it is today. Babe had seasons where he alone out homered entire teams. He is a career .342 hitter with 714 Home Runs and 2,220 RBI. He scored 2,174 Runs and won 12 Home Run Titles. Because of his ability to pitch (94-46) he separates himself from the other greats. Defensively he was not as sound as some of the other great out fielders, but when you are as feared at the plate as Babe was, who cares if you could get to a ball in the gap quickly? He has a .474 On Base Percentage (2nd) and a .690 Slugging Percentage (1st). Babe has won a MVP, a Batting Title, and a Pitching Title in his career. No other way to say it. Babe Ruth is the GREATEST Baseball Player of All-Time
Pitcher- Walter Johnson
The Big Train. A career 417 Game Winner (2nd All-Time) and had an ERA of 2.17 over 21 seasons. 3,509 Strike Outs (9th), 5,914.3 Inning Pitched (3rd), 531 Complete Games (5th), 110 Shutouts (1st). He spent all 21 years of his career with the Washington Senators and topped 20 Wins 12 times. It's a close race between him and Cy Young but after looking at all the statistics and reading articles from people who saw both pitch I have determined that while Cy did it longer Walter did it better. And for that he earns the top spot on my list.
NBA
Point Guard- Ervin "Magic" Johnson
5 NBA Titles, 3 Finals MVP's, and 3 League MVP's at PG. At 6'8 and court vision like we have never seen, Magic is about as close to un-guardable as you will ever see. Nine 1st Team All-NBA and One 2nd Team All-NBA in 13 seasons. 10,141 Assists (5th), 11.2 Assists Per Game (1st), and 1,724 Steals (19th). Magic was pure greatness from the time he stepped into the League until the time he made his final exit. There is no one I would rather have running the point that MAGIC
Shooting Guard- Michael Jordan
6 NBA Titles, 6 Finals MVP's, and 5 League MVP's Michael Jordan is hands down the greatest to ever pick up a basketball. Jordan has won 10 NBA Scoring titles, 11 All-NBA selections, and 9 All-NBA Defensive 1st Team Awards. A 14 Time All-Star, 2,514 Steals (2nd), 32,292 Points (3rd), 30.1 Points Per Game (1st), and average 33.4 Points Per Game in his Playoff Career. In 1988 Jordan won The MVP Award, Defensive Player of The Year Award, and NBA Scoring Title. His stat line that season read like this: 35 points on 53% shooting, 5.5 rebounds, 5.9 assists, 3.2 steals, 1.6 blocks. Kobe and LeBron in my opinion will never be at this level.
Small Forward- LeBron James
LeBron is in his 11th season in the NBA and is being compared to the greatest off All-Time. He can play any position on the court and is both a great scorer and lock down defender. He owns 2 NBA Titles, 2 Finals MVP's, and 4 League MVP's. All of which will be added to by the time his career is over. 9 All NBA Teams and 5 Defensive Teams. He currently sits in 33rd place point wise (but he will be top 5 when all is over), and 3rd in career Points Per Game at 27.5. All this and the man is still 29 years old. If anyone has a shot at catching MJ, LeBron is the one to do it.
Power Forward- Tim Duncan Just typing that name drives me CRAZY but there is no doubt Tim is the best Power Forward to ever play the game. Nicknamed "The Big Fundamental" for a reason, Tim is one of the most consistant players the game has ever seen. 4 NBA Titles and 3 NBA Finals MVP's, not to mention 14 NBA-All Defensive Team Selections. 2 time NBA MVP and a 14 time NBA All-Star. Duncan is currently 13th on the NBA's all time list with 13,762 Rebounds and 8th in Blocks with 2,758. As a Dirk fan I hate to say it, but Tim by far the greatest to ever do it at the PF spot.
Center- Hakeem Olajuwon
Some people may think I'm crazy because there are guys like Shaq, Bill Russell, Kareem, or Wilt Chamberlain that I could put in this spot, but I have a reason for this and it is simple. Hakeem IS the best center of All-Time. He is the most skilled big-man this game has ever seen. His Dream Shake was un-guardable. He is the only player in history to win NBA MVP, NBA Defensive Player of The Year, and NBA Finals MVP in the same season. 21.8 Points Per Game, 11.1 Rebounds Per Game, 3.1 Blocks Per Game, and 1.7 Steals Per Game over 18 years. Hakeem played in 12 NBA All-Star Games and on the career rankings he is 9th in steals (2,162), 1st in blocks (3,830), 11th in points (26,946), and 14th in Rebounds (13,748). The total package offensively and defensively, Hakeem is to me the Greatest Center to ever play.
So there are my two lists. Think I'm wrong on something? I would love to hear it.
Read more here: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1795233-10-greatest-nba-players-of-all-time#storylink=cpy
Read more here: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1977372-the-100-greatest-mlb-players-of-all-time#storylink=cpy
