Every position in baseball serves its purpose, you simply can’t have the game without every relevant player. Despite this, it is often the hitters who receive the most glory. At the end of the day, the reason anyone goes to baseball games is to see their favorites try and knock the ball out of the park. Major League Baseball has been around since 1903 and remains a firm favorite among Americans. Over this time there have been thousands of players, but only an elite few can truly be considered ‘the best’. We have looked at the stats and have been able to compose a list of the greatest MLB players of all time. Take a look and see if your favorite has been good enough to have made the cut.
The Best Hitters In MLB History
25. Derek Jeter (1994-2014)
Perhaps Jeter’s career stats are not as strong as others you’ll see on this list, but Jeter is a legend of his own making for incredible consistency. Jeter is one of the playoff kings, holding the record for total hits in playoff games, most singles, most doubles and most triples! He also ranks third in postseason home runs! His career will be most well-remembered for his role in the late 90’s with the Yankees, where they achieved much success. Jeter is the sixth best hitter of all time in terms of total hits and was the quickest player to reach 3400 hits.
Derek Jeter
24. Joe DiMaggio (1936-1951)
If we were to look at all baseball records, Joe DiMaggio’s hitting streak of 56 consecutive games will certainly be considered one of the most impressive. He really found incredible form in 1941 and nobody has come close to that since. Irrespective of this record, he was a fantastic hitter and sits at number 9 in terms of career slugging percentage. Despite having a relatively short career, he was very successful within that time, winning nine World Series titles in 13 seasons.
Joe DiMaggio
23. Honus Wagner (1897-1917)
An original legend of the game, Wagner dominated the league during his career, winning eight batting titles, ranking him joint-second for most titles in history. During his career he averaged .328, the 35th-best mark of all time. Wagner has the second best mark in wins above replacement (WAR) out of all position players in the history of baseball. He also ranks 25th in total bases, while he sits at 8th in total hits. An impressive player.
Honus Wagner
22. Tony Gwynn (1982-2001)
If we exclude the pre-MLB Expansion Era, Gwynn has been a level above the rest, boasting the best career batting average in Major League Baseball. Gwynn averaged .3382 during his career and sits at number 19 in terms of best ever in MLB history. Gwynn remained consistent for 20 seasons, which led to eight batting titles, the second best ever. Gwynn amassed a lot of hits during his career, ranking at 20 in that stat category.
Tony Gwynn
21. Mel Ott (1926-1947)
Not the tallest of hitters, measuring up at 5ft 9in, Ott was a legend for the New York Giants. He swung the bat with mighty power and became the first National League player to reach 500 career home runs. Ott stands at number 25 in that stat category and finished his career with 511 home runs. Ott’s career on base percentage was .414, an impressive feat. He ranks at 21 in all time total bases and career OPS.
Mel Ott
20. Pete Rose (1963-1986)
If you looked at pure numbers, Pete Rose’s stats will certainly blow you away. Rose holds the MLB’s all-time mark for hits and is the only player from the post 1961 expansion to accumulate more than 4000 knocks. No matter what the other stats say, it takes some talent to be able to rack up 4256 hits in any era of Major League Baseball.
Pete Rose
19. Miguel Cabrera (2003-Present)
Cabrera broke an important record in 2012, becoming the first player since 1967 to win the Triple Crown, the lead in batting average, home runs and RBIs for a single season. You might think that reaching such a feat would only lead to decline, but Cabrera remained consistent during his career. He net four batting titles and a career on-base percentage of .395. His career batting average of .3165 is also the top mark among all active players.
Michael Cabrera
18. Eddie Collins (1906-1930)
Over a 24-season career, Collins was able to maintain an on-base percentage of .424. This score ranks him at 13 in MLB history regarding this category. Collins sits at number 11 in terms of career hits, amassing 3315 sitting in the Hall-of-Fame. Collins ranks at number 11 in terms of wins above replacement. This shows how important he was to his teams, the Philadelphia Athletics and Chicago White Sox.
Eddie Collins
17. Joey Votto (2007-Present)
Despite being a reserved player, Votto has often been referred to as “the most underappreciated great hitter of his era”. Votto was the recipient of National League MVP in 2010 but has been largely ignored when it comes to speaking about legends as he spent his entire career playing for minnows Cincinnati Reds. Canadian-born Votto maintained a .427 on-base percentage during his career, the 12th best mark in MLB history!
Joey Votto
16. Frank Thomas (1990-2008)
Frank ‘The Big Hurt’ Thomas was an iconic hitter, feared by many. He turned out for the Chicago White Sox and crushed 521 home runs on his way to become a first-ballot Hall of Famer. He ranks at number 20 in all time home runs, tied with Ted Williams. Thomas racked up a career .419 on-base percentage, ranking at number 20 in the list of MLB players.
Frank Thomas
15. Tris Speaker (1907-1928)
Speaker is one of the best hitters of MLB’s earlier years. Speaker has not been active in baseball for over 90 years yet still ranks very high in regards to many hitting statistics. Speaker hit enough balls that he ranks at number 5 in all time hits, and sits at number 1 in terms of career doubles, at 792. He remained consistent throughout his whole career, having an average of .345- the sixth best of all time.
Tris Speaker
14. Hank Greenberg (1930-1947)
Greenberg was lethal during his career, earning the nickname ‘The Hebrew Hammer’. He has the sixth best slugging percentage and OPS in MLB history, showing how consistent he was. Greenberg was amazing at scoring runs, even amassing 183 RBIs in a single 154-game season, on one occasion. Greenberg’s stats could have been even great had he not served in the U.S. military for four years during his career.
Hank Greenberg
13. Rogers Hornsby (1915-1937)
Fans love remembering Ted William’s .406 average in 1941, but Hornsby surpassed this in 1924 averaging .424. For a single-season, this average record probably will never be beaten. Hornsby achieved great scores for batting during his career and played for several teams over 23 seasons. The team who he is most notorious for playing for is certainly the St. Louis Cardinals, the team where he was the first player to earn the triple crown on two separate occasions.
Rogers Hornsby
12. Jimmie Foxx (1925-1945)
In his time, he was up there with the greatest batters, just lacking behind legendary baseballer Babe Ruth. Foxx hit 500 career home runs, becoming the second player ever to do this, just behind Ruth. This milestone was reached at age 32. He amassed 534 career home runs and still sits at number 19 in terms of all time home runs. During his career he earned a .325 batting average as well as a Triple Crown.
Jimmie Foxx
11. Mike Trout (2011-Present)
Trout may be young still, but he certainly deserves his place in the lineup here. He ranks among the league’s all-time legends in more than one category, including OPS and OPS+. He is particularly impressive because he has led the American League in wins above replacement (WAR) for every season that he has been in the league. Trout can only improve his stats further.
Mike Trout
10. Mickey Mantle (1951-1968)
Mantle was certainly a true baseball legend, a player that any team would love to have on their roster in any given era. Many have argued that Mantle is the best switch hitter in MLB history. During his career, Mantle scored 536 home runs, the 18th best in MLB. He also ties at the top of the list for most walk-off home runs. A stunning player.
Mickey Mantle
9. Manny Ramirez (1993-2011)
Manny Ramirez was certainly one of the greatest right-handed batters of all time. Since MLB Expansion era, Ramirez ranks second (only to Barry Bonds) in terms of OPS. Ramirez sits in the top 20 in terms of home runs and RBIs; fans could pretty much count on him for a home run, seeing as he was exceptionally consistent. His rate of at-bats per home run is the 11th best of all time.
Manny Ramirez
8. Stan Musial
Musial racked up incredible numbers during his career with the St. Louis Cardinals. He was a super consistent hitter and ranks at 8 for WARs and is 13th best in career OPS. He ranks at number 4 in all time hits and total bases. Musial essentially held nearly every hitting record at the time of his retirement and won seven batting titles during his career.
Stan Musial
7. Willie Mays (1951-1973)
Mays is a true Giants icon. He was a gifted fielder but his true skills came out in the batting area. Mays holds the third-best mark in WARs among all position players in MLB. Mays was fantastic during his career, amassing 660 home runs, the fifth best in MLB history. He certainly left a legacy for himself as he became one of three players to collect 6,000 total bases.
Willie Mays
. Barry Bonds (1986-2007)
Bonds had an incredible career, only hindered by the controversy behind taking performance-enhancing drugs. If it wasn’t for this, he would probably be comparable to Babe Ruth. Despite a great career, he still isn’t in the Hall of Fame. Bonds has the all-time mark for career home runs, scoring 762. He was a top, top player.
Barry Bonds
5. Hank Aarons (1954-1976)
Aaron was debatably the greatest power hitter in MLB history. Aaron was the man to finally break Ruth’s home run record, and held the record for the following 30 years. For 18 consecutive seasons Aaron hit a minimum of 24 home runs, a remarkable achievement. He holds the mark for most RBIs and is number 3 in terms of most hits ever.
Hank Aarons
4. Ty Cobb (1905-1928)
Cobb dominated his own era, setting many offensive records in a career mostly spent with the Detroit Tigers. We assume Cobb may hold the mark for career batting average forever after he amassed .3662 over 24 seasons. Cobb also has the second most hits, fifth most total bases, ninth most RBIs and the most career batting titles with 12. Remarkable.
Ty Cobb
3. Ted Williams (1939-1960)
Williams’ greatest stat was undoubtedly his .406 batting average that came in 1941; the last time a player topped a .400 batting average in a single season. Surprisingly, he never won a World Series. Despite this, he has the best career on-base percentage in MLB history at .4817. Williams is the other man to have won the Triple Crown twice. He truly achieved great stats considering he took three years out to serve in the military, only making his stats seem all that more impressive.
Ted Williams
2. Lou Gehrig (1923-1939)
Gehrig is probably the most notorious Yankees player of all time. Unfortunately Gehrig’s career was cut short because of the terrible disease that would eventually be named after him. Prior to this, he truly set his legacy. Gehrig ranks in the top three all-time in OPS and slugging percentage. His RBI total is the sixth best in MLB history. Gehrig collected 1995 RBIs in 17 seasons, an impressive score for the length of time.
Lou Gehrig
1. Babe Ruth (1914-1935)
The greatest of all time in baseball needs no debate, it is certainly legendary hitter Babe Ruth. If you just look at Ruth’s numbers you will see how easy it is to distinguish this. He still tops wins above replacement (WAR), OPS and slugging percentage. Over his long career he batted an average of .3421, the 10th best of all time and still sits at second in RBIs. Furthermore, he’s third in terms of home-runs. Ruth also won seven world series titles.
Babe Ruth