Baseball's 100 Greatest Players

From BR Bullpen

In 1999, The Sporting News assembled a list of the Baseball's 100 Greatest Players of the Twentieth Century. The list was created by a selection committee, made up of 12 TSN editors.

During a six-week voting process the list of players was pared down from a list that included every Hall of Fame member and other star and active players. The voting process involved each editor picking an unranked Top 10. Once a set of 10 players was agreed on, each voter ranked the players to form a consensus. This process of selection and ranking was used for the next 15 players (11-25), and every 25 thereafter.

Negro League players were included despite having never played in the Major Leagues and were judged by quotations from major league players who competed against them in barnstorming tours and testimonials from other Negro Leaguers, writers and fans who watched them play. Of the one hundred players selected four exclusively played in the Negro Leagues: Josh Gibson (#18), Buck Leonard (#47), and Cool Papa Bell (#66), and Oscar Charleston (#67).

A book, The Sporting News Selects Baseball's Greatest Players: A Celebration of the 20th Century's Best (ISBN 0892046082), on the players was published and television special was aired.

Ranked List of Players[edit]

  1. Babe Ruth
  2. Willie Mays
  3. Ty Cobb
  4. Walter Johnson
  5. Hank Aaron
  6. Lou Gehrig
  7. Christy Mathewson
  8. Ted Williams
  9. Rogers Hornsby
  10. Stan Musial
  11. Joe DiMaggio
  12. Grover Alexander
  13. Honus Wagner
  14. Cy Young
  15. Jimmie Foxx
  16. Johnny Bench
  17. Mickey Mantle
  18. Josh Gibson
  19. Satchel Paige
  20. Roberto Clemente
  21. Warren Spahn
  22. Frank Robinson
  23. Lefty Grove
  24. Eddie Collins
  25. Pete Rose
  26. Sandy Koufax
  27. Tris Speaker
  28. Mike Schmidt
  29. Nap Lajoie
  30. Steve Carlton
  31. Bob Gibson
  32. Tom Seaver
  33. George Sisler
  34. Barry Bonds
  35. Joe Jackson
  36. Bob Feller
  37. Hank Greenberg
  38. Ernie Banks
  39. Greg Maddux
  40. Yogi Berra
  41. Nolan Ryan
  42. Mel Ott
  43. Al Simmons
  44. Jackie Robinson
  45. Carl Hubbell
  46. Charlie Gehringer
  47. Buck Leonard
  48. Reggie Jackson
  49. Tony Gwynn
  50. Roy Campanella
  51. Rickey Henderson
  52. Whitey Ford
  53. Roger Clemens
  54. Harry Heilmann
  55. George Brett
  56. Willie McCovey
  57. Bill Dickey
  58. Lou Brock
  59. Bill Terry
  60. Joe Morgan
  61. Rod Carew
  62. Paul Waner
  63. Eddie Mathews
  64. Jim Palmer
  65. Mickey Cochrane
  66. Cool Papa Bell
  67. Oscar Charleston
  68. Eddie Plank
  69. Harmon Killebrew
  70. Pie Traynor
  71. Juan Marichal
  72. Carl Yastrzemski
  73. Lefty Gomez
  74. Robin Roberts
  75. Willie Keeler
  76. Al Kaline
  77. Eddie Murray
  78. Cal Ripken, Jr.
  79. Joe Medwick
  80. Brooks Robinson
  81. Willie Stargell
  82. Ed Walsh
  83. Duke Snider
  84. Sam Crawford
  85. Dizzy Dean
  86. Kirby Puckett
  87. Ozzie Smith
  88. Frankie Frisch
  89. Goose Goslin
  90. Ralph Kiner
  91. Mark McGwire
  92. Chuck Klein
  93. Ken Griffey, Jr.
  94. Dave Winfield
  95. Wade Boggs
  96. Rollie Fingers
  97. Gaylord Perry
  98. Dennis Eckersley
  99. Paul Molitor
  100. Early Wynn

Related Sites[edit]