Below The Fold

The Babe has been getting more than his fair share of press lately, especially considering all this silly “reverse the curse” talk that’s got Boston all a-jitter. Yay. Good for you, Beantown. Enjoy your win. Whoopdiedoo. Ya finally won one.

Anyway, there’s no doubt that The Babe was one of the greatest. He’s high on that list, along with Ty Cobb, Stan Musial, Barry Bonds, Reggie Jackson, Louie G, Ted Williams, Hammerin’ Hank, The Mick, The Duke, The Devil, The Gambler, The Preacher and the Candlestick Maker.

One of an elite group, for sure. But The Greatest?

The Greatest?

Say hey, baby.

Willie Mays.

Anyone who says otherwise is a fool. Lump my Pop in that category. He wouldn’t look past the Babe. And yes, the Bambino was the Sultan of Swat, the King of Swing. But…

Say hey, baby.

Willie Mays.

Babe had 8399 at bats. 714 Homers. 2213 RBI. 2873 Hits. He pitched, too, For 10 out of 22 years in the league, he was 94-46, with a .671 winning percentage and a 2.28 lifetime ERA. He had 123 stolen bases in 2503 games. He was The Man, for sure. But The Greatest?

Say hey, baby.

Willie Mays.

Ruth’s stats are better across the board pretty much. He was larger than life, more legendary. He was a monolith, a tragic and valiant hero who shook the world when he swung his bat. Here we are, 70 years after he left the game, still feeling the aftershock of the earthquake that he truly was. But The Greatest?

Say hey, baby.

Willie Mays.

Willie was the Jordan of Baseball. Willie was a magician. Willie ran faster, threw farther, hit harder and played better than anyone, anywhere, any time.

But don’t take my word for it.

“(Babe Ruth) never played a night game, he never hit against fireball relief pitching, he never traveled cross-country for a night game and played a day game the next day, he never performed before millions of television viewers, he never had to run on artificial turf. It is the changes in the game, the modern factors that have made the game more difficult, that bring Babe in here as number three, behind (Willie) Mays and (Hank) Aaron. His feats were heroic. So were theirs. They simply did them under tougher conditions.” - Maury Allen

Say hey, baby.

Willie Mays.

“Willie Mays and his glove. Where triples go to die.” - Los Angeles Dodgers Executive Fresco Thompson

Say hey, baby.

Willie Mays.

“I can’t believe that Babe Ruth was a better player than Willie Mays. Ruth is to baseball what Arnold Palmer is to golf. He got the game moving. But I can’t believe he could run as well as Mays, and I can’t believe he was any better an outfielder.” - Sandy Koufax

Say hey, baby.

Willie Mays.

“I never saw a fucking ball go out of a fucking ballpark so fucking fast in my fucking life.” - Leo Durocher (1951)

Say hey, baby.

Willie Mays.

Thanks to the Baseball Almanac for the quotes and stats