Who are the ten most important players from 1900 to now?

[Can_of_corn]

I personally think he is overated but shouldn't Nolan Ryan be getting some consideration as a pitcher on the list? The strikeout and no hit numbers are pretty insane afterall.

I also disagree with Jose, Steroids were in the game for decades before he came along and you are naive if you think at least some players are not taking something they can't test for to this day.

[BaltimoreTerp]

I personally think he is overated but shouldn't Nolan Ryan be getting some consideration as a pitcher on the list? The strikeout and no hit numbers are pretty insane afterall.

Yeah, but that's not really "important", at least in the sense that the thread has established.

[Can_of_corn]

Yeah, but that's not really "important", at least in the sense that the thread has established.

First million dollar player. Pretty important milestone is it not?

Don't really want to get into a fight over it tho, like I said I think he is overated. I was mostly just trying to come up with a pitcher worthy of the list that isn't ruth.

[Frobby]

First million dollar player. Pretty important milestone is it not?

Don't really want to get into a fight over it tho, like I said I think he is overated. I was mostly just trying to come up with a pitcher worthy of the list that isn't ruth.

Even though I think he is extraordinarily overrated, I would agree he might be a candidate for the most important pitcher. I think the public's fascination with his strikeout capabilities changed the way we view pitchers. K's became a much more important measure of how good a pitcher was considered to be after Ryan came along and start posting his numbers. K's were always interesting, even back in Walter Johnson't time, but not many high K pitchers with .500-ish records had come along before Ryan.

[sakata_catching]

First million dollar player. Pretty important milestone is it not?

Except he wasn't, really. Dave Parker was. The Pirates signed him to a 5 year/$5M contract in Jan. of 1979, but structured it in such a way (interest on deferred payments, easily attainable bonuses) so that the media wouldn't report his total salary — they didn't want the backlash for handing out the game's first million-dollar-a-year salary. To a player who wasn't exactly popular with fans, media and teammates, no less.

[Avsfan]

Only one mention of Joe DiMaggio....and none of Mickey Mantle, interesting.

So many people in their late 50's & early 60's age groups....looked up to Mickey Mantle in such a way. He was HUGE....

[sakata_catching]

Jim Bouton also deserves a place in this discussion. Ball Four blew the doors off the locker room and gave privileged insight into what goes on inside, esp. amphetamine use. Bouton permanently changed the public perception of pro ballplayers. And Ball Four is still an essential read 40 years later.

[BaltimoreTerp]

Only one mention of Joe DiMaggio....and none of Mickey Mantle, interesting.

So many people in their late 50's & early 60's age groups....looked up to Mickey Mantle in such a way. He was HUGE....

I thought about Mantle, but I believe DiMaggio was even farther above and beyond in the public consciousness.

Jim Bouton also deserves a place in this discussion. Ball Four blew the doors off the locker room and gave privileged insight into what goes on inside, esp. amphetamine use. Bouton permanently changed the public perception of pro ballplayers. And Ball Four is still an essential read 40 years later.

Bouton's a great one. I wouldn't even say "especially" to amphetamines, because of all the great stuff about contract negotiation and the early PA and coaches and the lives of players and everything in that book that wasn't really known.

[sakata_catching]

Bouton's a great one. I wouldn't even say "especially" to amphetamines, because of all the great stuff about contract negotiation and the early PA and coaches and the lives of players and everything in that book that wasn't really known.

All true. Though I think it was Bouton's revelations about greenies, as well as his anti-heroic (yet affectionate and very human) depiction of Mantle, that really drove sales of the book (and royally pissed off Bowie Kuhn), at least initially.

Plus, hey — he's a pitcher for the list.

[OrangeJerseys]

Wee Willie Keeler would be on my list. Not just for the old O's but those guys changed the way the game was played.

[RShack]

7. Ted Williams - maybe the greatest hitter ever, last guy to hit .400, and the example he set by interrupting his career to go on active combat duty twice.

The example he set was to comply with the law when the Marines called him back up during Korea. He wasn't happy about it, especially since he was Inactive Reserve and they called him up before calling up the guys on Active Reserve. He figured he'd done his part and it was somebody else's turn, and he was PO'd about it, but he didn't have a lot of choice in the matter. It's not like he was rah-rah about war and wanted to go.

I wonder if the guy who decided to call him up the second time was a MFY fan. Ted missed '52 and most of '53. When he got called up after just a couple games in '52, the Red Sox got stuck using Faye Throneberry from AA, who was lousy enough that they traded to get Hoot Evers. They dropped from 3rd place to 6th place. When Ted came back in '53, he hit .407 but it wasn't in enough AB's to count. He was on the '53 AS team when he wasn't even playing baseball.

[Arthur_Bryant]

The example he set was to comply with the law when the Marines called him back up during Korea. He wasn't happy about it, especially since he was Inactive Reserve and they called him up before calling up the guys on Active Reserve. He figured he'd done his part and it was somebody else's turn, and he was PO'd about it, but he didn't have a lot of choice in the matter. It's not like he was rah-rah about war and wanted to go.

I wonder if the guy who decided to call him up the second time was a MFY fan. Ted missed '52 and most of '53. When he got called up after just a couple games in '52, the Red Sox got stuck using Faye Throneberry from AA, who was lousy enough that they traded to get Hoot Evers. They dropped from 3rd place to 6th place. When Ted came back in '53, he hit .407 but it wasn't in enough AB's to count. He was on the '53 AS team when he wasn't even playing baseball.

Many WWII veterans with special training and expertise were called up for Korea.

A little historical footnote. At one point in Korea Williams survived a wheels-up landing when his jet was shot up during a mission. His wingman on tha mission (and presumably others) was a guy named John Glenn.

Yeah, that John Glenn.

And to those for whom that name means nothing... Shame on ya, whippersnappers!

[Arthur_Bryant]

Only one mention of Joe DiMaggio....and none of Mickey Mantle, interesting.

So many people in their late 50's & early 60's age groups....looked up to Mickey Mantle in such a way. He was HUGE....

Mays matched Mantle's significance, I think. How do you separate them?

[jdmyprez]

I would be tempted to put Pete Rose on this list.

[bobmc]

Mays matched Mantle's significance, I think. How do you separate them?

Through my eyes, having seen both play, both were superior athletes who had five tools. Mays was different for his sense of the game as a palette to express his artistry, imho. The cap falling off when he sped to a ball, the basket catch, his graceful hook slides and his slashing, hellbent style as he legged out a triple were all evidence of this flair. I believe the game changed as a result of his influence.

But both were similar athletes - Mantle showing more raw power and strength. It was fun to be a kid in New York in the fifties! As a Giant fan, I hated the Yanks even then!