Best Pure Hitter

[ucffans]

I was just thinking (with all of the awards coming out) who are some of the best pure hitters? I started with the 70's since that is my generation when I began watching baseball. Here are my thoughts:

Pure Hitters (Average, tough outs, hit any pitch/any count)
1970's Pete Rose
1980's Wade Boggs
1990's Tony Gwynn
2000's Ichiro
Today Ryan Braun

I know I may have cheated seeing that Gwynn and Boggs are in the same rookie class, but I think Gwynn got better as he got older and Boggs was better early on in his career.

[gladdyontherise]

Best hitter in the game today in my opinion is Miguel Cabrera and I don't think it's close.

[jsab4807]

Pujols is the best hitter today.

[bobjah]

ken griffey jr had on sweet swing allso

[OriolesFan]

Since the 1970's to present has been posted,l let's go back quite a bit ---

Prior to 1905 - Nap Lajoie
1905-1920 - Tyrus Raymond Cobb
1920's - Rogers Hornsby/Babe Ruth
1930's - Lou Gehrig/Bill Terry
1940's - Ted Williams
1950's - Stan Musial
1960's - Roberto Clemente

For the most part, with a few exceptions, most players of the '70's to present can't really match up with hitters from the earlier days of professional baseball.

[bobjah]

For the most part, with a few exceptions, most players of the '70's to present can't really match up with hitters from the earlier days of professional baseball.

ill have to agree with you there

[sanjosefuji]

Great topic... I'll be biased and go with my favorite player of all-time... Tony Gwynn.

[ucffans]

I remember watching an interview with Tony Gwynn where he said he could tell by the rotation of the ball by focusing on the stitches to see what pitch was being throw - What?!? How can you do that with a 90mph ball coming at you!

[Dave Crum]

I like Ryan Braun from todays current crop of players. In my opinion, the reason the hitters seemed so much better in baseballs early days was because the pitching wasnt as good.

Before people start screaming "What about Walter Johnson" or "What about this guy or that guy" I mean pitching as a whole.

I would bet my paycheck that Tony Gwynn, George Brett, Pete Rose, Ryan Braun, and Miguel Cabrera among others could have hit .400 in the years from the 1860's to the 1940's.

The training, conditioning, and nutrition of today far outshine the technology of yesteryear.

I also think Verlander could have won 500 games if he pitched in the 1920's.

Im open to polite discussion. Dave

[ucffans]

Good stuff Dave. The other thing I think about as well is how many great baseball players in the 1860's - 1940's do we not know about. Remember at that time, athletes weren't paid as much and many people who had better financial options did NOT choose baseball.

[Dave Crum]

Good stuff Dave. The other thing I think about as well is how many great baseball players in the 1860's - 1940's do we not know about. Remember at that time, athletes weren't paid as much and many people who had better financial options did NOT choose baseball.

And dont forget the Negro leagues. There was so much untapped talent that heaven only knows how the record books would have looked.

[OriolesFan]

Dave, to a certain degree you're correct, there are some good hitters today. However, as good as some have been they are no where near as good as those "old" hitters. Also, the pitching was much better in the "old" days. There are no modern day pitchers that are anywhere near the quality of of Christy Mathewson, Walter Johnson, Lefty Grove, Warren Spahn, Sandy Koufax, Satchel Paige, Bob Gibson, etc. The recent pitchers , late 1980's to now, are not in the class of those "old" guys. And those "old" pitchers had to pitch to good hitters, there were only 8 teams to each league. Its good that there are more teams, and more people going to games across the country. But todays teams are "watered down" in talent compared to those "old" teams. Todays hitters cannot compare to Cobb,Hornsby,Lajoie,Wagner,Ruth,Gehrig,Musial, Ted Williams, Dimaggio, Foxx,Ott,Bill Terry,COOL Papa Bell, Buck Leonard, etc.......... just to name a few. Great Pitchers and Great Hitters, overall a BETTER typical player then than now. Also, the ball parks overall were bigger too. There are no ball parks any more with a centerfield with 450+ feet. Most parks today are hitter friendly. But the expanded leagues, of about twice as many teams, make it easier on pitchers. Also, most of todays pitchers do NOT have the capability to throw complete games like those "old" pitchers. Therefore, if I could put together an ALL TIME TEAM, it would be loaded with the 'old" guys and few of the newer ones. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Have a good night.

[Dave Crum]

Dave, to a certain degree you're correct, there are some good hitters today. However, as good as some have been they are no where near as good as those "old" hitters. Also, the pitching was much better in the "old" days. There are no modern day pitchers that are anywhere near the quality of of Christy Mathewson, Walter Johnson, Lefty Grove, Warren Spahn, Sandy Koufax, Satchel Paige, Bob Gibson, etc. The recent pitchers , late 1980's to now, are not in the class of those "old" guys. And those "old" pitchers had to pitch to good hitters, there were only 8 teams to each league. Its good that there are more teams, and more people going to games across the country. But todays teams are "watered down" in talent compared to those "old" teams. Todays hitters cannot compare to Cobb,Hornsby,Lajoie,Wagner,Ruth,Gehrig,Musial, Ted Williams, Dimaggio, Foxx,Ott,Bill Terry,COOL Papa Bell, Buck Leonard, etc.......... just to name a few. Great Pitchers and Great Hitters, overall a BETTER typical player then than now. Also, the ball parks overall were bigger too. There are no ball parks any more with a centerfield with 450+ feet. Most parks today are hitter friendly. But the expanded leagues, of about twice as many teams, make it easier on pitchers. Also, most of todays pitchers do NOT have the capability to throw complete games like those "old" pitchers. Therefore, if I could put together an ALL TIME TEAM, it would be loaded with the 'old" guys and few of the newer ones. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Have a good night.

The old time pitchers threw from a higher mound. It is a proven fact that that is a huge advantage to the pitcher. For the record I love the oldtimers but you are trying to compare apples to oranges.

[OriolesFan]

True, the mound was higher, but the fields were bigger. I guess it is a little hard to compare all ball players 100% against each other based on when they played. However, in my opinion, the "old" guys were better. Therefore, I guess we agree to disagree. Thanks for your posts, they are good.

Have a good night.

[Dave Crum]

Dont get me wrong. I want to be clear that I really respect the old timers. And the greats were just that "Great". The reason I say its so hard to compare is because of the way humans have progressed in the last century and a half. Im 7 inches taller then both my Grandpas were and 5 inches taller then my Dad. I also ran the 100m faster then my father did in high school.

Sports science has really catapulted athletes into the stratosphere of performance. I had researched it once but the current world record for discus is something close to 50 feet further then the record was in 1900.

Mystique is clearly on the old timers side though.