MLB Mount Rushmore

[teddywingman]

My thinking for this is that someone has to be inner circle Hall of Fame talent-wise and also be an important part when telling the story of baseball. Ruth and Mays obviously qualify. Satchel Paige was the most famous baseball player in the country in the 40s (with the possible exception of DiMaggio) and had the talent to match. Robinson may have been the most historically significant player, but couldn't touch Aaron on the field. What Aaron dealt with when breaking Ruth's record is second to Robinson in the story of black players in the majors.

And I agree with this. 42's significance in the history of the game is undeniable, even beyond Ruth. But Hank Aaron's offensive statistics tower over everyone but Bonds... and fuck that guy.

 

[zenax]

In the first game of a doubleheader at Fenway on July 8, 1918, Babe Ruth hit hit a ball over the RF fence in the bottom of the 10th with a runner on 1st in a 0-0 game and the Sox won 1-0.. The rule at the time was if the batter hit an outside the park home run when the score was tied in the bottom of the 9th or in extra innings, he would only be credited with a hit equal to the number of bases necessary to score the runner. So, he got a triple and when his career ended, he had 714 home runs rather than 715.

The rule was changed after the 1919 season after a lot of discussion that ended up disallowing changes to records of the 37 times this had happened prior.
https://sabr.org/journal/article/babe-ruths-lost-715th-home-run/

 

[djbayko]

Can we revoke this guy's membership?

He probably has Kobe on the NBA Rushmore too.

 

[runnels3]

Mays
Aaron
Clemente
Paige

 

[Eric1984]

Aaron
Robinson
Clemente
Koufax

 

[runnels3]

Aaron
Robinson
Clemente
Koufax

I can see the Mount with two of these. Being the first black manager comes a close second to breaking the color line.

 

[Eric1984]

I can see the Mount with two of these. Being the first black manager comes a close second to breaking the color line.

I meant Jackie obviously but yes, Frank was a real trailblazer as well (and a true titan as a ballplayer)

 

[Kliq]

I've thought about this and I think it would be:

- Ruth (self-explanatory)
- Jackie Robinson (ditto)
- Honus Wagner (the first superstar player in American team sports history, the model of what every baseball hero would follow)
- Willie Mays (the platonic ideal of the complete baseball player)

I get the temptation to put a modern player on Mount Rushmore, but realistically Mount Rushmore is a celebration of history and I think these are the four most important and influential players in the history of the game.

 

[Eric1984]

I've thought about this and I think it would be:

- Ruth (self-explanatory)
- Jackie Robinson (ditto)
- Honus Wagner (the first superstar player in American team sports history, the model of what every baseball hero would follow)
- Willie Mays (the platonic ideal of the complete baseball player)

I get the temptation to put a modern player on Mount Rushmore, but realistically Mount Rushmore is a celebration of history and I think these are the four most important and influential players in the history of the game.

I was going to have Mays on mine but I felt I needed a pitcher, so I picked Koufax because of how good he was (I don't think anyone else was ever quite as good as he was at his peak and he did it for five years -- Pedro and Randy Johnson to me come close, as does Gibson) and because he, like Clemente and Aaron, seemed like the model of what every baseball hero would follow.