Who do you think is the greatest hitter in the history of baseball?

Question

Ty Cobb, Pete Rose or dare i say it Ichiro!!!!

I pick Cobb followed by Ichiro. I dont have to make a case for Cobb or Rose but heres mine for Ichiro. The dude in 9 MLB seasons got over 2000 hits and basically ever hit record in a decade. thats over 200 hits a year and then some. Hes a modern player playing in a tougher league. if u added his stats from Japan he probably has over 3200 or so hits.

Answer 1

Unfortunately baseball's meanest player was it's best hitter, Ty Cobb.



Ty Cobb won 11 batting titles, hit over .400 three times, won a triple crown, and had a insane life time average of .366.



Although Williams has great as well he only amassed 6 batting titles and hit .400 one time.

Answer 2

I would say Ted Williams. Williams hit for average and power. He is the last player to hit over .400 for a season. He has 521 home runs, a .344 lifetime average, 1839 RBI's, 2654 hits, and a .634 slugging %. He missed three years while serving in the military, 1943-1945, and still had these numbers. That's why I believe the Teddy Ballgame is the all time greatest hitter.

Answer 3

So if you hit home runs you can't be classified as a "pure hitter"? That doesn't seem logical. Ted Williams seemed to be about as "pure" a hitter as ever lived.



Now if you're talking about the best hitter who was not also a power hitter (which, it's clear, you are), that's different. The answer to that question is probably Ty Cobb.

Answer 4

Ted Williams

Tyrus Cobb

Answer 5

Babe Ruth. His lifetime average was .342. Ted Williams' was .344, which doesn't exactly crush Ruth's mark.

Ty Cobb from the dead-ball era, where batting was quite different. Rogers Hornsby just edges out Honus Wagner for best right handed hitter.

And for switch hitters, it will always and forever be Mickey Mantle. For me, anyway.

Answer 6

do unlike answering those questions, with the aid of fact his profession isn't over yet, yet... comply with a factor. He set a team of records in Japan in the previous coming to the MLB, yet I recommend, Ty Cobb? Ted Williams? Charlie Hustle? how are you able to argue with that. even however, Ichiro has an stunning resume, and if on the tip of his profession he has of 3500 MLB hits, then i might evaluate him to be the perfect organic HITTER, no longer ability HITTER, ever. people, the Babe and Aaron are many of the perfect ability HITTERS ok?

Answer 7

Ignoring power is a bad idea, but assuming for the sake of argument that we do, I'd still put Hank Aaron above Pete Rose. Rose is the all time hit king, but Aaron is third on the list, which isn't too shabby, and his career batting average is .305 to Rose's .303. Pete Rose has more hits than anyone else, but he also made more outs than anyone else (in fact, 1,192 more outs than anyone else).



As "pure hitters" go, I'd still rank them below Ty Cobb, who I'd rank below both Babe Ruth and Ted Williams. Cobb is second on the all time hit list, and he has the highest career batting average at .367. Neither Ted Williams nor Babe Ruth are even in the 3,000 hits club (though Williams would have been had he not fought in two wars). Ted Williams is 7th all time in batting average (.344) and Babe Ruth is 9th (.342). So you'd think that I'd rank Cobb above Ruth and Williams, but I don't. Here's why.



"Pure hitting", in my definition, is the ability to not get put out. If you go to the plate, and you're put out, you failed. If you reach base, you succeed. Personally I think home runs are better than singles, but we've eliminated that from the discussion, so I'm forced to improvise. I also think singles are better than walks, because singles result in RBIs more often than walks, but again this isn't part of the discussion. So getting on base, regardless of how, is equal as far as hitting goes.



Ted Williams' career OBP is .482. Babe Ruth is .474. Ty Cobb's is .433. Williams and Ruth are 3-4 on the all time walks list. Ty Cobb is 49th. The guy did not talk walks.



As far as Ichiro goes, his career average is .333, which is nothing to sneeze at, and I think he's a first ballot hall of famer, but it's lower than that of recent players like Tony Gwynn and Albert Pujols, and Ichiro doesn't walk either (188th on the career OBP list).



To address some of the other choices submitted, Joe DiMaggio had an incredible 56-game hit streak in 1941, but his career average is lower than Todd Helton, and his career on-base is lower than Brian Giles. Derek Jeter's career batting average is lower than Matt Holliday, and his career on-base percentage is lower than Dave Magadan. Wagner ranks below Helton in BA and J.D. Drew in OBP, so he's out of the discussion as well, but Rogers Hornsby has a right to be included in the conversation (2nd all-time in batting average, 8th in OBP).

Answer 8

Ichiro no matter what!!!



He's the best hitter, cuz there is no way a batter can hit 200 hits or more in 9 consecutive seasons.

Answer 9

Pete Rose is not even close. He made more outs than anybody in history and his career average is .303 which puts him 172nd all time.



1. Ty Cobb

2. Ted Williams

3. Rogers Hornsby

4. Honus Wagner

5. Ichiro

Answer 10

ichiro for sure he had hit 200 hits constantly which has never been done before not even by ty cobb, therefore he is the best hitter

Answer 11

I think Tony Gwynn is one of the best hitters of all time....here are his lifetime stats



AVG G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS OBP SLG

.338 2,440 9,288 1,383 3,141 543 85 135 1,138 790 434 319 118 .388 .459

Answer 12

Babe Ruth. Hit hit over .340 along with the 700 homers.

Answer 13

Ted Williams or Derek Jeter

Answer 14

Ty Cobb. HIGHEST LIFETIME BATTING AVERAGE OF 367. won 8 straight batting titles and a triple crown.

Answer 15

No one has come close to Joe DiMaggio's hitting in 56 consecutive games.

I think that is more impressive than career hits, HRs or BA.

Answer 16

Ted Williams anyone?

Answer 17

Ted williams he had the greates average it dosnt matter how many homeruns you hit its about your constinecy

Answer 18

Barry Bonds!!! haha jkjk



Ted Williams..

Answer 19

Babe Ruth

Answer 20

Babe Ruth and it's not really close.

Answer 21

Pete Rose without a doubt. Who cares if he gambled!!