Top 5 MLB players of all time

Dozens of ESPN writers and editors submitted more than 20,000 votes (see full methodology here) to determine the final order. So who's too high? Too low? Just right?


1. Christy Mathewson

  • Team(s): New York Giants (1900-16), Cincinnati Reds (1916)
  • Stats: 373-188, 2.13 ERA, 2,507 SO, 4,788 IP, 106.5 bWAR
  • Primary position: Starting pitcher
  • What he's best known for: The most admired star of the first two decades of 20th century baseball, Mathewson's three shutouts in a five-day span in 1905 remains one of the most heroic feats in World Series history. He won 30 games four times, led the NL five times in ERA and strikeouts, and was one of the five original inductees into the Hall of Fame in 1936. Mathewson relied on impeccable control and a pitch he called a "fadeaway," which some say was a screwball while others suggest might have been more like a modern-day circle change. "Matty was master of them all," reads his Hall of Fame plaque.


2. Randy Johnson

  • Team(s): Montreal Expos (1988-89), Seattle Mariners (1989-1998), Houston Astros (1998), Arizona Diamondbacks (1999-2004, 2007-08), New York Yankees (2005-06), San Francisco Giants (2009)
  • Stats: 303-166, 3.29 ERA, 4,875 SO, 4,135 1/3 IP, 101.1 bWAR
  • Primary position: Starting pitcher
  • What he's best known for: The "Big Unit" was to lefties what Nolan Ryan was to righties. After a slow start to his career, the 6-foot-10 Johnson harnessed his command and was lights out for the next two decades. Of his 303 wins, 293 came after his age-25 season. Johnson won his league strikeout crown nine times, including two different stretches of four straight. During the latter stretch, he won four straight Cy Young Awards, giving him five overall.

Perhaps the best expressions of Johnson's dominance came during a pair of All-Star Game matchups with left-handed stars. In 1993, his wild pitch over the head of John Kruk had Kruk faking heart palpitations as the dugout erupted in laughter; after that, Kruk wouldn't go near the plate, striking out. In 1997, Larry Walker flipped his batting helmet around and switched to the right side of the plate after getting a look at a Johnson pitch. It was all in good fun, but also an indication of how fearsome Johnson looked to anyone who stepped into the batter's box against him. 


3. Rickey Henderson

  • Team(s): Oakland Athletics (1979-84, 1989-93, 1994-95, 1998), New York Yankees (1985-89), Toronto Blue Jays (1993), San Diego Padres (1996-97, 2001), Anaheim Angels (1997), New York Mets (1999-2000), Seattle Mariners (2000), Boston Red Sox (2002), Los Angeles Dodgers (2003)
  • Stats: .279/.401/.419, 297 HR, 3,055 H, 1,406 SB, 111.2 bWAR
  • Primary position: Left field
  • What he's best known for: He was loud, brash, defiant, cocky and electric. He was the greatest base stealer in history, the greatest leadoff hitter in history and one of the greatest trash-talkers in history. Henderson stole 50% more bases than the all-time runner-up, Lou Brock. Henderson hit 81 leadoff home runs, and nobody else has hit more than 54. After being traded to the Yankees, he was asked about wearing the same uniform Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle once donned. "I don't care about them," he said. "I never saw DiMaggio and Mantle play. It's Rickey time." It always was. Alden Gonzalez


4. Tom Seaver

  • Team(s): New York Mets (1967-77, 1983), Cincinnati Reds (1977-1982), Chicago White Sox (1984-86), Boston Red Sox (1986)
  • Stats: 311-205, 2.86 ERA, 3,640 SO, 4,783 IP, 109.9 bWAR
  • Primary position: Starting pitcher
  • What he's best known for: The Cy Young-winning ace of the '69 Miracle Mets, Seaver was one of the most beloved athletes in New York sports history. To this day, Mets fans of a certain age still cry in disbelief that the club traded him away. Known for his power pitching his drop-and-drive delivery that stained his right knee with dirt was the iconic motion for a generation of pitchers Seaver topped 230 innings pitched in 15 seasons. He would add two more Cy Young Awards after 1969, and when elected to the Hall of Fame in 1992, he received 98.8% of the vote the highest ever at the time.

5. Cy Young

  • Team(s): Cleveland Spiders (1890-98), St. Louis Perfectos/Cardinals (1899-1900), Boston Americans/Red Sox (1901-08), Cleveland Naps (1909-11), Boston Rustlers (1911)
  • Stats: 511-315, 2.63 ERA, 2,803 SO, 7,356 IP, 163.6 bWAR
  • Primary position: Starting pitcher
  • What he's best known for: Sixty-six years after Young died, his name has remained omnipresent in big league baseball because of the annual award given in his name to the best pitcher in each league. Denton True Young dominated the last decade of the 19th century and the first decade of the 20th century, putting up numbers that to the modern eye just don't look real. You could fill a book with a list of them, but here's one: Young had 19 seasons in which he completed at least 30 games. The active career leader in that category is Adam Wainwright with 27. Yes, the game has transformed since Young's time, but that's exactly why his career record is something that will never be replicated. 



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