2. George Herman ‘Babe’ Ruth
When we think of Babe Ruth, we think of a prolific home run hitter in a Yankee uniform who hit a long ball to a specified destination after pointing to it.
Ruth started his career with the Boston Red Sox during the Dead Ball Era. It was a great time for pitchers and a very bad time for hitters as the rules and conditions made it hard for batters to thrive. While Babe Ruth is one of the most lauded hitters of all time, his somewhat brief career on the mound remains underrated. Before his career as a slugger took off, Ruth won an ERA title.
In 1918, his career as a slugger soared from the gate, quickly becoming the top home run hitter in the game. His legend grew exponentially after the Dead Ball Era ended and the Red Sox sold him to the Yankees incurring the “Curse of the Bambino.”
In the last year of his career, the Sultan of Swat headed back to Beantown, this time with the Boston Braves. That year, his uneventful 1935 season ended after playing only 28 games.
Though his Braves’ tenure was a bit of a letdown, The Great Bambino led baseball in several categories throughout most of his career.
He retired with 714 home runs, a .342 batting average, an ERA of 2.28 (most of his innings pitched were during the Dead Ball Era), and an MLB-leading 182.6 WAR value. His WAR not only tops the MLB, but he still holds the record for OPS, OPS+, and SLG. His career .474 OBP is second all-time just behind Ted Williams on the leaderboards. He hit 40+ home runs 11 times topping out at 60. He finished 15 seasons with a .300+ batting average (with a qualifying number of plate appearances) peaking at .393. Over that span, his average eclipsed .370 six times. Strangely, Ruth only won MVP once.
With several different rules that limited and gave home runs, we don’t exactly know what Ruth’s home run total would have been today had the rules been the same or even whether the actual total would come out to more or less than 714. But having spent six seasons (some not full seasons) of his 22-year career in the Dead Ball Era, one can certainly appreciate the Bambino’s legendary power to have reached such a staggering total.
3. Chipper Jones
When it comes to the modern era of baseball, there aren’t many non-PED users who performed like Chipper Jones. Throughout his 19-year career, Chipper hit for an average of over .300 ten times reaching as high as .364. He posted 6 seasons of 30+ home run totals topping out at 45.
Jones, a lifetime Brave, retired with 468 home runs, a .303 batting average, and a WAR value of 85.3. He won the 1999 MVP award, two Silver Sluggers, a batting title, and was selected to eight All-Star games. After returning from a lost year due to injury, he was runner-up to Rookie of the Year in 1995, but more importantly an integral part of the Braves’ postseason team that won the World Series that year.
October 3, 1995 | NLDS Game 1, Braves at Rockies
— Braves on TBS (@BravesOnTBS) October 3, 2024
“Chipper Jones with a stunning defensive play at third base and the game-winning home run in the ninth inning.” - Skip Caray pic.twitter.com/qF8PL7Tirn
His .930 career OPS, among other stats, puts him in elite company among his contemporaries (40th overall, tied with Alex Rodriguez and Harry Heilmann). Only 14 players who last batted from 2000 to now (only one current player: Mike Trout) maintain a higher OPS than Jones, several of which used PEDs during their careers. These accomplishments made him a rare talent for his time and one of the best switch-hitters of all time.
4. Greg Maddux
Phenomenal pitchers like Warren Spahn and Gaylord Perry may have lower career ERAs than Greg Maddux, but the Mad Dog did a few things neither of the other distinguished aces accomplished in their careers.
Maddux started his 23-year career in 1986 with the Chicago Cubs. From 1992 to 1995, Maddux won four straight Cy Youngs (one with the Cubs, three with the Braves) in dominant and workhorse fashion. Over those four years, he led the MLB in innings pitched three times and the NL all four seasons. His ERA for three of those seasons, all with the Braves, topped the MLB.
Throughout his career, Maddux posted nine seasons of ERA numbers below 3.00 (not including one at exactly 3.00), two of which were below 2.00, throwing 1.56 and 1.63 in back-to-back years.
Maddux retired with a 3.16 ERA and a 106.6 WAR value. In addition to his four Cy Youngs, Maddux won four ERA titles, an MLB-best 18 Gold Gloves, and was selected to eight All-Star games. He led both the NL and the MLB in several different stats throughout his career. He also helped the Braves to their World Series victory in 1995.