He drank and partied off the field, but was all business on the field, and did alot for children. So many records were shattered during his time.

Better Than Bonds

homerun king

THE BEST

the babe

He's a Yankee, and there should be rotting in hell.

any clowns that give ruth less then a five should be eliminated from any internet ratings systems, what idiots....ruth was a god...no one in any sport comes close to his athletisism, no one can hit and pitch like that period, the others are mere players compared to ruth, with the possible exception of sandy koufax but he only pitched...

the whole cleanup guy - slash - pitcher thing just blows my mind. Brings me back to little league.

For what he brought to the sport he was great...even if someone else did have to run his bases later on.

It astonishes me that any real fan could rate this guy less than four stars. This leads me to conclude there are a fair number of boneheads rating ball players.

Not only is he arguably the best hitter in the history of the game (his only real competition is Williams, who is so close its hard to put either of them in first) but he was one of the best pitchers in the game for several years before converting to the outfield.

Contrary to some opinions he was a solid defensive right fielder, at least until he got old, with decent range and an excellent arm.

He was also, for many years, an aggressive and reasonably good baserunner.

Add to that the great brawling, don't give a damn persona and showmanship, and you have the greatest player in the games history.

And arguably, the greatest figure in American sporting history.

There is a small but noticeable contingent of certain baseball fans who make the claim that the portly Ruth wouldn't be a good baseball player during other times in history. . .that doesn't hold water for me because people often forget that Ruth was almost as good as a pitcher as he was as a hitter. . .he held a record for scoreless World Series innings for several years. . .perhaps he isn't much compared to today's athletes when it comes to conditioning- but Ruth dominated the arts of hitting and pitching and must be considered a giant of the game. . .

Without a doubt the greatest baseball player of all-time. This guy for the first six years of his career was a pitcher who only hit when he pitched(most of the time) and still hit 49 homeruns over that six year span, can you see any other pitcher doing that, in any era. He won 20 games or more twice and 18 another season and set a World Series record for consecutive scoreless innings, I do not think any other player in the history of the game can say that. It took Hank Aaron 3,500 more at bats to break Ruth's 714 homeruns, thats like six full seasons. Ruth also finished with a career batting average of .342, which is incredible for such a great power hitter. The Babe might not be the all-time leader in homeruns but he is by far the most prolific homerun hitter of all-time and no one even comes close. He did this in the "deadball" era and the ballparks back then were a lot bigger than they are now, because everybody wants to see the longball today. He also did all of this with a bat that weighed a ton, Mark MacGwire with all of his "roided" muscles said he wouldn't have hit one homerun with the Babe's bat because it was too heavy. There are many other things that made the Babe great, but I will not bore you with them.

I'm not, and never have been, a sports fan. And yet, in addition to John Dillinger and Iggy Pop, Babe Ruth was a hero of my childhood, even if my reverence for him was based solely on the pervasive mythology surrounding him (he loved kids, he was without pretensions, he played great baseball even after drinking enormous quantities of booze and eating hot dogs to the point of physical illness, the magnificent and emotional farewell speech at Yankee Stadium, etc.). Last time I was in Baltimore, his birthplace had been made into a museum (I wish they would do the same thing with Billie Holiday's house). I spent a large portion of my childhood in Wayne, NJ, and there used to be a restaurant in the area called Donohue's that Babe supposedly frequented because the owner always insured his privacy and protected him from intrusive fans. The place has been torn down for decades, and it had closed down long before I was born, but the abandoned building stood in the weeds alongside Rt. 23 for years. I remember venturing there once with a friend and peering through the dust-grimed windows at the empty interior and thinking in awe, "Babe Ruth used to eat here!" My Dad used to bring me and a friend or 2 to Yankee Stadium occasionally to watch a game. I was always oblivious to what was transpiring on the ballfield; instead, I would stare about in wide-eyed wonder (sorta like one of the kids from a Spielberg movie) and think, "Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig use'ta play here!" Once friends, Ruth and Gehrig had a falling-out that lasted for years. They finally settled their differences and reconciled not long before Gehrig died. Ironically enough, they're buried across the street from each other in NY's Westchester County. Ruth is buried in the Catholic Gate of Heaven (he was originally a Lutheran) with such other luminaries as Jimmy Cagney (perhaps my favorite actor), Sal Mineo, Dutch Schultz, sad little Lisa Steinberg, Billy Martin, and Mayor Jimmy Walker. Gehrig is buried in Kensico Cemetery with Ayn Rand, Flo Ziegfeld, Billie Burke, Danny Kaye, and Tommy Dorsey.

At one point in his career he was the most dominant hitter AND pitcher in the league. No other player you can even come close to saying that for. Hit 715 home runs on beer and hot dogs. The most celebrated athlete of all-time and rightfully so.

People like Willie Mays had more natural talent, and some of his records have been eclipsed. He played in a segregated league that wasn't as competitive as today. But no one in any league was ever as far ahead of the next guy than Ruth, who was first one of the best pitchers in the league and then proceeded to be far and away the best player in baseball for the 20's and into the 30's, successfully holding off legends like Cobb, Sisler, Hornsby, Gehrig, Foxx, Simmons, etc...And deep down, every straight guy in this country wishes he could go play baseball, and then drink about 65 beers, eat like 53 cheeseburgers, and then get laid night after night...In all seriousness, the most dominant player ever.

Some say Cobb was better but if you ask me,I would rather have a guy who could jog around 4 bases not steal 3 in hopes of scoring.Cobb may have a .360 lifetime avg.Ruth hit around .340,in reality there is not much difference between numbers once a player hits above .320.Ruth hitting over 700 home runs while hitting with such accuracy is much more impressive.Add in the fact he was a capable runner(even Cobb remarked how well "the big man" could run)and his pitching prowess, there are few players that even remotely can be named in the same sentence as Ruth as being the all time best.

He is underrated as a pitcher in his early days with the Boston Red Sox, but obviously took the game by storm in pinstripes with the Yankees. Not only could he hit home runs better than anyone in his day, he was a great contact hitter as well. When comparisons are made between historic and modern sluggers, you cannot debate without naming Babe Ruth.

who else could have led the world in homers or be one of the best pitchers of his time

He was TERRIBLE!!!!!!!!If Iwas his coach I would bench him!!!!

How can anyone not give the Babe 5 stars? Even if you don't know the game, look at those numbers. There was only a handful of teams and only the best players made the bigs, but Ruth towered over them all. For many, he is baseball.

Babe was a much better FIELDER than Ted Williams who's fielding skills were hidden by putting him against the Green Monster in Boston. That what puts him into first place.

Add tightly(!) wound balls, keep them pearly white instead of dingey, tobacco covered and soft as a sponge, greatly decrease the size of every ballpark in the league, lighten the weight of bats by 10-15 ounces thereby increasing bat-speed and vastly improving power, double the amount of teams in the league and add about 200 less-than-quality pitchers into the mix, toss in a strict exercise and weight training regimen possibly accompanied by some world-class steroids and amphetamines, and finally, add in 8 more games a year.

Now. . .

Throw in African American players (about 16% of MLB players today), as well as Latino and Asian players, toss in night games and heavier travel schedules, account for better fielding resulting from much better tended fields and superior equipment.

Then. . .

Consider that, for the first half of the century, every man and boy in the US was playing the game of baseball. This helped to contribute to an enormous domestic talent pool from which to draw. Basketball and football at the time were rogue fledgling sports attracting few spectators and ever fewer competitors. Also consider that many Major Leaguers today hit as well or even better at night than at day. Of those African Americans playing in baseball today (remember, only 16% of all players), probably only 1 in 10 of those are pitchers. Please, look closely at Williams' and DiMaggio's stats and notice that, in the years following integration, those stats didn't drop off at all. Oh, and take away all the booze and junk food, then limit the all-night binging and carousing which serves only to hamper one's playing ability.

What do you get when everything above is factored in?

A man named Ruth. A man who would bat .400, slug .900, walk 200-250 times a season while still managing to belt out 70-80 home runs a year. All of this in today's modern era.

Watching the Sandlot made me wish I was born 100 years ago, just so I could see the Babe play during his prime. I wish I was at the game where legend has it that he called his own shot. You dont see Barry Bonds pulling this off.

BEST EVER.

There is no question that Ruth is the best ever. As a pitcher, he won 94 games with a 2.28 ERA, and was 3-0 as a World Series pitcher for the Redsox. He also had back-to-back 20 game winning seasons. Who can hold a candle to Ruth as a slugger (.690 Slugging Average, nearly 60 points ahead of No 2 Williams). With a lifetime batting average of .342, 714 home runs, 2213 RBI's, and a 8.50 home run percentage, this man was unbelievable!

Without doubt the greatest baseball player who ever lived and is also without peer throughout the annals of sport. The most dominate player of his era and, had he continued to pitch, would almost certainly have made the Hall-of-Fame on the strength of his left arm. Swatting tape measure homeruns (a term invented early in his career to describe his mighty clouts) with a bat that could hardly be lifetd by mere mortals, The Babe put baseball on the map to stay. How much would a player of his impact be worth today? With his talent and marketability, he could possibly have become the first billionaire athlete. His staggering exploits are far too numerous to detail. The "Sultan of Swat" stands so high above the heads of his fellow baseball brethren that any list open to discussion of the game's greatest players can only realistically begin at number two. One of the quotes mentioned in Ken Burns' 10 part documentary on the history of baseball said that Babe Ruth stood above baseball like "an Everest in Kansas." This rather accurately describes the impact of and scope Ruth. He was simply the greatest of all time and the standard by things, both inside and outside of the world of sport, are still judged to this day.

You people who call the Babe fat are missing the fact that he was much fitter and more athletic in the early Twenties, which were his best years, than he was in the films, photos, etc, that we see from later in the decade. He was considered, for most of his career, a very good fielder.

He did all those thing on a beer and braut diet, too.

Ruth had a home run record that lasted 34 years. (60 in a season) Ruth had another home run record that lasted 39 years. (714 in a career) RUTH ALSO HAD A PITCHING RECORD THAT LASTED 43 YEARS. (33 consecutive scoreless World Series innings) What was Cobb's ERA? Hmmmmmm How many did Koufax hit out? Hmmmmmmm. How many batters did Bonds fan? Hmmmmmm! No Doubt About It! The Babe's # 1!

So good they named a candy bar after him. It's a pretty good chunk a chocolate too. A+ in my book.

If he'd played anywhere other than NYC, he would have been considered just another very good player. Legend is larger than the man...

great player but a drunk

The original slugging superstar, Ruth bashed 714 long balls, the second most in MLB history. The 1923 American League MVP (players couldn't receive honors until 1930), Babe led the league at least 10 times in home runs, runs, walks, and on-base and slugging percentage. He had a .342 career batting average and hit .326 in 10 World Series.

It makes me laugh when I hear people say things like All he did was hit homeruns. No, all people talk about is Ruth hutting homeruns and all the highlights you ever see is Ruth hitting homeruns, but he did much more than that. A younger Ruth led the league in triples once or twice (going from memory on that, could be wrong) and was a decent fielder. People also seem to forget that Ruth started out as a pitcher and was a pretty darm good one. Yes, he ate to much, he drank to much, and he partied to much, but the fact that he could do all those things and still dominate the sport says just how good he was. As far as homeruns, even if that was all there was to the man, he was hitting 50 and 60 when 10 or 15 was considered a lot.

this guy is better than everyone else without all the crap they have now adays. By far the best ever.

A MONSTER!! Clearly the best of all time. Bonds is second with an asterick because of the steriods. If Ruth, Aaron, Mays had steriods fuggetaboutit!!

If more people knew about the pitching talent of Ruth, he would easily be #1 on this board.

Best all around hitter of all time, and could have been one of the best pitchers of all time. We'll never see another playr like him.

Babe Ruth was a fat man with little girl legs

THE BEST of all time.

Babe Ruth was one of only two people to hit three home runs in a World Series game. He played 163 games as a pitcher with a wining percentage of 67%, which makes him one of the best left-handed pitches the game has ever known. He was also the outstanding outfielder of his time and one of the best in baseball history. But even with those things, he was more known as a home-run hitter because in 1927 he set a record for hitting more than 60 homeruns in 154 games! In his lifetime he had 714 home runs in regular-season play. He is one of the greatest players of all time.

GREATEST ATHELETE EVER. This isn't even arguable ONE SINGLE BIT. This guy would of been in the Hall of Fame alone just for his pitching ALONE. He played in the Dead Ball Era and probbobly would have a lot more Homeruns then Hank Aaron all time had if Babe Ruth had not of been a pitcher through a chunk of his career. He single handedly set the foundation of what is known as the greatest (yet most hated) dynasty in the MLB, the YANKEES. Babe Ruth is a LEGEND

Let there be no doubt who the greatest is. Hail to the Bambino!

Yea I have to admit he is one of the greatest players of all time. He ruled the game at his time he was home run king up until henry Aaron broke his record. Although I believe Teddy Ballgame would have been better if he didnt serve his time in our armed forces.

In 1919, the last year of the dead ball era the Boston Red Sox as a team hit 33 home runs. Babe Ruth hit 29 of them. Now I'm supposed to be impressed with these modern day sluggers all bulked on on anabolic steroids and who knows what else. The Babe was one of a kind in the annals of American sport. There will never be another one like him. He could have made it to the Hall of Fame either as a pitcher or a position player. Just more evidence of his one of a kind greatness.

great hitter, great pitcher. i would take a star away because of the curse of the bambino, but he's babe ruth.

George Herman Babe Ruth was an American original, Babeball first great slugger and the most celebrated athlete of his time. The southpaw hurler debuted with the Red Sox, winning 89 games in six years while setting the World Series record for consecutive scorless innings. The Sultan of Swat converted to the outfield fulltime after his contract was sold to the Yankees in 1920 and led New York to seven American League pennants and four World Series titles. He finished with 714 home runs, leading the league 12 times, including a remarkable 60 round trippers in 1927. Babe Ruth was inducted to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1936.

All the records will fall someday, one to this insignificant guy, that to another. But nobody stirred the drink like the Babe. The Babe should be off this list, above it. Then you can start naming the best like Williams, Cobb, DiMaggio, Mantle, Bonds, Rose, Cy Young, Walter Johnson, Yaz, Aaron, Clemente, etc. After Ruth, it's pretty much up for grabs. Babe Ruth IS baseball. (Side note: After hearing Gehrig's comments on Lou Gehrig Day at Yankee Stadium, the day Lou was retiring, Ruth said later, I always thought I was the luckiest fella that ever slud safe into the 20th Century. )

one of the greatest baseball players of all time. He did it all, pitching, fielding, he did it all and he was good at it.

the best baseball player ever!