Originally Posted by
shoeless joe
What were his power and RBI avgs before using? Those numbers don't add up to "greatest hitter of all time". And stolen bags don't make you a good hitter.
Ted Williams is the greatest of all time. He hit for avg and power. 521career HR with some of his peak years spent in military service of WWII and Korea. Great hitter, great American
DiMaggio, Aaron, Ruth,are all up there. Rose, mantle, mays are next tier along with some old old school guys like Cobb.
Bonds had great numbers in the 90s but didn't start putting up all time greatest numbers until 2000. The same time his body began changing. Age 35-39 seasons he averaged 51 HR and 108 RBI. THAT is 100% due to steroids. Like was stated earlier, longevity and sustained numbers later into career are steroid hallmarks.
Williams had a great power year at age 38 w/38 HR but that was a bit of an outlier later in his career. Also career batting avg is not even close. Williams hit below .300 one time and that was at age 40. Plus, if in the 3 years he missed for WWII you add in his average HR totals from the previous and post 4 years he would have 100 more HR.
There may be some debate over the top 5 or 10 but really is none for the greatest hitter of all time.