Can you name the 100 Greatest MLB and NgL Players according to The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract? by Sesel

Rank	Player	Position
69		1B
70		3B
71		LF
72		C
73		CF
74		RF
75		1B/DH
76		CF
77		SS
78		P
79		C
80		2B
81		LF
82		LF
83		P
84		RF
85		LF
86		SS
87		3B
88		2B
89		RF
90		RF
91		3B
92		P
93		SS
94		P
95		RF
96		P
97		C
98		CF
99		LF
100		LF
101	LF
102	LF
103	LF
104	LF
105	LF
106	LF
107	LF
108	LF
109	LF
110	LF

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There are 90 comments for this game.
(Warning: comments may contain spoilers)

100 Greatest Baseball Players Quiz

by Sesel

Created Oct 6, 2009 in Sports
Game Plays 26,389

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	king21:	Oct 6th, 2009 at 06:27 GMT		32 points
	as much as i love bill james' work, i think we can all agree calling biggio the 35th best player of all-time is a bit over the top

	johnlk:	Oct 6th, 2009 at 07:14 GMT		5 points
	I assume the idea is that Biggio was unusually offensively productive for a second baseman? Because Yastrzemski, the next hitter below him, is either comparable to or significantly better than Biggio in virtually every offensive category except stolen bases. So presumably Biggio gets a bump because he's a second baseman, and it's much harder to get a power-hitting second baseman than a power-hitting left fielder.

	metjets69:	Oct 6th, 2009 at 07:23 GMT		7 points
	Oscar Charleston is tough here. No one will ever really know how good he actually would've been if he were allowed to play in his era with white ball players. Putting him over Cobb and Mantle however is definitely interesting.

	Camden:	Oct 6th, 2009 at 14:48 GMT		2 points
	This is a fantastic game! Very fun! But I agree with the comments above. Biggio is ridiculously high. Bagwell also. As is McGwire. Steroids or not - the thought of Mark McGwire as the 31st greatest player ever makes my head hurt. Even in 2001, who would have EVER said that Jeff Bagwell was better than Ken Griffey Jr.? (who needs the Jr. added to his name by the way, assuming it is supposed to be him at 73.) Let alone 30+ spots higher on this list. Other I have issues with: Ernine Banks is far too low. So is Clemente. NO NOLAN RYAN!?!?

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	dtro:	Oct 6th, 2009 at 16:28 GMT		38 points
	Well Nolan Ryan did walk roughly 72 million batters. Thats an estimate of course.

	Barzuniac:	Oct 6th, 2009 at 17:01 GMT		0 points
	Interesting list but not all good. For one thing I'm not sure how he compares all the career Negro Leaguers in here. Which is not a complaint about their inclusion so much as a question of how James placed there in the places he did. The Biggio thing is ridiculous, he was versatile and solid, but he never could hit good pitching. As a Cubs fan I love the inclusion of Ron Santo and am happy to see Ryno so high, but - there's simply no way Ryne Sandberg is that much better than Ernie Banks and Billy Williams. Ryno at various times could hit for power, average, and could steal bases, and he always had a remarkably steady glove, but - I think he got that high because he played 2nd.

	sox_fan1468927:	Oct 6th, 2009 at 17:23 GMT		-2 points
	Joe Morgan higher than Rogers Hornsby? Bye bye credibility.

	jmarshallg:	Oct 6th, 2009 at 17:51 GMT		5 points
	To be fair, Bagwell was healthy for most of his career and his only bad year was his last year while Griffey has been done for a while and hasn't been consistently good since his first stint in Seattle

	kthejoker:	Oct 6th, 2009 at 18:53 GMT		2 points
	Biggio is more than "solid" - he was the best or second-beest hitting second baseman in baseball for a decade - for the most part in the Astrodome, one of the worst hitting environments of all time. And yes, he receives a lot of positional credit, because he was good enough to play second base, which unlike left field (Yaz's position) actually requires fielding skill. Please, go read the book before you go spouting off about the list.

	kthejoker:	Oct 6th, 2009 at 18:55 GMT		3 points
	Yes, Sandberg got that high "because he played 2nd" because 2nd base is a lot harder to play than first or corner outfield! And Sandberg played it better than Ernie Banks played shortstop or first base. It's easy to go find some flat-footed hulk to play first base. Try finding someone who can play second base with any sort of skill who can hit like Ryno or Biggio or Joe Morgan. Sheesh.

	kthejoker:	Oct 6th, 2009 at 18:58 GMT		3 points
	And Joe Morgan is higher than Hornsby because Hornsby played in a non-integrated league and was an average fielder at best. Who knew that defense mattered?

	Sesel:	Oct 6th, 2009 at 20:06 GMT		3 points
	There are explanations to some of his rankings in the book itself.

	Sesel:	Oct 6th, 2009 at 20:07 GMT		4 points
	#Camden: I didn't put the "Jr." for Cal Ripken and Ken Griffey because I chose the "last names acceptable" option when I created the quiz. Otherwise just putting in "Jr" would get both of them.

	waterprooface83:	Oct 6th, 2009 at 20:44 GMT		1 point
	I'm glad Nolan Ryan isn't on this list. He walked more batters than everyone, never won a Cy Young and only won 20 games twice in 27 years. He is a borderline Hall of Famer just because of his 7 no hitters and the high career totals (due to his longevity) but he shouldn't be anywhere near the top 100.

	brentsanchez:	Oct 6th, 2009 at 21:56 GMT		3 points
	ughh. Wizard of oz anyone?

	deej:	Oct 6th, 2009 at 22:15 GMT		4 points
	@sesel: you can put griffey and ripken as alternate correct responses. it seems unlikely anyone would type "jr"

	deej:	Oct 6th, 2009 at 22:21 GMT		12 points
	@all Nolan Ryan haters: Ryan had the lowest batting average against, ever. He had the 2nd lowest OPS against ever, second only to Koufax. He had the most strikeouts ever and the 2nd most games started ever. Pitching all those games explains the high walk total, and his k/bb ratio was over 2.0, which is very good. Who cares how many times he won 20 games? He mostly played on crappy teams, and everyone now knows that wins are a useless way to measure a pitcher's ability.

	webmaestro2000:	Oct 7th, 2009 at 00:52 GMT		2 points
	fun quiz, thanks

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	bobc:	Oct 7th, 2009 at 02:38 GMT		0 points
	The ordering is a bit tough because it's tough to remember who you've guessed, or which position you're missing. I'd recommend one or more of the following, while probably keeping the number rank on the side: group by position; alphabetical order; include playing dates so one can think of old-timers vs. newer players; include main team played for (I don't like this idea much, just throwing out all ideas.

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	SammyG:	Oct 7th, 2009 at 03:59 GMT		6 points
	Should really specify that this isn't limited to MLB. Really threw me off. Otherwise, great quiz!

	skiii:	Oct 7th, 2009 at 04:56 GMT		-2 points
	Does anyone know how Bill James works, clearly not!!! One of the most brilliant minds in baseball!!! You are all judging based on what stats occurred throughout each persons career, he looks past all that. His stats are meant to confuse us all. Look, I understand how difficult it is to see the Iron Horse at #14, but he knows his stuff.

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	evrbody:	Oct 8th, 2009 at 23:36 GMT		8 points
	Ripken had over 3000 hits and 400 homers, played Gold Glove-caliber defense at shortstop (which is not an offensively-based position), and won an MVP award, all while playing every single game the Orioles played for 15 years.

	Barzuniac:	Oct 10th, 2009 at 04:31 GMT		3 points
	kthejoker, your entire string of posts above seems to overvalue defense. I'm one of those who thinks hitting is way more important. As for the Santo???? guy, Ron Santo was really good. Like, so good he'll be in the Hall of Fame, and should have been in sooner. That his offensive numbers seem smaller due to the steroid era is hardly his fault.

	thefinestmuffins:	Oct 12th, 2009 at 18:49 GMT		5 points
	WOW! When I tried Smith and Ozzie didn't show up, I didn't even think to try Barry Larkin. Very cool to see him on here.

	dtro:	Oct 14th, 2009 at 20:01 GMT		4 points
	@deej: He also had a career 111 ERA+, which would tie him with A.J. Burnett, Freddy Garcia, Cliff Lee, and the immortal Jumbo McGinnis. Nolan Ryan is longevity pure and simple. It takes a little more than Ks to be a dominant pitcher.

	kthejoker:	Oct 14th, 2009 at 20:36 GMT		7 points
	Sorry, if you don't understand positional bonuses, this list makes no sense. Please go read a bit of Bill James and get some education. All of you people saying Joe Morgan shouldn't be on this list need your "baseball fan" cards revoked.

	schoopdawoop:	Oct 15th, 2009 at 17:18 GMT		-1 points
	i love biggio as much as the next guy, but 35th? and to not have the wizard? same for bagwell, but ahead of ripken? maybe. and i have always been a real advocate of ralph kiner, so his absence disturbs me. He has the 3rd highest at bats per home run ratio of all time.

	tscheno2:	Oct 15th, 2009 at 19:09 GMT		5 points
	I love that Maddux is on this list. One of the best pitchers ever. He could get even the most steroid enhanced hitter out with that 88mph fastball painted right on the corner.

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	corbin:	Oct 16th, 2009 at 08:44 GMT		-1 points
	Oh and Bagwell #43 and Clemente #74? Wow...

	dallastim:	Oct 16th, 2009 at 17:00 GMT		-3 points
	How were Pudge Rodriguez and Alex Rodriguez not on this list?

	BentKangaroo:	Oct 17th, 2009 at 03:59 GMT		10 points
	They might be on the list now, but not when the book came out.

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	TrickyNicky:	Oct 20th, 2009 at 06:44 GMT		7 points
	You should buy the book to read James' justifications for all the rankings, which he goes into in detail. He does a comparison of Biggio and Ken Griffey Jr is interesting. Biggio was a gold glove second baseman in an extreme pitchers park, led the league in HBPs ever year, rarely grounded into double plays...these are the reasons he rates so high.