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They reached the game’s highest level, if only briefly. Their greatness is defined by an
extraordinary peak.
We are fortunate to have enjoyed long and fruitful careers from most of the Sporting News
140: Baseball’s Greatest Players. It is difficult to achieve a worthy career without enduring long enough to amass the requisite statistics and accolades.
This select group of players is the exception, and we welcome you into this “room” to learn
more about the players and celebrate them with us.
At their best, these ten players were elite. During their prime they fit comfortably alongside the greatest to ever play, yet we were left wanting more. Some built toward their peak gradually and others were derailed early by injury, illness, or other circumstances.
We remember this group not for career milestone stats or longevity, but for a brief span of
brilliance that shone so brightly it will never be forgotten. They burned hot and fast, achieving a level of dominance few have ever matched.
Welcome to the Supernovas.
BASEBALL'S GREATEST PLAYERS
The Immortals | The Artists | The Unicorns | The Juggernauts
(Editor's note: Each hyperlinked name takes you to that player's page within the digitized SN Archive. Once registered (it's free!), readers have instant access to every article and cover related to each player, as they originally appeared in print.)
Baseball's Greatest Players: The Juggernauts
Sandy Koufax
At his apex, Sandy Koufax was inevitable, the legend of which has been preserved as a treasured piece of baseball lore.
Koufax recorded three 25-win, 300-strikeout seasons (1963, 1965-66); all other live-ball pitchers have combined for three such seasons.
SN Archive (1964): Sandy Koufax just cemented his spot in Cooperstown
SN
George Sisler
George Sisler is regarded as one of the most well-rounded first basemen of all time and authored two of baseball’s most breathtaking seasons.
Sisler accumulated 257 hits across 154 games in 1920, establishing a record not broken until 2004 (Ichiro had 262 in 162-game season). In 1922, Sisler hit safely in 41 consecutive games, a modern-era record that stood until Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game streak in 1941.
Chase Utley
Chase Utley was baseball’s most complete superstar during his five-year peak, something few appreciated then but many do now.
Utley generated 7+ WAR in all five seasons spanning 2005-09, tying the longest such streak by a second baseman all time (1972-76 Joe Morgan, 1933-37 Charlie Gehringer, 1912-16 Eddie Collins).
Chuck Klein
Chuck Klein enjoyed a six-year offensive eruption to begin his career, his production amplified by the inviting contours of Philadelphia’s Baker Bowl.
Klein batted .395 at Baker Bowl (Phillies home park until 1938), the highest average by any player with at least 2,000 PA at any stadium in the modern era (since 1900).
Ed Walsh
Ed Walsh was a towering presence with a devastating spitball, pitching so stingily but so incessantly over six years that his arm paid the price.
Walsh won 40 games in 1908, the most recent 40-win season, and did it throwing a modern-era record 464.0 innings.
SN
Rube Waddell
Rube Waddell was baseball’s first great strikeout force, his overpowering stuff and eccentric personality making him one of the game’s most colorful spectacles.
Waddell recorded 349 strikeouts in 1904 (Athletics) and 232 in 1908 (Browns, became Orioles), both of which remain single-season franchise records.
Joe Mauer
Joe Mauer won three batting titles during his five-year reign as the best catcher in baseball, the rigors of which forced him out of the crouch at 30.
Mauer led the AL in all three triple-slash categories in 2009 (.365/.444/.587), the first catcher to do that in any league since Josh Gibson in 1937 (Negro National League II).
Dizzy Dean
Dizzy Dean crammed four major-league strikeout titles, a 30-win season, and a World Series ring into a five-year period as the ringleader of the Gashouse Gang.
Dean led the majors in strikeouts in four consecutive seasons spanning 1932-35. Only Rube Waddell (1903-07) and Randy Johnson (1998-2002) own a longer streak of that kind.
Ralph Kiner
Ralph Kiner condensed a lifetime of home runs into seven seasons, but his assault on the record book succumbed to a bad back at 32.
Kiner owns the all-time record for most home runs through a player's fourth (168), fifth (215), sixth (257), seventh (294), and eighth (329) seasons.
Jacob deGrom
Jacob deGrom’s peak was defined by two inevitabilities: he was going to dominate on the mound and some injury was going to take him off of it.
deGrom posted a 205 ERA+ (100 is average) in the four seasons spanning 2018-21, 48% better than any other 500-IP pitcher over that span (Max Scherzer: 157).
Our process for Baseball's Greatest Players
Every week through the end of the World Series, we'll unveil one room at a time — 10 players along with the numbers that define them — culminating in the Inner Circle, the 10 greatest to ever play, period.
We researched and considered over 500 names, weighing not only fundamental changes to the game, but also factoring in modern metrics, recently uncovered Negro Leagues data, shifting league demographics and the evolution of today's stars. We stripped away preconceptions and applied objective, critical analysis to every player under consideration.
SN140: Baseball's greatest 25 teams since 1886
Once we landed on 140 names, we decided that traditional rankings simply don't work for baseball. How is one to honestly assess if Cy Young — a pitcher whose career began in the 19th century — is greater than Albert Pujols, a 21st-century slugger? How do you compare Josh Gibson in the Negro Leagues to Jackie Robinson in the National League?
Instead, we created 14 position-less rooms, each representing and articulating varying archetypes of greatness.
- Immortals
- Artists
- Unicorns
- Juggernauts
- Supernovas
- Unsung
- Showmen
- What-ifs
- Pioneers
- Prodigies
- Stalwarts
- Beloved
- Pariahs
- Inner Circle
From there, we slotted 10 players into each room with careers connected by defining common threads.
We factored in modern metrics, recognized and utilized now accessible Negro Leagues data, contextualized changing league demographics, considered functional changes to the game such as strike zone and mound height adjustments, and included active players alongside their historical counterparts.
The result?
The most unique, comprehensive and celebratory evaluation to date of Baseball's Greatest Players.
English (US)