Baseball (Position Players)

MLB position players, all eras. Minimum 110 career WAR. Pitchers are a separate category (planned). Data as of Career totals (all retired).

The Machine

Achievement 35%Dominance 25%Peak 20%Longevity 20%
#AthletePillarsRank rangeGOAT score
1Babe Ruth1914–1935
stable88.3
2Barry Bonds1986–2007
stable76.6
3Lou Gehrig1923–1939
3–571.9
4Mickey Mantle1951–1968
3–471.7
5Stan Musial1941–1963
4–766.5
6Ted Williams1939–1960
5–963.4
7Willie Mays1951–1973
6–863.0
8Ty Cobb1905–1928
6–862.2
9Hank Aaron1954–1976
8–958.1

Weigh it differently? Set your own weights →

What the AIs say

#AthleteClaudeChatGPTGeminiGrokImpactCharacterMachine
1Babe Ruth111110.07.3#1
2Willie Mays22229.39.3#7
3Barry Bonds33338.55.0#2
4Hank Aaron44559.010.0#9
5Ty Cobb—54—8.56.0#8
6Ted Williams56748.58.3#6
7Stan Musial—86—8.510.0#5
8Lou Gehrig—78—8.510.0#3
9Mickey Mantle—99—8.57.5#4

Panel ballots are the AI models’ own views, published word for word. They aren’t goat’s opinions and can contain errors.

Moments

MLB
⚾ Baseball (Position Players) · 1974

No. 715

Hank Aaron passes Babe Ruth’s career home run record, through years of hate mail and threats.

🇺🇸 Hank Aaron →
ESPN MLB
⚾ Baseball (Position Players) · 1954

The Catch

Mays runs down Vic Wertz’s deep drive over his shoulder in Game 1 of the World Series.

🇺🇸 Willie Mays →

How this category is measured

IndicatorPillarNotes
Career WAR (Baseball-Reference)Achievement—
MVP awardsAchievementAL rules barred repeat winners 1922–28.
World Series titlesAchievement—
Career OPS+ (era-adjusted, 100 = average)DominanceFloor 100 scores 0.
Best single-season WARPeak—
Seasons playedLongevity—