Ken Griffey Jr just became the 6th player to hit 600 homeruns and Manny Ramirez recently became the 24th to hit 500 homeruns but where do these players rank as the top hitters of all time?

I used a ranking system with point scale to determine the top 50 hitters of all time. I used 12 positive stats (Total Bases, Batting Avg, OBP, Hits, Slugging %, Home Runs, Runs, RBI, Doubles, Triples, Stolen Bases and Walks) and 1 negative stat (Strikeouts). For each positive stat I looked at the top 100 in each categorie and for example for homeruns Barry Bonds is #1 so he recieves +100 points, Hank Aaron is #2 so he recieves +99 points and so on down to #100. For strikeouts it is the opposite Reggie Jackson is #1 so he gets -100 points Sammy Sosa is #2 so he gets -99 points and so on.

With the differences in eras and surge of homeruns in recent years all 13 stats count equally. For the older hitters lacking in homeruns, RBI, slugging % and walks  they are strong in Batting Avg, Runs, Triples and Stolen Bases. Total Bases, Doubles, OBP, Hits and Strikeouts are more evenly distributed throughout the eras. These rankings go strictly by this system with few exceptions as I will explain each when it appears. This means that the use of steroids is not being applied as a punishable factor for all those Bonds haters out there.

Rank- Player- Points

#50- Roberto Clemente- 297     Holding a career .317 batting avg and 3000 hits ranks Clemente at 46th and 27th respectively. Also racking up 166 triples good for 27th all time makes Roberto Clemente #50 on this list.

#49- Eddie Mathews- 298         What he lacks in Batting Avg where he holds a career .271 he makes up for in power. His 512 Home runs ranks 20th all time while his 1453 RBI is good enough for 53rd. He also ranks 21st in walks with 1444.

#48- Mike Schmidt- 325            The long time Phillie slugging 3rd basemen. Holds the record for career homeruns at his position and ranks 12th all time with 548. Schmidt struggled with strikeouts ranking 7th all time with 1883 career whiffs. His RBI and total base totals along with homeruns is what makes him #48 on this list though.

#47- Alex Rodriquez- 327           At the age of 32 Arod is on pace to break numerous records by the time his career is at an end. With him climbing these charts every year and the 10 year contract he has just signed it will be interesting to see where he ranks at the end of his career. For now though his 528 homeruns, 1534 RBI and .306 batting avg gets him 47 on this list.

#46- Reggie Jackson- 328          His strikeouts caused a stumble in his ranking as he ranks 1st in that category with 2597 but his power numbers make up for it. He ranks in the top 25 in total bases (4834), RBI (1702), and Homeruns (563)

#45- Craig Biggio- 339               Biggio hit his 3000th hit last season and called it a career after 20 years, and what a career it has been. Biggio finds himself in the top 20 in hits (3060), runs (1844), and Doubles (668)

#44- Jesse Burkett- 347              Before doing this I didnt know much about this guy but the numbers he put up in a 16 year career from 1890-1905 made me wonder why he isnt more known throughout the baseball world. His .338 batting avg, 188 triples and 1720 runs are all among the top 25 all time.

#43- Tony Gwynn- 359                Arguably the greatest hitter of the 90s Tony Gwynn ended his career with a .338 batting avg and 3141 hits, both of which are in the top 20 all time. His 543 doubles also ranks him 23rd all time.

#42- Sam Crawford- 365             The all time leader in triples with an astounding 309. His batting avg was .309 with a total of 2961 hits in his career.

#41- Jeff Bagwell- 411                His .408 OBP ranks him 20th all time while he places in the top 30 in walks (1401) and slugging % (.540) as well.

#40- Joe DiMaggio- 385              With his .579 slugging % he is ranked 9th all time. He also has a .325 batting average and .398 OBP ranking 29th and 30th respectively. DiMaggio gets the go ahead of Bagwell because DiMaggio lost 3 seasons between 1943-1945 due to World War 2. This occured in the middle of his career when DiMaggio was in his prime. With those 3 years added on there is no doubt that DiMaggio's points would be higher than Bagwell's 411.

#39- Ken Griffey Jr- 442              If it wasnt for injuries Griffey would be ranked much higher on this list but even so after hitting his 600th homerun last night he became only the 6th player to do so. His RBI, total bases and slugging % all rank in the top 25 as well. If Griffey can stay healthy I think its safe to say that he will be moving up on this list in the next few years.

#38- Goose Goslin- 448               Goose ranks within the top 50 in 6 different categories: Batting Avg- 50 (.316), hits- 49 (2735) , total bases- 49 (4325), RBI- 28 (1609), triples- 22 (173) and double- 45 (500)

#37- Manny Ramirez- 448            Tied with Goose momentarily but within the next few weeks he will move up being that he is only 1 RBI shy of Tony Perez for 24th all time. Having recently hit his 500th homerun at the age of 36, there is a good shot at him reaching the 600 homerun plateau as well.

#36- Dave Winfield- 449              Dave Winfield has hit 465 homeruns along with 3110 hits throughout his career to rank in at 30th and 19th respectively. Winfield also ranks within the top 15 in total bases (5221) and RBI (1833).

#35- Paul Molitor- 457                 Molitor's 3319 hits throughout his career rank him at 9th and his 605 doubles is 11th all time. He also ranks in the top 25 in runs (1782) and total bases (4854). Molitor is also a threat on the bases as his 504 stolen bases rank him 33rd all time.

#34- George Brett- 458                George Brett's 3154 hits ranks 15th while his 5044 total bases ranks 16th all time. He has a career .305 batting avg with 317 homeruns. He ranks 6th all time in doubles with 665.

#33- Al Simmons- 459                  Simmons career extended from 1924 through 1944. In his career he got 2927 hits with a .334 batting avg and 307 homeruns with 1875 RBI.

#32- Mickey Mantle- 459               The Yankee great made a run for Babe Ruth's homerun record in 1961 when injury cut his season short and forced him to sit out while team mate Roger Maris went on and hit 61 that season. Mantle ranks in the top 10 in OBP (.422) and walks (1733) while his 536 homeruns ranks 13th all time. If not for injuries who knows what kind of career numbers Mantle was capapble of.

#31- Al Kaline- 460                       Kaline ranks within the top 50 all time in hits- 26 (3007), total bases- 23 (4852), RBI- 36 (1583), runs- 37 (1622), homeruns- 44 (399), doubles- 48 (498) and walks- 39 (1277).

#30- Charlie Gehringer- 467           Gehringer played the entirety of career on the Detroit Tigers from 1924-1942. During this time period he hit 574 doubles and scored 1774 runs which rank at 20th and 19th all time. He also had an OBP of .398 and racked up 2839 hits.

#29- Wade Boggs- 470                  The highest ranked full time 3rd basemen, Wade Boggs is ranked in the top 25 in OBP (.415), hits (3010), doubles (578) and walks (1412). His .328 batting avg is also ranked 26th all time.

#28- Gary Sheffield- 486                Sheffield is ranked in the top 50 in 7 different categories. OBP- 37 (.396), total bases- 39 (4494), RBI- 33 (1588), runs- 48 (1558), homeruns- 27 (483), walks- 24 (1402) and slugging %- 49 (.519). With his playing days not yet over Sheffield still has a chance to move up the list.

#27- Ed Delahanty- 489                 Delahanty not only ranks 3rd all time in batting avg with a stifling .346 but he is a threat to steal as he is ranked 43rd all time in stolen bases with 455. His 185 triples also ranks at 13th all time.

#26- Rickey Henderson- 499          The greatest threat to ever hit the bases of all time, his 1406 stolen bases is far ahead of any other players. Henderson's speed and baserunning has also led him to be the all time leader in runs as well with 2295. Up until a few years ago, when pitchers simply stopped pitching to Barry Bonds, Henderson was also the all time leader in walks. Henderson is also a member of the 3000 hits club with 3055 and has an OBP of .401.

#25- Cal Ripken Jr- 505                 The all time leader in homeruns by a shortstop and MLB's iron man. Ripken is a member of the 3000 hit club with 3184 and a well balanced run producer. Ripken ranks 22nd in RBI with 1695 and 31st in runs with 1647.

#24- Eddie Murray- 506                  Consistancy was the name of the game for Eddie Murray as he never had a 40 homerun season or a 200 hit season but is 1 of only 4 players to have 500 homeruns and 3000 hits. Murray also ranks 9th all time in both total bases (5397) and RBI (1917).

#23- Pete Rose- 516                      The all time leader in hits with 4256, Pete Rose's gambling has kept him out of the Hall of Fame but the numbers are still remarkable. 2nd in doubles with 746, 6th in runs with 2165, and 7th all time in total bases with 5752.

#22- Nap Lajoie- 531                    Nap played between 1896 and 1916. He ranks in the top 15 in batting avg (.338), hits (3242) and doubles (657). He has also racked up 380 steals, 163 triples and 1599 RBI.

#21- Harry Heilman- 548              Another player that I knew very little about before doing this list. Heilman played for the Detroit Tigers and Cincinnati Reds between 1914 and 1932. He has a career .342 batting avg, 1539 RBI, 2660 hits, 151 triples and a .520 slugging %.

#20- Frank Thomas- 548              The highest ranked DH Frank Thomas has big power hitting numbers with his 520 homeruns, 1701 RBI and .558 slugging %. But the Big Hurt isnt all about power as he ranks 10th in OBP with .420, 9th in walks with 1654 and although not ranked in the top 100 Thomas holds a career batting avg of .302. With his career seemingly coming to a close I dont see Thomas getting more than 2 or 3 more spots higher on this list.

#19- Cap Anson- 557                   Cap played the entirety of his career in the 1800s between 1871-1897. He is ranked 3rd all time in RBI with 2076, 7th in hits with 3418, 8th in runs with 1996 and 18th in batting avg with .333.

#18- Eddie Collins- 572                 Eddie Collins played from 1906-1930. He has a career batting avg of .333, had 3315 hits, 187 of which were triples, 1821 runs and on OBP .406. Not only was Collins a great hitter but he was also a major threat to steal with 745 stolen bases to rank him as 7th all time.

#17- Paul Waner- 581                   Waner has a total of 3152 hits, 191 of which were triples and 605 doubles. Waner also had a career batting avg of .333 which is ranked 18th all time.

#16- Rafael Palmeiro- 603             Palmeiro is 1 of 4 players to have 500 homeruns and 3000 hits and the 2nd to appear on this list. His 565 homeruns is ranked 10th all time while his 3020 hits is 24th. His RBI total is 14th all time at 1835, is 10th in total bases with 5388 and his 585 doubles is 15th all time.

#15- Carl Yastrzemski- 603            Yastrzemski not only has 1 of the hardest names to spell in the MLB but is also 1 of the hardest hitters. He launched 452 homeruns and drove in 1844 RBI. He had 3419 hits (6th all time), 649 of which were doubles leading to a mark of 5539 total bases both of which are 8th all time.

#14- Frank Robinson- 631              Frank Robinson has the 7th most homeruns all time with 586. He also ranks in the top 25 in RBI (1812), total bases (5373), runs (1829) and walks (1420).

#13- Mel Ott- 694                          Ott had 511 career homeruns, 1860 RBI, 1859 runs, 5041 total bases, 1708 walks and a .410 OBP. All of which are ranked within the top 25 and 2876 hits and a .533 slugging % both ranked at 38th all time.

#12- Roger Hornsby- 706                The highest ranked 2nd basemen, Roger Hornsby is in the top 11 in all 3 percentage categories. His .358 batting avg is 2nd all time, .424 OBP is 7th and his .577 slugging % is 11th all time. Hornsby is also 25th in both doubles and triples with 541 and 169 each.

#11- Hank Aaron- 708                     Although Bonds has taken him down in alltime homeruns Hank Aaron is still ranked 1st all time in total bases with 6856 and RBI with 2297. His 755 homeruns is 2nd all time. He is ranked 3rd in hits with 3771, 4th in runs with 2174 and 10th in doubles with 624.

#10- Willie Mays- 714                     The Say Hey Kid, Willie Mays is 1 of 2 players to have 600 homeruns and 3000 hits (the other being Hank Aaron). Mays is in the top 25 in 7 categories: hits- 11 (3283), total bases- 3 (6066), RBI- 10 (1903), runs- 7 (2062), homeruns- 4 (660), walks- 19 (1464) and slugging %- 21 (.557). Mays is also 1 the 1st member of the 300-300 club for steals and homeruns. 

#9- Honus Wagner- 725                 The highest ranked shortstop, Honus Wagner is ranked in the top 10 in hits (3415), doubles (640), triples (252) and stolen bases (722). He is also ranked 21st in both total bases (4862) and runs (1736) while his RBI total of 1732 ranks 18th. Wagner also had a career .327 batting avg that ranks 28th all time.

#8- Jimmie Foxx- 753                      Foxx ranks in the top 10 in OBP (.425), RBI (1922) and slugging % (.609). He is also ranked in the top 20 in total bases (4956), runs (1751), homeruns (534) and walks (1452). Jimmie Foxx's .325 career batting avg is also ranked at 29th all time.

#7- Barry Bonds- 849                       The new homerun king with his 762 homeruns Barry Bonds also has the all time lead in walks with 2558. Bonds is also ranked in the top 5 in OBP (.444), total bases (5976), RBI (1996), runs (2227) and slugging % (.607). Bonds is also not only the lone member of the 400-400 club, a feat of balance between power and speed, but he is also a 500-500 member as well with his 514 stolen bases ranking 29th all time.

#6- Ted Williams- 834                      The last player to hit .400 in a single season, unless of course Chipper Jones can hold up this season, Ted Williams is the all time leader in OBP with his .482. He is ranked 2nd all time in slugging % with .634, 4th in walks with 2019 and 5th in batting avg with .344. Williams is also in the top 20 in total bases- 20 (4884), RBI- 13 (1839) and 17th in runs (1798) and homeruns (521). Williams missed 3 years from 1943-1945 due to World War 2. If Williams had played in those 3 years then he would have had 3000 hits and over 600 homeruns being the 1st player to do so and 1 of 2 players ever. Due to Williams missing these 3 seasons in his prime I had to give him the leg up on Bonds because if he had played those 3 seasons he would recieve more than the 849 points that Bonds has.

#5- Tris Speaker- 865                      The all time leader in doubles with 792 Tris Speaker is 4th all time in batting avg with a .345 and 5th in hits with 3514. Speaker is also in the top 15 in OBP- 11 (.417), total bases- 14 (5101), runs-11 (1882) and triples- 6 (222).

#4- Lou Gehrig- 908                         The Iron Horse, Lou Gehrig is the highest ranked infielder on this list having played most his career at 1st base. He is 3rd all time in slugging % (.632), 4th in OBP (.442), 5th in RBI (1995) and 10th in runs (1888). Gehrig also had a career batting avg of .340 ranking 12 all time and ranking 15th in walks (1508) and total bases (5060). Lou Gehrig also had 493 career homeruns for 25th all time. Lou Gehrig also is the all time leader in grandslams with 23. If it wasnt for a career ending disease Lou Gehrig could have been higher on this list.

#3- Stan Musial- 976                        The only player to be in the top 50 in 11 out of the 12 positive categories, stolen bases being the only exception, and in all but homeruns he is in the 21. Musial is ranked 2nd in total bases with 6134, 3rd in doubles with 725 and 4th in hits with 3630. Musial is also 6th in RBI with 1951, 9th in runs with 1949 and 12th in both OBP with .417 and walks with 1599. His slugging % of .559 and 177 triples are both ranked 19th all time. Musial held a career batting avg of .331 which ranks 21st and his 475 homeruns ranks 28th all time.

#2- Ty Cobb- 977                            Just edging out Stan Musial by 1 point on the scale, Ty Cobb actually has the highest point total of all players in MLB history. Cobb is the all time leader in batting avg with an outstanding .367 and ranks in the top 5 in 6 other categories, 7th in 2 others. Cobb ranks 2nd in hits (4191), runs (2245) and triples (297). He ranks 4th in doubles (723) and stolen bases (892) and is 5th in total bases (5859). Cobb is ranked 7th in OBP (.424) and RBI (1938). His .513 slugging % ranks 56th and his 1249 walks is 44th.

#1- Babe Ruth- 918                         To mine and I'm sure everybody elses surprise with the way this system works out Babe Ruth is ranked 3rd all time by a considerable amount. However I took into account that Ruth was also a pitcher for the 1st few years of his career and his 2.28 ERA would be ranked 10th all time giving Ruth another 91 points to make his point total a whopping 1009. Ruth is also the all time leader in slugging % with a .690 and ranks 2nd in OBP (.469) and RBI (2213). His 714 homeruns and 2062 walks are ranked 3rd all time and 2174 runs are 4th all time. Babe Ruth is ranked 6th in total bases with 5793 thanks to 136 triples (71st), 506 doubles (41st) and 2873 hits (39th). Ruth's .342 career batting avg is ranked 7th all time as well. If Ruth was a full time outfielder from the start of his career who knows what his numbers would be. He could still be the all time leader in homeruns, RBI and runs.

So there you have it, this is my top 50 MLB hitters of all time using my point system. Many of the players on this list I'm sure many have never heard of before but after reading this I hope you will check out their stats and see how good they really are and how amazing it is that they arent more known. This list included no catchers, 6 1st basemen, 4 2nd basemen, 1 shortstop, 4 3rd basemen, 2 SS/3B, 2 Designated Hitters and 32 Outfielders. There are also 5 active players indicated in bold.