|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Honus Wagner, the man they called "The Flying Dutchman," may have played a century ago, but remains at the heart of any contemporary discussion of the greatest baseball player ever.
Based on Wagner's statistics alone, it's hard to argue against him.
Between 1900 and 1909, while playing for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Wagner led the National League in hitting seven times and stolen bases five times. By the time his career ended, Wagner was the all-time National League leader in hits, runs, RBI, doubles, triples, stolen bases and games. He batted over .300 for 17 years in a row, a remarkable testament to his consistency.
Not only is he universally recognized as the best shortstop of his era, he was equally dominant at every other position he played-and he played every position except for catcher.
Legendary manager John McGraw, who saw everyone from Ty Cobb to Babe Ruth play, called Wagner the best baseball player ever. Even Sam Crawford, himself a Hall of Famer and a teammate of the legendary Ty Cobb for 12 seasons, called Wagner the best ever.
Wagner's 1909 American Tobacco Company trading card sold in 2000 on eBay for the record price of $1.265 million.
|
|
|
|
|
|
