Sheaitaintso's Baseball Corner!

Question One of Who’s Better, Who’s Worse: Mantle or Williams?

I decided I’d start a little series where I’d post questions comparing two players.

For absolute talent, bar none, it was Mickey Mantle.
For absolute dedication to mastering the art of hitting, it was Ted Williams.

Mantle was clearly the better defensive player. Before his leg injuries there was no one faster in baseball. His only rival was Richie Ashburn of the Philadelphia Phillies for raw speed.

Mantle had by far the better arm. His power was second to none.

Williams lost prime years to the war which may have cost him another 200 home runs and certainly kept him from achieving 3000 career hits. There is no question that Williams was the better hitter. He made a science of hitting yet Mantle was every bit the hitter Williams was, (when he wanted to be), he just didn’t dedicate himself to the art.

Two great players, both are on the all century team. Both deserve the honor to be sure. Yet when a players career is over the one and perhaps the only stat that is most revealing is, how many championships did that player win. Again, there really is no comparison. In his 18 year career Mantle was a member of 12 American League Pennant winners and 7 World Series Championship teams.

If the most important game in the history of baseball was on the line and I had to pick just one player to win the game I would pick a healthy, sober Mickey Mantle. He was that great!

ATB’s Gameplay: Base Wars – Cyber Stadium Series for the Nintendo Entertainment System

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