The Five Greatest Hitters in Major League Baseball History

One of the great things about baseball is the endless arguments about which players are the greatest. I want to add to these endless arguments my own argument for the five greatest hitters in major league baseball history. When compiling any list of “the Greatest _____” it’s important to be clear on your criteria.

Criteria

-My list is based on the peak 5 year stretch of any hitter. There’s a big difference between asking which players had the longest stretch of great play and which players had the greatest single season. I am looking for something in between these two extremes. I want to compare the greatest hitters of all time at their absolute peak, not on their way up and not on their way down.

-I’m only considering players who began their career after 1900. 19th century baseball while very interesting historically I just don’t think can be compared to today’s game. It’s hard enough comparing players of these different eras already but in the 19th century the game was still being formed and the rules were being changed too quickly for it to make any sense to compare their numbers with today’s.

The List