If Cooperstown ever gets around to chiseling out a Hitter’s Mt. Rushmore, Hank Aaron’s face deserves a spot.
Aaron, who died Friday, was legitimately one of the game’s great offensive threats. In the hours since his passing, a lot of people have said that. But people always say nice things when somebody dies.
Does the data support the claim? Does Hank Aaron truly deserve to be rated among the game’s four greatest bats? Does he merit a spot on a Hitter’s Mt. Rushmore?
To properly and objectively fit Aaron within the context of baseball’s best hitters, an objective methodology is required. The one described below has five parts to it: five-season peak OPS+, cumulative OPS+ over the course of a player’s career; average all-time rank in the significant counting categories (hits, runs, RBIs, home runs); MVP Shares; and baserunning runs.
The formula is weighted, with 30 percent weight going to each of the first three criteria and five percent to the final two.
Every player who met one of two criteria – 500 home runs or 3,000 hits – has been comparatively assessed in each criterion. There are 53 such players, ranging chronologically from Cap Anson to Albert Pujols. In each category, players receive a score based on the weighted value of their ordinal rank. The players with the lowest average score are the best.
Hank Aaron? I’ll spoil the surprise to this extent: He’ll wind up among the all-time top five.
Alphabetically, the 53 players who qualified for consideration are:
Hank Aaron, Cap Anson, Ernie Banks, Adrian Beltre, Craig Biggio, Wade Boggs, Barry Bonds, George Brett, Lou Brock, Rod Carew, Roberto Clemente, Ty Cobb, Eddie Collins, Jimmie Foxx, Ken Griffey Jr., Tony Gwynn, Rickey Henderson, Reggie Jackson, Derek Jeter, Harmon Killebrew, Nap Lajoie, Mickey Mantle, Eddie Mathews, Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, Mark McGwire.
Also Paul Molitor, Eddie Mur ray, Stan Musial, David Ortiz, Mel Ott, Rafael Palmeiro, Albert Pujols, Manny Ramirez, Cal Ripken, Frank Robinson, Alex Rodriguez, Pete Rose, Babe Ruth, Mike Schmidt, Gary Sheffield, Sammy Sosa, Tris Speaker, Ichiro Suzuki, Frank Thomas, Jim Thome, Honus Wagner, Paul Waner, Ted Williams, Dave Winfield, Carl Yastrzemski, and Robin Yount.