The Best Hitters in Baseball History

Over 20.2K Ranker voters have come together to rank this list of The Best Hitters in Baseball History
Voting Rules
MLB players with the best batting performance

The best hitters in baseball history are those who hold the all-time hitting records in Major League Baseball, change the game as we know it, and are amongst the greatest baseball players of all time. These sluggers dominated during their respective eras and captivated audiences at the same time. If you were to pick a top hitter for your all-time top baseball fantasy team, you'd be silly not to select these best baseball hitters as soon as possible.

Pete Rose, Ty Cobb, Hank Aaron and Stan Musial all hold the top spots among the MLB all time hits, with Rose leading the pack at 4,256 over his career. Rose finished his career in 1986 and his record has withstood the time since.

But the best hitters cannot be defined by the number of career hits alone. On that stat, Babe Ruth, arguably the best baseball hitter of all time, would rank in the 40s. Ruth holds top numbers for his home runs, slugging percentage, runs batted in and on-base percentage stats. Lou Gehrig is another who'd fall into that category with his major league records for the most grand slams - a figure since topped by a great modern slugger, Alex Rodriguez.

So we're left with a conundrum. Do we deem those great players from yesteryear, like Willie Mays, Ted Williams and Shoeless Joe Jackson the best baseball hitters of all time? Do we give some love to current top baseball players like Barry Bonds, Albert Pujols and Derek Jeter? Tell us how you feel by voting for the best hitters in baseball history below!

Photo: Metaweb / GNU Free Documentation License
Ranked by
  • Ted Williams
    1
    8,146 votes
    Boston Red Sox
  • Hank Aaron
    2
    5,020 votes
    Milwaukee Brewers, Atlanta Braves, Milwaukee Braves
  • Willie Mays
    3
    4,727 votes
    New York Giants, San Francisco Giants, New York Mets
  • Lou Gehrig
    4
    4,951 votes
    New York Yankees
  • Babe Ruth
    5
    7,582 votes
    Boston Red Sox, Boston Braves, New York Yankees
  • Tony Gwynn
    6
    4,299 votes
    San Diego Padres