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!
1
6,0702,618Babe Ruth
Boston Red Sox, Boston Braves2
5,0832,192Ty Cobb
Philadelphia Athletics, Detroit Tigers3
6,2112,869Ted Williams
Boston Red Sox4
4,4502,254Stan Musial
St. Louis Cardinals5
4,1491,983Rogers Hornsby
New York Giants, Chicago Cubs6
4,4202,016Lou Gehrig
New York Yankees7
3,9812,252Hank Aaron
Milwaukee Brewers, Atlanta Braves8
3,1391,669Jimmie Foxx
Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs9
3,8612,228Willie Mays
New York Giants, San Francisco Giants10
2,7101,577Ed Delahanty
Philadelphia Phillies, Washington Senators11
3,8052,306Mickey Mantle
New York Yankees12
3,2711,842Honus Wagner
Louisville Colonels, Pittsburgh Pirates13
2,3391,424Mel Ott
New York Giants14
2,8441,743Tris Speaker
Philadelphia Athletics, Boston Red Sox15
2,6521,773Mike Schmidt
Philadelphia Phillies16
1,9281,318Frank Robinson
Los Angeles Dodgers, Baltimore Orioles17
1,6511,075Frank Thomas
Chicago White Sox, Oakland Athletics18
3,1051,933Shoeless Joe Jackson
Philadelphia Athletics, Chicago White Sox19
3,1182,196Joe DiMaggio
New York Yankees20
2,4191,762Miguel Cabrera
Detroit Tigers21
2,2391,616Rod Carew
Minnesota Twins, California Angels22
3,0182,191Tony Gwynn
San Diego Padres23
3,1802,360Albert Pujols
St. Louis Cardinals24
1,9061,382Mike Trout
Los Angeles Angels25
2,6972,013Ken Griffey, Jr.
Chicago White Sox, Seattle Mariners