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
6,3552,677Babe Ruth
Boston Red Sox, Boston Braves2
5,3142,247Ty Cobb
Philadelphia Athletics, Detroit Tigers3
6,3993,032Ted Williams
Boston Red Sox4
4,3422,061Rogers Hornsby
New York Giants, Chicago Cubs5
4,6402,053Lou Gehrig
New York Yankees6
4,5642,400Stan Musial
St. Louis Cardinals7
3,3221,706Jimmie Foxx
Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs8
4,0662,406Hank Aaron
Milwaukee Brewers, Atlanta Braves9
2,8651,626Ed Delahanty
Philadelphia Phillies, Washington Senators10
3,4471,887Honus Wagner
Louisville Colonels, Pittsburgh Pirates11
3,0191,776Tris Speaker
Philadelphia Athletics, Boston Red Sox12
3,9482,381Willie Mays
New York Giants, San Francisco Giants13
2,4721,464Mel Ott
New York Giants14
3,9552,408Mickey Mantle
New York Yankees15
2,7341,869Mike Schmidt
Philadelphia Phillies16
3,2831,971Shoeless Joe Jackson
Philadelphia Athletics, Chicago White Sox17
1,6901,098Frank Thomas
Chicago White Sox, Oakland Athletics18
3,2772,259Joe DiMaggio
New York Yankees19
1,9601,396Frank Robinson
Los Angeles Dodgers, Baltimore Orioles20
2,4611,785Cap Anson
Chicago White Stockings, Chicago Colts21
1,9481,417Mike Trout
Los Angeles Angels22
2,4681,849Miguel Cabrera
Detroit Tigers23
3,0922,322Tony Gwynn
San Diego Padres24
3,0452,261Pete Rose
Philadelphia Phillies, Montreal Expos25
3,2412,520Albert Pujols
St. Louis Cardinals