Pete Rose 100 Top Hitters in Baseball History?

The Bear Creek FP Factory division of 64/60 Sports caused quite a stir a little over a week ago, when we questioned Pete Rose's status in baseball history. Though the Factory never doubted that Pete Rose was certainly a great baseball player, we feel as though to many Rose may be a top 50 player of all time. I feel as though Pete's legacy is built more on the image rather than the numbers while Pete supporters say otherwise. Somehow a challenge was laid at my feet, perhaps I may have issued it myself I really can't recall, bottom line I was to name 100 hitters better than Pete Rose.

The criteria was rather unclear the only statement that was made regarding the criteria is that the player had to be Hall Of Fame caliber. Even that is how someone interprets it. So my first challenge was to come up with some way of measuring ones ability to hit. One could look at Runs and RBI as indicators on ones hitting abilities. I choose not to. In my mind a RBI and a Run is mostly based on ones ability other than your own. Unless you hit a HR another persons success or failures determine both statistics. Some may look at the number of Doubles and Triples and Singles to factor in success and though these are all indicators of the type of hitter but the task becomes too monotonous combing through all three hit types. One could go by the amount of Hits. Yes hits should be factored in but a person shouldn't get credit as a good hitter for playing 20 years instead of 15. A good hitter is a good hitter. In the end I settled on Five numbers. Hits per 162 games, Career AVG., Career OBP.(factors in the ability to get on base), Career Slug%(here is were the total bases come in), and HR per 162 games. In my opinion these Five Items are indicators of how effective a hitter is. A batter should hit the ball get on base and preferably drive the baseball. These five numbers encompass all of these things and cover all the items a player can control independently from others.
To determine if a player should be eligible for consideration I took the Hall of Fame average for Hits, AVG, OBP, Slug% and HR. If a player exceeded the average for three of the five stats I considered him a Hall of Fame caliber player. That player was then compared to Pete in all five areas the same procedures were followed. For a player to be considered he must have bettered Pete in three of five areas.

The research. I would love to say that I have concrete proof that my statement is more accurate than those of my challengers but I cannot. At the same time I found no concrete evidence to suggest that my statement was full or error. The bottom line is that you cannot compare different era's in baseball. Players from the early 1900's to the 1940's hold over 40 of the Top 50 AVG. of all time. Nearly all of the Top 50 OBP leaders played either during that time frame or during the Steroid Era in baseball from the mid 90's on. Same can be said for Slug % 42 of the Top 50 are either currently playing, played in the steroid era or played mostly prior to the 50's. So to compare Pete by the numbers stated would have easily sealed my case. Yes Pete's 194 hits per season is likely in the Top 20-25 in baseball history but Pete's .303 AVG ranks 174th, .375OBP ranks 215, and .409 Slug ranks 802. I also don't think Pete's 7HR per 162 games will be favorable to him.

The results. What I did do was find Pete's place among his peers. Where did Pete rank in comparison with his time. Was he the best during that time or was he in the Top 20. I researched all players who played primarily from the 1950's through the 1980's. My cutoff point was 1985. I included players who began their careers in the 1985 season as well. If any player was suspected of steroid use I did not include them in my findings. I wrote down about 75 names from the top of my head and added about 30 more looking at team rosters during those seasons. In the end about 100 + players where researched all players evaluated using the same method those who held the edge over Rose were written down those who did not were marked out. The following players had the statistical edge over Rose. Slash line should be read Hits Per 162 games/Career AVG./Career OBP/ Career Slug/ HR per 162 games.

Aaron 185/305/374/555/37
Matthews 157/271/376/509/35
Schmidt 151/267/380/509/37
Allen 171/292/378/534/33
Raines 169/294/385/425/11
Hernandez 169/296/384/436/13
Musial 194/331/417/559/25
Morgan 154/271/392/427/16
F. Robinson 170/294/389/537/34
Molitor 200/306/369/448/14
Clemente 200/317/359/475/16
Mays 178/302/384/557/36
Snider 160/295/380/540/31
Gwynn 209/338/388/459/9
Mantle 163/298/421/557/36
Mattingly 195/307/358/471/20
Boggs 200/328/415/443/8
Yasztrzemski 167/285/379/462/22
Kaline 172/297/376/480/23
Carew 200/328/393/429/6
Killebrew 139/256/376/509/38
Oliva 185/304/353/476/21
Puckett 209/318/360/477/19
Brett 189/305/369/487/19
Henderson 161/279/401/419/16

Results. As you can see only 25 players by these calculations had the edge over Rose so by that rational Rose would rank 26th among players from the 50's into the 80's, that is a big chunk of baseball history. With a ranking of 26th over the course of three decades certainly gives Rose some room to work with to fit inside the Top 100 Hitters of all time. Just given his overall rankings in the stated stats however I still stand behind my claim. Also of note the original statement was that Pete Rose was a Top 100 Player of All Time. The inclusion of speed and defense along with the increase of Pitchers to the players pool would only increase the odds that Rose belongs in this class. In the end I have spent hours researching and have given you nothing to refute or confirm either side of the arguement but it sure was entertaining.