Cincy fan from birth. And Pete Rose was my all time favorite and IMO,
the best ball player to ever play the game. Got to see him as a kid at old Crosby Field. My grandmom lived in Columbus and Dad would stop in Cincy every time we made the trip up there to see a game if they were playing at home. Pete was without a doubt the best 5-tool player in MLB history. He could play every position on the field and just about did during his career. Never really pitched, but was told he could have if needed.....threw a 92-93 fastball and a decent curve in spring training just messing around. He was a very good catcher as well, and like pitching, he never really caught during regular season games. The way people bet on games now, if I was the MLB Commish....I'd publicly forgive him and put him in the Hall of Fame.
How do you keep the Best Baseball Player in History out of the Hall of Fame?
What Pete Rose told fans in Nashville surrounded by Reds teammates on day before he died (msn.com)
Easy Tonto... Everyone liked the way Charlie Hustle played, but he doesn't make the top 20 list much less the best ever. His biggest argument is the hits record, but it was virtually all singles and a result of playing almost every single game for 23+ years. He leads all MLB players in history in hits yes, but also games and plate appearances.
He's #66 in career WAR. I'm sure the term WAR makes you role your eyes, but it's a simple way of adding all the statistics of a ball player up and comparing them to others. For a more traditional comparison, I'd give you Rickey Henderson. Rickey played for a long time and got on base more than Pete, scored more runs, and hit for more power. Rickey was a better overall ball player than Pete.
Rickey is nowhere near the goat either, but Hank is up there. Check out Hank vs Pete... It laughable how much better Aaron was... It's not included on there, but Hank had more career runs scored than Pete too.