Top 10 poll #5: #5 player in history - Final Runoff

[Cedrique]

It's going down to the wire. The suspense is killing me

 

[LHG]

It's going down to the wire. The suspense is killing me

I'm hoping it ends in a tie, just to see if we get a 4th poll for 5th best player.

 

[MilkSpiller22]

I'm hoping it ends in a tie, just to see if we get a 4th poll for 5th best player.

yea, this poll was not really necessary... the polls are public so we all know who picked whom... we could have just asked the 6 people who voted for Lou Gehrig to revote...

but who really cares... we have a few months before spring training anyway... and this is universal enough that we can continue even after spring training starts...

 

[msgkings322]

yea, this poll was not really necessary... the polls are public so we all know who picked whom... we could have just asked the 6 people who voted for Lou Gehrig to revote...

but who really cares... we have a few months before spring training anyway... and this is universal enough that we can continue even after spring training starts...

But we're allowing people to change their minds after looking over the arguments...that's the fun part

 

[calsnowskier]

I'm hoping it ends in a tie, just to see if we get a 4th poll for 5th best player.

It will not end in a tie. If it is a tie, I will disregard my vote.

 

[LHG]

It will not end in a tie. If it is a tie, I will disregard my vote.

Cheater! (see how that works?)

 

[broncosmitty]

Tied again.

 

[Cedrique]

Tied again.

or is it "Tyed"?

 

[MilkSpiller22]

this is part of the consistency issue that i think is a problem...

if Aaron beats Cobb...

whats the message... we were ok with pre-color barrier players being in the top 5 since we have 2, in Ted Williams and Babe ruth...

Cobb was actually more dominant than Ted Williams was, he also played a premium position...

so the reasons to vote against him is outside of what he did on the field...

i am ok dinging players for when they played... i get it... but there needs to be consistency in it...

this is why i am more interested in people's individual lists... because if our group list cant be consistent, then it has absolutely zero merit...

 

[MilkSpiller22]

black ink and gray ink are good measurements to see how dominant a player was...

Black-Ink Test​

All-Time and Active Leaders

Named so because league-leading numbers are traditionally represented with Boldface type. The definition for the test that is being used here was written in Bill James's The Politics of Glory, p. 65-67. The essential point is to measure how often a player led the league in a variety of "important" stats. This method penalizes more recent players, because they have 14-16 teams per league, while the older players had just 8. To get a point you must lead the league in that category.

• Batting Statistics
• Four Points for home runs, runs batted in or batting average
• Three Points for runs scored, hits or slugging percentage
• Two Points for doubles, walks or stolen bases
• One Point for games, at bats or triples
• Pitching Statistics
• Four Points for wins, earned run average or strikeouts
• Three Points for innings pitched, win-loss percentage or saves
• Two Points for complete games, lowest walks per 9 innings or lowest hits per 9 innings
• One Point for appearances, starts or shutouts

Note that Hall of Famers have a wide variety of values for the Black Ink Test, and the method is unforgiving of positional differences, but it is a neat little metric.

Gray-Ink Test​

All-Time and Active Leaders

Essentially the same as the Black-Ink above, but it counts appearances in the top ten of the league. For each appearance the values are below. As with the Black Ink, this method penalizes more recent players because they have 14-16 teams per league, while the older players had just 8. To get a point you must be in the top 10 in the league in that category.

• Batting Statistics
• Four Points for home runs, runs batted in or batting average
• Three Points for runs scored, hits or slugging percentage
• Two Points for doubles, walks or stolen bases
• One Point for games, at bats or triples
• Pitching Statistics
• Four Points for wins, earned run average or strikeouts
• Three Points for innings pitched, win-loss percentage or saves
• Two Points for complete games, lowest walks per 9 innings or lowest hits per 9 innings
• One Point for appearances, starts or shutouts

 

[Cedrique]

this is part of the consistency issue that i think is a problem...

if Aaron beats Cobb...

whats the message... we were ok with pre-color barrier players being in the top 5 since we have 2, in Ted Williams and Babe ruth...

Cobb was actually more dominant than Ted Williams was, he also played a premium position...

so the reasons to vote against him is outside of what he did on the field...

i am ok dinging players for when they played... i get it... but there needs to be consistency in it...

this is why i am more interested in people's individual lists... because if our group list cant be consistent, then it has absolutely zero merit...

I appreciate how seriously you're taking this but I have to say the idea that we as the voters are somehow putting Cobb down the list because of the way he is portrayed in some movies or books is wrong IMO. I assure you for me personally it never even entered my mind. I may have overlooked his dominance but not for that reason. I think it's mainly because he doesn't have the big home run totals. Maybe I/we overvalue home runs. I will say that it is the one play in baseball that guarantees a run scored though. But I also may not have devoted the time to the poll that you have and if I looked at it in more depth I may end up with Cobb higher.
FWIW I do have Cobb in this poll.

 

[MilkSpiller22]

I appreciate how seriously you're taking this but I have to say the idea that we as the voters are somehow putting Cobb down the list because of the way he is portrayed in some movies or books is wrong IMO. I assure you for me personally it never even entered my mind. I may have overlooked his dominance but not for that reason. I think it's mainly because he doesn't have the big home run totals. Maybe I/we overvalue home runs. I will say that it is the one play in baseball that guarantees a run scored though. But I also may not have devoted the time to the poll that you have and if I looked at it in more depth I may end up with Cobb higher.
FWIW I do have Cobb in this poll.

oh... i am not really taking it as serious as it sounds... i really dont care how this all works out... i am just bored, and putting in my opinions... id rather post on threads like this than other threads...

in no way am i losing sleep over this... nor do i care why someone votes one way or the other... all this has shown me is how terrible polls are... not that i needed help with that conclusion...

also, anytime i can call @calsnowskier a homer, it is worth it...

 

[MilkSpiller22]

I appreciate how seriously you're taking this but I have to say the idea that we as the voters are somehow putting Cobb down the list because of the way he is portrayed in some movies or books is wrong IMO. I assure you for me personally it never even entered my mind. I may have overlooked his dominance but not for that reason. I think it's mainly because he doesn't have the big home run totals. Maybe I/we overvalue home runs. I will say that it is the one play in baseball that guarantees a run scored though. But I also may not have devoted the time to the poll that you have and if I looked at it in more depth I may end up with Cobb higher.
FWIW I do have Cobb in this poll.

it is a popularity contest, but it is also a ding on the time period...

 

[calsnowskier]

oh... i am not really taking it as serious as it sounds... i really dont care how this all works out... i am just bored, and putting in my opinions... id rather post on threads like this than other threads...

in no way am i losing sleep over this... nor do i care why someone votes one way or the other... all this has shown me is how terrible polls are... not that i needed help with that conclusion...

also, anytime i can call @calsnowskier a homer, it is worth it...

 

[Cedrique]

It will not end in a tie. If it is a tie, I will disregard my vote.

Hammerin' Hank for the win!

Full disclosure, I had Cobb but I would be excited either way. "Hammerin' Hank" was the name I used for an Art Film I was part of back in the 70's.

 

[calsnowskier]

Aaron wins as my vote is discarded.

#6 poll to be posted shortly.

 

[msgkings322]

Aaron wins as my vote is discarded.

#6 poll to be posted shortly.

It will be weird if Cobb doesn’t win the next slot