Okay, here’s my blog post about my deep dive into the “best 2-way players of all time”:
So, I got into this huge debate with my buddies the other day about who the best two-way players in baseball history really are. It’s a tough one, right? Everyone throws around Babe Ruth’s name, and of course, Shohei Ohtani is doing amazing things right now. But I wanted to do more than just argue – I wanted to figure it out.
My Deep Dive Started
First, I hit up the internet. I mean, where else do you start? I poured over articles, stats pages, old forum posts – you name it. I wanted to get a feel for the big names, the guys who consistently came up in these “best of” conversations.
Made a basic list:
- Babe Ruth
- Shohei Ohtani
- Some older names I kept seeing, like Bullet Rogan and Martín Dihigo
Then Got Detailed
This wasn’t just about listing names. I needed context. I started digging into the different eras of baseball. You can’t really compare someone from the 1920s to someone playing today, the game has changed so much!
I created a simple spreadsheet (yeah, I’m a nerd like that). I listed out key stats, like ERA and batting average, for the seasons where these guys were truly playing both ways. It’s not fair to count years where they were mainly just hitting or just pitching.
Things Got Messy…
This is where it got tricky. Finding consistent stats for some of the older players, especially from the Negro Leagues, was tough. Some info is just incomplete, or it’s hard to compare across leagues.
I started reading a few books i found, biographies of Babe Ruth. I watched some old * that’s just the first search about Babe Ruth.
I did my best to piece together what I could. I focused on the impact these players had. Like, did they change the game? Were they dominant on both sides of the ball?
My Final Conclusion
After all this digging, I still can’t give you a definitive “number one.” It’s just too subjective! But, I feel way more informed.
I realized that appreciating these players means understanding the context of their time. It means recognizing the unique challenges they faced. And it means accepting that “best” is always going to be a matter of opinion.
This whole process showed me how much depth there is to baseball history. It’s more than just numbers – it’s about stories, eras, and the evolution of the game.
