Greatest athlete ever - Choose one.

[GonzoStyle]

I just love the history of certain sports, which kinda got me to thinking. You have Ruth on the list and I feel kinda dumb defending all these people and saying nothing about Ruth. I don't feel you have to say much about The bambino, if I wasn't this big a boxing fan I would say Ruth in a heartbeat, the man was a giant and icon, almost a god.

But to have barry bonds on the list as well, brought me to a thought.

How could you leave off Ty Cobb?

From 1907-1919 Ty Cobb won a total of twelve batting titles in thirteen seasons. This has been unmatched by any other player ever to play the game. Throughout the entire decade he believed that .500 was reachable. Several times he would be in the middle of the season and hitting marks in the upper .400's. From 1910-1919 his lowest batting average was .368 in 1914. He stole bases almost at will with 96 stolen bases in 1915, 83 stolen bases in 1911, and four other seasons with at least 60 steals. He scored over 100 runs and had over 200 hits the majority of the time. The only seasons in which he wouldn't get either would be if he was injured a lot and was only able to appear in about 120 games.

From 1910-1913 Cobb hit an astonishing .385, .420, .410, and .390. Only one other hitter in history has ever equalled Cobb's back to back .400 seasons when Rogers Hornsby hit .424 in 1924 and .403 in 1925. Along with the great batting averages Cobb stole 261 bases, including 83 in 1911. He had a total of 818 hits and 829 runs scored and RBI's. In his 1911 season, quite possibly one of the best single seasons ever, Ty lead all offensive categories except homeruns. He batted .420, scored 147 runs, had 144 RBI's, and stole 83 bases.

Then in 1922 when Cobb was supposed to be washed up and old, he proved them all wrong once again by batting .401 on the season. In one of his final games Cobb added to his record by stealing home for the final times, a record that still stands to this date, most successful steals of home plate. Also striking out less than 900 times in over 11,000 at bats, which is a feat unto itself. Along with 4,191 hits, .367 lifetime BA, 892 stolen bases.