But, great hand and eye includes bowlers, dart throwers, and baseball players. This thread was supposed to be about athletes
OT: Greatest athlete ever?
- Thread starter tom1944
- Start date
But, great hand and eye includes bowlers, dart throwers, and baseball players. This thread was supposed to be about athletes
Baseball players need arms, incredible strength, speed and ridiculous reflexes you can’t even fathom to play the game at a high level.
I could hit 20 ground balls to you playing short stop where you have to put yourself into position to catch it, come up throwing, then throw an accurate bullet to 1st, then I’d take you to the hospital.
You’re clueless here.
Baseball players as real athletes. Now that's funny. Baseball is ping pong in a bigger stadium.
Like I said, I’d take you out on a stretcher and you’re clueless.
Can’t help stupid
You’re also insulting me, care to try your athletic abilities against mine, and I’m 64
If you ever watch the baseball highlights you would never question the athletic ability of baseball players. The fielding plays they make are incredible
Perhaps. But be aware that baseball is the #2 spring sport on the island and they start youth lax sometime around 3rd grade.
I remember when
Right? That's why anytime a baseball player dives on the ground or jumps in the air to make a catch, it makes the highlight reel. Because a baseball player actually tried to do something that real athletes do all the time.
Right? That's why anytime a baseball player dives on the ground or jumps in the air to make a catch, it makes the highlight reel. Because a baseball player actually tried to do something that real athletes do all the time.
I'm not going down the baseball players are not athlete's route, but i do think that when measuring athletic ability, traits like speed, quickness, jumping ability, strength, far out weigh hand eye coordination, otherwise as noted ping pong players would make the list. Certainly there were good and even great baseball players who weren't the greatest "athletes".
I think Lewis, who was more then just a runner, should get consideration, because he was an athlete in the purest sense. IMO anyways.
I don't doubt that, lax is #1 out there in the spring so baseball def takes a back seat. T-ball baseball might still start at pre-k level just like everywhere across the country but the "attrition" or shift over to lacrosse a few years later must be significant.
Despite his incredible athletic prowess, this is one list I don't think Jordan realistically lands in the top 5, but maybe the top 10. There are many sports and athletes to consider. He might not even be the highest basketball player on a top athletes list, when you consider someone like Wilt and some of his athletic accomplishments.
Hope you're just having a little fun busting chops, because you're way off.
How did Michael Jordan do playing baseball?
Same as Elway, Ainge, Russell Wilson, Tebow, Sanders did...struggle.Hope you're just having a little fun busting chops, because you're way off.
How did Michael Jordan do playing baseball?
It’s why Bo’s feat was amazing
I had heard that Rickey Henderson was a highly recruited football player. I could see that for sure
The "he was drafted in 75 different sports" talks more about the time than all-time athletic ability.
Modern athletes don't play two sports in college to the point of being drafted in multiple sports.
Iverson is easily on the short list (was also a great HS football player).
Lebron (especially considering his size) is easily on the short list.
Just as athletic as most listed and he was almost a foot taller thab some listed.
Modern athletes don't play two sports in college to the point of being drafted in multiple sports.
Iverson is easily on the short list (was also a great HS football player).
Lebron (especially considering his size) is easily on the short list.
Just as athletic as most listed and he was almost a foot taller thab some listed.
My first day in the minor leagues I met my new teammates, everyone of them had football scholarship offers, including me.
It’s the reason I became a Rutgers fan.
They all told me they don’t play football in New Joisy.
I told them if Rutgers kept our kids home we’d kick all your asses.
100% true story
Last edited:
I'll have to go with Pele. He did
things that was incredible to watch. Also Jim Thorpe. is high on my list.
things that was incredible to watch. Also Jim Thorpe. is high on my list.
Should his short foray into baseball after not playing the sport for however many years be held against him?
I actually feel his #'s in baseball were pretty impressive considering.
Who told you that baseball doesn't require speed, quickness. jumping ability & strength?
Wilt was certainly athletic, coordinated, strong etc. But he was also 7'. That gives him advantages over most other people in the sport of basketball, as well as volleyball. Is height part of the athletic equation?
Take away the height and the strength? I'm thinking MJ was faster, could jump higher, better body control.
The day I quit football at UNC, I called my Dad and told him to mail down my Rawlings Mickey Mantle glove. I was going to play Bases for UNC. A couple of the guys played both sports down there at that time. I had watched them practice and my dorm was in left field and I knew I could play there with no question. One of them actually made the Yankees later as a relief pitcher and I could hit him all day in BP down there in Chapel Hill. Tom Buskey was the pitcher.
The next day, an Assistant Coach at Syracuse called me and told me not to attend any classes at UNC and that Syracuse was starting practice and classes that week. To get up there and it was all set to play football up there. Admissions all set. I knew 6 or so guys on the roster from my 2 years at Manlius. So Dad got me a plane ticket rather than sending me my glove.
My first practice at Cuse, I was on the O scout team. One play had me blocking down on the DT.
Scout team Coach askes me can I make the block. This is Dennis and he's first team All East (or whatever the confer was at the time.), I looked at his stance and knew I could block him. I did and it was no problem. Then they set up a blocking drill with me on the LB'ers. I blocked all of them.
Head Coach Ben had been brought over to watch. After the drills he says to the team; 'We haven't had anybody blocking like that since John Mackey was here."
I was accepted as a member of the team.
Probably should have waited for my Mickey Mantle glove and played center field in the Bronx.
Last edited:
It requires those things? I've certainly seen slow professional baseball players. Have never seen a slow Olympic sprinter.
As an extension of that, we always say a guy like Lamar Jackson is a very athletic QB. While Tom Brady is not. Brady is clearly the better QB. But the better athlete? We always give that to the runner.
Hit with a round piece of wood at a round piece of stuffed hide at 100 MPH that moves in all directions in 60 feet 6 inches.
Hit it SQUARE in fair territory where 9 guys can't field it and 'gun you down' in 90 feet.
Do this correctly JUST 3 out of every 10 At Bats for 15 or 20 years, and they want your old uniform and glove and bat in a small town in the Finger Lake region of New York State.
He was also 30 and hadn't played baseball since? HS I figure.
It seems unfair to penalize him for taking on an exceptionally tough task.
In the last 40 years, I'd go with Bo Jackson and Evander Holyfield. They said Evander Holyfield would get on an exercise bike, put it on the highest tension setting, and pin the needle to right for a half an hour ... and he'd do this as his warm-up before starting his workout every day. Holyfield once beat Carl Lewis in a half mile race.
Are you saying Winfield and Debusschere are "modern" athletes who played multiple sports?
Just when I think this board can't get any older (JK - you old guys are great
)Nobody has even mentioned a Decathlete except for Kaitlyn Jenner in a joking manner.
I've been over this discussion elsewhere, here are the facts.
Real Tall; Wilt.
Two sports Hall of Fame.
Hoops; tell him he couldn't do it and he did it, not just for a 100 point game, but an entire season.
Track; Whatever event he felt like doing.
Tall; Jimmy Brown.
Two sports Hall of Fame. Considered the greatest running back in NFL history AND the greatest lacrosse player in history.
Roy Simmons Senior was the lacrosse coach (prior to his Son) and the boxing coach at Syracuse. Simmy swears that Jimmy would have been the Heavyweight Champion if he took up the 'sweet science'. He never lost a face off in lacrosse and the rules were changed as a result. Could also do Giants on the high bar. Kicked PAT's for Cuse.
Regular; Jim Thorpe.
Football, Baseball, Track. Olympic Gold Medals.
Real Tall; Wilt.
Two sports Hall of Fame.
Hoops; tell him he couldn't do it and he did it, not just for a 100 point game, but an entire season.
Track; Whatever event he felt like doing.
Tall; Jimmy Brown.
Two sports Hall of Fame. Considered the greatest running back in NFL history AND the greatest lacrosse player in history.
Roy Simmons Senior was the lacrosse coach (prior to his Son) and the boxing coach at Syracuse. Simmy swears that Jimmy would have been the Heavyweight Champion if he took up the 'sweet science'. He never lost a face off in lacrosse and the rules were changed as a result. Could also do Giants on the high bar. Kicked PAT's for Cuse.
Regular; Jim Thorpe.
Football, Baseball, Track. Olympic Gold Medals.
You are what you are, so yes, height is certainly part of the equation as it is fundamental to someone's body...why should any physical characterisitics be normalized for? Jordan was quite tall as well so, comparatively, he would not be at a severe disadvantage relative to Wilt.
Jordan's height and longer arms and larger hands didn't necessarily help him excel in baseball, maybe defensively in the field. Couldn't those characteristics have given him an advantage at hitting a baseball, greater reach with the bat to get to the outside curveball he couldn't effectively handle (to at least slap it to right field or just foul off to reduce the number of Ks)? Maybe, maybe not...there were other factors associated with hitting that he couldn't master well enough.
But I wouldn't even use his time playing baseball against him in judging his athletic prowess because he could have just as easily never bothered to give it a shot and we wouldn't know whether he would have been great at it. Just like we don't know how great of a football player he could have been since he never tried to make a go of professional football like he did baseball. But his baseball exploits certainly demonstrate his competitive spirit, for which he had very few or no equals.
Last edited:
GOAT as a TEAM MATE; Makes his TEAM the best in the sport.
Football; Brady. (at the most important position in the sport)
Hoops; Bill Russell. (check college, olympic, pro)
Bases; Babe Ruth (pitch, hit, evolution of the sport)
Track; Carl Lewis or Jessie Owens. A tie IMO.
Field; Al Oerter.
Football; Brady. (at the most important position in the sport)
Hoops; Bill Russell. (check college, olympic, pro)
Bases; Babe Ruth (pitch, hit, evolution of the sport)
Track; Carl Lewis or Jessie Owens. A tie IMO.
Field; Al Oerter.
wow...can you imagine that! Didn't Payton have logs he'd carry or run uphill during offseasons?
Latest
-
01
The Knight Report
Chin, Walker named to Comeback Player of the Year Watch List
-
02
The Knight Report
Rutgers Football Fall Camp: Get 75% off The Knight Report - Final Day!
-
03
The Knight Report
Rutgers announces new traffic, parking changes for football game days
-
04
The Knight Report
2026 Rutgers Football Mobile Wallpaper
-
05
The Knight Report
2028 Illinois EDGE Kristian Chadick adds Rutgers Football Offer