MLB Bracketology: Who Is the Greatest Player of All-Time?

Do you like the MLB?

Do you like March Madness?

Well here is the perfect combination, because I've found a way to combine them both.

68 of the all-time greats from Major League Baseball have been compiled into this NCAA tournament style bracket, with the goal to end up with one name. That lone name will be the man that the majority feels is the greatest MLB player of all-time.

Are you ready to get this thing going?

Criteria

A great deal of time and effort went into crafting this bracket.

First, I put together my original list, I then turned to some friends for their advice and opinions.

Then I tweaked my list accordingly. From there I used ESPN's Hall of 100, Baseball Almanacs Top 100 and this B/R Top 50 list to craft and rank the players into the bracket.

All in all, I believe that the greats of America's pastime are included.

So, onto the voting!

Voting

When it comes to voting, it will be done a little bit at a time.

We will begin with the play-in round and then follow that up with the opening round of each region—just like the NCAA tournament.

Voting can be done by commenting on this article or by leaving me a tweet (@whooyouknowit).

Each voting cycle will last 24-48 hours. As we move on to the later rounds, each cycle will be cut in half to only 24 hours.

Please only cast one vote in each matchup.

Babe Ruth Region: Rod Carew vs. Barry Larkin (Play-in Round)

No. 16 Rod Carew

Career Stats:

• Average: .328
• Home Runs: 92
• RBI: 1,015
• Hits: 3,053
• Stolen Bases: 353
  

Career Highlights:

• 18× All-Star selection (1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984)
• 7× AL batting title (1969, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1977, 1978)
• 1977 AL MVP
• 1967 AL Rookie of the Year
• 1977 Roberto Clemente Award
• Minnesota Twins #29 retired
• Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim #29 retired

No.16 Barry Larkin

Career Stats:

• Average: .295
• Home Runs: 198
• RBI: 960
• Hits: 2,340
• Stolen Bases: 379

Career Highlights:

• 12× All-Star (1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2004)
• World Series champion (1990)
• 3× Gold Glove Award winner (1994, 1995, 1996)
• 9× Silver Slugger Award winner (1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999)
• 1995 NL MVP
• 1993 Roberto Clemente Award
• 1994 Lou Gehrig Memorial Award
• Cincinnati Reds #11 retired

Ted Williams Region: Jeff Bagwell vs. Goose Gossage (Play-in Round)

No. 16 Jeff Bagwell

Career Stats:

• Average: .297
• Home Runs: 449
  
• RBI: 1,529
• Hits: 2,314
  
• Stolen Bases: 202
  

Career Highlights:

• 4× All-Star (1994, 1996, 1997, 1999)
• Gold Glove Award winner (1994)
• 3× Silver Slugger Award winner (1994, 1997, 1999)
• 1994 NL MVP
• 1991 NL Rookie of the Year
• Houston Astros #5 retired

No.16 Goose Gossage

Career Stats:

• Games Pitched: .1,002
• Win/Loss Record: 124-107
  
• ERA: 3.01
  
• Strikeouts: 1,502
  
• Saves: 310

Career Highlights:

• 9× All-Star selection (1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1984, 1985)
• World Series champion (1978)
• 1978 AL Rolaids Relief Man of the Year

Barry Bonds Region: Roberto Alomar vs. Carlton Fisk (Play-in Round)

No. 16 Roberto Alomar

Career Stats:

• Average: .300
• Home Runs: 210
  
• RBI: 1,134
• Hits: 2,724
  
• Stolen Bases: 474
  

Career Highlights:

• 12× All-Star (1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001)
• 2× World Series champion (1992, 1993)
• 10× Gold Glove Award (1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001)
• 4× Silver Slugger Award (1992, 1996, 1999, 2000)
• ALCS MVP (1992)
• All-Star Game MVP (1998)
• Toronto Blue Jays Level of Excellence
• Toronto Blue Jays #12 retired

No.16 Carlton Fisk

Career Stats:

• Average: .269
• Home Runs: 376
  
• RBI: 1,330
  
• Hits: 2,356
• Stolen Bases: 128
  

Career Highlights:

• 11× All-Star (1972, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1985, 1991)
• Gold Glove Award winner (1972)
• 3× Silver Slugger Award winner (1981, 1985, 1988)
• 1972 AL Rookie of the Year
• Boston Red Sox #27 retired
• Chicago White Sox #72 retired

Ty Cobb Region: Ryne Sandberg vs. Ichiro (Play-in Round)

No. 16 Ryne Sandberg

Career Stats:

• Average: .285
• Home Runs: 282
  
• RBI: 1,061
• Hits: 2,386
  
• Stolen Bases: 344
  

Career Highlights:

• 10× All-Star selection (1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993)
• 9× Gold Glove Award winner (1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991)
• 7× Silver Slugger Award winner (1984, 1985, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992)
• 1984 NL MVP
• 1990 Home Run Derby winner
• Chicago Cubs #23 retired

No.16 Ichiro

Career Stats:

• Average: .322
• Home Runs: 104
  
• RBI: 660
  
• Hits: 2,606
• Stolen Bases: 452
  

Career Highlights:

• 10× All-Star (2001–2010)
• 10× Gold Glove Award (2001–2010)
• 3× Silver Slugger Award (2001, 2007, 2009)
• 2× AL batting champion (2001, 2004)
• AL MVP (2001)
• AL Rookie of the Year (2001)
• AL stolen base leader (2001)
• Commissioner's Historic Achievement Award (2005)
• All-Star Game MVP (2007)
• Single-season hits record (262 in 2004)

Conclusion

Just in case you were wondering, those with a region named after them are in fact No. 1 seeds.

Also, when voting on an active player, please view their career as if it were to end today. Use their numbers supplied as if those were the final numbers of their career.

During the next round of voting I will reveal the entire bracket.

Please be sure to get your vote in.

The next vote will be in 24-48 hours and it will be the first round of the Babe Ruth Region. If you can't find the next article here on B/R, I will also have the B/R link posted on my Twitter.

Follow @whooyouknowit