Who is on your Mount Rushmore of Baseball?

You are commissioned to develop a Mount Rushmore-style tribute to baseball. Which four faces will grace your mountainside?

These may not necessarily be the best players, the players with the best stats, or even players at all. Just identify four people who you would designate the face(s) of baseball.

A few words strung together to explain or defend your choices would be nice, but not mandatory.

(past and present names eligible, in case that’s not clear)

**Please post four (and only four) names.
**
I will withhold my choices until there are more skewers in the fondue pot.
mmm

ETA: This may lead to a poll

Babe Ruth (best ever)
Jackie Robinson (most important ever)
Ted Williams (best hitter)
Bob Feller (best pitcher) (because I’m from Cleveland)

Babe Ruth
Ted Williams- Best Hitter
Willie Mays- Best all around
One big blank space because Ty Cobb is the fourth, but I’m not putting that asshole up.

Willie Mays - would have been really close to or surpassed Ruth’s homers without army service, and was an excellent fielder

Babe Ruth - baseball’s biggest name of all time, ushered in the HR era, batted .342. I’d probably draft Willie Mays before Babe Ruth on a dream team, but it’d be close.

Pete Rose - all time hits leader. So he bet on his own team. I’m in charge of the baseball Mount Rushmore, and betting on your own team doesn’t disqualify you.

Walter Johnson - Again, using the ‘drafting’ rule of thumb, I’d pick him before any other pitcher. His ERA of 2.17 together with his longevity make him the first choice.

I won’t add a fifth name, but it sure is tempting.

Babe Ruth
Ty Cobb
Ted Williams
Sandy Koufax

Quick note/hijack: Pre-roids Barry Bonds was on track to be one of the best all-around players ever

I am not going to defend my choices. Here they are
The answer to the trivia question: What pitcher had the most lifetime victories while never having won the Cy Young award?

Cy Young

The Babe
Joe DiMaggio
Jackie Robinson

Babe Ruth
Hank Aaron
Stan Musial
Ted Williams
I’m only disappointed that I don’t have a pitcher in there somewhere

Requested move to the Game Room.

Babe Ruth
Lou Gehrig
Mickey Mantle
Jackie Robinson

Incredibly hard question…

Sorry, any list of just four I try looks fatally flawed in one way or another.

I do think Alexander Joy Cartwright belongs.

My 4

Willie Mays
W. Johnson
Ted Williams
Babe Ruth

Knocking this one out of the park and into the Game Room. From IMHO.

Barry Bonds
Alex Rodriguez
Mark McGwire
Sammy Sosa, Jason Giambi, or 1996 Brady Anderson. Can’t decide.

This is harder than I expected…

For me the only two sure things are Ruth and Mays. One for basically creating the modern game and the other for being probably the most well-rounded non-pitcher.

After that, I’d like to have a pitcher. Historically I’d put Walter Johnson… but he played a very long time ago. And the best modern pitchers have strikes against them, IMO. So I guess I’ll stick with Johnson.

Which only leaves one spot. I’d like to put Jackie Robinson there for his impact, but as a player he doesn’t really rate a top-4 spot. I’d like to put Stan the Man for sentimental reasons. But I don’t know that he really deserves a spot over a Cobb or Williams.

So I think I’ll just leave that 4th spot empty for now.

Excellent choices. GO CLEVELAND.

I choose: Ruth, Jackie Robinson, Ichiro Suzuki (international superstar and may surpass Rose in total hits) and Warren Spahn (you’ve got to have a left-handed starter).

Al Hrabosky
Turk Wendell
Oil Can Boyd
Eddie Gaedel

After finishing the 20+ years of rocky cliff artistry, the sculptor would say “It’s an art project” as a reference to Portlandia

Robinson, Ruth, Mays, and Cartwright.

I would go with:

Alexander Cartwright
Babe Ruth
Branch Rickey
Jackie Robinson

Cartwright, Ruth, and Robinson are the three I’m sure of.

Number four is the one I can’t decide on: Cobb? Mays? Williams? Gehrig? Flood? DiMaggio? Walter Johnson? Branch Rickey? William Hulbert? Ban Johnson?