A few days ago, I was scrolling through videos, and I came across a Babe Ruth video. As many of you know, I love baseball history and will choose a historical video over some random analytics-filled garbage 10/10 times.
Excited, I quickly clicked on the video and prepared for 25 minutes listening to about baseball’s GOAT. Sadly, the video was 100% AI. The voice, the script, the images, ALL OF IT. This video had over 100,000 views and was entirely AI-generated, talking about my favorite sport.
Of course, I have thought about this myself before. But I can’t stand those terrible AI voices, so I always delete them. I was interested in seeing what the AI wrote, so I grabbed the transcript for review. It was a lot of rubbish, but it kept referring to Ruth as the GOAT of baseball.
Right now, with all the talk of Shohei Ohtani being the greatest of all-time, I thought it would be fun to have four of the world’s top LLMs create their own Top 5s.
I used Chat GPT, Grok, Gemini, and Claude for this experiment. I used ChatGPT to give a prompt with strict instructions on how to come up with the list. I wanted to make sure that they did not just go scrape the internet for a list and regurgitate it as their own. To my surprise, 3 of the 4 models took a LONG time working on this task. I use AI for work every day, and a lot of research is needed. This was the longest I think I saw these models work.
Now, I think the lists are “eh”. I have released my Top 5 in the past, and will do so again in blogs this winter. It’s not that I don’t think these players are deserving of a spot in the Top 5; I just don’t love the reasoning the models give.
Now, of the four, Gemini stood out amongst them all. It went and created a formula unprovoked to justify its picks. Claude also gave the players a 0-100 score, but it did not really lay out how they did it. Honestly, ChatGPT and Grok just gave a lot of filler, especially ChatGPT.
A lot of people are going to want to see Ohtani on this list, but the way the prompt was set up, I don’t think that was possible.
Without further ado, here are the “Top 5 MLB Players of All-Time” according to AI’s top operating systems.
GROK
“In constructing my independent top 5 MLB players of all time ranking from first principles, I began by selecting a diverse candidate pool of 15 players spanning eras from the 1890s to 2025, including Negro Leagues stars like Josh Gibson and two-way talents like Babe Ruth and Shohei Ohtani, drawing solely from primary stats on sites like Baseball-Reference and FanGraphs without referencing any external lists. I gathered metrics such as rWAR and fWAR for career value, 7-year peak rWAR for prime dominance, era-adjusted rates like OPS+ or ERA+ to normalize for run environments, park factors, and league quality, defensive adjustments for position scarcity (boosting shortstops and catchers), and postseason WPA with caveats for sample size. For Negro Leagues players, I incorporated MLB-recognized integrated data from Seamheads, noting uncertainties in incomplete records, while handling two-way players by summing non-overlapping WAR components. I then computed a transparent composite score weighting career value at 60% (z-scored averages plus a durability bonus), peak at 30%, and context bonuses/penalties at 10% (for dominance, defense, postseason, and PED considerations without applying penalties for unconfirmed cases), scaling to 0-100 and resolving ties via breakers like peak WAR and rate stats. Sensitivity analyses with peak- or career-heavier weights confirmed stability, leading to a final top 5 of Ruth, Johnson, Wagner, Bonds, and Mays based on their exceptional, adjusted impacts, with near-misses like Aaron and Cobb falling short on balanced excellence.”
Babe Ruth — Combined unmatched hitting dominance and pitching value in a transformative era. Justification: Highest composite (96); peak 81.1 rWAR; era-adjusted 206 OPS+; position-versatile.
Walter Johnson — Dominant pitcher with longevity, leading in shutouts and strikeouts across dead-ball era. Justification: Score 92; peak 81.4 rWAR; 147 ERA+; elite defense-adjusted value.
Honus Wagner — Elite shortstop with sustained excellence in hitting, fielding, and speed pre-lively ball. Justification: Score 90; peak 65.9 rWAR; 147 wRC+; high position scarcity.
Barry Bonds — Prolific power hitter with elite plate discipline and defense, despite PED shadow. Justification: Score 88; peak 67.1 rWAR; 173 wRC+; postseason 2.0 WPA.
Willie Mays — All-around center fielder excelling in power, speed, and defense post-integration. Justification: Score 85; peak 68.7 rWAR; 154 wRC+; Negro Leagues context.
CHAT GPT
“This ranking isn’t a vibes list—it’s built from era‑ and park‑neutral metrics (OPS+, ERA+, WAR/JAWS) and a transparent formula (60% career value, 30% seven‑year peak, 10% context for position scarcity, sustained dominance, and postseason impact). That framework puts Babe Ruth in a tier of one because he combines the best peak with unmatched career run‑creation—plus real early pitching value—without double‑counting replacement level. Barry Bonds lands next as the most dominant modern bat with elite longevity; and, per the stated rule, only documented suspensions trigger penalties—Bonds had none. Walter Johnson grades as the greatest starter once you normalize run environments and credit workload‑adjusted run prevention. Willie Mays is the integrated era’s most complete player, with center‑field scarcity, elite defense, and a long run of top‑3 seasons. Ted Williams rounds out the five because no one reached base more relentlessly at his peak, though corner‑outfield scarcity and missed seasons temper his career total. Peak‑heavy and career‑heavy sensitivity checks don’t change the order—reproducible, position‑aware, and sourced from primary stats.”
1) Babe Ruth — The greatest run creator ever, with a top‑tier peak and credible two‑way value.
Career rWAR 182.6, career OPS+ 206 (all‑time), and the top Peak‑7 WAR on record put Ruth out in front; his best seasons occurred in an extreme offensive context, but OPS+ and WAR already neutralize for era/parks. Early‑career pitching (career 2.28 ERA) adds real value without double‑counting replacement baselines in rWAR. He dominated his contemporaries by unprecedented standard deviations and still sits at or near the top of most adjusted rate leaderboards.
2) Barry Bonds — The most dominant sustained modern bat with strong peak and longevity.
Bonds combines 162.8 rWAR with ~164.4 fWAR and a career OPS+ 182/wRC+ ~173, placing him neck‑and‑neck with Ruth on modern WAR frameworks and ahead of everyone else post‑integration. Under my penalty rule (only documented suspensions), Bonds receives no deduction; his statistical case stands on the primary record.
3) Walter Johnson — The best workload‑adjusted starting pitcher in MLB history.
Johnson’s 155.1 RA9‑WAR (BR pitching WAR), career ERA+ 147, and a Peak‑7 that stacks with any ace, delivered across the dead‑ball transition into the live‑ball era. Park/era normalization via ERA+ and WAR keeps his run‑environment advantage in check; even then, he out‑distanced contemporaries more than any other starter. October impact in 1924–25 adds a small, documented bonus.
4) Willie Mays — The greatest all‑around position player (bat + glove + run) of the integrated era.
Mays blends 156.2 rWAR, a 155 OPS+, elite center‑field defense, and sustained dominance (1954–66). Center field’s position scarcity and his baserunning elevate his value in a way WAR largely captures; OPS+ contextualizes the bat across a shifting run environment. The composite’s career/peak weighting lands him just behind Bonds and Johnson; under any reasonable scarcity‑heavier scheme, he is the best non‑Ruth candidate.
5) Ted Williams — The purest hitter on base by rate, with an elite peak and significant missed time.
Williams’ 121.8 rWAR with OPS+ 191 and MLB‑best .482 OBP (rate‑normalized) reflects the game’s most efficient table‑turner; his seven‑year peak sits in the 72–73 WAR band despite losing three full prime seasons to WWII. The model credits rate dominance in tie‑breaks but uses career value as the anchor, placing Williams fifth without speculative war‑crediting.
GEMINI
To move beyond subjective debate and create a truly objective ranking, I developed a proprietary composite metric called the “G.O.A.T. Score.” This score synthesizes a player’s career value, peak dominance, and historical context into a single, transparent number, allowing for a data-driven comparison across different eras and positions. The formula is weighted to prioritize sustained career value (60%) while also significantly rewarding periods of transcendent peak performance (30%) and accounting for crucial context (10%).
The formula is:
“After applying this formula to a candidate pool of 14 of the sport’s most legendary figures, our definitive, data-driven ranking of baseball’s all-time greats settles the debate with a clear top five, led by the incomparable Babe Ruth. His number one spot is unassailable, built on a foundation of elite, Hall of Fame-caliber pitching combined with his reality-altering dominance as the greatest offensive force the game has ever known. Following him is Walter Johnson, the most dominant pitcher in history, whose peak performance was so transcendent it even surpassed Ruth’s. At number three, Willie Mays stands as the most complete five-tool player ever, a unique force who blended 660 home runs with legendary, Gold Glove-winning defense in center field. The fourth spot belongs to Barry Bonds, a statistical titan whose offensive numbers are so overwhelming that he remains in the top five even after accounting for the context of the PED era. Finally, rounding out the list is the ultimate workhorse, Cy Young, whose unbreakable records for wins and innings pitched represent a monumental career value that our model rightfully rewards.”
Claude
“My Top 5 reasoning in a nutshell: Ruth is #1 because no one combines his volume (182.6 rWAR plus 20.6 pitching WAR), his peak (84.7 seven-year WAR, 10 wins higher than anyone else), and his era-adjusted dominance (206 OPS+, the all-time record). Mays takes #2 over Bonds because he delivered comparable career value (156.2 rWAR) at the hardest defensive position while losing two prime seasons to military service—and he did it clean. Bonds slots #3 despite having the highest position-player WAR (162.8) because the PED suspension and BALCO scandal taint his legitimacy; without the penalty, he’d be #2. Wagner claims #4 as the greatest shortstop ever, dominating the dead-ball era at the most demanding position with 11 WAR titles in 13 years. Williams rounds out the Top 5 because his 190 OPS+ and .482 OBP (all-time record) represent the pinnacle of pure hitting, and he lost five prime seasons to military service—had he played those years, he’d likely challenge for #2 or #3.”
Babe Ruth (99.0) — Two-way dominance, 182.6 rWAR, 206 OPS+, transcendent peak
Willie Mays (92.5) — Five-tool CF excellence, military service cost ~2 seasons
Barry Bonds (91.2 with PED penalty, 93.7 without) — Greatest offensive peak ever
Honus Wagner (87.5) — Elite dead-ball SS, 11× NL WAR leader
Ted Williams (85.2) — Greatest pure hitter, lost ~5 years to war
Ruth is clearly #1. Perhaps, if he lasts long enough, Otani may rival him.
Ruth was taught to play, to the extent that his talent was not inborm, by a Canadian Catholic Brother Matthias at the St. Mary's Industrial Home in Baltimore.
Initially, Ruth was a catcher. One day he was catching, and the pitcher couldn't throw a strike to save his life. Ruth was laughing his ass off, and Matthias said you think it's so funny, you go try it.
Ruth took the mound, struck out everyone, and the rest is history.
Years later, circa 1961, I met an old man in his 80s. Brother Flavian or Flavius, not sure, who had been one of the other teachers at the home at the time.