Willie Mays was even better than his all-time great stats

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Maybe the greatest baseball player of all time is Babe Ruth. Perhaps it's Henry Aaron or Barry Bonds or Josh Gibson or Oscar Charleston. Proponents of a more antiquated version of the sport might argue for Ty Cobb or Honus Wagner. For a time, before injuries wrecked their careers and their potential stamp on ultimate greatness, it could have been Ken Griffey Jr. or Mike Trout or Mickey Mantle, for that matter. Maybe if Ted Williams doesn't miss five seasons while serving in wars, he towers over the sport as the greatest hitter who ever lived.

You can, however, punch holes in the cases for any of those guys. Small holes -- maybe they didn't play center field,…