Who is the best player in all of sports?

[Rhonda Rousey's Sports Bra]

Title say it all as usual, but I'll ellaborate. You can pick anyone from any sport an example would be, Alex Ovechkin is the best player in all of sports because..... Or Tom Brady is the best player in all of sports because....

Doesn't have to be American sports or team sports, any person that plays something considered a sport will do. Also the term best can be applied to alot of different things, like Championships, wins, defense, scoring, importance to their team (if applicable) anything you deem as the best.



My choice, well that would be Albert Pujols. Why? Well a few reasons really, one is because without him the Cardinals would be near the bottom of the Central. Al has a ring from 06, the cardinals team record since Albert came up has been stellar, he owns a Gold Glove and could win many more still, and has some of the best statisics ever.

That's my choice, who's yours?

 

[It's Damn Real!]

This is impossible. You are comparing apples to oranges in every instance. Sidney Crosby is the greatest hockey player on earth right now because there isn't an instance of a player at his age and skill level with more accolades and accomplishments who is also as marketable, but in no way is that an indictment on Tom Brady who may (or may not be) the greatest football player on earth because of the same.

Sorry, Cardinal, but this thread is impossible to objectively discuss, as every user is simply going to name their favorite players according to their favorite sports.

 

[Rhonda Rousey's Sports Bra]

I completely disagree, it's not that hard to compare what a hockey player did in his sport to a basketball player in basketball.

Shall I show you how?

I'll just go off my post.

Albert Pujols isn't the best player in sports, he's not even the best player in baseball, A Rod is, Arod has hit more homeruns in a tougher league and playeed a harder position. As for the best player in sports it's Peyton Manning because he's the leader of one of the most high powered offenses in recent history and hasn't won less than 10 games since he was a rookie. That's what makes him better than Pujols.


Then I would reply like this.


First of all A Rod had a little bit of help from the needle if you know what I mean, but I digress. As for Peyton, I'd agree that he is one of the greats, but not better than Pujols. In football you only have 16 games and a short post season to prove you're the best, how many of those big games has Peyton not dominated in? In football to be the best you need to win SuperBowls and Peyton has had his fair share of chances and come up short. It rests more on his shoulders when they don't win in big games so how can he be the best? In baseball one player doesn't have as much effect on the outcome f the game so the weight of not suceeding in the playoffs isn't on their shoulders as much. So when the Cardinals don't win the World Series it's not all on Pujols, he can have a great performance and his team still lose, can't say the same for Manning.

That's how you do it.

 

[Theo Mays]

Yikes, best player in all of sports? A few years ago I would have probably made a pretty good case for someone like Federer, Nadal, or Tiger Woods. Federer has slowed down, Rafa is often nicked up, and Tiger can't seem to find his golf game since he laid off the pussy (or so we think). In the end I'm gonna go with Peyton Manning. Yes he has some issues in the postseason, but the guy has won a Super Bowl and he is pretty much a playing head coach and makes the real head coaches job that much easier come game day. Peyton can work a defense with the better than any QB in the league and the guy is just a machine on offense. He is pretty much a lock to throw for 4000 yards and he is always healthy. He is the key reason the Colts have been this successful and he will continue to be that reason. No other player impacts a football game like Peyton Manning. Hell I'm not sure there is a person in any other sport that impacts the game like Peyton Manning.

 

[Megatron]

Right now, it's easily LeBron James. He pretty much has carried poor Cleveland teams to the best records in the NBA for the past two years, he has two MVP's in a row, and he is the most dominant player in the NBA. And, who else has had a one hour special just about where he's going to sign for free agency? Ego? Yeah. But it drew hella huge numbers and he's the biggest thing in all of sports. And now that he's gone from Cleveland, where do you think they're gonna go? Down the shitter. Lebron carried a weak supporting cast to 60+ wins, what do you think he's gonna do now with Bosh and Wade? He's gonna win titles, titles, and more titles. And he's done all of this and he's not even 27 yet.

 

[Super Hans]

Athletics is a sport right. My choice therefore is Usain Bolt he is completely dominant at 100 and 200 metres breaking countless world records when it really matters whether it be at the Olympics or at the World Championships.

Nobody thought that it would be possible to break 9.60 seconds 10 years ago when athletes were constantly clocking around the 9.85 mark, to shave over a quarter of a second off the world record is amazing in my opinion.

 

[jmt225]

Georges St. Pierre.

Since his debut in Mixed Martial Arts, GSP has compiled a record for himself of 20-2, with both of those losses being avenged after the fact.

The fact of the matter is that GSP competes against the best of the best his sport has to offer in his division, and cannot be defeated. And he does it in a sport, in my opinion, that's harder to dominate than any other, which is why you don't see many Mixed Martial Artist with less than 5 losses if they've fought around let's say 20 times.

And the thing is, seriously, think about this, not only has GSP won those 20 fights, but he's won every single round in all of those fights, with the exception of 1 (the first round in his first fight against BJ Penn). I mean, how impressive is that, really? Even in one of the losses he won the round before getting caught in a lucky armbar at the end of it (which was against someone he would go on to defeat two more times).

So, yeah... my pick is Georges St. Pierre, and quite frankly... I don't see how a logical argument could be made against him.

 

[P-Dub]

Dan Carter of New Zealand or Brian O'Driscoll of Ireland, in my opinion two men who can inspire and lead their teams on the field and also possess amazing individual skill that can win games in the blink of an eye!

 

[Big Sexy]

I gotta agree with Theo and say Peyton Manning. He has the title, he has the stats, and I see him as the best player at the most important position in his sport. The guy is consistently amazing every single year. Without him the Colts are shit, with him they are an elite team every single year. Now I'll breakdown why answers from the other sports have holes.

In the NBA you have Kobe and LeBron. LeBron doesn't have a title yet so you can't really label him as the best in all of sports at the moment. Kobe has the titles but talent wise I don't think he's the best anymore.

In MLB you have guys like Pujos, A Rod, and Miguel Cabrera but the stats are so similar every year that not just one of these guys stands out as the elite in their sport. Pujols is the closest but I don't see him as the best in all of sports.

In the NHL the best player is really a tossup between Ovechkin and Crosby. I personally believe Ovechkin is better but neither has been elite for long enough to really be considered the best in all of sports.

I don't really take the individual sports into consideration based on the thread title. It doesn't say best athlete, it says best player. When I think player, I think about only team sports.

 

[Platypus Palsy]

I'm not the biggest authority on soccer or the Premier League, but I'm going to try and make a case for a soccer player. If anyone that is actually from the UK that disagrees with me could clear up why I'm wrong, that would be appreciated.

Didier Drogba is a great player. He won the Golden Boot for a 2nd time this past season with 29 goals, beating out Wayne Rooney would had 26. Against Wigan in the last match, he had a hat trick in a 8-0 final, collecting his 3rd League winner's medal. He was the Chelsea Player of the Year on the team that was the PFA Team of the Year. He is the Côte d'Ivoire, Ivory Coast national team, all-time Top Scorer.

Not only is he a great striker, he also is credited with bringing peace to his home country. When the Ivory Coast qualified for the World Cup in 2006, asked both sides in a civil war in the Ivory Coast to put down their arms, and they did. He even got an African Cup of Nations match qualifier to Bouake, a rebel stronghold. His involvement landed him a spot on the Times 100 most influential people.

 

[I Suck Ass]

For me, the best player in all of sports would be Jackie Robinson. He revolutionized sports in a way that NO ONE can ever match. He broke the color barrier and was a pretty good player, to boot. Imagine what sports would be like without black players. For what he did for baseball, sports, and African-Americans in general, Jackie Robinson is the best player in all of sports.

 

[Rhonda Rousey's Sports Bra]

For me, the best player in all of sports would be Jackie Robinson. He revolutionized sports in a way that NO ONE can ever match. He broke the color barrier and was a pretty good player, to boot. Imagine what sports would be like without black players. For what he did for baseball, sports, and African-Americans in general, Jackie Robinson is the best player in all of sports.

Well Noah, I was looking for more of present day sports, but I can tell you that even if I was going for best player ever Jackie Robinson would be wrong. Jackie isn't even the best player in baseball history, Babe Ruth still holds that crown. Lets compare shall we?

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/robinja02.shtml

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/ruthba01.shtml

The first one is Jackie's stats.

.342 715 HR and 2213 RBI for Ruth compared to .311 137 HR and 734 RBI


Case closed.

 

[Megatron]

Hank Aaron had more HR's, RBI's, and hits then Babe, and throw that in with the racisim that he received almost daily, he's the best player ever, at least according to stats.

I however, don't think so. I think it's Ted Williams. He left for 4 years to go to the navy, otherwise he easily would've had 600 HR's and 2200 RBI's. He had a slightly better avg (by like .002) and easily would've been apart of the 3000 hit club had he not missed those 4 years.

But that's not what we're arguing right now in this thread. Just pointing this out.

 

[The Holy One]

Well thanks to Big Sexy, I'm kind of confused on whether you want the best player in team sports or just the best player in sports period. I guess it doesn't matters b/c I will make a case for either preference.

Now when it comes to best player in sports period, I will still go with Tiger Woods despite his recent downfall. If you want to talk in terms of championships, he has 14 which is the second most overall and only 4 behind Jack Nicklaus. He has the most career wins of any active golfer. He's youngest to every achieve a Grand Slam (for those of you who don't know, that's when you win all 4 majors in one year) and the second golfer to achieve this status three times. He holds the record of being the number one golfer in consecutive weeks and has been PGA Player of the Year for a record breaking ten times which is the golf equilavent to any MVP award. The man is also the WORLD'S favorite athlete. He single handly revived his sport which is more than what you can say about any other candidate.

Although, if you want to go the best player in team sports route, I would choose Peyton Manning. He's arguably the most recognized name in the toughest position to play in his sport. He can be considered the face of the NFL. Manning has a championship, numerous records, and is a 4 time MVP which is record for the most achieved by any NFL player. He also revived the Colts franchise and brought them from the laughingstock in the 90s to the powerhouse of the 00s. He's also the one man in any team sport than can be labled as a coach while being a player.

 

[Brilliant Human Being]

To take this thread into a more soccer-orientated direction, I am going to make a case for Ryan Giggs. The man has played at the highest level consistently for nigh on 20 years now, and shows no sign of slowing down, at least in quality terms. He has played for Manchester United for all his career, and is the quintessential one club man. In terms of how he conducts himself, his skill level, and his longevity, the man is unparallelled in my opinion, at least from a British point of view. Giggs also almost universally holds the respect of every football fan in the country, regardless of their feelings about Manchester United. What's more though, is that as he's get older and knows he can't compete with the younger players pace wise, he has adapted his game and still is brilliant. I firmly believe that if Giggs had chosen to play for England instead of Wales, we would have at least got to the semi-finals of a major tournmanet before now. The most decorated footballer in English history. The only man to have scored in every Premiership season. In addition to this, he also does a phenomenal amount of work for charity, particularly UNICEF. I fear we will never see his like in soccer again.

 

[Rhonda Rousey's Sports Bra]

Athletics is a sport right. My choice therefore is Usain Bolt he is completely dominant at 100 and 200 metres breaking countless world records when it really matters whether it be at the Olympics or at the World Championships.

Nobody thought that it would be possible to break 9.60 seconds 10 years ago when athletes were constantly clocking around the 9.85 mark, to shave over a quarter of a second off the world record is amazing in my opinion.

When I think of the best in the sport of track and field I think domination, which Bolt has been able to do in the Olympics, but what takes away from him is those races he lost, like the one he lost last week. For someone to be considered the best in sports and be a sprinter, I think you need to dominate everyone everytime.

 

[Megatron]

When I think of the best in the sport of track and field I think domination, which Bolt has been able to do in the Olympics, but what takes away from him is those races he lost, like the one he lost last week. For someone to be considered the best in sports and be a sprinter, I think you need to dominate everyone everytime.

I don't think you should disclude him just because of one loss in a race. Did you see him in the Olympics? What about the records that he broke. That's quite ridiculous to say that because he had one loss he isn't the greatest. Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal don't win every tournament but they're considered two of the best athletes of this century. Tiger, too. EVERYONE slips up and NOBODY will show complete dominance. Bolt still is the best runner alive and I'd probably put him in my top 5.