Greatest Leadoff Hitter Ever

**Patrick McIrish** · 04-11-08, 07:52 PM

Geronimo. That's the other guy I was trying to think of earlier when listing those Big Red dudes. Okay, carry on.

**badhunter** · 04-11-08, 08:22 PM

I grew up in the Bay Area watching Ricky Henderson. He was my favorite. What about Rod Carew? Wasn't he a leadoff hitter for the Twins and later Angels? I can't quite remember. Career batting average of .328, more than 3,000 hits. 300-plus stole bases.

**donjuan** · 04-11-08, 08:33 PM

Yes, base stealing isn't that important. As a leadoff hitter, the most important thing is to get on base:

Cobb: .433 OBP
Henderson: .401 OBP
Rose: .375 OBP

Also, team chemistry is really not all that important in baseball. As a piece of anecdotal evidence, Gehrig and Ruth supposedly rarely, if ever, talked.