BBC SPORT | Other Sports | US Sport

Turning back the years, revered heroes like Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Joe DiMaggio, Ty Cobb and Lou Gehrig make strong cases but fall just short of the mark.

And so it falls to Williams - the "Splendid Splinter" - and Babe Ruth - baseball's "Sultan of Swat" to slug it out for title.

Williams: American hero

The focus here is purely on hitting and not all-round game. Belting the ball was, after all, the only thing Williams and Ruth really cared about and what they did best.

Power:

Every modern slugger must doff his cap to Ruth, the original long-ball master.

Back in the 1920s, at a time when games were won by stealth rather than power, the "Bambino" changed the way baseball was played and filled stadiums in the process.

New York's finest

Fans were dazzled by Ruth's strength and the big man obligingly broke every home-run record in the book.

Williams, although not an out-and-out power hitter, still had plenty of clout.

When he signed off his career by crushing a homer into the Fenway Park stands with his last swing of the bat, everyone agreed that there could have been no more fitting end.

Ballgame 8, Babe 10

Average:

Even the best batters generally hit for power (Mark McGwire) or average (Tony Gwynn), but rarely excel in both aspects of the hitting game.

Ted Williams has the highest on-base percenatge of all-time

Ruth was a marvellous exception to that rule, averaging .342 - 10th on the all-time list - while hammering 714 home runs, second only to Aaron's 755.

But his impressive consistency is surpassed by that of Williams.

Despite losing a chunk of his career to service in the Korean War, he still managed a life-time average of .344.

Williams crowning glory came in 1941, when he hit .406 for the season, but even more immense was his achievement in 1957, when in the twilight of his career, he fired .388.

Ballgame 10, Babe 9

On base:

The mark of a great hitter is his ability to get on base.

Teddy "Ballgame" did this better than anyone else, reaching first base 48% of the time.

Ted Williams dies

If he wasn't driving in one of the Red Sox with a fierce double, he could be relied on to get himself in position for a big-hitting team-mate like Jimmie Foxx.

Ruth was not far behind in this department.

'Splendid Splinter' in pictures

Although not the quickest between bases, he could rely on the rest of the 1920's New York Yankees line-up, nicknamed "Murderer's Row" for its cast of batting assassins.

Ruth was often driven home by the legendary Gehrig and he didn't usually have to run fast.

Ballgame 10, Babe 9

Temperament

It is hard to fault either man's composure at the plate, but one key fact distinguished their careers.

Babe Ruth revolutionised baseball in the 1920s

While Ruth won several World Series and helped to make the Yankees into America's most successful sporting franchise, Williams failed to land the big prize with Boston.

Ruth was protected by an outstanding team, but Williams also had some good players to back him up and could have won titles.

On his only appearance at the World Series in 1946, however, he was below par after suffering an injury and the Red Sox fell short.

Ballgame 8, Babe 9

Overall:

Baseball owes a huge debt to both of these supreme hitters.

A narrow edge goes to Ruth, who combined power and average better than anyone else in history.

But Williams - more than Ruth - would have excelled in this or any era, a testament to his supernatural skill and co-ordination.

Ballgame 36, Babe 37


	Links to more US Sport stories