GGOATRANK
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Baseball · First baseman · United States

Cap Anson

1871–1897 · First player to reach 3,000 career hits and a five-time pennant-winning manager.

Retired
Ranking model

100% titles, statistics, dominance, longevity and global competition depth.

Pure sporting data
92.2
Cultural & brand footprint 50/100 · total legacy 80.5
Career hits
3,435
Career batting average
0.3
Batting titles
4
Career RBI
2,075
Seasons played
27

Category profile

Dominance
90
Peak
94
Longevity
96
Honours
88
Statistics
94

Career timeline · Home runs per season

SeasonHome runs per seasonShare of career
18760.356
18770.337
18780.341
18790.317
18800.337
18810.399
18820.362
18830.308
18840.335
18850.31
18860.371
18870.347
18880.344
18890.342
18900.312
18910.291
18920.272
18930.314
18940.395
18950.335
18960.331
18970.285

Data sources

  • MLB.com
  • Baseball Reference
  • National Baseball Hall of Fame

Figures come from public records and are normalised per sport. See the methodology for category weights. Method

Why Cap Anson ranks #9 in Baseball

Cap Anson ranks 9th among Baseball athletes on GOAT Rank and 831st of 2289 across every sport in the index. The published GOAT Score of 92.2 is the weighted result of five verified category scores: Dominance 90, Peak 94, Longevity 96, Honours 88, Statistics 94. Those categories are normalised against the full Baseball reference universe of 262 records, not a shortlist, so the position reflects the whole sport rather than a handful of famous names.

The record covers 1871–1897 with 22 documented competitive seasons. The strongest single season in that series is 1881, which sets the Peak component at 94. Longevity is the defining strength of the profile at 96 out of 100, and it carries 20% of the final score. The underlying career record includes career hits 3435, career batting average 0.334, batting titles 4, career rbi 2075.

Immediately ahead sits Barry Bonds on 92.3, a gap of 0.1 points. Directly behind is Cy Young on 92.1. The position moves whenever the verified record moves: new titles, new seasons or a corrected source all feed straight back into the same formula, and every change is dated on this profile.

Cap Anson GOAT Score explained

Dominance90/100 · weight 25%
Measures how far Anson stood above the field while competing. Scored 90/100 against the full Baseball cohort.
Peak94/100 · weight 20%
Rates the best sustained stretch of the career, centred on 1881. Scored 94/100.
Longevity96/100 · weight 20%
Rewards staying at that level over time: 26 years of competition and 22 recorded seasons. Scored 96/100.
Honours88/100 · weight 20%
Counts documented titles, majors and awards in the verified record. Scored 88/100.
Statistics94/100 · weight 15%
Normalises the raw career numbers against everyone in the sport reporting the same metric. Scored 94/100.

Cap Anson — frequently asked

Is Cap Anson the GOAT?
Not on the current data. Cap Anson ranks 9th in Baseball with a GOAT Score of 92.2, behind Babe Ruth on 94.6.
What is Cap Anson's GOAT Score?
92.2 out of 100. It is the weighted sum of Dominance 90 (25%), Peak 94 (20%), Longevity 96 (20%), Honours 88 (20%), Statistics 94 (15%), computed from the verified career record.
Where does Cap Anson rank all time?
831st of 2289 eligible athletes in the cross-sport index, and 9th within Baseball.
Cap Anson vs Barry Bonds: who ranks higher?
Barry Bonds, on 92.3 against Cap Anson's 92.2 — a margin of 0.1 points.
Compare with Ruth