GGOATRANK
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Baseball · Catcher · United States

Josh Gibson

1930–1946 · Holds the highest career batting average in Major League records at .372.

Retired
Ranking model

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

Pure sporting data
80.3
Cultural & brand footprint 50/100 · total legacy 74.8
Career batting average
0.4
Negro League titles
9
Home run titles
6
Batting titles
4
All-Star selections
12
Hall of Fame inductions
1

Category profile

Dominance
90
Peak
94
Longevity
76
Honours
86
Statistics
94

Career timeline · Home runs per season

SeasonHome runs per seasonShare of career
19320.362
19330.4
19340.336
19350.355
19360.374
19370.39
19380.356
19390.34
19400.37
19410.353
19420.466
19430.38
19440.338
19450.3

Data sources

  • MLB
  • Baseball Reference
  • Olympics.com

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

Why Josh Gibson ranks #57 in Baseball

Josh Gibson ranks 57th among Baseball athletes on GOAT Rank and 580th of 1063 across every sport in the index. The published GOAT Score of 87.8 is the weighted result of five verified category scores: Dominance 90, Peak 94, Longevity 76, Honours 86, 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 1930–1946 with 14 documented competitive seasons. The strongest single season in that series is 1942, which sets the Peak component at 94. Peak is the defining strength of the profile at 94 out of 100, and it carries 20% of the final score. The underlying career record includes career batting average 0.372, negro league titles 9, home run titles 6, batting titles 4.

Immediately ahead sits Ken Griffey Jr. on 86.1, a gap of -1.7 points. Directly behind is David Ortiz on 85.1. 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.

Josh Gibson GOAT Score explained

Dominance90/100 · weight 25%
Measures how far Gibson 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 1942. Scored 94/100.
Longevity76/100 · weight 20%
Rewards staying at that level over time: 16 years of competition and 14 recorded seasons. Scored 76/100.
Honours86/100 · weight 20%
Counts documented titles, majors and awards in the verified record. Scored 86/100.
Statistics94/100 · weight 15%
Normalises the raw career numbers against everyone in the sport reporting the same metric. Scored 94/100.

Josh Gibson — frequently asked

Is Josh Gibson the GOAT?
Not on the current data. Josh Gibson ranks 57th in Baseball with a GOAT Score of 87.8, behind Hank Aaron on 93.7.
What is Josh Gibson's GOAT Score?
87.8 out of 100. It is the weighted sum of Dominance 90 (25%), Peak 94 (20%), Longevity 76 (20%), Honours 86 (20%), Statistics 94 (15%), computed from the verified career record.
Where does Josh Gibson rank all time?
580th of 1063 eligible athletes in the cross-sport index, and 57th within Baseball.
Josh Gibson vs Ken Griffey Jr.: who ranks higher?
Josh Gibson, on 87.8 against Ken Griffey Jr.'s 86.1 — a margin of 1.7 points.
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