GGOATRANK
🇺🇸
Baseball · Outfielder · United States

Ty Cobb

1905–1928 · A .366 lifetime batting average — the highest in Major League history.

Retired
Ranking model

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

Pure sporting data
87.4
Cultural & brand footprint 50/100 · total legacy 80.7
Batting titles
11
Career hits
4,189
Career batting average
0.4
MVP awards
1
Stolen bases
897
Runs scored
2,246

Category profile

Dominance
93
Peak
93
Longevity
94
Honours
88
Statistics
97

Career timeline · Home runs per season

SeasonHome runs per seasonShare of career
19070.35
19080.324
19090.377
19100.383
19110.42
19120.409
19130.39
19140.368
19150.369
19160.371
19170.383
19180.382
19190.384
19200.334
19210.389
19220.401
19230.34
19240.338
19250.378
19260.339

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 Ty Cobb ranks #3 in Baseball

Ty Cobb ranks 3rd among Baseball athletes on GOAT Rank and 115th of 1063 across every sport in the index. The published GOAT Score of 92.8 is the weighted result of five verified category scores: Dominance 93, Peak 93, Longevity 94, Honours 88, Statistics 97. 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 1905–1928 with 20 documented competitive seasons. The strongest single season in that series is 1911, which sets the Peak component at 93. Statistics is the defining strength of the profile at 97 out of 100, and it carries 15% of the final score. The underlying career record includes batting titles 11, career hits 4189, career batting average 0.366, mvp awards 1.

Immediately ahead sits Willie Mays on 93.8, a gap of 1.0 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.

Ty Cobb GOAT Score explained

Dominance93/100 · weight 25%
Measures how far Cobb stood above the field while competing. Scored 93/100 against the full Baseball cohort.
Peak93/100 · weight 20%
Rates the best sustained stretch of the career, centred on 1911. Scored 93/100.
Longevity94/100 · weight 20%
Rewards staying at that level over time: 23 years of competition and 20 recorded seasons. Scored 94/100.
Honours88/100 · weight 20%
Counts documented titles, majors and awards in the verified record. Scored 88/100.
Statistics97/100 · weight 15%
Normalises the raw career numbers against everyone in the sport reporting the same metric. Scored 97/100.

Ty Cobb — frequently asked

Is Ty Cobb the GOAT?
Not on the current data. Ty Cobb ranks 3rd in Baseball with a GOAT Score of 92.8, behind Hank Aaron on 93.7.
What is Ty Cobb's GOAT Score?
92.8 out of 100. It is the weighted sum of Dominance 93 (25%), Peak 93 (20%), Longevity 94 (20%), Honours 88 (20%), Statistics 97 (15%), computed from the verified career record.
Where does Ty Cobb rank all time?
115th of 1063 eligible athletes in the cross-sport index, and 3rd within Baseball.
Ty Cobb vs Willie Mays: who ranks higher?
Willie Mays, on 93.8 against Ty Cobb's 92.8 — a margin of 1.0 points.
Compare with Ruth