In 1998, The Sporting News compiled a list of Baseball's Greatest Players. A committee of twelve Sporting News editors reviewed the players to determine a master list. Then, each editor was asked to pick his/her Top 10, without rankings. Those players receiving the most votes were ranked in the top 10. After the players to be included in the top 10 were determined, then the editors voted as to the ranking of the players within that group.
The second fifteen were voted on in the same process, and then the process was continued for 26-50, 51-75 and 76-100. Players were always placed into a group before rankings within the group were determined.
The Sporting News said about these rating, "The final rankings, obviously subjective and open to debate, represent the collective feelings of a TSN staff that has logged many hours tracking the sometimes-bumpy course of baseball history."
| Rank | Player |
|---|---|
| 1 | Babe Ruth |
| 2 | Willie Mays |
| 3 | Ty Cobb |
| 4 | Walter Johnson |
| 5 | Hank Aaron |
| 6 | Lou Gehrig |
| 7 | Christy Mathewson |
| 8 | Ted Williams |
| 9 | Rogers Hornsby |
| 10 | Stan Musial |
| 11 | Joe DiMaggio |
| 12 | Grover Alexander |
| 13 | Honus Wagner |
| 14 | Cy Young |
| 15 | Jimmie Foxx |
| 16 | Johnny Bench |
| 17 | Mickey Mantle |
| 18 | Josh Gibson |
| 19 | Satchel Paige |
| 20 | Roberto Clemente |
| 21 | Warren Spahn |
| 22 | Frank Robinson |
| 23 | Lefty Grove |
| 24 | Eddie Collins |
| 25 | Pete Rose |
| Rank | Player |
|---|---|
| 26 | Sandy Koufax |
| 27 | Tris Speaker |
| 28 | Mike Schmidt |
| 29 | Nap Lajoie |
| 30 | Steve Carlton |
| 31 | Bob Gibson |
| 32 | Tom Seaver |
| 33 | George Sisler |
| 34 | Barry Bonds |
| 35 | Joe Jackson |
| 36 | Bob Feller |
| 37 | Hank Greenberg |
| 38 | Ernie Banks |
| 39 | Greg Maddux |
| 40 | Yogi Berra |
| 41 | Nolan Ryan |
| 42 | Mel Ott |
| 43 | Al Simmons |
| 44 | Jackie Robinson |
| 45 | Carl Hubbell |
| 46 | Charlie Gehringer |
| 47 | Buck Leonard |
| 48 | Reggie Jackson |
| 49 | Tony Gwynn |
| 50 | Roy Campanella |
| Rank | Player |
|---|---|
| 51 | Rickey Henderson |
| 52 | Whitey Ford |
| 53 | Roger Clemens |
| 54 | Harry Heilmann |
| 55 | George Brett |
| 56 | Willie McCovey |
| 57 | Bill Dickey |
| 58 | Lou Brock |
| 59 | Bill Terry |
| 60 | Joe Morgan |
| 61 | Rod Carew |
| 62 | Paul Waner |
| 63 | Eddie Mathews |
| 64 | Jim Palmer |
| 65 | Mickey Cochrane |
| 66 | Cool Papa Bell |
| 67 | Oscar Charleston |
| 68 | Eddie Plank |
| 69 | Harmon Killebrew |
| 70 | Pie Traynor |
| 71 | Juan Marichal |
| 72 | Carl Yastrzemski |
| 73 | Lefty Gomez |
| 74 | Robin Roberts |
| 75 | Willie Keeler |
| Rank | Player |
|---|---|
| 76 | Al Kaline |
| 77 | Eddie Murray |
| 78 | Cal Ripken, Jr. |
| 79 | Joe Medwick |
| 80 | Brooks Robinson |
| 81 | Willie Stargell |
| 82 | Ed Walsh |
| 83 | Duke Snider |
| 84 | Sam Crawford |
| 85 | Dizzy Dean |
| 86 | Kirby Puckett |
| 87 | Ozzie Smith |
| 88 | Frankie Frisch |
| 89 | Goose Goslin |
| 90 | Ralph Kiner |
| 91 | Mark McGwire |
| 92 | Chuck Klein |
| 93 | Ken Griffey, Jr. |
| 94 | Dave Winfield |
| 95 | Wade Boggs |
| 96 | Rollie Fingers |
| 97 | Gaylord Perry |
| 98 | Dennis Eckersley |
| 99 | Paul Molitor |
| 100 | Early Wynn |