Sim City: Oscar vs. the Babe, Say Hey Kid and Flying Dutchman

Earlier this week I referenced the recent Negro League conference and Bill James’ comparison of Negro League great Oscar Charleston, Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner and Willie Mays.  After reading this, I felt a little comparison was in order. 

When comparing the Diamond Mind Online sim stats of Ruth, Mays, Wagner and Charleston, it’s interesting to see that Charleston stacks up incredibly well against these other greats.  While Ruth has an edge in most stat categories such as OBP, slugging percentage, and HR factor, and Wagner led all four in batting average, the statistical match-up of Charleston and Mays is virtually neck-and-neck.

What’s telling about this comparison is the salary for each of the four players.  The first-blush pick might be Ruth – higher numbers across the board, one home run every 10 at-bats, c’mon, he’s The Babe.     

But at $30 million, you may want to reconsider.

With $100 million to spend on your team (25 players, 3 inactives), you’d be forking out almost a third of your payroll signing a single player.  Mays, at $23 million, and Wagner at $22 million, both have pretty high price tags (although growing up a Giants’ fan it, it would be hard to not sign Willie). 

However, Charleston, with Mays-like numbers, is a real bargain at $18 million.  Now, after signing Charleston, you can become a much more strategic DMO owner with unspent $12 million to $5 million.   No offense to the Bronx Bomber, Say Hey Kid or Flying Dutchman, but a roster with Charleston and 2-3 other solid, mid-range players may, in fact, win more games than a single-star lineup.

To learn more about drafting and signing Negro League players, check out our Reference Guide.

- Dayne

Check out our message boards to see what others are asking about player salaries:

How I use the Babe?

How do I spend $28M?

Who saw their salaries increase/decrease the most?

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