​Baseball’s Greatest Players: 140 legends and one reimagined approach for ranking all-time greats originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.It was Bill James who famously said: “When baseball wanted to speak, The Sporting News cleared its throat.” And from its 1886 founding until today, “The Bible of Baseball” has provided a voice to every contour of the game.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementBut for all the game’s beauty and familiarity and evolution and symmetry and chaos, let’s face it — it’s about the players. It’s always been about the players.In 1999, The Sporting News published its critically-acclaimed book, Baseball’s 100 Greatest Players, a defining resource of its kind. And now, as it celebrates 140 years, the collection expands to 140 players, organized in an entirely new way.We researched and considered over 500 names, weighing not only fundamental changes to the game, but also factoring in modern metrics, recently uncovered Negro Leagues data, shifting league demographics and the evolution of today’s stars. We stripped away preconceptions and applied objective, critical analysis to every player under consideration.SN140: Ranking the greatest 140 moments in sports historyAdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementOnce we landed on 140 names, we decided that traditional rankings simply don’t work for baseball. How is one to honestly assess if Cy Young — a pitcher whose career began in the 19th century — is greater than Albert Pujols, a 21st-century slugger? How do you compare Josh Gibson in the Negro Leagues to Jackie Robinson in the National League?Comparison is the thief of joy with rankings that run the risk of diminishing rather than celebrating.Instead, we created 14 position-less rooms, each representing and articulating varying archetypes of greatness. From there, we slotted 10 players into each room with careers connected by defining common threads.Every week through the end of the World Series, we’ll unveil one room at a time — 10 players along with the numbers that define them — culminating in the Inner Circle, the 10 greatest to ever play, period.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementBut wait, there’s more!SN ARCHIVE:Access every SN issue since 1886, for freeWant to read about how Cy Young’s 36-win season was covered in the moment in 1892? We’ve got you covered. Every week, we’ll also republish stories exactly as they originally ran in print issues of The Sporting News, with every issue since 1886 now fully digitized and accessible for free via the online SN Archive.Our “rooms” serve not only to honor the game’s greatest players, but to contextualize their standing in baseball history — for better or worse. Below is a short description of each room along with one player from each to whet your appetite.Baseball’s Greatest Players – The RoomsSNAdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThey shattered barriers. They broke records. The