Ben Shapiro's Ultimate GOAT Rankings

Ben Shapiro opens a solo episode of his podcast with an unusual premise: instead of debating politics or culture, he will deliver his personal "GOAT" rankings—the greatest of all time—across five categories: sports, music, TV, politics, and movies. The throughline is not just personal preference but a case for each pick based on historical impact, innovation, and sustained excellence. Shapiro argues that true greatness requires changing the field itself, not just dominating within existing rules.

The GOAT of Sports: Babe Ruth

For the greatest athlete across all sports, Shapiro picks Babe Ruth, and his reasoning goes beyond baseball statistics. Ruth, he argues, "totally revolutionized sports in America" at a time when baseball was the only true national pastime, long before basketball or football achieved that status. The case rests on Ruth's unprecedented two-way dominance: he was simultaneously the era's best hitter and best pitcher. Shapiro cites Ruth's career on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS) of 1.164—nearly double the league average of around .600—and his career wins above replacement (WAR) of 182.6, well ahead of Barry Bonds (162.8) and Willie Mays (156.2). Before Ruth, a huge home run season was 15 to 20; in 1920 he hit 54, and in 1927 he hit 60. "He totally changed how the game was played," Shapiro says, and in doing so turned America into a sports-crazy count