If you notice this is about the most popular baseball players of all time, not necessarily the greatest. Unfortunately, sometimes being popular doesn't mean you're good. In the case of baseball players, some of the most popular are simply there because of things they've done off the field that haven't exactly made the game a better one.

For example, one of the most popular baseball players today and possibly of all time if things continue the way they're going, is Barry Bonds. Bonds is currently on his way to passing Babe Ruth for number 2 on the all time home runs list and is only a season away from passing Hank Aaron as well. However, Bond's popularity today is more because of his scandal with the steroids issue. Did he knowingly take steroids? Is he a liar? It's quite possible that we may never know the answers to that question, but the whole ordeal has made Barry Bonds a household name even to those who don't follow baseball.

Another very popular baseball player, or we should say players, is Sammy Sosa and Mark McGuire. Their chase for the single season home run record of Roger Maris is probably the one most singular act responsible for bringing back the game of baseball after the strike that killed baseball the season before. Sosa and McGuire may have very well saved the game of baseball from self destruction.

Certainly many of the most popular baseball players of all time played on the New York Yankees, a team that has won more World Series than any other team in baseball history by a wide margin. The number of famous players from the Yankees reads like a who's who of baseball, including names like Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, Joe DiMaggio, Derek Jeter and Lou Gehrig, who gained fame not only for being a great player but also for the terrible disease that ended his career and took his life in the process. This disease carries his name with it and will be associated with him for all time.

But who is the most popular baseball player of all time? Who is it who has become a legend? Every list that you look at will have one name up at the top of it. Every person you ask will immediately give the same answer.

The most popular baseball player of all time was unanimously Babe Ruth. Ruth set a standard of excellence that few have achieved. Many of his records stood for years. His single season home run record of 60 in 1927 wasn't broken until Roger Maris hit 61 in 1961. His all time homer record of 714 wasn't broken until Hank Aaron of the Atlanta Braves ended his career with 755.

But Babe Ruth was a character off the field as well, known for his beer drinking, hot dog munching and practical jokes. He also loved children. Promising to hit a homer for a young boy in the hospital and making good on his promise is one of the greatest stories ever told.

Babe Ruth is indeed a legend when it comes to the game of baseball. There may never be another one like him again, no matter how many home runs Barry Bonds hits.

Michael Russell Your Independent guide to Celebrities