has the AL ever been stronger offensively than it is now?

[Blackout]

look at the list of best players


albert pujols
adrian gonzalez
miggy cabrera
prince fielder
joey batista
curtis granderson
robinson cano
josh hamilton
jacoby ellsbury


every one of these guys will do great

[Edgartohof]

Ruth, Cobb, Heilmann, Gehrig, Speaker, Collins, Museul, Sisler, Cochrane, Foxx, Simmons...

I think they match up pretty well.

[willshad]

All fine hitters, but historically speaking, this upper tier is nothing special. There's almost always a bunch of good hitting first baseman-outfielders around..especially in the AL.

[ol' aches and pains]

look at the list of best players


albert pujols
adrian gonzalez
miggy cabrera
prince fielder
joey batista
curtis granderson
robinson cano
josh hamilton
jacoby ellsbury


every one of these guys will do great

I think it's interesting that six of the nine "best" AL players you list came over from the NL. I'm not sure what it means, but it's interesting.

[Honus Wagner Rules]

It's hard to compare current players, especially those who still have a large chuck of their careers ahead of them, to historic players. Curtis Granderson and Jacob Ellsbury are not even great players IMO, or at least not great players over many seasons.

[Honus Wagner Rules]

Ruth, Cobb, Heilmann, Gehrig, Speaker, Collins, Museul, Sisler, Cochrane, Foxx, Simmons...

I think they match up pretty well.

This.

[leewileyfan]

Here's a pretty good A.L. roster, from the 1941 All Star game:

Luke Appling Chicago White Sox SS


Al Benton Detroit Tigers P


Lou Boudreau Cleveland Indians SS
6.

Joe Cronin Boston Red Sox SS


Roy Cullenbine St. Louis Browns OF


Bill Dickey New York Yankees C


Dom DiMaggio Boston Red Sox OF


Joe DiMaggio New York Yankees OF


Bobby Doerr Boston Red Sox 2B


Bob Feller Cleveland Indians P Starting Pitcher


Jimmie Foxx Boston Red Sox 1B


Joe Gordon New York Yankees 2B


Frankie Hayes Philadelphia Athletics C


Jeff Heath Cleveland Indians OF


Sid Hudson Washington Senators P


Charlie Keller New York Yankees OF


Ken Keltner Cleveland Indians 3B


Thornton Lee Chicago White Sox P


Red Ruffing New York Yankees P


Marius Russo New York Yankees P


Eddie Smith Chicago White Sox P


Birdie Tebbetts Detroit Tigers C


Cecil Travis Washington Senators 3B


Ted Williams Boston Red Sox OF


Rudy York Detroit Tigers 1B

It was a pretty darn good game, too.

[Joltin' Joe]

Ruth, Cobb, Heilmann, Gehrig, Speaker, Collins, Museul, Sisler, Cochrane, Foxx, Simmons...

I think they match up pretty well.

Their peaks didn't actually coincide however.
Meusel was nothing special and don't think he belongs.
Cochrane was a great player but since OP is talking pure offense, he doesn't belong on this list either.

[dgarza]

1st half of the 90s (1990-1994):

OPS+ 140+ (500 games min.) :

AL

                                        
Rk             Player OPS+   G From   To
1        Frank Thomas  184 644 1990 1994
2         Ken Griffey  156 718 1990 1994
3    Rickey Henderson  150 608 1990 1994
4        Albert Belle  146 550 1990 1994
5        Mark McGwire  145 523 1990 1994
6        Jose Canseco  142 575 1990 1994
7     Danny Tartabull  141 585 1990 1994
8        Paul Molitor  140 694 1990 1994

NL

                                    
Rk         Player OPS+   G From   To
1     Barry Bonds  185 715 1990 1994
2    Jeff Bagwell  155 570 1991 1994
3    Fred McGriff  153 569 1991 1994

[dgarza]

1st half of the 20s (1920-1924):

OPS+ 140+ (500 games min.) :

AL

                                      
Rk           Player OPS+   G From   To
1         Babe Ruth  229 709 1920 1924
2      Tris Speaker  164 699 1920 1924
3    Harry Heilmann  158 709 1920 1924
4      Ken Williams  149 702 1920 1924
5           Ty Cobb  145 677 1920 1924
6     George Sisler  145 585 1920 1924

NL

                                      
Rk           Player OPS+   G From   To
1    Rogers Hornsby  199 707 1920 1924
2     Jack Fournier  145 705 1920 1924
3         Edd Roush  141 569 1920 1924

[willshad]

Does the steroid era count? Thomas, Griffey, Nomar, Thome, Manny, Edgar, Giambi, A-rod, Delgado. Seven of them had an OPS of over 1.000 in 2000. Griffey was at .960 and Thome was at .929 (off year).

[dgarza]

2nd half of the 10s (1915-1919):

OPS+ 140+ (500 games min.) :

AL

                                    
Rk                 Player OPS+   G From   To
1                 Ty Cobb  187 688 1915 1919
2            Tris Speaker  156 704 1915 1919
3    Shoeless Joe Jackson  154 585 1915 1919
4           George Sisler  146 613 1915 1919
5             Bobby Veach  144 722 1915 1919

NL

                                      
Rk           Player OPS+   G From   To
1     Gavvy Cravath  153 631 1915 1919
2    Rogers Hornsby  150 555 1915 1919

[dgarza]

1st half of the 10s (1910-1914):

OPS+ 140+ (500 games min.) :

AL

                                            
Rk                 Player OPS+   G From   To
1                 Ty Cobb  198 646 1910 1914
2    Shoeless Joe Jackson  186 591 1910 1914
3            Tris Speaker  175 734 1910 1914
4           Eddie Collins  162 738 1910 1914
5          Home Run Baker  154 742 1910 1914
6            Sam Crawford  150 759 1910 1914
7              Nap Lajoie  144 624 1910 1914

NL

                                    
Rk         Player OPS+   G From   To
                                    
1    Sherry Magee  146 691 1910 1914

[EdTarbusz]

Here's a pretty good A.L. roster, from the 1941 All Star game:

Luke Appling Chicago White Sox SS


Al Benton Detroit Tigers P


Lou Boudreau Cleveland Indians SS
6.

Joe Cronin Boston Red Sox SS


Roy Cullenbine St. Louis Browns OF


Bill Dickey New York Yankees C


Dom DiMaggio Boston Red Sox OF


Joe DiMaggio New York Yankees OF


Bobby Doerr Boston Red Sox 2B


Bob Feller Cleveland Indians P Starting Pitcher


Jimmie Foxx Boston Red Sox 1B


Joe Gordon New York Yankees 2B


Frankie Hayes Philadelphia Athletics C


Jeff Heath Cleveland Indians OF


Sid Hudson Washington Senators P


Charlie Keller New York Yankees OF


Ken Keltner Cleveland Indians 3B


Thornton Lee Chicago White Sox P


Red Ruffing New York Yankees P


Marius Russo New York Yankees P


Eddie Smith Chicago White Sox P


Birdie Tebbetts Detroit Tigers C


Cecil Travis Washington Senators 3B


Ted Williams Boston Red Sox OF


Rudy York Detroit Tigers 1B

It was a pretty darn good game, too.

The team would have been even better if Dom DiMaggio and Roy Cullenbine were replaced with Barney McCosky and Walter Judnich.

[Edgartohof]

Their peaks didn't actually coincide however.
Meusel was nothing special and don't think he belongs.
Cochrane was a great player but since OP is talking pure offense, he doesn't belong on this list either.

True on 2 of 3 counts.

Their peaks did not coincide

Meusel doesn't belong, I just started throwing out names and this is what happens.

Cochrane, as a hitting Catcher, I think deserves to be there but that's fine.

So how about this: let's pick 1927 and go from there.

Ruth, Gehrig, Hornsby, Heilman, Paul Waner, Hack Wilson, and Al Simmons

That seems to match well still. Ruth and Gehrig beat all here, '27 wasn't even Hornsby's best year and still is great, and the rest were all top notch as well.

Edit: it seems that I have named a couple NL players on this list in my haste, guess I should just be quiet and admit defeat