Mantle v. Mays

I'm not going to get into this argument now, but Fangraphs was talking about their tried and true graphs today, so I figured I'd play around with some, and thought this was pretty interesting, comparing Mantle and Mays' wOBA (courtesy obviously of Fangraphs):




Everyone has their opinions on the two of them, and most of the time it's concluded that Mays was the better player. He certainly played a lot longer and was no slouch in those extra years. But the argument for Mantle, that at his best he was better, definitely holds true when you look at the graph. Mantle has about 5 seasons that are all better or at least as good as Mays' best seasons. With Mays you knew you were going to get MVP caliber years, year in year out, Mantle was less consistent, but his high years were above MVP caliber, they're all time great caliber.

Screw it this is too interesting to pass up, who do you think is the better player, Mays or Mantle? Do you rate based on longevity and consistency, or according to their peak? Keep in mind Mantle wasn't just a flash in the pan, but also that Mays missed time early in his career for the war. I'll put up a poll, so please vote, and give your take in the comments section, then I'll give my take.