Babe Ruth or Barry Bonds?
Take Your Pick
by
Tags:
Comments
17 responses to “Take Your Pick”
-
Babe Ruth. Why is this a question?
-
Babe Ruth played against 5’7 130 pound factory workers who had no relief corps. Barry played against the best from all nations, many of whom also cheated. I am just saying it is surely not blashephemous to have this debate. Now who is the bigger Asshole? Barry in a landslide.
-
LOL. Babe Ruth, hands down. Rewrite history any way you need to, but know you are delusional.
-
As much as I hate Bonds, he absolutely belongs in the discussion. I’ll always give the #1 spot to Ruth because he so completely revolutionized the offensive side of baseball, but Bonds is the best offensive player since.
-
Tyler,
Did Babe play against the best players in the world? I think not. The best players in the world are latino. Did Babe play against any african americans? Japanese? Babe Ruth’s legend grows each day. Players are better now, athletes are just plain superior. For Bonds to have broken some of Ruth’s record on even on roids against this competition is impressive. I am pretty sure that a player such as Albert Pujols could have hit 60 something dongs and hit .400 back in the 20’s . How am I rewriting history? I am merely reporting the facts. Babe was a freak for his time, but his competition surely pales in comparision and thus the take your pick. -
Although it was his unprecedented hitting that would make him a charter member of the Hall of Fame, Ruth began his career as a pitcher with the Red Sox. With Boston, he became one of the game’s best pitchers, posting 29 consecutive scoreless innings in World Series play, a record that stood for 42 years. He led the AL with a 1.75 ERA and nine shutouts in 1916, going 23-12 for the World Champion Red Sox, and won a career-high 24 in 1917. However, the Red Sox could not ignore the abilities of a hitter who would establish a career-record .304 batting average as a pitcher. In 1917, his .325 batting average (in 123 at-bats) trailed only superstars Cobb, Sisler, and Speaker. He began playing some outfield in 1918 and led the AL in home runs in 1918 and 1919, with a ML-record 29 in 1919. Aside from five more appearances (winning four) scattered over the next 14 seasons, his pitching career was over.
As an everyday player, Ruth rewrote the record books. The league home run leader a record 12 times, he lost another title by four in 1922 when he missed the first six weeks of the season under suspension by Commissioner Landis for participating in a prohibited barnstorming tour. From 1926 through 1931 he averaged better than 50 home runs a year. Over the course of his career, he homered once every 11.76 plate appearances, well ahead of runner-up Ralph Kiner’s one home run per 14.11 appearances. Ruth led the league in RBI six times, runs scored eight times, and walks 11 times. His 170 walks in 1923 and his career total of 2056 are still records. No one has matched his slugging average of .847 in 1920, nor his career record of .690, to which Ted Williams’s .634 average is a distant runner-up. Among his other hitting records are his 457 total bases in 1921 and his combined total of 375 hits and walks in 1923. Using his pitcher’s arm as an outfielder, he twice recorded more than 20 assists in a season.
Anything I need to add? Hmmm, let me think. Un, oh yeah…he did this ALL without taking STEROIDS.
Thanks for playing. Good night and good luck.
-
Nice work. Did you address the competition issue? Do you disagree with my Pujols claim?
-
C’mon. You are joking right?
We’re talking about a man who was a HOF Pitcher AND a HOF Batter. I have never seen Pujols strike out a batter. Have you???
Babe played in a time when there were a mere 16 teams in the league, not a
watered down version of 30 that exist today.Finally, Barry saw the need to cheat and take steroids in order to set his records.
Sad.
Not sad that he did this, but sad that you eve put him in the same league and/or argument as Babe Ruth. Do yourself a favor, open a history book and learn what the game was actually like back then. You might be surprised. And you might come to appreciate just how much the Barry Bondses of the world ruined what really was a perfect game.
-
Can you really tell me that the league was better now. Write down the 50 best hitters in baseball. How many are latino or black?
If the there was a roster of the 25 best players now and the 25 best players then and they played 162 games. I find it hard to believe that the players from the 20’s would win more than 10 of them.
Watered down??? What are you talking about.
-
What? lol You really have no idea what you are talking about.
Babe Ruth
Rogers Hornsby
Harry Heilmann
Tris Speaker
Lou Gehrig
Ty Cobb
Jim Bottomley
Goose Goslin
Ken Williams
Al Simmons
Jack Fournier
George Sisler
Jimmie Foxx
Mel Ott
Charlie Gehringer
Arky Vaughan
Paul Waner
Josh Gibson
Bill Dickey
Chuck Klein
Oscar Charleston
Eddie Collins
Zack Wheat
Frankie Frisch
Mickey Cochrane
Pie Traynor
Sam Rice
Bob MeuselIf there are 16 versus 30 teams, the level of talent playing is usually better. If you are of the frame of mind that today’s athlete is superman compared to the past, that is your opinion. I think you are wrong and think maybe you should peruse this list and get to know who these players were before you say today is better than yesterday.
And why are you IGNORING Barry’s steroid use and the FACT that Babe Ruth was an HOF pitcher and batter????
-
You are ignoring Bonds numbers. You are ignoring the number of nations talent pool that has infused the majors. Athletes are better now PERIOD. Lets look at basketball. Do you really think players from 50 years ago could even compete with players from today? If you do you are a an absolute moron. Babe hit against many poor schmuck factory workers coming off a shift. There was no relief corps. What was the average fastball back then?
I am not going to list stats, I could but I am just too lazy, but Barry has mind blowing ones as well. Well Tyler, one thing I am not too lazy to do is squash you in a Rotoscoop fantasy league. I will dominate you and I am willing to wager on that. Dalton can broker the deal.
-
Well, I think you proved nothing with your last posts except for the fact that you are talking out of your ass. I am not ignoring Bonds’ numbers. I am saying they are inflated by cheating and am saying he can’t hold a candle to what Ruth accomplished. Period.
Good luck with your laziness and your daft view of the the past, present and future.
-
The bottom line is this. For you to dismiss them as comparables is pretty ignorant on your part. Why did Dalton put it as a take your pick? Is he a moron? I never did choose Bonds over Ruth, I merely said that a debate could be made. You chose the closed minded route, based on numbers from 85 years ago.
-
Dude, please. Look back at my FIRST comment. It says “Why is this a question?” I agree, it should have never been proposed as it makes no sense.
However, YOU IGNORE THE FACT that Ruth is a HOF Pitcher AND AND AND a HOF Batter. Why is that so hard to understand as the one fact that propels Ruth past ALL OTHERS?
You also ignore Bonds and his STEROID USE. He could not compete at the level he wanted, so he cheated. *****************
You dismiss all stats because they are 85 years ago. I’m closed minded? Please. You did not and will not take the time to EDUCATE yourself on any players or facts listed. That is lazy, which was the one thing you were right in about in your ‘argument.’
I’m done.
-
I love me some heated debate, but you guys didn’t need to get all worked up over this. There are great arguments on both sides:
Ruth was also a pitcher, he dominated his competition like none other – he’d lead the league in HRs with 40-something, 2nd best would finish with like 14. His 1921 season was the greatest ever.
Bonds was a HOFamer pre-roids, great left fielder, 500/500 club, most HRs ever in a season, in 2004, he finished with a .362/.609/.812 line and rarely saw more than 1-5 hittable pitches per game for the last five years.
Bonds def. played against better competition, but it’s ultimately unfair to compare eras.
Tyler – I might side with Ruth as well, but I certainly don’t see why you find this comparison absurd unless you completely discredit Bonds for being an asshole and on steroids. That opinion is fine, but I hardly see this comparison as some reach.
-
Yes, steroids sways the argument for me. As it should.
-
Put Babe Ruth in a time machine and he wouldn’t be able to break into the majors today. But he is the most dominant baseball player of all time. Bonds is simply the best…
Leave a Reply