Not necessarily but, hmm imagine what ruth could have done if he would have had as many AB's as Aaron. Aaron had 3,965 more Ab's then Ruth. While Aaron hit a Home run every 16 Ab's, Ruth hit one every 12 Ab's. Now, i did the math and if The Babe would've gotten as many Ab's as Aaron; The Babe could have hit approximately 1,044 Home Runs. Now that's something to think about.

Not necessarily but, hmm imagine what ruth could have done if he would have had as many AB's as Aaron. Aaron had 3,965 more Ab's then Ruth. While Aaron hit a Home run every 16 Ab's, Ruth hit one every 12 Ab's. Now, i did the math and if The Babe would've gotten as many Ab's as Aaron; The Babe could have hit approximately 1,044 Home Runs. Now that's something to think about.

 

 

Not really :whistle

Very interesting on the number of AB's.

hard to believe he won just 1 MVP

His E.R.A was real interesting too, he pitched 163 games and had an E.R.A of 2.28. His career pitching record was 94-46.

His E.R.A was real interesting too, he pitched 163 games and had an E.R.A of 2.28. His career pitching record was 94-46.

not busting your chops, but is this the first time you have checked out Babe's stats or something?

For those interested, Baseball Prospectus did a study on this exact question trying to translate the stats of Ruth, Aaron, and Bonds to compensate for differences in stadiums and quality of pitching. For example, Ruth played in an era with large stadiums that were far less hitter friendly than modern day ones, making his achievements all the more impressive. Here's a short quote of what they came up with:

 

So once the heavy lifting is done, we're left with statistics that are on a level playing field. It's as if all the players that ever played the game did it at the same time in the same stadium against the same competition. Where is that stadium you ask? The most neutral stadium in the year used, 2000, happens to be Montreal's Stade Olympique, so in some small way, baseball in that fine city lives on. It's the ultimate simulation, calculated in a manner similar to the method economists use with 1973 dollars to calculate inflation. And what does this mean for those of you asteriskers? First, it means we can abandon the number "755" as some sort of ultimate achievement. That number's only good enough for ninth place on the Davenport Translation All-Time Home Run list?and it's Mike Schmidt that hits that number exactly in the translations.

 

 

Babe Ruth 1070

Hank Aaron 971

Barry Bonds 931

Mel Ott 861

Willie Mays 856

Lou Gehrig 792

Jimmie Foxx 765

Reggie Jackson 757

Mike Schmidt 755

Ted Williams 752

 

The full article is not members-only content, so you can read it if you like. They also go into single season HR totals and speculate how well a healthy Griffey would have done. It's a really interesting read.

 

Article: http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=6454

His E.R.A was real interesting too, he pitched 163 games and had an E.R.A of 2.28. His career pitching record was 94-46.

not busting your chops, but is this the first time you have checked out Babe's stats or something?

Nope, i was just talking baseball with an older gentleman today and we just talked about how great the Babe was, and just how great Baseball was period. I mean i'm only 19, but i look at videos and listen to stories of the Baseball in the old times and wow it was something different. Wish baseball was still the same way man.

Maybe if he played against black players, it would've been a different story.

His E.R.A was real interesting too, he pitched 163 games and had an E.R.A of 2.28. His career pitching record was 94-46.

not busting your chops, but is this the first time you have checked out Babe's stats or something?

Nope, i was just talking baseball with an older gentleman today and we just talked about how great the Babe was, and just how great Baseball was period. I mean i'm only 19, but i look at videos and listen to stories of the Baseball in the old times and wow it was something different. Wish baseball was still the same way man.

Baseball is still awesome

hard to believe he won just 1 MVP

Back then there was kind of an unwritten rule not to give it to the same player every year. Very few multiple award winners for the first 10-15 years. Hell he would probably won a few Cy Young awards if they had them back then.

Maybe if he played against black players, it would've been a different story.

Someone had to play the race card.

Maybe if he played against black players, it would've been a different story.

Someone had to play the race card.

 

Why not? It should be brought up just like the issue of steroids, weight lifting, etc.

 

Baseball has evolved to the point where if the Babe were alive today, he might not even be that good.

 

I respect the Babe and his legacy but that doesn't mean I can't question how he would've fared in different times.

Maybe if he played against black players, it would've been a different story.

Someone had to play the race card.

 

Why not? It should be brought up just like the issue of steroids, weight lifting, etc.

 

Baseball has evolved to the point where if the Babe were alive today, he might not even be that good.

 

I respect the Babe and his legacy but that doesn't mean I can't question how he would've fared in different times.

I'm going to pretend you didn't say that.

That's an assumption and an opinion, so it's not like other people's opinions are wrong.

 

Am I allowed to have one?

Of course bro, but I can't believe someone would even say something like that. And besides, white players have always dominated baseball, so saying the Babe wouldn't be good against blacks is like saying Gretzky wouldn't be good against blacks.

Of course bro, but I can't believe someone would even say something like that. And besides, white players have always dominated baseball, so saying the Babe wouldn't be good against blacks is like saying Gretzky wouldn't be good against blacks.

 

I don't know, it just would've been interesting to see if Babe Ruth could hit off Satchel Paige. Or if Josh Gibson could hit off of Lefty Grove.

Of course bro, but I can't believe someone would even say something like that. And besides, white players have always dominated baseball, so saying the Babe wouldn't be good against blacks is like saying Gretzky wouldn't be good against blacks.

Terrible comparison. Gretzky didnt play in a league with segregation, Ruth did. Of course hed still be great, but would he be as great if he played against all of the best competition? Would his numbers be the same? Who knows. Also, regarding "whites have always dominated baseball"...3 of the top 4 home run hitters of all time and one of the most complete players ever (Mays) are black.

Babe was black anyway

Babe was black anyway

 

:mis2 :mis2 :mis2 :mis2 :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol

Of course bro, but I can't believe someone would even say something like that. And besides, white players have always dominated baseball, so saying the Babe wouldn't be good against blacks is like saying Gretzky wouldn't be good against blacks.

Terrible comparison. Gretzky didnt play in a league with segregation, Ruth did. Of course hed still be great, but would he be as great if he played against all of the best competition? Would his numbers be the same? Who knows. Also, regarding "whites have always dominated baseball"...3 of the top 4 home run hitters of all time and one of the most complete players ever (Mays) are black.

 

There is most definitely a disinclination in the NHL to have anyone who isn't white. In fact hockey is still doing its best to blot out that there was in fact a high level hockey league like the negro leagues for any african canadian or american who played the game. It was in Canada.

 

 

But this is besides the point, Babe Ruth was the greatest player to have played the game simply because his pitching prowess was well known (the fact that his shutout record in the playoffs took until 2003 to break is a mere testement to how good of a pitcher he was) AND he is one of the best hitters to ever play the game. Of course he had Lou Gehrig with him but I don't think the concept of pitching around a guy was as prevelant in the 20s and 30s...correct me if I'm wrong, though.

Of course bro, but I can't believe someone would even say something like that. And besides, white players have always dominated baseball, so saying the Babe wouldn't be good against blacks is like saying Gretzky wouldn't be good against blacks.

Terrible comparison. Gretzky didnt play in a league with segregation, Ruth did. Of course hed still be great, but would he be as great if he played against all of the best competition? Would his numbers be the same? Who knows. Also, regarding "whites have always dominated baseball"...3 of the top 4 home run hitters of all time and one of the most complete players ever (Mays) are black.

I meant that the game was domiated by the number of white players, not that whites were better than blacks.

Of course bro, but I can't believe someone would even say something like that. And besides, white players have always dominated baseball, so saying the Babe wouldn't be good against blacks is like saying Gretzky wouldn't be good against blacks.

Terrible comparison. Gretzky didnt play in a league with segregation, Ruth did. Of course hed still be great, but would he be as great if he played against all of the best competition? Would his numbers be the same? Who knows. Also, regarding "whites have always dominated baseball"...3 of the top 4 home run hitters of all time and one of the most complete players ever (Mays) are black.

I meant that the game was domiated by the number of white players, not that whites were better than blacks.

Gotcha :thumbup

Of course bro, but I can't believe someone would even say something like that. And besides, white players have always dominated baseball, so saying the Babe wouldn't be good against blacks is like saying Gretzky wouldn't be good against blacks.

Terrible comparison. Gretzky didnt play in a league with segregation, Ruth did. Of course hed still be great, but would he be as great if he played against all of the best competition? Would his numbers be the same? Who knows. Also, regarding "whites have always dominated baseball"...3 of the top 4 home run hitters of all time and one of the most complete players ever (Mays) are black.

 

That's kind of the point behind the translation study I cited earlier. Ruth's era is penalized for being whites only because you can statistically determine that the quality of starting pitching was below today's quality. On the other hand, he was playing in vacuous ball parks, so he gets some advantage for that. For instance, the translations have his HR totals increase, but his overall batting average (for whatever it's worth) decrease pretty significantly. Even when these things are taken into account to the best of one's abilities, Ruth still ranks at the top of all baseball players, with Bonds slightly behind. It's obvious we'll never know whether Ruth would've hit a home run off of Satchel Paige, or if Gibson/Ruth could have been a predecessor to the Sosa/McGwire home run chase. But, you have to go out on a pretty big limb to say that Ruth would not have been a once in a lifetime player even in today's era.

 

I remember reading somewhere that Ruth agreed to participate in a study at Columbia University that was measuring reaction times. In essence, a light would flash and they'd analyze how fast the participants eyes could pick up the flash. If I recall correctly, Ruth's reaction times were off the charts, which is quite the natural ability to have if you want to be a professional baseball player. That last part is kind of tangential, but I just think it's a really cool story. In short, the man was undoubtedly the best power hitter of all-time and remains the conversation starter for any discussion on who the best baseball player ever is.

In comparing baseball players, you absolutely have to take baseball players in the context of their own time, simply because things are so very different now.

 

This study interests me a lot though, only because it tries to put every on an equal playing field in a very unique way. Taken in context, Babe ruth is without a doubt the greatest ever (though I certainly have an obsession with Ty), but if you just pluck him up in his 1921 self and plop him into any lineup today, with no weight training or getting used to this type of game and the increased talent level/pitching complexities, he would fare very poorly.

 

I just feel like every era, players are constantly getting more skilled and "better", but that by no means diminishes what great players did in their respective eras.