Barry Bonds - you better read this before you post about him

[Madison]

Great info, Arlo. Here is a link to some of the tape measure HRs, including Ruth's shot.

http://www.baseball-almanac.com/feats/art_hr.shtml

Thanks for that link LCBOY! It was a very interesting read.

[eftda]

Arlo -- where do you find this stuff?

[Arlo]

Arlo -- where do you find this stuff?

Some of it was a bit obscure - the bit about Ruth's lost home run, for instance, was in a list in The Amazin' Bill Mazer's Baseball Trivia Book, of all places (hokey name, but some great baseball info). Hmm... maybe we should add that one to the upcoming book review article...

Baseball Almanac, the site mentioned by LCBOY, is of course always a great source.

[HOOTIE]

why is it always about the long ball? ruth and bonds are great but if I was starting a team today and could pick one player from history it would have to be pete rose. I know he's a crazy, gambling SOB but he could play. No one wanted it more than pete. In my opinion he is the best player in history. If I need homeruns I'll pick up Canseco or Dave Kingman.

You cant be serious? Rose isnt in the top 25 players ever. Not even close to it.

[HOOTIE]

i read the story about ruth's monster in SI. well over 600 feet, but not 650. i just estimated. and didn't mantle hit one 600 feet?

Mantles got the official record of 565 at Griffith stadium. I have read of Ruth hitting one 620 (unofficially). But who cares? Who hit the longest shot has no bearing on career, or whos better.

[HOOTIE]

i don't care if he did/didn't, will/won't take drugs to help him, he's a one deminsional player. so he can hit homers, thats all he can do. he's never been an outstanding outfielder and never will be. he's good, but not as great as ruth, mays, or others. thats my opinion and i'm stickin to it.

Its a good thing you remained anonymous. What a pile of crap. I bet you think Elvis was one dimensional because he didnt play drums? If you think Bonds only hits hrs, i'm not wasting any more time on you.

[HOOTIE]

[quote=


Why do people keep trying to compare stats from different eras? This doesn't make any sense. Standards of excellence differ in different eras. [/quote]

True, but you still can compare. Its done all the time. You cant compare numbers like 300, 100 rbis or 50 hrs, because each has a different context to its era. But you can compare players to their league average, and then compare. OPS+, ERA+, runs created per 27 compared to league average to name some.

[LCBOY]

Why do people keep trying to compare stats from different eras? This doesn't make any sense. Standards of excellence differ in different eras.

True, but you still can compare. Its done all the time. You cant compare numbers like 300, 100 rbis or 50 hrs, because each has a different context to its era. But you can compare players to their league average, and then compare. OPS+, ERA+, runs created per 27 compared to league average to name some.

I totally agree with you but unfortunately that is what most fans do! In another post someone was complaining that hitting is diluted because there aren't as many .340 hitters that hit for power. This is just selective memory. We can compare sabermetric stats that take into account park effects and league averages. I ask people this question a lot.

What is more impressive; a player that hits 35 HRs and leads his league or a player that hits 50 HRs and doesn't lead the league?

The 35 HR guy is more impressive because he has led his league, thus he is the best HR that year. The 50 HR guy may have done it when the league leader hit 70 HRs so he is nowhere near the league leader.

[mtarail]

This actually makes for an interesting argument. If you go back 20 years you didn't have guys hitting .320 with the regularity you see now. And with power too. Some of it may be the diluted pitching pool. Some of it may be juiced balls.

But a lot of it is the athleticism and form of modern hitters. Hitting mechanics is so much better now than it was 20 years ago. Just watch a game from the early 80's on Classic ESPN--slouches and erratic hitting styles were commonplace back then. Hitting has become a bit more of a science these days...

I wonder if a guy like Ruth and his fat... (god rest his soul) could even turn his bat on a 100 MPH Randy Johnson heater.