I agree with you on the NO, but Ohtani WISHES he were as good as Josh Hamilton was. Hamilton had a career .290 batting average, and he hit .359 one season. Just a shame that both the beginning and end of Hamilton's career were ruined by drugs. He had Hall of Fame talent. I don't think Ohtani has Hall of Fame talent.
I would say there are 100 players in todays MLB better than Babe Ruth
Technically correct, but 100% of today's MLB players, close to 100% of today's MiLB players, and a huge chunk of today's D1 players are better than the Babe (who is the undisputable greatest baseball player of all time).
I would say there are 100 players in todays MLB better than Babe Ruth
Technically correct, but 100% of today's MLB players, close to 100% of today's MiLB players, and a huge chunk of today's D1 players are better than the Babe (who is the undisputable greatest baseball player of all time).
Undisputably the greatest ball player of his generation, and the greatest symbol of US baseball history.
Now, it's definitely in dispute about who is the greatest of all time.
Imagine post WW2 thinking in 70 years time that the biggest star in US baseball would be Japanese. The world is progressing better than we think ❤️
Phenomenal stuff! He also became the eighth player in major league history to record 600 strikeouts within his first 84 career pitching appearances. 🔥
Unfortunately, the reason he only pitched 4 innings is he had a cramp in his finger. This is the third time in the last two weeks that he has had to exit a game early due to cramping. His talent is undeniable, but will he be able to stay on the field, particularly as he gets older? That’s the biggest question with him.
For reference, these are the other seven pitchers who had 600 strikeouts within their first 84 appearances:
Doc Gooden Hideo Nomo Kerry Wood Mark Prior Tim Lincecum Yu Darvish Shane Bieber
Babe probably couldn't bat .150 against modern pitchers, so yeah.
Oh man, here we go. So you think the most talented person 80 yrs ago would not have talent now? In any population at any time, there were very talented people. And back then everyone wanted to be great at baseball. Those people would still be at the top now but would obviously need to take advantage of training and diet etc... I just dont think talent is a new thing. The best runners of 1920 would be among the best now with modern techniques. Talent is talent.
I would say there are 100 players in todays MLB better than Babe Ruth
Technically correct, but 100% of today's MLB players, close to 100% of today's MiLB players, and a huge chunk of today's D1 players are better than the Babe (who is the undisputable greatest baseball player of all time).
No, they are better now than he was then. He would be better than 99.9% of players now if he was a player with the same advantages. I dont know why we think players have more talent now? Arguably, baseball was bigger than all the other sports put together back than, so he had to excel against a greater pool of people. Thats talent. It would travel well through time portal.
Technically correct, but 100% of today's MLB players, close to 100% of today's MiLB players, and a huge chunk of today's D1 players are better than the Babe (who is the undisputable greatest baseball player of all time).
No, they are better now than he was then. He would be better than 99.9% of players now if he was a player with the same advantages. I dont know why we think players have more talent now? Arguably, baseball was bigger than all the other sports put together back than, so he had to excel against a greater pool of people. Thats talent. It would travel well through time portal.
We can't forecast one way or another-- there might have been someone we never heard of back then who with today's training in today's game would have been great, or an all-timer could have struggled in today's game even with the better training as the way the game is played has changed so much. Same going the other way, if you regress a Trout to 1920 at birth, there is no promise he becomes a great player, and if you regress a random player today to back then and the way the game was played maybe he'd be an all-star.
That's why I always differentiate between "best" (the most skilled, which is usually whoever is currently the top player) and "greatest" (the person who was the biggest positive outlier relative to their peers in the league). I will also preemptively say I think the argument that says earlier players didn't play against their peers because the league was segregated is a bad one basically for the same reasons. Comparisons should be made league to league and time period to time period, and there have always been MLB-quality players in places across the globe who didn't play in the U.S. for whatever reason.
I agree with you on the NO, but Ohtani WISHES he were as good as Josh Hamilton was. Hamilton had a career .290 batting average, and he hit .359 one season. Just a shame that both the beginning and end of Hamilton's career were ruined by drugs. He had Hall of Fame talent. I don't think Ohtani has Hall of Fame talent.
Babe probably couldn't bat .150 against modern pitchers, so yeah.
Oh man, here we go. So you think the most talented person 80 yrs ago would not have talent now? In any population at any time, there were very talented people. And back then everyone wanted to be great at baseball. Those people would still be at the top now but would obviously need to take advantage of training and diet etc... I just dont think talent is a new thing. The best runners of 1920 would be among the best now with modern techniques. Talent is talent.
I really don't think Chopin would be as good as the modern pianists. Especially Flagpole and Greg.
Babe probably couldn't bat .150 against modern pitchers, so yeah.
Oh man, here we go. So you think the most talented person 80 yrs ago would not have talent now? In any population at any time, there were very talented people. And back then everyone wanted to be great at baseball. Those people would still be at the top now but would obviously need to take advantage of training and diet etc... I just dont think talent is a new thing. The best runners of 1920 would be among the best now with modern techniques. Talent is talent.
Exactly!
Babe Ruth DID face the Negro League pitchers during the MLB off-seasons and hit them well.
Had he lived today and took advantage of modern training: pumping iron, diet, no doubt he would still be hitting homers but with a lower batting average.
This post was edited 3 minutes after it was posted.