Barry Bonds, the cheat, was Willie Mays' god son. Barry Bonds at the height of his steroid days was like a wind up doll. He seemed to be spring-loaded.
Barry Bonds, the cheat, was Willie Mays' god son. Barry Bonds at the height of his steroid days was like a wind up doll. He seemed to be spring-loaded.
Flagpole wrote:
3771 hits (3rd all time)
755 HRs (most ever by a non-cheater)
Take away the 755 and he still has over 3,000 hits.
He and Mays both grew up in Mobile, Alabama. I've heard it said that when playing the outfield, they both knew where the ball was going to be hit. Aaron would position himself there and wait while Mays would get just far enough away to run it down, loose his oversized hat during the sprint, just to look exciting.
Hank and Tommy Aaron have the all-time record for HR by brothers in the MLB.
Chief Noc-A-Homa wrote:
Flagpole wrote:
3771 hits (3rd all time)
755 HRs (most ever by a non-cheater)
Hank and Tommy Aaron have the all-time record for HR by brothers in the MLB.
Wayne and Brent Gretzky have the all-time record for goals by brothers in the NHL: 895.
Wayne 894, Brent 1.
SDSU Aztec wrote:
Flagpole wrote:
I have said this more than once on these message boards, but I have long believed and still believe Hank Aaron was the greatest baseball player ever.
.305 batting average (for a power hitter, that is terrific)
3771 hits (3rd all time)
2297 RBI (most ever)
755 HRs (most ever by a non-cheater)
6856 Total Bases (most ever)
By all accounts too, a humble and likeable man.
RIP Mr. Aaron.
Willie Mays was a better all-around player and had a higher career WAR total than Aaron. Aaron never had a 10+ WAR season while Mays accomplished it 6 times. Mays was a better base runner and defender.
Aaron had better career numbers than Mays because he didn't start tailing off until age 39 compared to Mays doing so at 36.
This is no critisim of Aaron. He was indeed a fantastic ballplayer.
I'm not a fan of the WAR stat. Longevity matters. In baseball stats matter. Aaron was an underrated fielder, but even so, his hitting was better enough to surpass Mays. With baseball, a lot of it is just opinion. I say stats break any ties.
I saw him break Babe Ruth's mark. I was maybe 8 or 9 years old.
I was no baseball fan, so he hits a home run, and I'm thinking baseball sort of goes all-out when there's a home run.
Flagpole
I'm not a fan of the WAR stat. Longevity matters. In baseball stats matter. Aaron was an underrated fielder, but even so, his hitting was better enough to surpass Mays. With baseball, a lot of it is just opinion. I say stats break any ties.
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I'll say it again. Mays' stats suffered because he played in a wind tunnel called Candlestick Park. Not that Aaron wasn't great, but stats DON'T break ties.
If you check the stats for most football games the losing team's QB usually has more passing yards because his team will be passing more in the second half and the defense is allowing short passes thus padding the QB's stats.
I remember Alvin Dark, the Giants manager, had a value system. A sacrifice in a one run game was worth more than a home run in a rout. The difference between a .300 hitter and .280 hitter may only be a dozen hits over the span of a season. It's when the hits happen that matter. John Elway never had great stats, but you can't say he wasn't great. If any thing stats are over-rated.
What we need wrote:
SDSU Aztec wrote:
Willie Mays was a better all-around player and had a higher career WAR total than Aaron. Aaron never had a 10+ WAR season while Mays accomplished it 6 times. Mays was a better base runner and defender.
Aaron had better career numbers than Mays because he didn't start tailing off until age 39 compared to Mays doing so at 36.
This is no critisim of Aaron. He was indeed a fantastic ballplayer.
I agree that Mays > Aaron but it's not like they were far apart. Mike Trout is on pace to be in their league.
Mays was the greatest player of all time. Although you should take that with a grain of salt with this coming from a Giants fan.
But Aaron was an all-time great and an all-time class act.
RIP to a legend of the sports world.
What we need wrote:
SDSU Aztec wrote:
Willie Mays was a better all-around player and had a higher career WAR total than Aaron. Aaron never had a 10+ WAR season while Mays accomplished it 6 times. Mays was a better base runner and defender.
Aaron had better career numbers than Mays because he didn't start tailing off until age 39 compared to Mays doing so at 36.
This is no critisim of Aaron. He was indeed a fantastic ballplayer.
I agree that Mays > Aaron but it's not like they were far apart. Mike Trout is on pace to be in their league.
Mike Trout is probably THE player with 10 or more years in so far that has a CHANCE to be in their league. Amazing enough, Trout has to raise his batting average and his home run output and his hits per season and RBIs per season to equal Aaron. That will be near impossible to do.
old guy 75 wrote:
Flagpole
I'm not a fan of the WAR stat. Longevity matters. In baseball stats matter. Aaron was an underrated fielder, but even so, his hitting was better enough to surpass Mays. With baseball, a lot of it is just opinion. I say stats break any ties.
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I'll say it again. Mays' stats suffered because he played in a wind tunnel called Candlestick Park. Not that Aaron wasn't great, but stats DON'T break ties.
If you check the stats for most football games the losing team's QB usually has more passing yards because his team will be passing more in the second half and the defense is allowing short passes thus padding the QB's stats.
I remember Alvin Dark, the Giants manager, had a value system. A sacrifice in a one run game was worth more than a home run in a rout. The difference between a .300 hitter and .280 hitter may only be a dozen hits over the span of a season. It's when the hits happen that matter. John Elway never had great stats, but you can't say he wasn't great. If any thing stats are over-rated.
Football is different than baseball. Football is a true team sport. Baseball stats are as individual as you can get. 755 home runs is more than 660. 3771 hits is more than 3283. 2297 RBI is more than 1903. 6856 total bases is more than 6066. .305 batting average is better than .302.
Sorry, I could agree that maybe Mays had a better single season than Aaron ever did (1965), but over the course of their careers, Hank Aaron was better...the BEST there ever was.
More home runs. Better batting average. More RBIs. More hits. More total bases. He even had more doubles than Mays did. Can't go with what someone MIGHT have done. Have to go with what they DID do.
Hank Aaron was the best ever.
Henry grew up batting cross handed which puts one at a distinct disadvantage. It might have even helped him in his development somehow. He switched to a normal grip in the minor leagues and the rest is history. A legend and certainly one of the top 5 players in baseball history.
Come on flagpole Mays lost about 2 years of stats to the Korean War. He was a much better fielder, baserunner. Not that Aaron was a bad fielder, he just wasn't in Mays' league.
Aaron's longevity was unmatched.
Flagpole
I'm not a fan of the WAR stat. Longevity matters. In baseball stats matter. Aaron was an underrated fielder, but even so, his hitting was better enough to surpass Mays. With baseball, a lot of it is just opinion. I say stats break any ties.
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old guy 75 wrote:
I'll say it again. Mays' stats suffered because he played in a wind tunnel called Candlestick Park. Not that Aaron wasn't great, but stats DON'T break ties.
If you check the stats for most football games the losing team's QB usually has more passing yards because his team will be passing more in the second half and the defense is allowing short passes thus padding the QB's stats.
I remember Alvin Dark, the Giants manager, had a value system. A sacrifice in a one run game was worth more than a home run in a rout. The difference between a .300 hitter and .280 hitter may only be a dozen hits over the span of a season. It's when the hits happen that matter. John Elway never had great stats, but you can't say he wasn't great. If any thing stats are over-rated.
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Flagpole wrote:
Football is different than baseball. Football is a true team sport. Baseball stats are as individual as you can get. 755 home runs is more than 660. 3771 hits is more than 3283. 2297 RBI is more than 1903. 6856 total bases is more than 6066. .305 batting average is better than .302.
Sorry, I could agree that maybe Mays had a better single season than Aaron ever did (1965), but over the course of their careers, Hank Aaron was better...the BEST there ever was.
More home runs. Better batting average. More RBIs. More hits. More total bases. He even had more doubles than Mays did. Can't go with what someone MIGHT have done. Have to go with what they DID do.
Hank Aaron was the best ever.
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Flagpole, you're reading comprehension leaves a little to be desired. Reread my post and ignore everything I said about football and try to understand my point about Baseball. Concentrate on what I said about Candlestick Park and Alvin Dark's system for determining the value of a hit or sacrifice depending on the situation. Stats in themselves don't represent the real worth of the player. A .350 hitter who pads his stats in routs isn't as valuable as a .280 hitter who comes through when it really counts. In the clutch. I'm not arguing that Aaron wasn't great. He was. And he was a humble person, not something you could accuse Mays of being, but Mays was the better player. Not by a lot, but he was better. IMHO.
Flagpole wrote:
SDSU Aztec wrote:
Willie Mays was a better all-around player and had a higher career WAR total than Aaron. Aaron never had a 10+ WAR season while Mays accomplished it 6 times. Mays was a better base runner and defender.
Aaron had better career numbers than Mays because he didn't start tailing off until age 39 compared to Mays doing so at 36.
This is no critisim of Aaron. He was indeed a fantastic ballplayer.
I'm not a fan of the WAR stat. Longevity matters. In baseball stats matter. Aaron was an underrated fielder, but even so, his hitting was better enough to surpass Mays. With baseball, a lot of it is just opinion. I say stats break any ties.
Their batting ability was almost identical. Mays had a lifetime OPS+ of 156 and Aaron 155. The Giants fan mentioned Mays had to play in Candlestick Park but for Mays career he hit 335 HRs at home and 325 on the road, though he did play in NY for the first half of his career.
The Polo grounds had a weird shape.
Left field line 279 ft; left center450; center 483;
Rt center 449; rt field line 258
Milwaukee's dimensions:
Left field line 315; left center 362; center 402;
Rt center 362; rt field line 315
When Mays first came to San Francisco they did play a few seasons at Seal's Stadium. I know I'm diminishing some of my argument, but that may explain the home and away home run comparisons.
True Legend... And its now the perfect time for them to rename the team to "The Hammers".
I. Rex wrote:
True Legend... And its now the perfect time for them to rename the team to "The Hammers".
Oh, Henry! I disagree!
I love that when they tore down the stadium and made it a parking lot, they drew the field on the parking lot and kept the portion of the wall where the historic home run was hit.
Hank Aaron ... still the TRUE home run king!
old guy 75 wrote:
Flagpole, you're reading comprehension leaves a little to be desired.
Hahahaha
And Aaron never hit 48 homers in a season. Amazing consistency and longevity.
RIP: D3 All-American Frank Csorba - who ran 13:56 in March - dead
RENATO can you talk about the preparation of Emile Cairess 2:06
Great interview with Steve Cram - says Jakob has no chance of WRs this year
Running for Bowerman Track Club used to be cool now its embarrassing
Hats off to my dad. He just ran a 1:42 Half Marathon and turns 75 in 2 months!
2024 College Track & Field Open Coaching Positions Discussion
