Quote:
Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth
You don't think Babe Ruth was in a zone when he hit a mere 60 (with a much higher batting average)? Or Hornsby when he hit .424 or whatever it was? Yes it was a great achievement, but let's not be too hyperbolic about it.
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I think the difference is nobody was upset when Ruth hit 60. The public probably loved it. Almost no one wanted Maris to hit 61. His achievement was in the face of ridiculous odds and against the wishes of a public who was mostly against him. The closer Maris got to the record the worse the abuse was. I highly doubt Ruth got too many death threats on his way to 60.
If you want to put the public's feeling toward Maris into perspective, only 23,000 people showed up to see if he would break the record and the commissioner didn't even attend.