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#1
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Does anyone honestly believe that the same amount of kids in this modern age of video games, and general on-line shenaningans play baseball? Not to mention additional sports that presently garner considerable attention that weren't as popular in those days like football, baseball, hockey...etc. Look at the WWII Beano T-13 hand grenades, made not only to simulate the size, but also the weight of a baseball, as it was expected that any and all American boys could throw a baseball. What would they fashion them after now??? Cell phones? Also, as Peter mentioned, pitchers don't seem to throw any harder now, and hitters don't seem to hit the ball any further these days.... Plus are we not forgetting the absolutely pampered lifestyle a modern athlete enjoys? As mentioned, interesting discussion, and its fun to ponder the "what ifs". |
#2
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Then consider Mark Armour's recent article about participation of Asian and Latinos in baseball and how it has grown since 1947. It shows that 70% or 525 roster spots (ONLY 125 more than in 1920) are currently held by US players versus the nearly 400 roster spots held by US players in 1920 with approx. a third of the population. Clearly, the talent in the 1920s was far more diluted then than it is now. https://sabr.org/bioproj/topic/baseb...hics-1947-2012 |
#3
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For baseball, I believe hand-eye coordination is the key. Even though athletes have gotten bigger, stronger & faster, there's no getting by the hand-eye coordination factor. If Babe Ruth was born in 1990, he'd be 27 years old & dominating.
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#4
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Has human hand / eye coordination not improved in the past century? Has it been constant for the the past 100, 200, 1000 years? Hey, Ruth was the most dominant player in baseball history - that is a fact. I just don't believe that he would have the same impact now as when he did play. |
#5
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My only response is, can you imagine Ruth on steroids instead of all the performance-de-enhancing things he's so famous for?
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#6
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To answer your other question, yes, I think hand-eye is a gift that hasn't improved.
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#7
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Taking steroids made Bonds better because he could swing the bat faster, which generates more power behind the swing. If he wasn't taking the PEDs many of the home runs he hit may not have been home runs. I could take all the PEDs in the world, guess how much good it would do me? None, because I lack the necessary skills to hit a 100 MPH fastball, PEDs or not.
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#8
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I wonder if there is some real data on that?
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#9
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But they do, don't they? Even if they don't "seem to." WaJo was probably throwing in the 90s pretty consistently over the first several innings, but not in the high 90s and not after the 5th inning. 90 mph was a serious fastball back then. And who, other than Ruth himself, hit more than a few shots beyond 450'?
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#10
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#11
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Hey guys,
Johnson's speed was clocked between 91 - 95 MPH. But, more significantly, he pitched with a "wicked" Sidearm motion. Right-handed batters could not touch his stuff. And, Left-handed batters were not too successful, either. In my opinion, Johnson would be very effective in today's game. Furthermore, Babe Ruth was the greatest BB player in the 20th Century....and, would still be the greatest in the 21st Century. He is a unique human being in the realm of sports history. Since he started playing BB approx. 100 years ago, we have not seen the likes of him. And, I doubt that we ever will again TED Z . |
#12
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We can't just take Ruth out and say that if he was born in 1990 he would have better nutrition and training, so he'd be just as good or whatever. What made Ruth was his circumstances. He grew up in the orphanage. His fuel for winning was based on his life. Baseball was America's pastime, and boys all over the country wanted to play it. If Ruth is a 10 year old in 2000, he'd probably be playing video games in his free time and who knows if he is even motivated to play sports at all?
I am a high school teacher. We have 1,500 students at our school. Guess how many guys tried out for the baseball team this year. 13. If you tried out, you made the team. Period. When I was a teenager, I can remember baseball tryouts had dozens of guys showing up. I was thrilled to squeeze onto the roster. It was an honor to play. It just isn't the same anymore. This is why we see so many Latin American players in MLB. It still is competitive in the Dominican Republic. Those guys still love the sport and still want to compete. And, I would surmise that this will not change for some period of time. So, Ruth is forever stuck in his own era, right where he belongs.
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Actively bouncing aimlessly from set to set trying to accomplish something, but getting nowhere |
#13
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1500 kids and 13 tried out for the baseball team. That is sad. I guess today's Babe Ruth is Mark Zuckerberg. OH well, the Babe will always be the Babe, possibly grander than life but definitely grand for his time.
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Leon Luckey |
#14
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Would the Legendary Babe Ruth Still Be a Star if He Played Today?
Hey guys,
Babe Ruth really started his career in 1915, and Mickey Mantle's first year was 1951.....note the " transposed-coincidence " of those two years in the 20th Century. At the risk of being accused a biased Yankees fan. In the modern era, I'd say Mickey was the closest BB player we've had to Ruth (in terms of hitting performance). Indeed, Babe Ruth was the greatest BB player. And, all I am saying here is Mickey came close in terms of power and clutch hitting in big games just as Ruth did in his era. Therefore, I totally agree with those here who have said that Ruth would be a "star" in the current BB environment. TED Z . |
#15
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Ruth
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So I think the bottom line here is that every sport will have its past supernatural players that would outdistance even the "hi-tech" 21st century studs. Another perfect example of that is the immortal race horse Secretariat who set track/ racing records that continue to easily stand the test of time. Consider even in lieu of faster Tracks and more advanced training, he still holds all 3 Triple Crown records for the fastest times. In fact, if you put all 3 TC races together, he would have beaten TC winner American Pharoah by an astounding 57 lengths or 1-1/2 football fields!!!! There is no science for this.....just the fact that Secretariat was a "once in a lifetime" freak of nature. Same with Ruth & Mantle. They would dominate in 1890...1930...1960....2017....and in the year 3000!!! Best Regards,. Joe Last edited by Vintageclout; 05-27-2017 at 02:18 PM. |
#16
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Thanks Joe T Speaking about Mantle's 500+ ft HR's....if you haven't read this Spring Training exhibition game (March 25, 1951 at USC) story regarding Mickey then please check-it-out...... http://articles.latimes.com/2011/mar...antle-20110326 It was an amazing performance by the 19-year old rookie....an unbelievable start to an illustrious BB career. TED Z . Last edited by tedzan; 05-27-2017 at 08:43 PM. Reason: Correct typo. |
#17
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Yes...He would be a star, certainly not an asterisk.
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#18
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People keep bringing up how hard Walter Johnson threw and are using archaic measurements taken in his own time to say that he threw 91 to 95. When they wanted to find out how hard Bob Feller threw he threw a baseball while another guy rode a motorcycle. I wouldn't put any stock in those numbers. I think it's clear that Johnson threw extremely hard for any time period considering he was the top of the food chain when he pitched and the human arm isn't any stronger now than it was then.
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#19
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Also we can't run 100 meters any faster now than we could then.
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#20
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Anyone who has own adjective, "Ruthian" is all right in my book be it past present or future !
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H Murphy Collection https://www.flickr.com/photos/154296763@N05/ |
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