Who was the better hitter, Babe Ruth or Ted Williams.

Who was the better hitter, Babe Ruth or Ted Williams. With YouTube video of Williams & a great dual photo. Who do you think was better, or is it even possible to call one better than the other. http://bit.ly/Pk87i

[Frank A]

This is one of those questions that can never be answered. Personally I think Ruth was the best player ever. Why? Because he was a Great pitcher who then became a Great slugger and not a bad outfielder. I don't see how any player can compare to him. Frank

[Merv Williams]

The Babe played at least early in his career in the Dead Ball Era. Had he played in the same time frame as Williams with the livelier ball used at that time he would have done even better.

[Batter67up]

When an athlete is the best in their sport they are called "The Babe Ruth of their Sport" Both were great but the Babe sits atop by himself as I see it.

[ChiefBenderForever]

I have to go with Ted Williams, who sacrificed the prime of his hitting years to serve our country. His stats would be much higher if not for that. I would also say that Ty Cobb, Pete Rose, Joe Dimaggio and Roger Hornsby were better hitters, or had a better swing. Yes Ruth had a more powerful swing but the others had a perfect stroke.

[David Atkatz]

Someone once asked the Babe whether, if he didn't have to hit so many home runs to please the fans, he could have batted .400.

"Hell kid, I could have batted .500!"

I'm inclined to believe him.

[ChiefBenderForever]

Originally Posted by David Atkatz

Someone once asked the Babe whether, if he didn't have to hit so many home runs to please the fans, he could have batted .400.

"Hell kid, I could have batted .500!"

I'm inclined to believe him.

I never thought about it that way lol that is to funny ! Maybe the Babe was so good he doesn't seem human. The pressure never seemed to get to him and it would be impossible to say he wasn't the greatest ever. But he had such tremendous talent around him. You have to wonder what would have happened if he was just on a mediocre team like Williams or vice versa. I wonder how Ted would've handled the pinstripes.

[yanksfan09]

I'll cetainly cast my vote for Ruth. He's not only the best Baseball player ever; He was the best athlete ever period. Any Sport, in my opinion.

He would have been an All-Time Great pitcher, possibly top 10 or greater. (Note: Just picked up this Gardner Letter about Ruth's Pitching from ebay)

Instead he decided to revolutionize the game when he started hitting more Home Runs than other teams combined. Even with all the Homers he still hit .342 lifetime!

Especially if you take into account missed at bats from pitching, shorter season than present day (154 to 162), suspensions from misbehaving and barnstorming etc.... And had he taken better care of himself, he probably could have belted over 1000 homeruns under those conditions.

He had God-like natural talent, that I don't believe can or will ever be matched in any sport, at least for many generations to come.


Ted Williams was no slouch, don't get me wrong. He was an incredible All-Time Great who missed time from the war. However, I don't believe anyone even compares to Ruth. Just my opinion.

[drc]

I would say clearly Ruth was the better hitter, as Ruth was the best ever hitter. His power numbers are great by today's steroids standards and in 1919 the home run record was 27, a record that had stood since 1884. Ruth was the first player to hit 30, 40, 50 and 60 home runs. That it took steroids and a medically lengthened career for Barry Bonds to break Ruth's records is a testament to how great Ruth was.

[iwantitiwinit]

Babe Ruth

[Tcards-Please]

The question was the better hitter not the best player. Ted Williams played ball up to age 42 (avg that year .316), 2 years longer than Ruth (age 40 hit .181) did. Won MVP upon his immediate return to baseball having missed 3 years due to military service. Ted hit below 300 only once in his career and Ruth hit below 300 five times. And don't forget Ruth never hit over .400 either. I'm sure if Ted weighed an extra 50 pounds, he probably could have put a little more HR's on his record. Ted has the best OBP of all time. Ted also tried his hand at pitching, but wasn't as successful as Ruth.

Can't go wrong with either in my opinion though.

[Mark]

According to Ted, the Babe struck out too much and Cobb was a slap hitter. Williams has some nice things to say about Hornsby's swing, though. He also says that the old-timers say that Joe Jackson had an amazing swing and that they tried to copy it, but Ted doesn't draw any comparisons or contrasts between his approach and Jackson's. As far as I can tell, it's close but I'd lean to the Babe.

[ethicsprof]

the Babe...better than Ted, better than anyone,ever.

best,

barry

[thekingofclout]

Ted's Idol - Babe Ruth

babeandted.jpgtedandbabecard.jpg

[ChiefBenderForever]

So I guess Ted Williams= John Wayne and Babe Ruth= Superman. Probably not really fair to compare anyone to Babe Ruth.

[thekingofclout]

by the country's top Ruthian scholar, Bill Jenkinson.

This is not another Babe Ruth biography. Jenkinson's authoritative, illustrated analysis of Babe Ruth's batting prowess will end this debate once and for all, I assure you.

I once read a great quote about Ruth that went something like this:

You can't explain Babe Ruth. He's like da Vinci and Einstein. Freaks of nature. Just accept it and move on.

Best, Jimmy

[milkit1]

but if we are gonna factor in Williams war years we should also factor in the deadball era years for The Babe. he played his first 6 seasons with every illegal ball available to pitch to him, with the umpire rarely changing the ball in a game (thus it getting way dirty and way harder to see), and he had to hit a deader ball then what Williams ever had to contend with. The case in point, BEFORE they undeaded the ball he topped the all tiem hr per season record by twice as much. The year they undeaded it he beat his own record by twice as much. And Williams coundlt pitch.

[yanksfan09]

Originally Posted by T's please

The question was the better hitter not the best player. Ted Williams played ball up to age 42 (avg that year .316), 2 years longer than Ruth (age 40 hit .181) did. Won MVP upon his immediate return to baseball having missed 3 years due to military service. Ted hit below 300 only once in his career and Ruth hit below 300 five times. And don't forget Ruth never hit over .400 either. I'm sure if Ted weighed an extra 50 pounds, he probably could have put a little more HR's on his record. Ted has the best OBP of all time. Ted also tried his hand at pitching, but wasn't as successful as Ruth.

Can't go wrong with either in my opinion though.

Not to attack you but to be fair: I have to say that the info about Ruth hitting bellow .300 5 times, is quite misleading, to say the least.

1. The first "season" was in 1914 as a 19 yr. old rookie pitcher where he saw a whopping 10, yes 10, at bats and got 2 hits (1 more and he would have been ".300")

2. The 2nd season was in 1916 as a 21 yr old PITCHER!, he got 136 ABs hitting .272 (not bad for a pitcher)***as a side note he also won 23 games and posted a 1.75 era with 9 shut outs and not allowing 1 HR in 323.2 IP. Oh yeah and he won a World Series Game.

3. 1925 98 gm. 426 abs .290, okay I'll give you that one in a short yr.

4. 1934 age 39 471 abs .288, okay, give you that.

5. 1935 age 40, overweight, washed up 28 games only 92 abs, dreams of managing, hits .181.

Looking at these numbers I see at most 2 legimate seasons as a hitter that he hit bellow .300.

Also, he may never have hit .400 but he did hit .393-41-141 with over 150 run, and 170 walks in 1923.
And in 1921 hit .378 59hr 171 Rbi 177 runs, the most ridiculous year by a hitter ever.

Ted also only pitched 2 total innings ever giving up 1 run, so I can't say he was successful or not, he just didn't really pitch at all. Ruth was considered one of the best Lefty's in the game. Most definatley would have been HOFer as a Pitcher, if not an All time great Pitcher. finished with .671 win % almost winning 100 games with 2.28 era