[the 'stache]

Originally Posted by Vintageclout

You are absolutely CORRECT about Hank Aaron's greatness & along with Hornsby & Foxx, I truly believe Aaron is one of the three best right-handed hitters of all-time. I have had several detailed discussions with many respected baseball historians regarding the impact of night baseball, cross-country travel, more harder throwers/better stuff, etc. & it typically comes back to "where do you draw the line for comparing ballplayers by era"??? The best answer just may be to simply compare players versus their formidable peers from the same era, and if that is the case, Ruth stands head and shoulders above the rest due to the manner in which he dominated the league.

FYI, some of the NEGATIVE factors for pre-war players were: lack of advanced strength conditioning methodologies, baseballs that were not as tightly stitched (baseballs today are like super-balls!), more "junk-ball" pitchers for which a hitter was required to supply more power, more ballparks with Yellowstone Park like fence distances....just to name a few.

I also agree that Gehrig was an amazing hitter. For pure batting, I place Gehrig #3 on the all-time list behind Ruth and Ted Williams. One additional advantage Ruth had on Gehrig was that Gehrig batted AFTER Ruth (similar to Mantle eventually following Maris). While it helped Gehrig's R.B.I. totals for sure (Ruth had a sensational on-base percentage), Ruth MUST HAVE seen better pitches because no pitcher was pitching around Ruth to get to Gehrig. Interesting, isn't it!

Great post, Vintageclout.

I hope that everybody understands that I greatly respect Babe Ruth's accomplishments as a player (I'd gladly chop off a nut to have his rookie card, or a Goudey), and that I have the utmost respect for my fellow forum members, too. I love these kinds of friendly debates, because more than any other sport, the game of baseball by it's very nature encourages them. The statistical analysis of baseball, even across the different generations, still allows for some comparisons to take place. Athletes have gotten bigger, stronger, and faster, yes, but when you throw out the numbers 60, 190, 2,130, 4,191, .406, or 56, you still see a euphoric look on a baseball fan's face.

Some people will turn on a game, and see nothing happening, and get bored. I see it, and I wonder how the outfielders might be shifting in response to the count. I wonder who's warming in the bullpen. What the third base coach is doing. What the manager has called on a particular play (squeeze bunt, hit and run, double steal, etc). I see a lack of movement at a given moment, and it's beautiful to me. It's chess with athletes substituted for the rook, pawn, queen and king. It appeals to my meticulous nature (as does baseball card collecting).