[Snowman]

I was just thinking about this exact topic yesterday. I think the disparity in large part can be explained by how likely it is that collectors believe athletes from that era would fare in today's game in each of their respective sports.

Baseball is quite different from other mainstream sports in that you don't really have to be a great athlete to be a great player. That is to say you don't have to be able to run fast, jump high, have a quick first step, etc. Although it certainly helps. You have to be a good athlete to be a good center fielder, shortstop, or second baseman, but you certainly don't have to be an athlete to be a great pitcher or hitter. Babe Ruth wasn't going to win any foot races, and Bartolo Colon isn't going to be dunking any basketballs anytime soon. Baseball is more about timing, hand-eye coordination, and game theory.

I think this allows us to envision players of the past still performing at least somewhat well in today's game (fairly or unfairly). Whereas with basketball, there isn't a single player from that era who would even start on a 4A high school squad in Los Angeles today. Even George Mikan wouldn't make the NBA today. The game has just changed so much. Basketball requires by far the most athleticism of any of the major sports, and the players from that era simply weren't athletes. Not in comparison to today's players. Anything from before the Wilt & Russell era just feels like an entirely different sport. The same is true with football before black athletes were allowed to play. Particularly with the skill positions. Obviously, for offensive linemen, it doesn't really matter, but the hobby doesn't care about them anyhow.