Quote:
Originally Posted by jingram058
I agree with it too. But then Ruth came along and made "Home Run" Baker look like kindergarten. And he saved the game from the negativity surrounding the likes of Hal Chase and the 8 men out. Some great ballplayers there, to be sure, but the corruption surrounding them was something the game could not endure. Do I think Ruth is overrated? Absolutely not! Look at what he accomplished in comparison to any of his peers, and how beloved a figure he was. I wish I could chase girls all night, eat a package of hotdogs boiled in a clubhouse coffee urn, washed down with 2 quarts of beer, and then go out and play at that level, consistently. Heck, even the haters loved him, all over the world.
|
totally right. the game was on the edge of being 'black marked' forever by fans and an american culture which trusted the upright posture of the sport. it could no longer be denied that players like zimmerman and chase; even cobb and speaker had a hand in a much larger political situation which also rested at the feet of the ever more greedy owners and the growing divide between the lived reality of being a ballplayer and people who made big money off the game. ie the federal league split + owners like ebbets charging a then unheard of $5 a ticket for world series games!!