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Posted By: jay behrens

The great would great in any era. It's the the lower end of the spectrum that wouldn't sniff the majors, like Bill Bergen. Imagine that major league talent looks like a bell curve. Early on, the curver was fairly flat, with difference between the greats and boarderline major leaguers very pronounced. Today, the curve is very pronounced, with the difference between the greats and boarderline major leaguers not as pronounced. When you place the two curves on top of each other, the outliers where the greats are are matched up. The middle of the curves do not. The middle of the curve for the early game would be near the boarderline candidates for todays game. Wish I had a graphic to show this, as it is much clearer that way.

Needless to say, Cobb and Ruth would be a great hitters in any era, just as Matty and Johson would be great pitchers in any era.

Jay

I love pinatas. You get to beat the crap of something and get rewarded with candy.