Was Hank Aaron better than Babe Ruth?

[Zone91]

Leon I was sick the last few days hence my low posting count.

I believe Aaron was a better baseball player....more home runs and more hits than the Babe just not lucky to be a African American in a time like his. If he had be a Caucasian he would be in my opinion bigger than Ruth for baseball.

Post # 5

[pgellis]

Not to diminish what Aaron did, but he hit only 41 more home runs than Babe with about 4,000 more at bats than Babe.

Plus Ruth was one of the best pitchers of his time before he converted to outfield so that he could put his bat to use every day instead of every 4 days or so.

Ruth would also hit more home runs in a season than some teams combined.

[vintagecpa]

You need to consider that Babe Ruth broke the HR record when he was 26 years old. When you factor in he was a pitcher his first 5+ years of his career, he is by far the best baseball player of all time IMO. If he would have started out a position player from day one, you could probably figure another 150-200 HR to his HR total. Nothing against Hank, but he should be compared to Mays and Mantle. Not the Babe.

[Moonlight Graham]

Originally Posted by pgellis

Not to diminish what Aaron did, but he hit only 41 more home runs than Babe with about 4,000 more at bats than Babe.

Plus Ruth was one of the best pitchers of his time before he converted to outfield so that he could put his bat to use every day instead of every 4 days or so.

Ruth would also hit more home runs in a season than some teams combined.

And probably hit a lot of those homers with one hell of a hangover
Ruth all the way!

[39special]

Two totally different eras.I picked Ruth,but Aaron was a hell of a player.

[Peter_Spaeth]

All serious rankings of baseball players list Ruth first.

[brob28]

Got to go with Ruth he completely changed the game.

[oldjudge]

Better than Mantle, not better than Williams or Mays, and certainly not better than Ruth.

[Section103]

He was no Mays.

[Sean1125]

Adrian is set to pass my 2 1/2 year post count in the next week.

[Zone91]

What about this guy Hoshi Gangu he had 868 home runs during his career in Japan?

Post # 9

[Bored5000]

I can't believe Hank is pulling 15 percent of the vote. Seems like a pretty good showing for him IMO, given the question presented.

[Pinstriper780]

Sorry, but I'm not even putting Aaron above Mantle let alone Babe.

[Big Ben]

Originally Posted by 39special

Two totally different eras.I picked Ruth,but Aaron was a hell of a player.

+1

[EvilKing00]

im shocked that there are 10 votes for aaron....

[bender07]

No

[egbeachley]

Originally Posted by EvilKing00

im shocked that there are 10 votes for aaron....

+1

Also, Babe Ruth used up to a 48-oz bat because he mistakenly thought a heavier bat meant more power. If he went to a lighter bat he could have had 50 + more homers.

[EvilKing00]

Originally Posted by Zone91

I believe Aaron was a better baseball player....more home runs and more hits than the Babe just not lucky to be a African American in a time like his. If he had be a Caucasian he would be in my opinion bigger than Ruth for baseball.

Post # 5

Really???

Ruth was a lifetime .342 hitter, his OBP was .474 (that's almost half his AB he was on base)

As for HR...Aaron highest HR total was 47 HR, which he did once, Babe hit 47 or more 6 times and he hit 46 twice.

Then we get to pitching - in just over 1200 IP, just had a 2.28 era and a 1.15 whip, he also never had a loosing record in any season and has a 94-46 record.

Its not even close IMO.

[MattyC]

There are plenty of tough debates comparing players... This is not one of them. Of course just my opinion, but in baseball and even cards, to me, all roads lead to Ruth.

[Paul S]

Under most circumstances I'm not a believer in comparing eras. I dearly love Aaron and IMO he is entitled to a career HR crown as well as his yearly and career leader stats. Plus he batted over .300 career while doing so. But, you look at Babe's years as compared to his peers, My God, he literally and totally savaged the league and shook the Earth. .342 avg while doing it is no small accomplishment either.

[sycks22]

Aaron might not even be the best player in his generation. Ruth by a landslide.

[nsaddict]

Aaron was a great player and deserving of a first year ballot HOF plaque. But Aaron had about 7 more full seasons of batting and barely eclipses the Babe in homeruns and rbi's. And Aaron's skin color has little to do with his stats in the eyes of true baseball fans. A bigger positive factor would have been if Hammerin Hank played his career for the pinstripes. Not even a close comparison!