Could you or I have dominated the 1880s?

[xplainer]

Yeah the spit ball was the pitch back then.
Also, remember you'd have to play the field. Pretty much no glove then.
Not as we know it today.

And they would slide with spikes up.
And you could break up a double play with a take out slide at second.
And catchers could get drilled on a play at the plate.
And pitches had to bat too.
And you could fake the pickoff at third, then check first.
And batters didn't have helmets.
And pitchers didn't have helmets in their cap.

Different era = different game.

Dominate? No. But might could play with them.

[PowderedH2O]

Olympic records in track and field are easy to compare. Jesse Owens was the fastest man in the world in 1936. His numbers would not win an NCAA title now. But, he would still be very fast. I imagine baseball players are much the same. Not quite as good, but still better than me.

[Runscott]

Baseball was dominated by Pete Rose types, in every sense of the word. The picked 9 had to be feisty, as the 10th guy was waiting for any slip-up.

If you had athletic ability AND small-man complex, you might have done well.

[xplainer]

Originally Posted by Runscott

Baseball was dominated by Pete Rose types, in every sense of the word. The picked 9 had to be feisty, as the 10th guy was waiting for any slip-up.

If you had athletic ability AND small-man complex, you might have done well.

I bet you are right.

[Mountaineer1999]

Lots of good points and actually I never really thought about the toughness. Playing with equipment of the day or lack thereof would definitely give the 1880s a home century advantage. I couldn't play without a glove and I would not want to take pitches in the ear with no helmet.

[Rookiemonster]

I think MOST of the players of that time . And even going even further in to the 1900s would not be considered for a minor league talent .
I think I would dominate . They way we learned to play growing up , the food we ate , the exercise technics and equipment .

The same for football . Yes I know the ball was different .

[Head928]

I think that becoming a major league player back then would have been an easier road than it is now. As far as being a dominate player I don’t think I would have performed any better against Matty or Walter Johnson than anyone else did. The top athletes back then were still great athletes by today’s standards they were just a lot less of them around for a lot of the reasons already mentioned. The same goes for the NFL a 6’4” 250 lb athletic dude is not considered a big deal nowadays but that was the size of most NFL linemen up until even the 70s it does not mean that person would have dominated Jim Brown though.

[RUKen]

Originally Posted by xplainer

Yeah the spit ball was the pitch back then.

The spitball didn't become common until about 1903-1905 (though Bobby Mathews of the 1880's Athletic Club of Philadelphia may have thrown it), and the scuff ball (or whatever you want to call the nicked up baseball thrown by Russ Ford and Cy Falkenberg) didn't appear in the majors until 1910.

[xplainer]

Originally Posted by RUKen

The spitball didn't become common until about 1903-1905 (though Bobby Mathews of the 1880's Athletic Club of Philadelphia may have thrown it), and the scuff ball (or whatever you want to call the nicked up baseball thrown by Russ Ford and Cy Falkenberg) didn't appear in the majors until 1910.

Was thinking of my PC man Jimmy Lavender. He used it alot and stopped Rube's winning streak and threw a no hitter. So, yes. No contradiction here.

Thanks for that info. Good to know when it first appeared.