1919 Ruth vs 2021 Ohtani

[robw1959]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

I see your point but Isn't tennis the same game? But you surely don't think Bill Tilden could handle Roger Federer. The track and field events are the same, you run as fast you can or jump as far or as high as you can. Soccer is the same game, but nobody is going to confuse Dixie Dean with Lionel Messi. Swimming?

No, tennis isn't even close to the way it was back then. I'm not sure if or how tennis balls have changed over the years, but the old catgut string on a racket had way less tension than the modern string fiber used today. It is a bit like comparing the tension on a large trampoline to the tension on a mini-trampoline. It was way harder to ace your opponent on the serve back then, or even get the serious speed tennis professionals pack today in their swings, chiefly because of the way that the modern metallic rackets can withstand all of that pressure compared to the wooden rackets of yesteryear. Maybe Tilden could have adapted his game to modern equipment and been successful in any era, but my point is that the game has changed considerably over time.