Shohei Ohtani is the Best BB Player Ever

[Blaster]

There is no "if". Before old age got the better of him, Ruth played 4 years in the 1930s, still hitting at top caliber >

• 1930 - 49 HR, 153 RBIs, .359
• 1931 - 46 HR, 163 RBIs, .373
• 1932 - 41 HR, 137 RBIs, .341
• 1933 - 34 HR, 103 RBIs, .301

Not many hitters can match these numbers, even in their prime.

Babe Ruth is the GOAT.

 

[Harry Dresden]

Yeah, and I proved you wrong.

when ruth was hitting 50 hr and everyone else was in the low 20's he looked impressive....when he hit 40 and there was guys hitting 50 and hitting 40 like him...he doesnt look as impressive......

 

[Harry Dresden]

Babe Ruth is the GOAT.

in his era...

 

[Fiero425]

in his era...

W/ segregation, Ruth can't own it all; no matter his accomplishments & competing against who was there! He was no real athlete as far as I'm concerned! Reminds me of older eras of tennis when a player literally could have a beer belly, smoke, & drink heavily, but w/ skill still compete in the top 20! In my day, the best BB player had to be Barry Bonds! As a person, I couldn't stand the guy; a total D!ck to reporters, fans, & other players, but he still was the best! His "at bats" were "must see" TV at times depending on what record he was about to break! IMO, he was the most feared batter as he was walked 200+ times a season; 100+ intentionally! In his lone WS appearance, IIRC, Scioscia had the Angels walk Bonds in the 1st inning w/ 2 outs! The yr. after Kent won MVP honors over Bonds, they were playing a reg. season game vs. Arizona! The bases were loaded late in the game! The Diamondbacks Int. walked Bonds forcing in a run just to get to Kent who grounded out losing the game! It hadn't been done in over 40 yrs.! Even in Bond's old age, 38-39, I definitely remember instances of him throwing out a runner trying to score, then coming up in the next inning to hit a 2 run homer to win the game! Imagine what the history books would be saying about this guy if he hadn't been so surly & a real jerk? His skill level wasn't elevated by steroid use really! They just extended the length to his home runs as they splashed into McCovey Cove In San Fran.!

 

[Harry Dresden]

W/ segregation, Ruth can't own it all; no matter his accomplishments & competing against who was there! He was no real athlete as far as I'm concerned! Reminds me of older eras of tennis when a player literally could have a beer belly, smoke, & drink heavily, but w/ skill still compete in the top 20! In my day, the best BB player had to be Barry Bonds! As a person, I couldn't stand the guy; a total D!ck to reporters, fans, & other players, but he still was the best! His "at bats" were "must see" TV at times depending on what record he was about to break! IMO, he was the most feared batter as he was walked 200+ times a season; 100+ intentionally! In his lone WS appearance, IIRC, Scioscia had the Angels walk Bonds in the 1st inning w/ 2 outs! The yr. after Kent won MVP honors over Bonds, they were playing a reg. season game vs. Arizona! The bases were loaded late in the game! The Diamondbacks Int. walked Bonds forcing in a run just to get to Kent who grounded out losing the game! It hadn't been done in over 40 yrs.! Even in Bond's old age, 38-39, I definitely remember instances of him throwing out a runner trying to score, then coming up in the next inning to hit a 2 run homer to win the game! Imagine what the history books would be saying about this guy if he hadn't been so surly & a real jerk? His skill level wasn't elevated by steroid use really! They just extended the length to his home runs as they splashed into McCovey Cove In San Fran.!

ruth was 6'2 215 in his prime....you dont lead the league in runs every year if you are a fat guy...

 

[shockedcanadian]

Waiting for Game 6 to begin to hopefully end Ohtanis season. Is this a sign of a boring existence or what?

 

[Harry Dresden]

Waiting for Game 6 to begin to hopefully end Ohtanis season. Is this a sign of a boring existence or what?

you better hope yamamoto isnt on or it may go to 7...

 

[leftwinger]

W/ segregation, Ruth can't own it all; no matter his accomplishments & competing against who was there! He was no real athlete as far as I'm concerned! Reminds me of older eras of tennis when a player literally could have a beer belly, smoke, & drink heavily, but w/ skill still compete in the top 20! In my day, the best BB player had to be Barry Bonds! As a person, I couldn't stand the guy; a total D!ck to reporters, fans, & other players, but he still was the best! His "at bats" were "must see" TV at times depending on what record he was about to break! IMO, he was the most feared batter as he was walked 200+ times a season; 100+ intentionally! In his lone WS appearance, IIRC, Scioscia had the Angels walk Bonds in the 1st inning w/ 2 outs! The yr. after Kent won MVP honors over Bonds, they were playing a reg. season game vs. Arizona! The bases were loaded late in the game! The Diamondbacks Int. walked Bonds forcing in a run just to get to Kent who grounded out losing the game! It hadn't been done in over 40 yrs.! Even in Bond's old age, 38-39, I definitely remember instances of him throwing out a runner trying to score, then coming up in the next inning to hit a 2 run homer to win the game! Imagine what the history books would be saying about this guy if he hadn't been so surly & a real jerk? His skill level wasn't elevated by steroid use really! They just extended the length to his home runs as they splashed into McCovey Cove In San Fran.!

Steroids gave them longevity and mis-hits went out for HR. Nagging injuries did not keep them out.


Pure BS to say "it didn't really help". Suddenly everyone is hitting 65-75 HR after a hundred years? The evidence is clear. Manny & big Papsmear, McGwire, Corky-Sosa. Too many to list.

 

[Fiero425]

Steroids gave them longevity and mis-hits went out for HR. Nagging injuries did not keep them out.


Pure BS to say "it didn't really help". Suddenly everyone is hitting 65-75 HR after a hundred years? The evidence is clear. Manny & big Papsmear, McGwire, Corky-Sosa. Too many to list.

You're taking hyperbole to new hts.; "suddenly everyone is hitting 65-75 HR after 100 yrs.?" Many may have used it, but only a few players had performances worth making note! There were a half dozen that extended their careers, not really enhancing it! The skill was there already! What does taking steroids have to do w/ all the Walks earned, the stolen bases, & men being thrown out at home plate trying to score? Baseball needed the JOLT as baseball was truly dying on the vines! Football was KING the whole yr. Rd. from pre-seasons thru the SB, & then the drafts, lastly OTA's! No other sport outside of Tennis & Golf could boast news all yr. long!

The ATL Braves were perrenial winners in the 90's, but at times the stands were half-empty; even in playoff games! The strike/lockout in '94 didn't help things as salaries spiraled out of control! When Greg Maddux got an 8 yr., $50 M contract, I knew Baseball w/b in trouble! Fans can be resentful & both players & owners proved to be selfish, greedy bastards! When Sosa & McGuire juiced up and started slamming HR's out of the parks in record #'s, it brought the fans back! Bonds & Clemens jumped in later!

 

[protectionist]

when ruth was hitting 50 hr and everyone else was in the low 20's he looked impressive....when he hit 40 and there was guys hitting 50 and hitting 40 like him...he doesnt look as impressive......

His 714 home runs (no steroids) and .342 career batting average will ALWAYS look impressive.

1. Here is a list of the top 25 HR hitters all time. Only 1 hitter has more career HRs than Ruth > Hank Aaron, and he had almost 4,000 more at bats than Ruth. If we extrapolate Ruth's at bats to be even with Aaron's, Ruth would have 1,051 career HRs.

2. You have to go all the way down the list to almost the bottom to find another HR hitter on this list with a batting average = to or higher than Ruth's .342. That is Ted Williams at .344.

Note that Ted Williams had even less at bats than Ruth. If we extrapolate Williams' at bats to = Aaron's, Williams would have had 836 career home runs.

In the hitting department, Babe Ruth is the greatest BB ever. Note that he was also a top rate pitcher. Ted Williams is a close second, or tied, with an even slightly higher batting average than Ruth, and he is the only player on this list to have topped .400 in batting in a single full season. No one has ever equaled that over the past 84 years.

 

[Cassandro]

Steroids gave them longevity and mis-hits went out for HR. Nagging injuries did not keep them out.


Pure BS to say "it didn't really help". Suddenly everyone is hitting 65-75 HR after a hundred years? The evidence is clear. Manny & big Papsmear, McGwire, Corky-Sosa. Too many to list.

My problem with Bonds was his body armor. He was covered from head to toe and was allowed to crowd the plate with his elbow in the strike zone. That limited pitchers to either putting him on base or serving up gopher balls.

McGwire was the real deal even before he bulked up. He would have broken the HR record several more times if he had been able to play full seasons. His one HR per 10.6 at bats is the best ever.

 

[protectionist]

My problem with Bonds was his body armor. He was covered from head to toe and was allowed to crowd the plate with his elbow in the strike zone. That limited pitchers to either putting him on base or serving up gopher balls.

McGwire was the real deal even before he bulked up. He would have broken the HR record several more times if he had been able to play full seasons. His one HR per 10.6 at bats is the best ever.

Steroid players don't have performance records. All that can be said about them is what position they played and the dates.
Babe Ruth's one HR per 11.7 at bats, is the best ever.

 

[Harry Dresden]

Steroid players don't have performance records. All that can be said about them is what position they played and the dates.
Babe Ruth's one HR per 11.7 at bats, is the best ever.

and yet baseball reference and others have their performances right besides everyone else....apparently many dont agree with you....

 

[Cassandro]

Steroid players don't have performance records. All that can be said about them is what position they played and the dates.
Babe Ruth's one HR per 11.7 at bats, is the best ever.

I think steroid players should be kept out of the HOF, but McGwire's use of Andro early in his career was entirely legal.

 

[leftwinger]

I think steroid players should be kept out of the HOF, but McGwire's use of Andro early in his career was entirely legal.

TLR brought the OAK steroid boy with him to STL. Tony never saw a thing....Canseco and the BASH brothers walking by growing head sizes. OAK pounded by LA & CIN back to back WS <chuckling> the 80s'

TLR showered with fame into HOF? On the wall in STL after.

 

[MarathonMike]

Still he has a career batting average of .282 up to now (8 seasons), with his highest single season avg being just .310.

In his first 8 seasons, Stan Musial averaged .345, his top avg during those seasons being .376.
And Musial's lowest during those 8 yrs, was higher than Ohtani's highest.

Getting the picture ?

Power hitters in the modern era rarely bat .300. Musial was a great hitter against lower quality pitching. Highest single season home run total a measly 39. Lifetime total 475 but he played 22 years.

In 8 years Ohtani has set all-time MLB records. 54 home runs and 59 stolen bases in one year? All the great hitters from history never even came close, most against low quality pitchers. Everyone throws 98-100 mph now. NO ONE threw that fast in the old days.

 

[leftwinger]

Power hitters in the modern era rarely bat .300. Musial was a great hitter against lower quality pitching. Highest single season home run total a measly 39. Lifetime total 475 but he played 22 years.

In 8 years Ohtani has set all-time MLB records. 54 home runs and 59 stolen bases in one year? All the great hitters from history never even came close, most against low quality pitchers. Everyone throws 98-100 mph now. NO ONE threw that fast in the old days.

Remember nobody else was hitting 342 or 420 in those eras. Musial was outhotting most. Hornsby outhit all others. The lights were worse, no gloves, no nutrition, travel was hell, bats weren't as good, nothing like today. etc.

It's of the time. Not all time. Ted Williams missed 5 years, yet came back one of the best of those times.

 

[MarathonMike]

Remember nobody else was hitting 342 or 420 in those eras. Musial was outhotting most. Hornsby outhit all others. The lights were worse, no gloves, no nutrition, travel was hell, bats weren't as good, nothing like today. etc.

It's of the time. Not all time. Ted Williams missed 5 years, yet came back one of the best of those times.

That's fair, it's always dicey comparing players from different eras. I still say it comes down to the pitching. Based on what I've read, it was rare for a pitcher to throw 90 back in the day and they had a curve ball. Today's pitchers not only throw 98 they have 4, 5 or 6 pitches.

 

[leftwinger]

That's fair, it's always dicey comparing players from different eras. I still say it comes down to the pitching. Based on what I've read, it was rare for a pitcher to throw 90 back in the day and they had a curve ball. Today's pitchers not only throw 98 they have 4, 5 or 6 pitches.

The mound was higher up to 1969? It was all relative. Some players did better, just like now. People were smaller. No 6'9" Judge becoming normal. Dave Kingnan seemed huge when he showed up for CHI. He had to play the field too. Today, they dont.

They got batting cages under the stands now between innings for DH. Computer analysis every swing if wanted.

 

[Cassandro]

Power hitters in the modern era rarely bat .300. Musial was a great hitter against lower quality pitching. Highest single season home run total a measly 39. Lifetime total 475 but he played 22 years.

Musial was a fantastic flat swing hitter. If he had gone with the upswing, he would have hit more HR but fewer RBI.