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I have never said that any record should not stand. The only thing that I have said is that you can't have it both ways. That's why statistics and records mean nothing to me. And besides, how do we know how good Babe Ruth was? Did we see him play? And let's not forget, the Babe benefitted from the "live ball" era and a short porch in right field. To me, ALL records stand. So put the asterisk away.
posted by
growler
on July 29, 2007 at 8:22 PM
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I'm in partial agreement with you.
Everything you say about baseball before and after 1947 is true. But, just as you think any records by Bonds should stand, so should any old records. Remember, though many players were racist, they could not enforce a color barrier. Owners did that, just like owners could have prevented widespread steroid use, if it is indeed widespread. The think about records is that you have to take into consideration the context of their time. In other words, Ruth is still the greatest home run hitter, single season or career, because he so far exceeded what anyone else in his day accomplished. Before Ruth came along no one had ever hit more than 26 home runs in a season or as many as 150 in a career. Ruth was the first to hit more than 30, 40, and 50 in a season and broke his own record of 59 when he hit 60 in 1927. He was the first to 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, and 700 home runs in a career. It was not Ruth's fault that Josh Gibson, the black Babe Ruth, never got to play in the majors. And it is debatable that Gibson could have surpassed Ruth's accomplishments for three very big reasons. Like it or not, the average level of play in the the Negro Leagues was vastly inferior to that of the majors. Gibson was a catcher and not likely to play as many games per season, or last as long as an outfielder without changing position. And Ruth spent all of his first four seasons and part of two more as a pitcher. If Ruth had been an everyday player from the beginning there is no telling how many more home runs he would have hit. Players can only be judged by their performance against contemporaries and the average level of play when they were playing. Any other comparisons are in the league with comparing apples and oranges.
posted by
notapoet
on July 28, 2007 at 10:25 PM
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