Posted on 05/07/2006 10:00:12 PM PDT by Extremely Extreme Extremist
Everybody wants to forget that part - that a sizable number of pitchers Bonds got those homeruns off of were also using performance-enhancing drugs.
The level playing field - and no MLB rule against steroid usage at the time mean that any talk of an asterisk is just ludicrous envy. Bonds' HR numbers are 100% legitimate given the environment he operated in. Steroids didn't help him hit more or longer home runs, they just kept him off of the DL...which is why he isn't likely to catch Aaron at this point. He's got too many nagging injuries and permanent knee problems.
"Amazing what some people are willing to overlook in the face of ample evidence."
Yeah, I'm one of those crazy types who figures I'll wait until I have all the evidence possible, not just "ample" evidence, whatever that is. I'm kind of silly about waiting till a person is proven guilty before castigating them. Go figure.
I understand what you are saying and I disagree mightily.
Back when there were a total of only 16 teams, and each team had a rotation of only four starters, the competition for those starting jobs was a lot more fierce than it is today.
There were very few "mediocre" pitchers. Look around the league today and you'll see that most teams have an ace or two and then fill out the rotation with a parade of nobodies. From night to night, Ruth certainly faced better pitching than today's hitters.
I’ve never heard that before. When was the rule changed?
Hard to decide whether to cheer the gigantic and awesome home run hit, or boo the guy who hit it.
Be as silly as you like.
I'm kinda silly in that once I see sufficient evidence, both direct and circumstantial, I feel I can make up my own mind as to what transpired.
Good luck helping O.J. search for the real killers.
What's Bonds' ERA? How many wins? How many innings pitched?
We'll be able to save the government lots of money. Now we can dispense with all those arcane trials and such. We can just run things by you! Who knew!
Don't play golf, so I can't help OJ out. sorry! ;>)
Everybody gains three hat sizes in their late thirties . . . don't they?
Babe Ruth was beloved by fans. Bonds is a racist jerk hated by nearly everyone he comes into contact with.
Yep, Joe Morgan was lying as easily as he was breathing last night -- his specialty, along with interjecting race into nearly every conversation. Did he really think that no one watching the game would know those stats?
As far as RBI per 162 games Aaron doesn't even make the top 25 -- Gehrig leads at 149, followed by Hank Greenberg at 148, Ruth and Dimaggio 143, Manny Ramirez 136, Juan Gonzalez 135, Jimmy Foxx and Al Simmons 134, Ted Williams and Albert Belle 130, Hack Wilson 128, etc.
Aaron's down the list a bit at 114 RBIs/162 games, and as I mentioned earlier Bonds is at 110.
I think in the 20s sometime. According to wikipedia, it says it would only have added 1 to Ruth's total if the rule had not been in place. But that's wikipedia and ergo suspect. It doesn't specify exactly when the rule was changed either.
Wow, you really are silly. You think "innocent until proven guilty" means people can't formulate an opinion until and unless blessed by a court of law?
Sorry, but I'll trust "my own lyin' eyes" rather than run around pretending that OJ Simpson, Ted Kennedy, Michael Jackson, and in the sports context Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, etc. are "innocent" just because they managed to "beat the system" one way or another.
Well, Mike Schmidt admitted in his recent book that he took amphetamines early in his career, and said that they did help reduce fatigue, especially late in the season. Former pitcher Jeff Brantley said that when he played (1988-2001) he estimated about 75% of players used "greenies". In 1985, Dale Berra and Dave Parker testified in court that they got amphetamines from Willie Stargell, and John Milner testified that Willie Mays used amphetamines. The bottom line is that athletes have always looked for an edge, and always will.
Silly, maybe. I just believe in keeping an open mind. Different strokes for different folks...........
Yeah, but on the flip side, Ruth never had to face fresh specialist relievers who started coming into the game in the 6th or 7th innings, like today. That probably would have reduced his HR total some.
I think the point you are trying to make is that Ruth faced a diluted talent pool. Fair enough. However, the same could be said of Bonds today. Not because of the exclusion of certain races from the game, but because of the fierce competition Major League Baseball faces for athletes with the NBA and NFL. That competition didn't exist in Ruth's day. Baseball was pretty much the top dog in that era, and attracted the best athletes.
As far as I am concerned his and all hte others who are proven to take steroids should have their record removed from the books.
As you are certainly entitled.
We obviously diasgree on Bonds. Although we both agree that he has clear Hall of Fame talent ignoring the possible effects of the substances he's been alleged to have used.
The Babe played 6 years (1914-1919) in the Dead Ball era, and was primarily a pitcher in the first 5.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.