Posted on 05/08/2006 1:59:10 PM PDT by PerConPat
Bonds likes his numbers better than Babe Ruth May 08 10:53 AM US/Eastern.
A boastful Barry Bonds said if he passes Babe Ruth that his place in history would be secure.
Asked if he would consider himself better than Ruth if he vaults ahead of the New York Yankees legend for second place on the all-time home run list, Bonds said: "I don't know yet, but the numbers speak for themselves."
The embattled Bonds moved within one home run of Ruth for the No 2 spot, but it was in a losing cause as San Francisco lost 9-5 to Philadelphia on Sunday.
(Excerpt) Read more at breitbart.com ...
Before that, I watched his first five seasons in Pittsburgh and saw athletic talent for sure, wrapped in a body devoted to self, not a team. He's has always been about Barry's numbers, not his team's.
It's no accident he doesn't have a championship to his name. The team was never part of his agenda.
Let's say you have 100 white pitchers, 100 black pitchers, and 100 latino pitchers. You want to select the very best 50 pitchers. At first, you decide you want to select the best 50 white pitchers and exclude the blacks and latinos. That would give you one level of quality. You got the 50 best out of 100.(50th percentile)
Now, when you include the 100 blacks and 100 latinos, you would be selecting the best 50 out of 300, or the 83rd percentile.
Is it possible that the 50 best players out of the 300 are the same 50 from the all white pool? Yes. Is it probable? No. If one black or latino pitcher makes your squad of 50, by default, you improved the quality of pitching, because one inferior white player was replaced by one previously excluded black or latino player with better skills.
But, you're talking exclusively about pitching. Think maybe having other positions integrated might drop batting averages? Think about Willie Mays' over the shoulder catches, that would likely have fallen in during the all-white era. Think about the single robbing Ozzie Smith at short.
I'll never take anything away from the Babe, but comparing raw statistics without a look at contributing factors is an exercise in futility.
“I was married to a woman who was white, so let’s get real. I don’t even know the guy. Tell him he’s an … idiot.Bonds: "You insult my children, who are half-white."
Leave Steve Howe out of it. Steve Howe had a personal problem. Steve Howe was a good teamate who helped others. He was commended by none other than Mariano Rivera for his help and support in building his confidence and ability at the big league level.
Steve Howe, RIP. May the Lord give you the peace you sought.
Nuff said.
Let's also remember that just as many if not MORE pitchers have been roiding as hitters.
But you don't see very many pitchers reaching near records that are held dear. Like Nolan Ryan's strikeout record is virtually untouchable, Cy Young's wins record will NEVER be approached, much less eclipsed (there may not be very many more 300 win pitchers either, unless Mike Mussina or Tom Glavine figure out a way to get there, Glavine having the upper hand there perhaps)....
I am shocked; shocked, I tell you. Maybe BALCO can come up with a wonder drug to "fix" the slugger's problems.
I recently saw an article in which Blacks were complaining because they make up about the same percentage of baseball players as of the general population, (around 12%).
Adding another 12% to the mix would make a difference but not a great one. Other factors would probalby be more significant.
I think the percentage of Black pitchers is even smaller.
Vast majority of Negro Players wouldn't have stood a CHANCE in the majors.
Please, your are making some quite foolish speculative statements.
Josh Gibson and Babe Ruth were the only ones to generate the crack off the bat that was their signature.
Stick with putting down Barry Bonds, where it's deserved. You are not an expert on the Negro League.
He may be a good ball player, but the man's a jackass.
That, alone, was my point. No one can argue the magnitude, but just replacing the lower 12% of white pitchers with a better 12% would raise the quality of pitching.
Are you serious?! I thought the Babe was overweight and slow. If he stole home 10 times he was truly a genetic freak.
No doubt that Ozzie was a great infielder, (taking nothing away from him) but his national TV back flips got him a lot more publicity than others who were as good or even better with the glove.
Bill Mazeroski finally got into the Hall a few years ago via the "Old-times" committee -- long overdue and if the players instead of writers voted, he would have made it on his first year of eligibility. Maz stopped far more hits than Ozzie ever did and the Pirates lead the league in double plays for something like 12 of the the 17 years Maz played with whatever SS they had. His hands were so fast and no one could take him off his feet.
The combination of Mazeroski being very quiet, non-flashy kind of guy coupled with his 7th game-9th inning game ending HR beating the mighty media darling 1960 NY Yankees worked against him in getting the spot he desreved in the Hall of Fame for 30 years. (I damn well gurantee that if the situations were reversed and Maz hit that HR for the Yankees, he would have been in on the 1st ballot. That's the way it works)
At lest they finally made it right. Some folks get the publicity they deserve, and others don't, but don't confuse publicity with contributions.
I don't know about his stealing home but the Babe was known to be a fast runner despite his size.
He did it. And he stole a few bases in his time. He lost a World Series game trying to steal second.
I would. I don't give a rat's @ss where he plays. He's a cheat, and, if the evidence is there, and I believe it is, Bonds should be banned for life, and his stats should get wiped out. And as a Yankee fan, I think Sheffield and Giambi should get the same treatment, although I have a modicum of respect for Giambi, because he admitted what he did.
I remember the World Series where Robinson stole home. Yogi still swears he was out.
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