Bonds quickly breaks Ruth's homer record, a very obscure one

San Francisco Chronicle ^ | 9/25/2005 | Mark Camps

[T. Jefferson]

His adjusted OPS's in those years are 260, 275, and 262 respectively.

Adjusted OPS is a speculative statistic, irrelevant in a discussion of facts. A real stat would be Bonds has been HR champ just twice in 20 years. Amazing dominance! Ruth was HR champ 12 out of 14 years, the all-time HR champ at 25, and has a career BA 42pts higher.

Ruth 1916
23 Wins, 12 losses, 23 complete games, 9 shutouts, 170 K's, 1.70 ERA

Career
11th best all-time era .6714
13th best all-time fewest hits allowed per 9 inn. 7.177
15th best all-time era 2.277
29 consec. scoreless innings in the WS
7 World Series Rings

Still waiting for Bonds best pitching year, and the years he hit more HR's than opposing teams, and 3 times the nearest guy.

[Willie Green]

I believe there ought to be a constitutional amendment outlawing Astroturf and the designated hitter."

Not a bad idea,
but let's put the goal posts back on the goal line first.

[SpringheelJack]

Adjusted OPS is a speculative statistic, irrelevant in a discussion of facts.

It isn't speculative at all. It's just one number divided by a number, showing how much better than the average player that guy's OPS was. If anyone claims Bonds hasn't been Ruthian since he stuck the needle in his ass, they're just not paying attention.

[T. Jefferson]

If anyone claims Bonds hasn't been Ruthian since he stuck the needle in his ass, they're just not paying attention.

Ruthian
Best left handed pitcher in baseball for 4 years.
11th best all-time era .6714
13th best all-time fewest hits allowed per 9 inn. 7.177
15th best all-time era 2.277
29 consec. scoreless innings in WS. Record stands for 40 years.

2nd yr batting
More HRs than any every AL team, 3X the nearest player.
All-time HR champ at age 25.
HR champ 12 out of the next 14 years.
OPS champ 13 yrs in a row.
SLG champ 13 yrs. in a row.
10 WS trips, 7 rings.

barroidian

HR champ twice in 20 years. Using steriods avg 51.8 HRs over a 5 yr period, a distant second to Sosa's 58.4. No WS trips.

Checkmate

[SpringheelJack]

HR champ twice in 20 years. Using steriods avg 51.8 HRs over a 5 yr period, a distant second to Sosa's 58.4. No WS trips.

The only reason Bonds hasn't had more home run championships is because pitchers are scared to death of him (120 intentional walks last year!). He's led the National League in home run percentage every year since 2000, and several times before that. He holds RECORDS in home runs (13 more than Ruth ever hit), walks, on-base percentage, home run percentage, slugging percentage, OPS. He has indeed been to the World Series, and played at a historically high level there.

Ruth was NOT the best left-handed pitcher in baseball for four years, and at just over 1200 innings he's usually considered to have pitched too little to be included on the all-time rate categories, but even so his numbers are inflated by pitching in the most pitching-friendly era in history. Ask the great Orval Overall, for instance.

I don't think anyone here has been willing to claim that Bonds has had a better career than Ruth, even if you ignore the steroids, and so I don't understand the defensiveness many have here about Ruth. At the same time, it's objectively clear that in the last four years Bonds has played at an offensive level attained previously in history only by Babe Ruth and Ted Williams. What goal is served by pretending he didn't?

[T. Jefferson]

How good was Ruth? Suppose next year Donte Willis quit pitching, played outfield, hit more home runs than any other NL team, 3 times the nearest player. That's how good Ruth was. Could Barry do that?

Imagine Donte went on to become the all-time HR champ in just 3 years, HR champ 12 out of the next 14 years, OPS champ 13 yrs in a row, SLG champ 13 yrs. in a row, had 10 WS trips, and got 7 rings. That would be Ruthian.

I'm not discussing 4 cherry picked steriod years of Bonds, you are. Ruth's CAREER dominance over his peers will never be matched. It's an insult to compare the two, and Barry is well aware of it.

[SpringheelJack]

I'm not discussing 4 cherry picked steriod years of Bonds, you are. Ruth's CAREER dominance over his peers will never be matched.

We were discussing how they each compared to their peers, it's you who decided several posts later that we were discussing only "career dominance".

I don't disagree with you when it comes to career value, though if I were making the argument I think I'd frame it differently than you; I don't see much relevance in World Series appearances, for example.

At the same time, I think that Bonds at his (juiced) peak has reached single season heights which Ruth did not. And I think that's the main thing that's disconcerting to so many people, and why only now, finally, the steroid culture is starting to be taken apart. It was obvious steroids were around in the late '90s, but I didn't begin to see actual anger at it develop until Bonds began busting all the old records. Had he not come around I wonder if anything ever would have been done at all.

[Major_Risktaker]

Ruth parties, drinks and plays less games.

To catch Ruth, Bond juices it up and plays more games. Plus the pitchers mound has been shaven down.
Bond sucks!

[T. Jefferson]

When Bonds throws 29 consecutive scoreless innings in the WS, and then turns around and hits more home runs than every NL team for a season, he'll only be on par with Ruth's dominance. No one will ever come close to Ruth.

[Wristpin]

I didn't see this addressed in the thread but some of those Roids and hormones actually improve human eyesight. With enhanced bat speed and eyesight he can lay off for a split second more than the non enhanced hitter.