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One thing about comparing home runs hitters of past eras that must be considered is the pitching. I think modern pitchers are much more sophisticated, bigger, and stronger. It is no longer unusual to have pitchers who throw at 95 MPH or better. How do you think Babe Ruth would do facing Roger Clemens in his prime? He'd probably make the Babe look like a swinging fool.
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However, of the diluted modern pitching staffs, how many of these guys would have even qualified for AA back in the days of Ruth?
You had to be a Major League Pitcher, the best of the best back then.
And you were tough. Didn't go on DL for hangnails. Pitched 9 full most of the time. You'd think with all this technology today, these guys would be a little more durable. But they are more pampered. Yet still more injuries.
Roger's like was more the norm back in Ruth's day -- not an exception(al). Too many (diluted talent) teams today to compare eras.
Barry Bonds hits No. 756 to break Hank Aaron's all-time home run record - MLB - Yahoo! Sports (http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=AjgphZCv._Na47rr.x9VsnI5nYcB?slug=ap-bonds-756&prov=ap&type=lgns - broken link)
Aaron is still The Home Run King to me...and I would imagine to many others. I multiply Bonds' number by the steroid factor of .67 to get his total...hence 756 x .67 = 506 legit homers. Puts him up there in the 500 club...but nowhere near the top.
He'd have to hit 1128 steriod-induced career homers to beat Aaron's 755 non-steroid induced ones.
It's pretty clear that Bonds is probably the greatest MLB player of all time. Just look at his OPS numbers in recent years. Look at the number of times he has been walked. Amazing. The 'cheating' argument really doesn't hold up. Babe Ruth 'cheated' by playing in a segregated league, which artificially pumped up his numbers. Hank Aaron 'cheated' by playing in the amphetamine age. Steroids are just the newest 'moral panic' in sports.
Anyone who wants an asterisk beside Bonds' record either needs to put an asterisk beside everything in baseball for the last 25 years.
The league knew performance enhancing drugs from steroids to amphetemine was widely used, yet they stuck their head in the sand until the problem took a big sh*t right on their face. To try and pin the whole issue on Bonds because he broke a homerun record is total BS because if Bonds wouldn't have touched the single season record or the all time record, nobody would have given a rats ass even if he would have used double the amount of juice.
So while I don't care for Bonds personally, I do feel he should be honored by the league of juicers he has played in since the 80's.
Last edited by Cornerguy1; 08-08-2007 at 07:40 PM..
Reason: inappropriate content
Might as well just let everyone do steroids and let them duke it out on the field. Gladiators + baseball = entertainment. No more small ball stuff, time to do a shock and awe.
I heard that the market for the Bond's #756 ball will be low. They are predicting between $400K - $500K.
That's a lowball figure!
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