Credo
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Post by Credo on Nov 12, 2022 16:36:05 GMT -8
I guess he was good...
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Credo
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Post by Credo on Nov 16, 2022 21:49:34 GMT -8
And, hard to believe, my UCI Anteaters upset the #2 ranked Runnin' Rebels the year previous to this at the Bren Center (before Larry Johnson arrived).
I was there.
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Credo
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Post by Credo on Nov 16, 2022 22:17:04 GMT -8
And after that, we went on to hit 714 home runs.
I don't care that he played before integration, ESPN, social media, and died before any of us were even born; the Babe is the greatest ballplayer ever--and unquestionably the most important pro athlete of the 20th century.
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MDDad
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Post by MDDad on Nov 16, 2022 22:40:21 GMT -8
I agree with your opinion that Babe Ruth was the greatest baseball player of all time, although many might object to my opinion that Barry Bonds is probably the second greatest. As far as being the most important, I'd like to hear your argument to support that. What causes him to be more important that Jackie Robinson, for example?
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billb
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Post by billb on Nov 17, 2022 2:14:23 GMT -8
I wasn't around then, like MD was....  But he did bring people to the park and perhaps sparked an interest in sports. No? That could have helped other sports. OK, now what, after the baseball season...
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Credo
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Post by Credo on Nov 17, 2022 8:28:10 GMT -8
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Credo
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Post by Credo on Nov 17, 2022 8:34:44 GMT -8
I agree with your opinion that Babe Ruth was the greatest baseball player of all time, although many might object to my opinion that Barry Bonds is probably the second greatest. As far as being the most important, I'd like to hear your argument to support that. What causes him to be more important that Jackie Robinson, for example? Both are certainly on the Mount Rushmore of baseball immortality (perhaps another thread?). I would say that Babe Ruth was the athlete who most contributed to the popularity and prominence of baseball as the #1 sport in America from the 1920's through the 1960's, and was also the foundation stone of the NY Yankees dynasty that coincided with that period. One could argue that it's largely due to Babe Ruth and his impact on the game that Jackie Robinson's role in integrating baseball was so important. Who remembers the person who integrated the NFL or the NBA? Both are iconic; both men's names are used to describe people of greatness (Ruth) or pioneering courage (Robinson). |
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MDDad
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Post by MDDad on Nov 17, 2022 10:27:15 GMT -8
I agree with everything you say, but you also have to look at Ruth in the context of the era in which he lived. In the roaring 20's, people had money to spend and were looking for excitement. Ruth revolutionized baseball by bringing the homerun to the sport. But the 20's have widely been considered the golden age of sports in general. Knute Rockne was an American idol at Notre Dame. Red Grange was a national legend in college and the pros. Jim Thorpe was arguably the most famous athlete in the world and he helped establish pro football as a successful enterprise. And if Thorpe wasn't the most famous athlete in the world, Jack Dempsey certainly was. Ruth absolutely belongs in that pantheon, I just don't know if he's at the very top.
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Credo
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Post by Credo on Nov 20, 2022 21:01:04 GMT -8
Amazing photo--and that he was in the majors just three years later.
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Credo
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Post by Credo on Nov 23, 2022 11:52:20 GMT -8
Musial and Griffey Jr. also share the same birthday.
p.s. Griffey Jr. is three days older than me but despite that head start my career path has been just slightly less lucrative than his. Brett Favre is 38 days older so I couldn't possibly be expected to make up such an advantage.
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Credo
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Post by Credo on Nov 23, 2022 11:59:44 GMT -8
Fun follow-up to the above post: - What famous athlete is closest to you in age (year, month, day)?
- What famous non-athlete is closest?
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MDDad
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Post by MDDad on Nov 23, 2022 12:01:30 GMT -8
Credo, two things. (1) I know what Stan Musial looks like, and I can't pick him out in that photo. And (2) some of those "high school players" look to be in their 30's or 40's. Is that a reunion photo?
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Credo
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Post by Credo on Nov 23, 2022 12:08:44 GMT -8
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Credo
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Post by Credo on Nov 23, 2022 12:11:04 GMT -8
Credo, two things. (1) I know what Stan Musial looks like, and I can't pick him out in that photo. And (2) some of those "high school players" look to be in their 30's or 40's. Is that a reunion photo? (1) Musial is in the top row, 2nd player from the left. (2) You'd probably look old, too, if you grew up in Western PA during the Great Depression. |
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Credo
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Post by Credo on Nov 27, 2022 18:45:31 GMT -8
Yeah, but Ted Williams batted .406 for the entire season of 1941 yet got screwed out of the MVP because a few writers who hated him left him completely off their ballots. What a-holes.
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But he did bring people to the park and perhaps sparked an interest in sports. No? That could have helped other sports. OK, now what, after the baseball season...