Granted, congratulations are in order for Barry Bonds. It’s not every day a baseball player stands side by side with a man larger than life.
Yes, Barry Bonds has tied the immortal Babe Ruth. The Bambino, the Sultan of Swat, the Colossus of Clout, the Wali of Wallop.
Call him what you may, but one questions remains: Can anyone truly compare to Babe Ruth, one of the greatest ball players to ever take the field? Perhaps, that’s for history to decide. But here’s some food for thought.
Bonds has never played for a world championship team. He came close in 2002, but his San Francisco Giants couldn’t beat out the Anaheim Angels. Ruth has seven World Series rings to his credit.
Sure, the ring doesn’t make the man. So, read on,
During his 22 seasons, Ruth compiled a career .342 batting average. Bonds is today hovering around the .300 mark. But even before he was a member of the 1927 New York Yankees’ Murder’s Row, Ruth established himself as one of the game’s premier pitchers, winning 94 games and compiling a career 2.28 earned run average. How many of today’s pitchers wish they could call those numbers their own?
Twice, Ruth won 20 games. In the 1918 World Series, Ruth picked up a pair of victories in what was until 2004 the last time the Boston Red Sox won the World Series.
Today’s game is too much about the home run. There’s no shame in striking out 100 times and batting below .300. Sure, Ruth hit his fair share of home runs, but just as he hit for power, so too did the Bambino hit for average.
The three players who top the home run list for the American League this season (as of about Saturday) — Jim Thome, David Ortiz and Jonny Gomes — are all hitting below .300. With the exception of Albert Pujols, the same holds true for the National League. Take note, Pujols will likely pose the biggest threat to Ruth. That is, if anyone can. Like the Babe before him, Pujols is an all-around player — he hits for average and power.
Before Ruth, home runs weren’t the integral part of the game that they are today. The previous career home run leader was Roger Connor, who his 138. That pales in comparison to Ruth’s 714. And until Ruth hit 29 home runs in 1919, the previous single season home run record was held by the Chicago White Stockings’ Ned Williamson, who hit 27 in 1884.
Ruth would go on to break his own record three times — hitting 54 in 1920, 59 in 1921 and 60 in 1927.
In five of Ruth’s 22 seasons, he hit fewer than 10 home runs. In 1918, he only hit 11. It wasn’t until 1919, his last year with the Red Sox, that Ruth saw action in more than 100 games because he played primarily as a pitcher. In Ruth’s day, the seasons were 154 games long (Over a 20 year career, the additional eight games per season adds up to an extra season). There were no designated hitters and Ruth never struck out more than 93 times in the regular season.
It’s no wonder the Babe still haunts the game today. He was truly an all-around great baseball player who changed the face of the game forever. Maybe baseball fans of 90 years ago cursed him for changing their beloved game. Maybe not.
Regardless, for now, it seems, the Babe will remain in a class all his own.