04-11-2002, 08:49 AM
A few things here...
Galt, I see where you're coming from. If you plug the present day Barry Bonds into any season in baseball history, with all skill levels being as they were, he'd dominate almost everyone. I can't argue that. My contention is that Bonds has certain advantages that don't necessarily depend on his personal level of talent, but rather, the knowledge gained of baseball through the years and the advancement of technology, among other factors like ballparks and the construction of the baseball itself. When comparing Ruth vs. Bonds simply as players, you can't deny Ruth had a handicap simply due to the fact that he played during baseball's adolescent years, if that's the way you're going to weigh the issue.
GS, I couldn't agree more with what you said about Bonds. Watching him bat gives me the same thrill as watching Tyson in his prime, Misawa in his prime, Gretzky, Jordan, and Montana in their primes. The fact that he's this good at such an advanced stage in his career is simply amazing. Much like Randy Johnson, he just seems to get better with age. With that said, I do have a problem with your list.
Galt, I see where you're coming from. If you plug the present day Barry Bonds into any season in baseball history, with all skill levels being as they were, he'd dominate almost everyone. I can't argue that. My contention is that Bonds has certain advantages that don't necessarily depend on his personal level of talent, but rather, the knowledge gained of baseball through the years and the advancement of technology, among other factors like ballparks and the construction of the baseball itself. When comparing Ruth vs. Bonds simply as players, you can't deny Ruth had a handicap simply due to the fact that he played during baseball's adolescent years, if that's the way you're going to weigh the issue.
GS, I couldn't agree more with what you said about Bonds. Watching him bat gives me the same thrill as watching Tyson in his prime, Misawa in his prime, Gretzky, Jordan, and Montana in their primes. The fact that he's this good at such an advanced stage in his career is simply amazing. Much like Randy Johnson, he just seems to get better with age. With that said, I do have a problem with your list.
Quote:1- Ty CobbNow, it's really too late for me to do a numbers crunch. I'll wait til tomorrow. But I really can't see the logic in ranking Ted Williams at #10, especially behind guys like Pete Rose and Tony Gwynn. IMO (and again, this is without really breaking things down), Ted's top 3. Care to explain the logic behind the list?
2- Rogers Hornsby
3- Babe Ruth
4- Barry Bonds
5- Lou Gehrig
6 - Pete Rose
7 - Tony Gwynn
8 - Mickey Mantle
9 - Joe Jackson
10 - Ted Williams
11 - Sammy Sosa
12 - Jimmie Foxx
13 - Mark Mgwire
14 - Tris Speaker
15 - Joe Dimaggio