Monday, July 23, 2007

The Hammer

One other non-political thing.

Today's must read. A fitting tribute to the greatest baseball player ever. Period. No argument.

4 comments:

Jmac said...

I've got Atlanta love, so don't get me wrong, but I'm gonna put out ...

Pete Rose
Willie Mays
Ty Cobb
Ted Williams

... as four who were better.

griftdrift said...

The difference between Hank Aaron and Willie Mays? All those spectacular catches Mays made? Hank would have already been there waiting.

Jmac said...

Ha!

Again, I say ... ha!

I enjoy the lack of comment about my Rose selection. He was a bastard, sure, but he's also one of the best ever.

Anonymous said...

Whatever one may think of Barry Bonds, the best part of all the brouhaha surrounding his pursuit of Hank's record is that people are now referring to it as "Hank's record." I remember when Hank was closing in on Babe Ruth, and many baseball writers and fans were bending over backwards to cheapen his accomplishments--Ballparks were smaller, pitching was diluted, and Hank had way more at bats than The Babe. Combined with the racist abuse and death threats he received at the time, it's no wonder Hank became so bitter. What should have been celebrated as a remarkable milestone in baseball history, became a shit sandwich shoved down Hank's throat. I just hope that in even a small way, he now finds some solace and vindication in the fact that the vast majority of people now consider him to be the all-time home run king.

As far as the greatest player ever, I have to vote for Babe Ruth. Before he became the hands down dominant slugger of his era, he was one of the premier pitchers in the major leagues, and possibly the best left-hander. He also pitched very well in World Series competition and if I remember correctly, held the record for consecutive scoreless innings for close to fifty years. While comparisons of offensive stats from different eras is difficult, if not impossible, nobody else in major league history comes close to matching Ruth for the combination of pitching and hitting prowess.