In the 50s Cobb was asked what he would hit if he were playing today, and he said, around .270. The questioner was shocked and said are today's players really that much better? He said no, but I am 70 years old.

Now that is awesome in any era.

Good point, and Jesse was the best of an generation and more. But his 1935 winning big jump is still 2 1/2 feet short of the current record. Athletes are faster, stronger, bigger and better coached.

Speaking of the long jump, a great read.
http://joeposnanski.com/joevault/?p=128

This per capita ratio would only be relevant if the same amount of kids in both eras, relative to the population, played baseball.
Does anyone honestly believe that the same amount of kids in this modern age of video games, and general on-line shenaningans play baseball? Not to mention additional sports that presently garner considerable attention that weren't as popular in those days like football, baseball, hockey...etc.

Look at the WWII Beano T-13 hand grenades, made not only to simulate the size, but also the weight of a baseball, as it was expected that any and all American boys could throw a baseball. What would they fashion them after now??? Cell phones?
Also, as Peter mentioned, pitchers don't seem to throw any harder now, and hitters don't seem to hit the ball any further these days....
Plus are we not forgetting the absolutely pampered lifestyle a modern athlete enjoys?
As mentioned, interesting discussion, and its fun to ponder the "what ifs".

I don't know if Ruth would be a star today, to be frank, or really anyone from the prewar era. For me, I don't think it would be the issue of international or African Americans playing the game. Ruth did go on barnstorming tours and to Japan, so I think he did play against those types of players and did equally well during that era. So even if Ruth's era had international and African American players, I think Ruth would do just as well or close to it. To add to this, I don't think you saw the star players whose careers crossed eras such as integration or adding more international players, their stats didn't just drop through the floor. Players like Ted Williams or Stan Musial did just fine adjusting as more players were added to the league and were still huge stars.

However, today's game has a lot more different types of pitches and you have specialty pitchers who pitch to just lefties, etc. Ruth may have had the talent to hit the fastball or curve in any era. However, he may not have had the talent to hit the slider or change-up or all of the different types of pitches in the modern era. Even with the modern training regimen, you still need the talent to hit those types of pitches and in different areas of the strike zone, and once pitchers of today's era know that you can't hit a certain type of pitch, they'll just keep throwing it at you all of the time.

So are you saying athletes today are getting slower, weaker, smaller and are worse coached? The world record for long jump was set 26 years ago. The second longest jump was 49 years ago. Last year's Olympic championship jump was almost 2 feet shorter than the Olympic champion from 48 years before. Why are long jumpers so bad today?

Ruth the batter would be just as good today so long as he didn't have to face Ruth the pitcher.

Just back from Cooperstown. One article posted on Wall: "Ruth Outduels Big Train 1-0 in 13 innings." Ponder that for a moment.

You really think Ruth wasn't greatest player ever?

The greatest player of all time would undoubtedly be a star in any era he played in. There are a lot of people who are called the greatest of all time at things and there is always some hyperbole with those statements. But Ruth is different. He is the baseline for all great players to measure up against and no one has even come close. He hit 714 home runs, don't forget he also hit 342 over his career.

Absolutely.

Not only was he THE greatest hitter he was also one of the greatest pitchers of ALL TIME.

No other player came close.
No one.