We can't just take Ruth out and say that if he was born in 1990 he would have better nutrition and training, so he'd be just as good or whatever. What made Ruth was his circumstances. He grew up in the orphanage. His fuel for winning was based on his life. Baseball was America's pastime, and boys all over the country wanted to play it. If Ruth is a 10 year old in 2000, he'd probably be playing video games in his free time and who knows if he is even motivated to play sports at all?
I am a high school teacher. We have 1,500 students at our school. Guess how many guys tried out for the baseball team this year. 13. If you tried out, you made the team. Period. When I was a teenager, I can remember baseball tryouts had dozens of guys showing up. I was thrilled to squeeze onto the roster. It was an honor to play. It just isn't the same anymore. This is why we see so many Latin American players in MLB. It still is competitive in the Dominican Republic. Those guys still love the sport and still want to compete. And, I would surmise that this will not change for some period of time.
So, Ruth is forever stuck in his own era, right where he belongs.
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