Did Babe Ruth dominate baseball at the same level Wayne Gretzky did hockey?

[Zone91]

Did Babe Ruth dominate baseball at the same level Wayne Gretzky did hockey?

For me NO one ever dominated a sport like Wayne did hockey....he finished with 2857 points and NO one else has ever made it to 2000 points...he is also the only one to have had three 200 point (or more) seasons!!

He also won 4 Stanley cups.

Post # 3

[Zone91]

Wayne has 40 regular season records and 15 playoff records!!! I do not believe any athlete in the 4 major sports (baseball, football, hockey and basketball) has ever dominated a sport in such a strong way.

Post # 4

[CharleyBrown]

I don't really think it's fair to compare dominance in different sports.

One could say that Babe Ruth changed the way baseball was played, and he really took baseball to another level in terms of popularity.

There is no doubt that Wayne was a dominant hockey player, he definitely didn't have the impact that Babe Ruth had.

To me, the only player who can compare in terms of bringing their sport to another level of popularity is Michael Jordan, and even with that, it's tough to compare in terms of sheer dominance.

[Zone91]

CharleyBrown

This is not a thread to disrespect Babe Ruth at all just to find out if someone believes if there was ever a athlete that ever dominated in such a way beyond EVERYONE else in his sport. I also thought that it would be a fun debate to inter cross 2 different sport LEGENDS and compare them.

Post # 5

[Cardboard Junkie]

Originally Posted by Zone91

Did Babe Ruth dominate baseball at the same level Wayne Gretzky did hockey?

For me NO one ever dominated a sport like Wayne did hockey....he finished with 2851 points and NO one else has ever made it to 2000 points...he is also the only one to have had three 200 point (or more) seasons!!

He also won 4 Stanley cups.

Post # 3

He also couldn't have lifted Howes jock strap, let alone Ruths.

[rdwyer]

Wayne Gretzky played when the goalies had thin leg pads. That's why he scored so much.

[z28jd]

I think the most important question you must first answer is, who were the Yankees versions of Dave Semenko and Marty McSorely that gave Ruth all the room to do what he did? Without knowing that first, I can't properly answer the first question

[MVSNYC]

Zone- Babe dominated more than Gretzky ever did, your question should be reversed...try to wrap your head around the fact that some years, Babe hit more HR's than other TEAMS did. check out his slugging percentage and the list goes on. not even a comparison.

You need a new voting selection above: Yes, not even close.

[glchen]

Originally Posted by MVSNYC

Zone- Babe dominated more than Gretzky ever did, your question should be reversed...try to wrap your head around the fact that some years, Babe hit more HR's than other TEAMS did. check out his slugging percentage and the list goes on. not even a comparison.

You need a new voting selection above: Yes, not even close.

+1. Gretzky would need to have scored more points or have more goals than entire teams to come close to Ruth.

[CMIZ5290]

Originally Posted by MVSNYC

Zone- Babe dominated more than Gretzky ever did, your question should be reversed...try to wrap your head around the fact that some years, Babe hit more HR's than other TEAMS did. check out his slugging percentage and the list goes on. not even a comparison.

You need a new voting selection above: Yes, not even close.

+1....

[AMBST95]

Mario was a better player than Gretzky and was a contemporary. He was more productive when on the ice and did not have the caliber of teammates that Gretzky had. 2.005 points per game over 17 seasons. Wayne Gretzky was a great player but he didn't dominate the sport in his era the way that Ruth did his. This really isn't even a debate.

[jp1216]

I love this debate. I'm a Gretzky fan - but he did have Messier and Kurri nearly from day one. Different times, different sports, but the debate is fun. Gretzky did influence his game, but I agree that Ruth transformed his more.

[Bpm0014]

I'm not a hockey fan in the least bit, and I may be the biggest baseball fan in the world, but I'm going to give maybe the most crazy stat in sports ever...

Wayne Gretzky is the career goals leader. If you take away every single one of his goals, he's STILL the NHL's all time leading scorer. I didn't believe it, lost a bet, and had to find out the hard way. But look it up.

[Sean]

Keep in mind also how important Ruth was to baseball. The White Sox had just thrown the World Series in 1919, and the details of their betrayal were slowly coming to light in 1920. This was potentially a disaster for baseball. It was at this time that Ruth began to really dominate the game. 54 home runs in 1920, 59 in 1921.
Ruth's unprecedented power captured the public's imagination at just the right time, distracting people from what was playing out in a Grand Jury in Chicago. It's not as if Ruth planned it that way of course, but even by coincidence he did save baseball from what could have been a public reletions disaster and redefined how the game would be played forever after.
I know Gretzky was the best ever when he came along, but I don't think he changed the way the game would be played the way the Babe did.

[dabigyankeeman]

The fact that Ruth was a great pitcher before becoming a position player would make Gretzky have to be a great goalie for a few years before moving to another position.

Also, did Wayne ever score more goals than an entire TEAM???

[Sean1125]

I would say Michael Jordan dominated basketball at beyond the level any one has ever dominated before... Sadly he was before my time but I've watched him play and jeez... Just jeez.

[mattsey9]

Originally Posted by jp1216

I love this debate. I'm a Gretzky fan - but he did have Messier and Kurri nearly from day one.

And just as importantly, he had Semenko & McSorley!

[Tabe]

Originally Posted by AMBST95

Mario was a better player than Gretzky and was a contemporary. He was more productive when on the ice and did not have the caliber of teammates that Gretzky had. 2.005 points per game over 17 seasons. Wayne Gretzky was a great player but he didn't dominate the sport in his era the way that Ruth did his. This really isn't even a debate.

Finally, somebody who agrees with me regarding Mario! I'm a huge Gretzky fan - meeting him is my all-time sports thrill - but Mario was better.

[rhettyeakley]

Originally Posted by AMBST95

Mario was a better player than Gretzky and was a contemporary. He was more productive when on the ice and did not have the caliber of teammates that Gretzky had. 2.005 points per game over 17 seasons. Wayne Gretzky was a great player but he didn't dominate the sport in his era the way that Ruth did his. This really isn't even a debate.

Actually Mario is second to Gretzky in Pts per game avg over their careers. 1.921 to 1.883 with those two being significantly ahead of Mike Bossy in 3rd place.

[dabigyankeeman]

I think its stupid in hockey that in overall player scoring an assist counts the same as a goal.

Yes, I know how important an assist can be, but its still NOT the goal. I would give a point for a goal and half a point for an assist.

[mattsey9]

Originally Posted by rdwyer

Wayne Gretzky played when the goalies had thin leg pads. That's why he scored so much.

It was a more offensive era in hockey, but even still nobody was at his level.

[Wymers Auction]

Originally Posted by Zone91

Did Babe Ruth dominate baseball at the same level Wayne Gretzky did hockey?

For me NO one ever dominated a sport like Wayne did hockey....he finished with 2857 points and NO one else has ever made it to 2000 points...he is also the only one to have had three 200 point (or more) seasons!!

He also won 4 Stanley cups.

Post # 3

Adrian you are assuming that we care about hockey!

[the 'stache]

The closest you're going to get to a Babe Ruth level of dominance where a player also revolutionized their game is Don Hutson of the Packers. Hutson completely changed the game with his pass patterns and route running, and was the best player in the sport for his entire career.

A lot of people say that Jerry Rice was the best receiver in the history of the game. I've read several articles where writers that study the history of the game swear that Hutson is not only the best to ever play his position, but the best to ever play the game. Hutson is, in my opinion, the best receiver. I say that not as a Packer fan, but as somebody who has studied the history of the game.

Hutson played wide receiver in the NFL for eleven seasons. In his rookie year of 1935, he only played in nine games, yet still led the NFL in yards/game and touchdown receptions. The next ten years, he was unstoppable. Hutson single-handedly made the vertical passing game the weapon it is today. During that ten year span, Don led the NFL in receptions eight times, in receiving yards seven times, in touchdown receptions eight times (nine times in eleven years!), and yards receiving per game seven times. And he led the NFL in receptions, receiving yards and touchdown receptions in the same season five times, and four times in the last five years. He was the first receiver to go over 1,000 yards (1,211 in 11 games in 1942). Compare Hutson to Rice. Jerry Rice played twenty seasons, yet only managed to lead the league in receptions, yards and touchdowns in the same season once (1990). Rice led the NFL in receptions only twice (1990 and 1996), while his contemporary Sterling Sharpe managed to do it one more time than Rice in thirteen fewer seasons (1989, 1992, 1993). Rice led the NFL in receiving yards six times (one fewer than Hutson, again, in thirteen more seasons), and in touchdown catches six times.

How great was Hutson? His 99 career touchdown mark, established in 1945, wasn't broken until 1989 when Steve Largent scored his 100th touchdown. Hutson's record stood for 44 years (Ruth's 714 home run record lasted 39 years, as Hank Aaron broke it at the start of the 1974 season). And keep in mind, starting in 1978, Largent and all NFL players played 16 games a season. In Hutson's day, seasons were only 10 games long. Hutson grabbed 99 touchdowns in 116 games. Largent scored 100 touchdowns in 200 games. Rice ended with 197 touchdown catches, but he played in 303 games. Rice reached 100 touchdown receptions in his 120th game.

Like Ruth, who was also an incredible pitcher, Hutson was multi-talented. He was the Packer's kicker, kicking 17 field goals and 172 extra points. Hutson also played defensive end and safety, where he intercepted 30 passes in his career.

[Bored5000]

Originally Posted by the 'stache

The closest you're going to get to a Babe Ruth level of dominance where a player also revolutionized their game is Don Hutson of the Packers.

Wilt Chamberlain, though. The NBA actually had to institute rule changes such as prohibiting throwing the ball over the backboard on inbounds plays because Chamberlain was too dominant and could not be stopped. Gretzky was awesome, no doubt, but Chamberlain should have been the guy IMO posed in the original question instead.

[johnmh71]

"Ruth saved baseball," said Billy Rogell, a Chicago orphan who grew up worshiping Shoeless Joe Jackson from the bleachers. Like the rest of the country, Rogell was devastated when his hero and the other Black Sox were found to have spikes of clay. A few years later, as a shortstop for the Red Sox and Tigers, Rogell had occcasion to experience Ruth's redemptive magic firsthand: "That's the only guy who in my thinking was a super ball player. There was only one like him. Listen, just walking out to the ballpark he'd have everybody clapping like hell. Ever see them do that for any other ball player? Like hell."
- Cobb Would have Caught It
The Golden Age of Baseball in Detroit
pg. 30-31

[Zone91]

Author Joe Orlando of the book called ''The top 200 sports cards in the hobby'' had this to say about Wayne Gretzky:

''When you talk about great players from each sport, Babe Ruth, Michael Jordan and Muhammad Ali come to mind but it is arguable that NO athlete EVER dominated his sport as much as Wayne Gretzky did. Gretzky holds over 60, that's 60 NHL records''.

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