Could you or I have dominated the 1880s?

[egri]

I think the athletes of today aren't as tough as the athletes of yesteryear. Today's athletes pro athletes all have high school diplomas, at least some college if not a degree, and generally get pretty good signing bonuses, so if sports doesn't work out, they have viable fallback options. Back then, high school dropouts were common, the salaries were crap, and it was either succeed in sports or go back to the mill/farm, so the Ellis Kinder's and Dizzy Dean's of the world had no choice but to succeed no matter the circumstances. Even someone as immensely talented as Mickey Mantle didn't have any other options; when he was struggling in the minors and wanted to quit, Mutt Mantle threatened to drag him back to the lead mines for the rest of his life. The players of today aren't coming from that background and don't have that mentality. And that's before you get in to the lack of amenities and poor medical care that they received from team doctors. I can't imagine someone like Bryce Harper or Barry Bonds putting up with flannel uniforms in July or train rides without air conditioning for very long.