1919 Ruth vs 2021 Ohtani

packs · #1 08-04-2021, 03:32 PM

I'm not sure I understand what you mean. Dimensions of old stadiums were far larger to the deepest part of the park than today's stadiums. Many of the home runs hit today would have been long fly balls in any other era. If people are hitting the ball farther today, then why did the fences get moved in?

To create offense, of course. Chicks dig the long ball, etc. But my point is that people aren't hitting the ball further. The game has catered to the opposite.

I think you're also skipping over some important details in what you're saying. Golf, for instance, has completely overhauled it's tools. Nobody hitting a golf ball today is using similar materials to someone 100 years ago. But baseball is relatively unchanged. The ball is wound differently, but it's the same weight it's always been. Bats are still made out of the same wood they've always been made out of. The mound is still the same distance away.

Peter_Spaeth · #2 08-04-2021, 03:40 PM

Wasn't being tongue in cheek. People measured home runs back then, thus the term, tape measure shot. Wasn't just anecdote and tall tale. Ruth hit some balls out of parks like Forbes Field (his last game), no? And I think one of his way back with Boston was measured at close to 600. Move the discussion forward, is anyone hitting them further than Kingman did 40 years ago?

molenick · #3 08-04-2021, 03:52 PM

Okay, maybe I should be less skeptical. I think the term tape-measure came from Mantle's home run out of Griffith Stadium in 1953, but I can't say for sure home runs were not accurately measured in 1921. Although, would people really think of doing that at the time? And for every home run Babe Ruth was said to have hit over 500 feet?

I guess the upshot for me is that I also can't figure out why, for an athletic feat that basically requires strength and coordination, people do not hit the ball farther than they used to.

My conclusion was that maybe they didn't really hit the ball as far as people say they did. But, absolutely, I could be wrong about that. Especially because essentially I am saying we don't really know how far they hit the ball back then.

Peter_Spaeth · #4 08-04-2021, 03:54 PM

https://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/14158

molenick · #5 08-04-2021, 03:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by packs

I think you're also skipping over some important details in what you're saying. Golf, for instance, has completely overhauled it's tools. Nobody hitting a golf ball today is using similar materials to someone 100 years ago. But baseball is relatively unchanged. The ball is wound differently, but it's the same weight it's always been. Bats are still made out of the same wood they've always been made out of. The mound is still the same distance away.

Yes, I was thinking about that with golf, that would explain it (I didn't want to overload my post). But I guess what I was saying is that with essentially the same material, people today are not hitting the ball farther than distances reported 100 years ago.

I guess my inclination was to conclude that the distances reported may not have been accurate. But I guess one can also conclude that players today (except for maybe Stanton, Ohtani, and Judge) cannot hit the ball as far as players used to be able to hit them. I really don't know, of course.

molenick · #6 08-04-2021, 04:03 PM

Can we at least agree that Ohtani is having a pretty good season? But that Babe Ruth was a better player?

Frank A · #7 08-04-2021, 04:23 PM

Ohtani is having a great season. I watch him play every chance I get. Are players today better than players of the past? NO. You can not compare different era's. Think of the equipment used. Could today's players catch a ball in the early day gloves? Todays glover are at least twice the size, and they still have trouble catching a ball. They wouldn't even know how to catch in one of those old gloves. That why the old saying was two hands catching. How about bats? could todays players hit with the old clunky bats they used back then? I'll bet the early players would have loved to get their hands on one of the new skinny bats. The baseball were not yet as hard as today, yet they could hit em a mile. And last but not least the pitchers. ERA doesn't mean much today as starting pitchers last only five or six innings before being replaced by a reliever. The old timers pitched a game from start to finish whether it be nine innings or fifteen innings. Players from all eras would play just as well as each other. You can't compare era's now or ever. Same game, same way to play.

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