The Live-Ball Era, 1920-1945 - Lecture 5

[@Bismarck.1871]

Imagine an integrated all star team in the 1920s. That team would beat any team in history.

[@mac_-mtlmcal]

You wish lol. Those players were great for their era but they were all basically alcoholics. Modern players would absolutely destroy them.

[@loydkline]

❤️ negro league baseball players against major league baseball players like 7 games series 1920s & 1930s

[@martinburke11]

Babe Ruth barnstormed with Negro League all-star teams in the offseason. Ruth's team would often mainly consist of locals (there was massive participation in semi-pro baseball back then. Similar to the Dominican Republic today). We don't have the box scores of all those games, but we do have those of 18 games from 1918 to 1935. In those games, Ruth went 25 for 54 (.463 BA, 1.167 SA) with 12 HRs and 2 doubles. William 'Judy' Johnson, a Negro Leaguer who's in Cooperstown, said, "We never could seem to get him out." One of those games was against pitcher Dick 'Cannonball' Redding, who was favorably compared to Bob Feller and considered one of the three best Negro League pitchers of all time by historians. Ruth took him deep three times.

[@TheBatugan77]

I was at the HOF when Cool Papa Bell was inducted... Same day as Mickey Mantle & Whitey Ford. 1974.

[@itinerantpatriot1196]

My favorite line about Cool Papa Bell was that he could turn out the light in his bedroom and be under the sheets before the room got dark.

[@TheBatugan77]

@@itinerantpatriot1196 Another:. He hit a ground ball up the middle, and was called out when the ball hit him sliding into second base.

[@TheBatugan77]

I submit that if the ball were NOT livened, Babe Ruth would still hold most HR & slugging marks. His TOTALS might be less. But his margin above everyone else would be greater. He hit 29 HRs in 1919, with the same ball everyone else used. He hit 20 HRs on the road, but only 9 in Fenway, which was much deeper to CF & RF back then. No one else was within miles of the Babe. He also hit those 29 HRs while pitching 133 innings, going 9-5, and playing the OF between starts.

[@TheBatugan77]

@Wax Pack With the tiny strike zone, his OBP & OPS would be through the roof. Any pitch above the waist would be a ball if he chose to let it go by... or obliterated if he chose to swing.

[@johnschuh8616]

If Gibson had more Power than the Babe then he was REALL a phenom With one arm, the Babe could hit a pitched ball well over 300 feet even when clowning around. Plus the Babe despite being overweight, was very fast on the bases. If he had taken better care of himself, he could have extended his career by at least three more seasons for the legs are always the first things to go. Sadly, Gehrig, who was very much a fitness guy. succumbed to ALS the disease that for a long time was named after him. The Babe succumbed to cancer, probably from smoking, drinking, etc.

[@timothydillow3160]

Many of his homers are inside the park because there was no fence in many of the parks

[@MisanthropicTimeSlipperz]

​@timothydillow3160 He hit ten inside the park home runs his whole career. That's an impressive number, for sure. Still, 704 of them were hit over the fences.

[@jacksmith5692]

BTW, from age 31 to 37 and 1926 to 1932, Ruth hit 343 homers or 49 a season in a 154 game schedule. In 1932 at age 37, he dropped to 133 games and hit 41 homers. So from 1926 to 1931 in 6 seasons he hit 302 homers or over 50 homers a season. Amazing! In 1929 he signed for 2 years at 160 thousand and the reporters asked Babe how does it feel that you are making more than the President. Ruth without missing a beat said well I had a better year!

[@TheBatugan77]

Of course, the Babe, unlike Pujols and Ohtani, had to play the field. No DH!

[@jacksmith5692]

@@TheBatugan77 True, also rode brutally hot trains and no healthy foods and training regiments.

[@rubenarriaga3029]

@@jacksmith5692no film to study neither

[@jacksmith5692]

The Babe hit 659 homers for the Yankees from 1920 to 1934 or 15 seasons. He hit .349 and in the 1923, 26, 27, 28, and 32 World Series in 85 at bats had 34 hits for a .400 average with 14 homers and 25 ribbies. Talk about clutch after setting a WS pitching record of 29.67 scoreless innings over 3 starts in the 1916 and 1918 WS. Whitey Ford broke that record in 1961. Ruth was in 10 WS and won 7. There is noone near Babe Ruth!

[@mrlafayette1964]

and '18 to '23 look at the triples,16 one year...you have to have good speed to get 16...if you're ever in Baltimore go see the Ruth museum.

[@jacksmith5692]

@@mrlafayette1964 yes he was a great athlete and graceful in his youth. As a Red Sox he was like 6'2" and 210 pounds. I wish I could see it!

[@barbaradarnell7376]

And hit .390 one year!.390!

[@kenmoore332]

Best ball player ever....bar none.

[@jacksmith5692]

@@kenmoore332 Outhomers most teams in the early 20's. That is ridiculous! The only modern athlete close to him in terms of domination was Wilt Chamberlain. His first 7 years he averaged like 41 points and 25 rebounds. The second 7 years he focused more on an all around game shooting around 60% and averaging almost 6 assists but didn't look to score much. Where Wilt loses the Babe is only 2 NBA titles. I think Wilt was 2-4 in 6 finals losing twice to Bill Russell and twice to Willis Reed. He defeated Nate Thurmond and Jerry Lucas. Reed was out of the 1972 playoffs!

[@amihays7449]

I listened to first video and want to listen to whole series💃💃👏👏👏👏

[@TheBatugan77]

Ruth has always been called an out of shape carousing playboy. Yet he had one of the best post 30-year-old careers in baseball history. He learned to workout in the winter, and Claire helped rein him in somewhat too. Between 32-38 he was superb.

[@thebaseballprofessor]

Most players decline after age 30. Not the Babe. How many 38-year-olds hit 34 homeruns and have an OBP of .442.

[@lloydkline1518]

Before modern weights training , strenghts, vatermain, etc etc

[@rickwpaperworkmakeschildsu4655]

I really enjoyed this video lecture

[@thebaseballprofessor]

Thanks for the kind words.

[@davewestner]

Great work here and in the other videos....have enjoyed them.

[@bradmurray1736]

Ray Chapman is in my high schools sports hall of fame. He was born in Herrin, Illinois. Neat connection I like to tell folks. Only person to ever die playing Major leauge ball

[@zukevail478]

Great job on this lecture…have been making my way through the whole series!

[@thebigjohn8239]

This channel is about to blow up, isn't it.

[@johnbasedow8973]

its not. hes actually extremely historically inaccurate. he makes tons of assumptions about things he knows nothing about. he read a bunch of wikipedias and so people like you think hes really smart and well researched

[@thebigjohn8239]

@@johnbasedow8973 Youre gonna have to give examples if you're gonna make those kinds of accusations.

[@mknewlan67]

@@thebigjohn8239 apparently their weren’t any

[@mac_-mtlmcal]

Yes, all the kids today are looking up baseball history lectures on their phones

[@thebigjohn8239]

@@mac_-mtlmcal Everyone uses the internet. Not just kids.

[@TheBatugan77]

Ted Williams was a Latino. His mother was Mexican. He always said that if his name was Venzor (her maiden name) he'd have experienced a lot of bigotry.

[@HigherPowerWorldWide]

Excellent lecture.

[@SteveGee1986]

Also, until the late 20's, Babe Ruth was 6'2" 205-220 LBS. He was not as fat as people think. At his worst, and I mean worst, he looked like David Ortiz.

[@Bismarck.1871]

I’ve always wondered why people criticize Ruth’s physique and not Ortiz’s. I guess people nowadays don’t value the achievements of old timers.

[@brucewayne3602]

@@Bismarck.1871 absolutely !!!

[@petershire8621]

It must be noted that the "live ball" of the 1920-1945 era, would be a relatively dead ball today. Al Lopez the manager of the Indians and White Sox, stated that when he was playing, beginning in 1930, he could press his fingers into the baseball. By the time he was managing in the 1950's he couldn't. Today, the ball by all accounts (except by the manufacturer, that maintains the fiction that the ball is unchanged) has continued to get harder. Another difficulty is comparing generations is the change in pitching. Through the 60's there was no slider and no split-finger fastball. When Rex Barney came up in the mid 40's, he amazed fans with his 90 mph fastball. Bob Feller was in a league of his own at 98.6 mph, but he was unusual (how pitches are measured is a topic for another day). Now, there are a number of pitchers who throw 100 +, and it's unusual for any pitcher to have a fastball as low as the mid-low 90's (that's now called a control pitcher). Players though can only be seen in comparison to their own times, hence when the Babe hit 29 hrs. there were several other teams whose combined total was 29. Then there are the steroid cheats, but that's another matter for another discussion. Thanks for the program.

[@brucewayne3602]

massive food for thought ... Thankyou !!!

[@tommyriam8320]

0:57 How on Earth is that Ruth? Yes, I have seen this photo countless times before and our appearance does change along with the passing years but this particular image looks *nothing* like 'The Babe'

[@syourke3]

Doesn’t look like Ruth at all.

[@TheBatugan77]

Great video. Damn stupid shame that racism deprived all of us from seeing guys like Satchel Paige, John Beckwith, Smoky Joe Williams, Josh Gibson and Pop Lloyd square off against Ruth, Gehrig and Walter Johnson. It is said that one year Gibson hit more HRs at Griffith Stadium than the Washington Senators did... And Clark Griffith himself noticed.

[@georgebozinovski9401]

Ah shut up

[@FieldEmperor]

Baseball, like everything else, should have stayed segregated to this day.

[@TheBatugan77]

@@FieldEmperor You should've stayed under the rock you crawled out from.

[@boyshaveapenisgirlshaveava7256]

@@FieldEmperor Amen! Whites are waking up more and more by the day

[@luistoledo926]

Here in my country (Mexico), the golden age of our baseball occurred in the late 30s and 40s, due to the great local and international players, such as Martin Dihigo, Satchel Paige, Cool Papa Bell, Josh Gibson , Roy Campanella or Monte Irvin (Dihigo, Gibson, Campanella and Irvin are in the Mexican Baseball Hall of Fame), for which idols of the Negro leagues are fondly remembered.

[@thebaseballprofessor]

Thank you for the comment. Are there regions in Mexico where baseball is far more popular than soccer or boxing?

[@luistoledo926]

@@thebaseballprofessor In the southeastern area of Mexico, baseball has a little more importance because there are several franchises of the Mexican Baseball League, compared to Liga MX (Soccer), which does not have any franchise in this area, although popularity si very similar, the only thing that raises more baseball is what was mentioned above that there you can follow local teams. But the Mexican region considered the most baseball oriented is the Northwest (Baja California, Sonora, Sinaloa), where historically, the fans have always chosen baseball as their favorite sport, being in more recent times the growth of popularity of soccer and basketball in this region, but baseball has been so predominant that its regional league (LMP [Liga Mexicana del Pacífico/Mexican Pacific League] ) is the most important winter league in Mexico, which year after year is made up of many players who played in the Mexican Baseball League in the summer, so it is of assume that the level is very good. In fact, the representative team of Mexico in the Caribbean Series is the champion of the LMP, being a winter league and of a very good level, and if my memory serves me correctly, on 9 occasions, an LMP team, has been champion of the Caribbean Series.

[@thebaseballprofessor]

@@luistoledo926 Thank you for the information. Very interesting and informative.

[@richdouglas2311]

The comment about Ruth's weight (vs Gehrig) is uncalled for. Most pictures--and all video--on Ruth comes from later in his career when he did get heavier. But in his prime he was in great shape, as the photos from that part of his career show.

[@thebaseballprofessor]

Ruth looked every bit the superstar in Boston, but by 1924 he had his signature paunch. Maybe I went overboard with my characterization.

[@richdouglas2311]

@@thebaseballprofessor Agreed and agreed.

[@jamescurran9002]

If you research Softball in the 1930, 40, and 50s, Sporting News gives the National Champions for all those years. And it turns out that almost every national champion from the 30s to the late 50s, was from Bars in Covington and Latonia Ky.

[@thebaseballprofessor]

I'm glad to receive this comment. I want to do a video about the history of softball.

[@big8dog887]

Here's a question. Since the Negro Leagues are now recognized as Major Leagues, was that game at Crosley Field still the first night game in MLB? I know that the Kansas City Monarchs used to take lights on tour with them to play exhibition games at night. What I don't know is whether they played an official league game at night.

[@thebaseballprofessor]

These are good research questions I can't answer with any precision. Minor league teams, barnstormers, and exhibition games occurred under lights before 1935.

[@frankie4827]

Ruth and Gehrig actually played a pick up game at Billy Hebert Field in Stockton California

[@frankie4827]

There's actual video footage too

[@mac_-mtlmcal]

Hey if you had the money then Lou and the Babe would show up, there was no problem. They didn't care where you were

[@cosmickeys5766]

Given Greenburg & DiMaggio's backgrounds mentioned, important to mention that although kept secret due to difficulty he might have encountered growing up, Ted Williams is acknowledged to be 50% Latino as his mother was Mexican.

[@thebaseballprofessor]

I see things a bit differently. May Venzor's parents came from Mexico with mixed heritages, but from everything I can tell, Venzor's true identity had everything to do with her Christian faith as opposed to any racial or ethnic group. She never spoke Spanish to her sons, which is revealing. That said, had Williams been born into the world with a surname like Gonzalez or Sanchez, that would've changed how people saw the Splendid Splinter.

[@cosmickeys5766]

@@thebaseballprofessor thanks for that info. A very interesting wrinkle to baseball history. I have seen so much more about this in recent years, never really sure to what degree it was true, if it were a bit of hopeful revisionist speculative history like Babe Ruth being black or Beethoven being 1/4 Moor, or if he had been raised never to speak of that part of his heritage. Thanks for the entire series as well! That was phenomenal.

[@johnquinn8591]

What if... what if.... what if Babe Ruth's childhood idol (Bucky Freeman) didn't play his entire career in the dead ball era ??? U even know who he was ??? He hit 27 homers one year..... all the rest of the players combined totalled 11. Yes he more than doubled the entire league combined... how many u think he would have hit ??? 900 or 1000 if he played with the 'jackrabbit ' ball David Strathairn called it in the movie 8 man out ??? Maybe Bucky Freeman would have hit 90 homers in a year ??? If he could hit 27 during the mush ball era in 1 season.... 90 is no joke. He revolutionized weightlifting and being in top physical shape, which he actually was made fun of for being ahead of his time. Bucky Freeman...... Babe Ruth's childhood idol. Finally recognized as one of the Red Sox greats a few summers back. Took em long enough eh??? Now maybe you can learn about great players other than Ruth, Chamberlain, Gretzky, or Montana. You'll be amazed how the Oilers most valuable player was probably Mark Messier, not Gretzky. Gretzky was the best... but without Messier's team leadership and mental toughness in the locker room was the reason he won multiple cups without Gretzky. I still think Gehrig's stats are just as good or better than Ruth's !!! But.... that is an opinion. A fact would be Michael Jordan was definitely not better than Wilt Chamberlain, Magic Johnson, or Oscar Robertson..... Opinion.... Larry Bird, LeBron, and Kareem / Lewis Alcindor were all better. At least those 6 players didn't have the benefit of refs giving them every call like Jordan had the luxury of when they fixed games and or championships for the Bulls.

[@hogg4229]

Ok, Jordan could beat anyone. Might not have been better than Wilt one on one, but ai believe he was-Opinion. Fact-he was better than Magic, Bird, Al-Cinder (Jabbar), and every other person you mentioned, especially Lebron. Another fact, Bird was better than than Lebron, and was the greatest SF to ever play.

[@MisanthropicTimeSlipperz]

Babe Ruth saved the MLB. When the Black Sox threw the 1919 series, it looked very bleak for the league. Ticket sales dropped tremendously, and there were talks that it may not survive. They all should respect Ruth, for if it was not for him, we might not have the same national pastime today. Like the bedtime prayer says, "God bless mommy and daddy and god bless Babe Ruth."

[@caseysmith544]

I would like to see a Pro Women's Softball League out there today. Like one where the players use the top rules of the sport like NCAA rules but mandate wood bats if possible or at least all aluminum bats/light steel bats for the league with none of the modern composite bats that allow for easier home runs. Oh and make the sport so they can make a full living unlike WNBA where that is hard to make work because the sport is too similar to NBA in all respects to get fans or play. Thinking of finding fields and places that are not being used for sports but are in great shape like old arenas and fields still used for events, or are big venues only used like once a year for County/State fair stuff and can be quickly taken down for the one or two weekends they could not play as well as other random events that happen there.

[@SR-zc6lk]

Not financially viable.

[@caseysmith544]

@@SR-zc6lk That might be true seeing the decline in Baseball and no to little viewing outside of market unless you get special MLB packages.

[@jpsned]

28:35 "Hank Greenberg played about 10 seasons." He actually played 12.

[@TheBatugan77]

11.5. Or 11.66. Or perhaps 12.2.

[@utherpendragon4227]

I didn’t know about the combined stats but that is a long time overdue from MLB and the Hall of Fame. Should have been done decades ago.

[@timothydillow3160]

The "dead ball era" was the era before they put a cork in the middle of the ball, it had nothing to do with the tobacco juice or dirt on it, Babe Ruth played three seasons during that era.

[@thebaseballprofessor]

It's a confluence of factors that make 1920 or 1921 the beginning of the liveball era.

[@joeylocognato2198]

The applying of a foreign substance on the baseball, simply makes the pitch break in an unusual manner, that is why hitters are fooled.

[@FDLrick]

Love it.

[@itinerantpatriot1196]

Here it is 2022, 108 years removed from his rookie season and Babe Ruth remains the best all-round baseball player to ever suit up. No other sports figure holds that distinction. Yet I viewed a video somebody posted listing the 10 most influential players of all time and he didn't even make the list. Some kid in his second season for the Padres did though. It saddens me that young people have such a poor understanding of history.

[@SteveGee1986]

The manufacturing companies became popular due to the "Work or Fight" policy during WW1. Baseball was not a protected industry so most ball players went to "work" for manufacturing companies

[@anxious_robot]

this was really good thanks. it's probable babe ruth was on steroids and the ball used for yankee games was uber juiced.

[@TheBatugan77]

Go down to 7-Eleven and buy a clue.

[@syourke3]

It’s probable that your smoking something illegal. Steroids? Not unless they put them in his beer!

[@bretdodger9869]

No mention of Rogers Hornsby, the greatest right handed hitter of all time? From 1921 to 1925, the Rajah AVERAGED 0.403, hitting an astounding 0.424 in 1924!!

[@thebaseballprofessor]

I talk about Hornsby. Go to 10:45 in my lecture.

[@bretdodger9869]

@@thebaseballprofessor: apologies, I stand corrected!

[@javiercxstillo]

hey im going to gwu to study history. my ultimate goal is to profess history , any tips tricks or anytbing helpful on your journey to being a professor. thanks.

[@robbk1]

Babe Ruth was NOT chubby or fat for the first 3/4 of his career. It is because most of the film of him was from the last few years of his career, that the public think of him as being fat. He was very tall, big, and strong. But he was not overweight during most of his baseball career. He was a fast runner as well. He was a much better athlete than most people of today think.

[@markfrost2707]

Im telling you that is not Ruth in that picture with two boys. There is just NO WAY that's George's face. I LOOK like my 7-tear-old picture

[@TheBatugan77]

You still sound like a 7-year old too.

[@TheBatugan77]

Jordanian... A native of Jordan. Ruthian... Bigger than life.

[@brucewayne3602]

perhaps even bigger than than !!!

[@nobodyaskedbut]

In the 1930s Babe Ruth called Charlie Gehringer the "greatest player in the game" and Satchel Paige called Gehringer next to Josh Gibson, the best hitter he ever faced. Gehringer (1924-42) needless to say is the most under-appreciated player in baseball history. He was above average in every facet of the game. Only 4 players in MLB history produced 200 runs (runs+RBI-HR) in a season for his team more times than Gehringer. They were Gehrig, Ruth, Foxx & T.Williams. In the field he led his league at his position (2B) in assists 7X, Fldg.% 7X, DP 4X, PO 3X & total chances 5X. He is the only middle infielder in MLB history to handle 900 chances in a season 6X. He struckout fewer than 20X in 5 seasons of at least 500 ab & hit more HR than times SO in back to back 150 game seasons. In 1929 he led the AL in runs, hits, 2Bs, 3Bs & SB. In 1936 he hit 87 extra-base hits (60-2B/12-3B/15-HR) & stuckout 13X which is highest number of EBH minus SO in a season in MLB history. Only Gehrig & Ruth in MLB history, scored 130 runs in a season more times than Gehringer & Gehringer played at least 500 consecutive games 2 different times. Gehringer is the only player to ever accomplish all of the following: (1) 200 hits in a season 5 consecutive times, (2) 100 RBI & 100 Runs in a season 5 consecutive times, (3) 200 runs produced in a season 5 consecutive times. He was the only one to play every inning of the first 6 MLB All-star games (1933-38) in which he batted .500, didn't strikeout & didn't make an error. He batted .321 in 3 World Series & in 90 plate appearances struckout ONCE!! Charlie Gehringer is at least one of the 10 greatest players in MLB history.

[@thebaseballprofessor]

Gehringer was great. His lifetime WAR (wins above replacement) puts him in the company of Pedro Martinez, Chipper Jones, Bob Gibson, and Jimmie Foxx. I think you are right. Gehringer is most under appreciated HOF player alongside Eddie Plank.

[@nobodyaskedbut]

@@thebaseballprofessor I am not a fan of WAR & Gehringer's career WAR numbers are not as good as the top 10 all-time in WAR. However, his WAR numbers do validate my contention that he is the the all-time best 2-way player. He is the only MLB player in the last 120 years who ranked top 10 in his league in both offensive WAR & defensive WAR in the same season 6 consecutive times (1932-37). He is also, the only player to rank top 10 in his league in offensive WAR at least 9 total seasons & 6 consecutive seasons AND rank top 10 in defensive WAR in at least 9 total seasons & 6 consecutive seasons. BTW, I think it is quite significant that Ruth called Gehringer the greatest player of the 1930s when Gehrig, Foxx & Ott were all in their primes. Most great players give these kind of accolades to players who are at least somewhat similar to them. Gehringer was, of course, not anything like Ruth as a player. To me, that shows the exalted status Ruth thought of Gehringer as a player. Also, the other thing which makes Gehringer really special is that he commited very few negative plays. He rarely struckout or hit into DPs. He led 2B in Fldg% 7X. He never was even as low as .500 in SB % in any season which he had at least 10 attempts & to put that into perspective consider Cobb had 2 seasons under 50%, Speaker 3, Carew 5, Rose 5, Sisler 2, J. Jackson 3 & the following were 50% or worse 3X: Cuyler, A. Vaughn, P. Waner, Kaline, D. Parker, Hornsby, Slaughter. Negative plays in baseball have been sterilized in the last 50 years or so mainly by outlets like ESPN. That has allowed players to win MVPs even though they struckout 184X. Also, the base on balls has been raised to a status it certainly does not deserve. A walk has never been as good as a hit. That is why famed "power hitters" such as Boggs & Ichiro led the league in intentional walks 9X combined.

[@ericgoldfarb4870]

Ted Williams born in san diego mother was Mexican. A secret he kept for his entire life.

[@richdouglas2311]

I disagree with the inclusion of Negro baseball statistics into major league stats for three reasons. First, the quality of play was not consistent. Certainly the best Negro baseball players were as good as their MLB counterparts. But was that true up and down the line? No. Second, stats were spotty and incomplete. We can't really rely on these accounts. It's hard enough to nail down stats from MLB before 1920; the Negro leagues were even more inconsistent and the reporting was unreliable. Third, the Negro baseball seasons were much shorter. It's one thing to hit or slug (or pitch) over 70 games. It's quite another to do it over 154. All of that said, the Hall of Fame has welcomed many players from Negro baseball. And why not? The best were identifiable, and the level of competition was often very good--sometimes equal to the MLB. So, recognized the players, but not their statistics.

[@brendanwilde9863]

26:45 FDR

[@Lige]

TR had been gone for many years. Sloppy commentary.

[@steed3902]

@@Lige agreed. TR passed in 1919. OP was more interested in buzzwords than actual history!

[@RaulMartinez-bw9mf]

How is calling someone "Big Baboon" racist? You are a part of a major league team and your teammates give you nickname. My last name is Martinez and I had the nickname "Dirty Martini" amongst colleagues. You might think it's racist but you were never a part of the group to begin with to understand the meaning.

[@dyl923gonz7]

I saw this tiktok video where this guy believes babe ruth is part black

[@TheAnimeist]

Why is "Big Baboon" racist? Perhaps derogatory, but that's how some nicknames go. What is worrisome is that more and more people are confusing anything negative as racism. What was Ruth's opinion of the name? Without his opinion, we don't even know if it was derogatory.

[@thebaseballprofessor]

I did not mention his other, more offensive nickname. Look it up.

[@heislerjr]

There were racist implications in questions about Ruth’s parentage, strong racist overtones in teasing about his features. Understandable that those who haven’t read a lot about Ruth’s life may not have been aware of this.

[@TheBatugan77]

Baboons were offended.

[@notvalidcharacters]

"Big baboon" is "racist"?? Uhhhh you do know all the players were white, right? Other errata: I suspect at 25:27 "the St. Louis Browns drew fewer that ten thousand fans" must mean 100,0000 fans... and at 26:44 I doubt Theodore Roosevelt trumpeted the arrival of night baseball, mostly because he had died in 1919.

[@MT-ub8qg]

Sam Jones who pitched for 20 years (22 if you count years he was player- manager with Toronto) Was a better pitcher than the Babe in the pivotal 1918 and 1923 season. Ty Cobb said sam was the one pitcher he did not want to face. I have the article. He would have been HoF if he had only played 10 years, stats suffering with lesser teams back half of career.

[@TheBatugan77]

Ruth was a top level pitcher between 1915-18. In 1918 he was at or near the top in both pitching and hitting categories. He led the AL in HRs, and set a scoreless innings streak record in the World Series, which the Red Sox won. Sad Sam may have been a 'better pitcher' in 1918, but the dual-threat that the Babe posed will never be seen again... all Ohtani hysteria aside.

[@lloydkline1518]

Ty cobb was scary / afraid of a pitcher other than walter johnson : ty cobb wouldve ateup sam jone pitching like he owned him

[@MT-ub8qg]

@@lloydkline1518 I have the news paper article (link below) where Ty Cobb quoted on difficulty hitting Sam. I also have personal correspondence from Cobb and serveral signed baseballs Ty gave Sam from several games he got the best of him. They had long time friendly rivalry. www.dropbox.com/s/xmwdfwysx5xnha4/ty%20cobb%20commentary%20on%20sam%20jones.jpg?dl=0

[@lloydkline1518]

@@MT-ub8qg other hitters had no problem ;; htting off pitcher sam.. jones ; maybe was talking about walter johnson ;three finger bown;; etc etc

[@lloydkline1518]

@@MT-ub8qg was sam jones a lefty pitcher?? Satchel paige everybody had trouble with him including roger hodnsby; howeveri you face someone enough time hitters learn to hiit them ; randy johnson picky for your poison lefty 100 mph fsstball or nasty slider :: 6 foot 11 inches;; j.r richard 100 mph fastball ; 6 foot 9 inches

[@ThekiBoran]

No, No, Nanette

[@steed3902]

Hey bud. 26:33 lol, if you're gonna try to be a historian, please get your Roosevelts correct....TR died in 1919!

[@thebaseballprofessor]

I'm surprised no one has pointed that out yet. I meant FDR not TR!

[@steed3902]

@@thebaseballprofessor i apologize for my snarky firs post. i really enjoy your videos. :-)

[@PatrickNthedesert]

and steed since you pointed out his mistake tell me what is firs ?...😮​@@steed3902

[@robbk1]

Yes, Ted Williams combined getting on base a lot by getting a lot of walks by not swinging at bad pitches, with great hitting for average, with lots of home runs. But Babe Ruth like Williams, also earned over 100 walks in many of his seasons, and also hit for average, having hit .393 and .378, and having a lifetime batting average of .342. So stating that "Ted Williams, unlike or more than Babe Ruth, combined getting on base and hitting for average with power hitting, is completely inaccurate and misleading.

[@jamesoliver6625]

Too much eisegesis, not enough baseball.

[@Lige]

Yup! Where's the action? This is pontification.

[@TheBatugan77]

Take a hike, jimmy.

[@jamesoliver6625]

@@TheBatugan77 I did

[@johnquinn8591]

Michael Jordan ??? World's best basketball player??? Since when m0r0n ??? U actually think he was better than Wilt Chamberlain..... U lost all credibility with me. U do know that some people can actually think for themselves still and not believe everything they hear spewed out as opinion on ESPN.... Jordan's lucky if he's in the top 5 of all time, and I doubt that very much!!!

[@Lige]

Wilt was a real gentleman. Too bad you're not.

[@johnquinn8591]

@@Lige I don't have manners or patience when people regurgitate opinionated statements without backing it up with factual evidence. Otherwise most people think I'm a very nice person.

[@TheBatugan77]

@@johnquinn8591 SHOVE it.

[@lloydkline1518]

Kobe bryant was michael jordan hornet nest :: wilt had NBA records book in his hands at his funeral casket:

[@lloydkline1518]

Wilt block the kareem abdul jabber sky hook bunch of time when was very old ; unstoppable in the low post