[Alberta's Child]

It’s impossible to compare MLB players from different eras. Mays had an impressive career by any measure, but when you compare him to his peers in his own era his numbers don’t jump out as much as others.

I’d be hard pressed to make the case that anyone other than George Herman “Babe” Ruth was the greatest ball player who ever lived. He put up numbers that are borderline clownish compared to the other players of his era — hitting 50-60 home runs when nobody else was hitting 30 or when entire teams were hitting 30-40 in a season, for example. That would be like an NFL quarterback going out there and passing for 10,000 yards in one season.

And on top of all that … Ruth almost certainly would have been a Hall of Fame PITCHER if he hadn’t moved to the outfield full time.

[hanamizu]

Ruth almost certainly would have been a Hall of Fame PITCHER if he hadn’t moved to the outfield full time.

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Fun bit of trivia: Ruth as a pitcher was involved in a perfect game. The first batter he faced walked. Ruth protested the call so much that he was thrown out of the game. His replacement picked off the runner and then retired the next 26 batters in a row.