>>>Ruth didn't juice, but he did play during the segregation era.
>>What does that have to do with the number of home runs he hit during his career?
I believe that he is referring to the fact that pool of great pitchers was limited by segregation. Some of the best pitchers of the day were not allowed to compete in MLB, but instead were restricted to the Negro Leagues. Had they been allowed to play in the MLB, then some of the White pitchers would have undoubtedly been replaced by some of the Blacks and overall pitching quality would have improved. Better quality pitching would probably have resulted in fewer home runs for Babe Ruth.
I figured that was his/her point, but then how many black pitchers has Bonds faced in his career? And how many of them were so good that they had even a minor impact on any modern player's home run totals?
In order for this to be true, a higher percentage of black pitchers would have to be considered "great" than would white pitchers. Which would make it fall into the racist category. Which makes it all so much horse hockey.
Yeah Right. And if my Aunt had a penis she would be my Uncle.
Barry Bonds wouldnt make a pimple on Babe Ruth's arse.
Quote: "I believe that he is referring to the fact that pool of great pitchers was limited by segregation."
Then again, Ruth did not play in the expansion era where the pitching has been greatly watered down.
This is an often debated issue and there really is no way on knowing for sure what would have happened if black players took the field with whites during Ruth's era. My gut feeling is that we would have seen the greatest impact on batting averages and RBI's, not because of black pitchers, but because of black fielders. I also wonder what Ruth would have done in the current era, where even star pitchers rarely pitch past the sixth or seventh inning or on less than four days rest.
That might be countered by the current umpiring that restricts "head-hunting" by pitchers in such a way as to give the batter the advantage when they crowd the plate.