Metal Sludge Gossip Board

And don't forget to take into account that Williams missed almost 5 of his prime years to military service.

Williams and it's not even close. Out of 9788 PA, Ted struck out 789 times. Ruth OTOH came to bat 10628 times and whiffed 1330.

It's difficult to find a more fearsome power hitter than Ruth though, Bonds surpassed him....or did he? The PED cloud will forever taint that. As for sheer batting talent ( all combined power average, etc ) Williams is the GOAT.

killeverything wrote:Williams and it's not even close. Out of 9788 PA, Ted struck out 789 times. Ruth OTOH came to bat 10628 times and whiffed 1330.

It's difficult to find a more fearsome power hitter than Ruth though, Bonds surpassed him....or did he? The PED cloud will forever taint that. As for sheer batting talent ( all combined power average, etc ) Williams is the GOAT.

Can't say I disagree with Williams as your pick. But it is interesting to note Ruth had a career SLG of .6897, while Williams is at .6338

supertzar7078 wrote:

killeverything wrote:Williams and it's not even close. Out of 9788 PA, Ted struck out 789 times. Ruth OTOH came to bat 10628 times and whiffed 1330.

It's difficult to find a more fearsome power hitter than Ruth though, Bonds surpassed him....or did he? The PED cloud will forever taint that. As for sheer batting talent ( all combined power average, etc ) Williams is the GOAT.

Can't say I disagree with Williams as your pick. But it is interesting to note Ruth had a career SLG of .6897, while Williams is at .6338

No one outslugged Ruth. Literally. That was my point though. Unless you're getting a HR, Ruth wasn't your guy. When I think of great hitter I think of the whole package.

Ichiro impresses me more than a McGwire ( #7 ) that only hit for power and was juiced to the gills his whole career.

I found it interesting that Ruth and Williams sit at #1 & 2 on the alltime list. In fact the top 6 are:

Ruth
Williams
Gehrig
Foxx
Bonds
Greenburg

All are names you would expect to be there. I thought Bonds, Aaron ( #21! ) and Willie Mays ( #18 ) would he higher. I thought Bonds had surpassed everyone. I know he has the single season record. In fact that one goes:

Bonds*
Ruth
Ruth
Bonds*
Bonds*
Ruth



Mike Trout is 25 has been playing for 7 years and sits at #11. Holy shit.

Williams had the keenest eye in the history of baseball. Not even Barry Bonds can measure up. For that, I give Williams the edge. You noted the military service effectively shortening his career too.

Pure hitter? The Splendid Splinter, hands down. Power? Edge to Ruth.
They say Teddy ballgame coukd count the seams on a fastball.