If Babe Ruth played today, he'd have the same advantages that today's players have over previous generations (advancements in weight training, nutrition, medicine, scouting, etc.) And with what they’re paying players today, that would keep him motivated. You're also forgetting that back then the fields were ginormous and it was considered the dead ball era where the ball didn’t travel as far. In addition, Babe Ruth had insanely quick hands and amazing hand eye coordination…something you can teach…just ask Barry Bonds. He hit bombs off of heavy balls and poorly made bats. Now, imagine if Ruth had access to modern scouting, medicine, training equipment, and even just basic necessities. One last thing, he also used a 54 ounce bat. Just imagine what he and his unusually quick hands would do with a 34 ounce bat. By the way, his reflex test was measured against Albert Pujols and Babe tested at a higher rate.
you live in fantasy, he's not the greatest hitter and not the greatest pitcher, he does both well which is unusual, but i'd take all kinds of people ahead of him, he won 15 games once, otherwise never more than 10, his career batting is .274. 681 hits. You want to talk reality? Use facts.
@@MTAB-bs3xr Othani can hit homeruns at least 40 every season and can win games at least 10 in the same season that's reality!!! let me hear that what you call reality???
i think he is facing and playing with weaker talent. these golfballs in softball fields and starters who cant go 6, batters who strike out 200 times and cant hit to the opposite field.
Career Stats…Ruth vs Ohtani BA: Ruth = .342 / Ohtani = .272 OBP: Ruth = .474 / Ohtani = .361 SLG: Ruth = .690 / Ohtani = .553 OPS: Ruth = 1.194 / Ohtani = 0.914 WAR: Ruth = 182.6 / Ohtani = 31.5 HRs: Ruth = 712 / Ohtani = 163 RBIs: Ruth = 2,214 / Ohtani = 419 ERA: Ruth = 2.28 / Ohtani = 3.14 W-L%: Ruth = .671 / Ohtani = .655 WHIP: Ohtani = 1.097 / Ruth = 1.159 WAR: Ruth = 20.4 / Ohtani = 13.4 World Series Tittles: Ruth = 7 / Ohtani = 0 Home Run Titles: Ruth = 12 / Ohtani = 0 It’s not even close. To top it off, Babe Ruth would’ve won 4 Cy Youngs if the award existed back then…Ohtani will never win one. So please stop saying Ohtani is the greatest player of all-time. Ohtani has a very long way to go to even be considered one of the Top 20 players of all-time…let alone to be on Mount Rushmore with Babe Ruth.
If Babe Ruth played today, he'd have the same advantages that today's players have over previous generations (advancements in weight training, nutrition, medicine, scouting, etc.) And with what they’re paying players today, that would keep him motivated. You're also forgetting that back then the fields were ginormous and it was considered the dead ball era where the ball didn’t travel as far. In addition, Babe Ruth had insanely quick hands and amazing hand eye coordination…something you can teach…just ask Barry Bonds. He hit bombs off of heavy balls and poorly made bats. Now, imagine if Ruth had access to modern scouting, medicine, training equipment, and even just basic necessities. One last thing, he also used a 54 ounce bat. Just imagine what he and his unusually quick hands would do with a 34 ounce bat. By the way, his reflex test was measured against Albert Pujols and Babe tested at a higher rate.
Career Stats…Ruth vs Ohtani BA: Ruth = .342 / Ohtani = .272 OBP: Ruth = .474 / Ohtani = .361 SLG: Ruth = .690 / Ohtani = .553 OPS: Ruth = 1.194 / Ohtani = 0.914 WAR: Ruth = 182.6 / Ohtani = 31.5 HRs: Ruth = 712 / Ohtani = 163 RBIs: Ruth = 2,214 / Ohtani = 419 ERA: Ruth = 2.28 / Ohtani = 3.14 W-L%: Ruth = .671 / Ohtani = .655 WHIP: Ohtani = 1.097 / Ruth = 1.159 WAR: Ruth = 20.4 / Ohtani = 13.4 World Series Tittles: Ruth = 7 / Ohtani = 0 Home Run Titles: Ruth = 12 / Ohtani = 0 It’s not even close. To top it off, Babe Ruth would’ve won 4 Cy Youngs if the award existed back then…Ohtani will never win one. So please stop saying Ohtani is the greatest player of all-time. Ohtani has a very long way to go to even be considered one of the Top 20 players of all-time…let alone to be on Mount Rushmore with Babe Ruth.
@@stonereaper1157NO‼️ Babe Ruth never did what SHOHEi is doing, SHOHEi has 7-8 kind of pitch and He can throw 165klm. while batting... Babe Ruth is a pitcher and became a hitter... He only did pitching while hitting in 1season... stiLL Babe Ruth never did what SHOHEi is doing...
Excellent work Steve. It took me until I was 45 before I could turn on the TV and hear a White Man tell the truth about the DEAD BALL ERA and those accumulated records. Much Love Steve. I don't have a point to make Steve said it all.💯
Everything before 60s are tin pot achievements. The best baseball is played today. Ohtani #1 World’s most valuable player now world Champion and he’s just getting started
You have to separate greatest career and greatest player of all time. We've never seen a player like Shohei who can possibly be the best pitcher in the MLB and one of the best hitters all at the same time. He may never put up the overall numbers as some all time greats but that doesn't mean he wasn't better. Shohei is the best player to ever step on an MLB field and I don't even think its close. He created himself a tier so above what everyone else is capable of doing that I don't believe we will see something like this again. Appreciate what you are watching because one day; Shohei will be mentioned as the ultimate legend.
I think he is the greatest sports player ever. I have never seen a guy do what he is doing. In regards to never seeing this again, I beg to differ. It is very common in Japan for guys to play both ways. I think we will see this more in the next 10 years just dont think we will see someone as dominate.
This Man still holding on to .380 batting avg from the 40s 😂 not even he was around to see such low level baseball. Most of the players back then were plumbers and librarians and taxi drivers. And I bet the pitchers that threw to babe Ruth were your local news paper delivery boys and girls 😂
@@AlexLiftingBRO maybe. if so , he would be a hall of famer. not as good a the great bambino...or even a willie mays or the mick . however for sure in the top 20. i guess he would still have to bat higher than 260 for a a career
How? There are better pitchers and better hitters in his own era (as of March ‘23). Is he a better position player than Trout? Is he a better pitcher than Verlander? Come on. He’ll be a HOFer for sure, and the most well rounded player we’ve ever seen, but how can you call a guy who isn’t even #1 in his era the GOAT?
@@eeyl8880 and ohtani has never led the league in runs rbis or hrs. If babe Ruth was brought up in todays era with advanced sports medicine and nutrition and training and all the extra money baseball’s players have who’s to say he couldn’t pitch 102?
@@brendanbloom3366 lol I can start a game within my state and call myself baberuth a league of firemen. Ohtani is better period. Ohtani led in HR in 2021 for the most part.
What Steve Phillips was saying is that if MLB was Integrated while Ruth was playing, and Ruth actually played against the best of the best in the sport at the time. Then his numbers would not have been as great. Not that he would not be a great player. Let's be honest here, the saying *"A great player is a great player in any era"* is not always true, especially in baseball. If you transported Babe Ruth in his prime and put him in the MLB today he would May not even make a team roster. The game is so much faster than he has ever seen. He would be facing people that live and breathe baseball. Not people that play a game and then go work as a plumber the next day. That's why in my opinion the argument of *"Ohtani is not better than Ruth because he has not won any world series like Ruth has"* does not matter to me because of the level of talent he was facing. It would be like me bragging about winning the little league world series while being in my twenties at the time. People would look at me like I'm crazy for bragging about beating up on a bunch of kids in a game.
They would have been as great. Since when are negro league players the best?! GTFO with that shite! Babe played against 42 hall of famers. That is a record that still stands.
Mad Dog trying to win a debate by shaming Steve for providing historical perspective. He sounds as ridiculous as usual when he takes his crazy defenseless positions.
I actually think the bigger mark against Ruth compared to today is the pitching environment, not the level of competition. Obviously, facing the truly elite pitchers in the Negro Leagues would've made a difference. But Babe had a 1.215 OPS against Walter Johnson in 121 PA according to Stathead. He could smack against elite pitchers. The bigger advantage he faced was that pitchers pitched the entire game basically every time. That means he got to face pitchers 4-5 times in a game. We know now that MLB hitters get exponentially better against a pitcher each time they see them in a game. The fact that he got to see pitchers fading over the course of the game and beat up on them as the game wore on, that was the big advantage of hitters in older baseball eras (both before and after integration). Adding more competition would've made it harder for Babe to out homer the league. But he still could've done it. He was that much more talented than anyone he was playing against. If you are going to discount his stats, it shouldn't be for integration; it should be for the far easier pitching strategy from that era. And that argument can hold true all the way into the 80s and even the 90s if you want to discount guys' stats.
The modern game is significantly harder for many reasons, but that is possibly the foundational one, more so even than the expanded talent pool. I also think we can massively respect and enjoy what Shohei is doing without saying he is better than every single inner circle HOFer that played the game. You can come up with things that have never been done before for most inner circle HOFers (just like you can with Shohei). Mickey Mantle had one of the most insane careers ever seen in MLB while playing his entire career on a partially torn ACL. Babe Ruth out homered the league. Lou Gehrig never took days off and they were traveling from place to place on buses and trains, putting ridiculous wear on their bodies without any modern medical treatment and put up legendary stats. Hank Aaron was hitting about 30 or more homers every year from age 21-39, received MVP votes every single season and did it all chasing Babe Ruth while playing in the segregation era South. There is not a single player today that is facing that kind of pressure. I am in my 20s and I have more respect for the legends of the past than Phillips, who actually got to see some or hear about them firsthand from his parents. Can we stop using Shohei to degrade our legends and just appreciate the sheer transcendent uniqueness and skill he displays on its own merits.
what truly elite..satchel did not pitch until 1928 if he played in the mlb and he could of been a yankee. there was not great black pitchers back then. in fact then and since only a few have made the hall. bob gisbon and fergie jenkins and only one catcher half italian campy...thats it. so nothing would of changed the babe and his stats..nothing. players might of been added to each team that is all. even josh did not play until babe was heading out in 1933. they would not of played together. learn the game steve phillips.
@@albundy8192 I used the words "truly elite" to focus on those specific few that would've been game changers enough to justify what Phillips is saying. There were more than Satchel, but you are right that it would not have been significantly more. And Babe has a 1.000 OPS or better against like 6-7 HOF pitchers anyways so I really don't think it would've affected him much. I also agree that the only Negro League hitter that would've made it hard for Babe to lap the league in homers is Gibson and he wasn't playing at all until the very end of Babe's career. I don't think that integrating baseball at that time would've changed anything about Babe's legacy (if anything it would've strengthened it because he would've put up these numbers against a broader range of talent). Like I said, the only real criticism you can have against Babe is that they had the great fortune of getting to face the same pitcher for the entire game, 120+ pitches, basically every single game. But this was true for quite a long time, not just in Babe's era. And every other hitter had that favorable condition. No one then or since did what Babe did. I honestly see no foolproof argument for someone being a better player than Babe Ruth. There are many guys in that tier of players - including other guys I mentioned like Aaron and Mantle. And Ohtani certainly has the talent and unique skill set to put himself in that conversation. But 2 seasons is not enough to override entire careers of legendary players who also did significantly impressive and unique things of their own. Even what Judge did this season was incredibly impressive and unique to put together and all around hitting and power season of that level in a significantly more difficult pitching environment even than what Bonds faced 20 years ago, let alone compared to what Ruth, Mantle and Williams faced. Ohtani needs to do this for another 5-6 years at least to really put himself in that conversation. And he needs at least 2-3 seasons where he is the best at even one of the 2 skill sets because he hasn't had that yet. I love watching him play and he is truly incredible, unique and gifted. But people are borderline worshipping him at this point.
@@Grizzlied555 whether you like it or not, he is on his path, and i know there isn't a real comparison because they played at both eras, but Shohei would at least TIE babe ruth on this debate as the goat, and most would agree.
@@ju_p9011 Most would not agree. They only would in your warped, twisted mind. The guy has not even finshed his fifth season yet, and holds almost no records. Babe has the highest War, Ops, and Slug.% in baseball history. He hit more home runs than every team in the A.L. twice. He remains the only player to set records on the season and in the world series as a pitcher and a hitter. He also is the only player to win the world series as a pitcher and a hitter. He won 12 home run titles, 13 slug. titles, 10 on base % titles, and 13 Ops titles. Shohei will never come close to doing any of those things. It is not a debate. Babe is #1!
I think people should rephrase that question because Shohei Ohtani is NOT the Greatest Of All TIme, but he IS the BEST baseball player of all time. "Greatness" refers to and requires accomplishments yet Shohei just began his young career here in the U.S. Also he is Japanese, so NOT GREAT by American standard. 🤣 I'd hate to argue with Mad Dog about anything cause he's not listening.
Steve is spot on. It’s easy. Ruth and the likes of DiMaggio didn’t play against the best possible competition that was out there. Oh rain is undoubtedly doing this against the very best players of his time. You would be hard pressed to find a batter that obtain couldn’t strike out, as well as a pitcher he couldn’t hit off of.
Othani will be the greatest if he does this into his mid 30s but for someone to say Williams wouldn’t hit .400 against anyone in any era is outrageous. Like Russo said, at 40 years old he was making the MLB in the late 50s look like his playground. I do understand though Ruth may have been his own worst enemy if he had to play against everyone because he did have drinking problems and who knows if he would have taken better or worse care of himself but he .300 hitter is great no matter what
Racist Russo's excuse is "a great player's a great player". Think he would use the same line when talking about Saduharu Oh having the most home runs of all time????????? Of course not, he's blatantly prejudiced.
Oh man you know what's coming right? When shohei eventually strikes out, gets into a slump hitting or pitching the media and fans gonna go 150% Turn on him. And at the all star game time when the angels are in last place in the division its going to be the same.
If Babe Ruth played today, he'd have the same advantages that today's players have over previous generations (advancements in weight training, nutrition, medicine, scouting, etc.) And with what they’re paying players today, that would keep him motivated. You're also forgetting that back then the fields were ginormous and it was considered the dead ball era where the ball didn’t travel as far. In addition, Babe Ruth had insanely quick hands and amazing hand eye coordination…something you can teach…just ask Barry Bonds. He hit bombs off of heavy balls and poorly made bats. Now, imagine if Ruth had access to modern scouting, medicine, training equipment, and even just basic necessities. One last thing, he also used a 54 ounce bat. Just imagine what he and his unusually quick hands would do with a 34 ounce bat. By the way, his reflex test was measured against Albert Pujols and Babe tested at a higher rate.
Babe Ruth not only didn't play the best black players, he didn't play the world's best either. Ohtani is playing a wayyyyyy bigger talent pool and thriving.
Baseball is the only sport where people can claim players from a century ago were better than today’s players and others will co-sign it. It’s laughable. Russo making that weird face everytime someone makes a valid point is why I hate when he has any discussion about past vs current players. His retorts don’t even directly correlate to what his counterpart is saying. He starts grandstanding and overgeneralizing arguments. That doesn’t win debates between adults. That presidents argument was one of the worst examples I have ever heard in a debate. He disagrees with reality,which is that Ruth’s numbers are inflated.
Shohei is absolutely the greatest talent of all time. But the G.O.A.T?-no. He's just 6 seasons into his MLB career, and so his total body of work is not there. If he stays healthy for most of his future career, yes, absolutely he has a very good chance of being the GOAT.
In '41 they had guys like mad Dog as an all star short stop... Anyone could hit one past a 40 year old that drinks beer and eats hot dogs all fucking day
For sure answer: Nobody will ever know. Right now -- Hell no! IN 2035 after 12 more seasons of this crazy shitt -- HELL YES!!!! He must keep this up at an all star level for at least 8 more years, but he will be the GOAT if he does. 10 Seasons total in a career as a top 5 hitter and top 5 Pitcher would make it a very hard debate against him being the best individual performer in the game's history.
I'll say it for Chris. The Negro league players wouldn't have made a difference. They were good at that point but not so good that Ruth wouldn't have been the man.
Ruth didn’t play against the best of his time. It is absolutely correct to suggest his numbers are inflated because he didn’t play in an integrated league. Ohtani is playing against the best players on the planet right now, and he is better than all of them.
Ruth was travelling on train not plane Ruth 90-30 as pitcher held record scoreless innings forW/S for 100 years so he must be the the best to do both factor everything he is still the best ever to play
this hype is similar to Jordan in basketball. If Ohtani wins a ring. he's the greatest of all time :). Damn, it's something spectacular if a Korean wants to buy Ohtani's jersey. hahaha
If Japan has become a strategic defensive partner with USA even after being nuked, why is there still so much resentment b/w Koreans and Japanese? I don't claim to know the history, but buying a Ohtani's jersey is a good start! :)
Todd: Japan doesn’t resent Korea. And Japan doesn’t resent America despite America doing nothing to help reduce resentment. So basically, Japan just doesn’t resent.
@@toddlazares7707 It's kinda similar to German and Jews. Koreans who went thru the colonized period are still alive. They prolly can't forget the tragedy. New generations are less sensitive about it though bc we didnt go thru it. I personally like Japan but I highly doubt my grandpa will.... Also, geographically, Japan has to kinda migrate toward us. Japan is on Ring of Fire, so they might sink from EQ and Tsunami. I really hope such tragedy won't happen.
@@toddlazares7707 japan murdered raped and pillaged a big chunk of asia during ww2. My grand father was a ww2 vet who survived the death march in the Philippines... I remember him hating everything japanese till the day he died. Never understood it until I took PH and world history
Let him hit 700 home run and .690 slugging, then compare with him Babe. 1921, Babe Ruth hits 59 home runs, 168 RBI, 177 runs scored, 145 walks, a . 512 OBP. Ohtani could play another 100 years, he will not touch this.
Its funny growing up I always heard the greatest player of all time was Bonds, Mays or Hank Aaron and then follow up by a Babe Ruth defamation. Fast forward 10 years now they say Shohei is the greatest followed ip by a Babe Ruth defamation no mentions of the former 3. Just a observation!
Nobody will say it, but Maddog is exactly why baseball will never grow the way it should…literally. Mfs are scared to tell the truth. Numbers from these old eras were extremely inflated with the MLB knowing they should’ve been playing against the best of the Negro League. .406? No one is hitting that. At 40 years old? Gtfoh; they’re literally playing against nobody as good as the players in the Negro League. He literally has a problem with the WBC. These old Mfs don’t understand the era being played today, is by far the greatest with both hitting and pitching.
He played absolute dog shit competition. He never faced left-handed specialists. He never faced Black or Latin American players. He never saw a splitter, slider, curveball, etc. Ruth is overrated.
The dude is the biggest clown I think I've ever heard talk about anything MLB. I'm pretty sure he thinks athletes from Babe Ruth's time were better than athletes in 2023.
It's obvious Shohei Otani is better than Babe Ruth. A more skilled player. A team of Shohei clones would absolutely annihilate a team of Babe Ruth clones. This is just like a sort of baseball sacrilege. People have it stuck in their heads that this player Babe Ruth -- this mythical figure from long ago -- is the best, and they've always heard he's the best, and they've seen lots of great players over the years but still heard Babe was best. And now it doesn't matter what any player does ever, you could have a guy come in and be twice as good as Shohei and people would still say Babe Ruth is better than _that_ guy.
