Who is the greatest home run hitter of all time?

[Bill McBlueState]

Interesting poll on usatoday.com... What do DUers think?

Who is the greatest home run hitter of all time?

USA Today's results:

Babe Ruth.......43%
Hank Aaron......26%
Barry Bonds.....3%
Mark McGwire....2%
Roger Maris.....1%
Mickey Mantle...1%
Albert Pujols...1%
Willie Mays.....1%
Sammy Sosa......1%
Other...........6%
No opinion......14%

[Bill McBlueState]

1. I don't understand how Ruth can be first

I mean, Aaron hit forty more homeruns than he did. :shrug:

[Oeditpus Rex]

2. You're giving the voters too much credit

for rationality.

[Mutley]

11. Ha!

Looks like the voters deserve more credit than you thought.

[Nailzberg]

3. Didn't the season have less games back then?

I could be wrong, not a big baseball fan, but if I'm right, and I think I am, that would have seriously cut into the Babe's numbers.

[LSK]

7. yes, Ruths time had 154 game seasons

It switched during Aarons career.

[trogdor]

17. But the right field fence was only 281 ft from home plate.

Good for left-handed batters like Ruth.

[LSK]

6. Ruth started his career as a pitcher

He had I think 5 seasons where he barely hit anything. Take Aarons 1st 5 seasons away and see where they are.

[trogdor]

21. He led the league in HRs his last two seasons with the Red Sox.

They had him playing outfield some days when he wasn't pitching.

[LSK]

24. in the deadball era

His last year with them he hit 29 homers which at the time blew away the all time record.

[pokerfan]

10. Why I voted for Ruth

Number of games:
Hank Aaron played 12,364 games to Ruth's 8398, almost fifty percent more! Look at it this way: Had Hank swatted them at the same rate the Babe did, his number would now be 1,051 instead of 755. Or conversely, had Ruth hit dingers at Aaron's rate, Ruth's number would be a mere 513 instead of 714. Sixteen players have passed 513.

Different game:
Today we see at least a dinger per game on average -- three times more than in Ruth's era. Whatever the cause (nutrition, training, park size, juiced balls, smaller strike zone, etc.), it is clear from the statistics that the game favored the pitcher back then.

The Hammer owns the record and nothing can (or should) take that away from him. I was a teenager when he broke Ruth's record and I was sickened at the blatant racism at his run at the record, including death threats. I'm no Yankee fan either, more of a Yankee hater actually, but I honestly believe that Ruth was the more impressive HR hitter.

[smitty]

4. Ted Williams hit 521 home runs despite missing

five full season due to military service (WWII and Korea). Otherwise he might have beaten Ruth's record (certainly he would have finished his career with well over 600 HRs).

[DS1]

5. Barry Bonds

[Bill McBlueState]

14. really?

Or are you just stirring up discord? :)

I've got nothing against the guy, but I'm not ready to say yet that he's the best ever.

[DS1]

15. I'm in the "don't care if he used roids" camp

It still takes a hell of a lot of skill to hit what today's pitchers are throwing your way. Sure, the muscle helped him, but again I'll point to Mark Maguire as to reason why if Bonds' record should have an asterisk, so should his. I think the problem lies with baseball management, and if he got away with it, fine.

Now, in the last thread I posted an answer like this someone suggested that I let all criminals get away with things, including Congress, if they weren't caught. But this is sports. I don't care about "the kids", it think it's a farce when people bring up the "Oh noes! What about all those kids who will start using roids!". Not going to happen, in my mind.

[flvegan]

18. I agree...completely.

I also suggest that the playing field is still sorta level. Today's pitchers...using? Maybe? Who knows. Some...not all, at least. I have nothing to back this up outside of logic.

[k_jerome]

30. it is interesting to note...

the majority of players affected since steroids were banned are pitchers.

[k_jerome]

32. i have received similar responses...

i note that amphetamines have been used for decades in baseball, including by such greats as mays and rose, and they were illegal and just recently banned along with steroids. it falls on deaf ears, and the excuse to hate bonds lives on.

[swag]

8. "dupe-delete"

[k_jerome]

9. Bonds. nt.

[LSK]

12. for fun, check out the stats

http://www.baseball-reference.com/r/ruthba01.shtml - Ruth

http://www.baseball-reference.com/a/aaronha01.shtml - Aaron

http://www.baseball-reference.com/b/bondsba01.shtml - Bonds

[NJ Democrats]

13. Ruth

He hit alsmost as many in much less at bats and games. Plus he pitched for 5 years. Oh, and when he hut 700 HR only 2 other people had 300 or more (314 and 301 i think) He was the first to hit 30 40 50 and 60 HR in a season. He broke the record for Career HR at like 150. Thus he added to his total for 650+ HRS. Aaron added 40 to his total after breaking it.

[NewJeffCT]

16. When Ruth hit 60 homers in 1927...

It was more than any other team had in that year. It was truly a monstrous effort in a completely different era.

Imagine if a quarterback threw for more TD passes than any other team scored in total? Or a running back ran for more TDs than any other team? Or, if Wayne Gretzky (or other) had scored more goals in hockey then every other team?

The post above had some great stats on home runs per game.

[LSK]

25. Lou Gehrig hit 47 that year

Which was the most ever by anyone up to that time BESIDES Ruth.

[johnnie]

19. I voted for Aaron

Mainly because he was still playing when I was at the age of having sport heroes.

[Wetzelbill]

20. Bonds

he's freakish. Even without 'Roids. Hitting a ball is hand-eye coordination. I could take all the drugs I wanted and still not even be able to see a 95 mph fastball. Plus, he doesn't just barely hit home runs. His are tape measured. The help that a guy like Bonds gets from steroids is minimal. He was a freakish athlete anyway.

[Derailer]

22. Statistically speaking

there's no question its late career Barry Bonds.

[maveric]

23. Hank Aaron never hit more than 47 in one season.

He was just consistent. Plus he had over 3700 hits!
Hanks the Man!

[LSK]

26. I voted Pujols

He is 26 and has 221 homers already. If he plays 20 years, he could easily be challenging for the alltime record.

[BrotherBuzz]

27. Screw home runs - base hits win games

The ONLY way to compare baseball hitters from different generations is to use the sluggers average!

http://www.baseball-almanac.com/hitting/hislug1.shtml

Ruth #1
Bonds #4
Mays #23
Mantle #24
Aaron #26
Sosa #38

[leftofthedial]

28. Ted Williams

I don't count the recent era of steroid inflated freaks

Ted, despite being a repuke, was the greatest hitter ever. If he hadn't lost 5 prime seasons to military service, he probably would have hit between 700 and 750.

[maveric]

31. And about 3700 hits too.

Thats at about 160 hits a year.

[leftofthedial]

34. greatest hitter ever

even though he was a repuke :puke:

[Oeditpus Rex]

29. You can't objectively compare hitters across eras

There are too many variables.

For every advantage or disadvantage you can name for Aaron or Bonds, I can name one for Ruth. Then it gets down to an evaluation of the advantages and disadvantages, which would lead nowhere since we aren't in a position to judge them.

Thus, polls such as this are silly.



:hide:

[bertha katzenengel]

33. Sadaharu Oh - 868 home runs

Problem is, that list is missing someone (or something):

Sadaharu Oh - 868 home runs

~ or ~

the poll should read "who's the greatest MLB home run hitter?"

FWIW my vote went to Hammerin' Hank.

Great sign seen at recent Giants' game:

"BABE RUTH DID IT ON HOT DOGS AND BEER"

:applause:

[WildEyedLiberal]

35. I voted Pujols

A) He's only 26; at the rate he's going, he will be a certain challenger for the all-time record;

B) He's only played since the steroid-testing era, so his physical athleticism is all-natural;

C) His slugging percentage and RBI are also insane, so he's not just a one-dimensional hitter who can only crank out HRs;

D) See avatar.

[carpetbagger]

36. Babe Ruth or Josh Gibson

Gibson 800+ in the Negro Leagues before his death at age 35.

Ruth would have made 800 had he not started his career as a pitcher.

Both of these guys have significant claims based on some of their long-distance home runs, although Gibson's aren't as well-documented.

[JackDragna]

37. Ruth. End of discussion.

As has been mentioned in this thread, Ruth hit more homers than some teams. He would constantly break his own home run records. No one is even close. Not even Aaron. Ruth puts everyone else in baseball to shame, both as a home run hitter and a player. There's no one in any major sport who is so clearly better than anyone else who ever played..not Jordan, not Gretzky, not Montana.

[Oeditpus Rex]

39. Are you saying Ruth was the greatest *player*

and not just home-run hitter? :shrug:

Boy, are you gonna get some arguments. :bounce:

[HuskerDU]

42. I agree with you JackDragna.

I wanted to point out that one year, Ruth hit over twice as many HRs as the guy who finished second.
As others have noted, nobody dominated his era like Ruth.

Yes, he was the greatest player of all time. Ruth still holds World Series PITCHING records. He was the best LH starting pitcher of his era and easily the best hitter.

There is a great arguement for who the second greatest baseball player of all time is, Cobb, Mays, Williams. But for me, there has never been an arguement for who was the greatest.

[MrSlayer]

38. Ruth.

The Babe is the Home Run.

[maveric]

40. Josh Gibson. Negro League star.

Some say that if accurate records were kept, Gibson may have had over 900 HRs.

[mvd]

41. It's really close.

One statistic I'm looking at is that Ruth hit a home run in 8.5% of his ABs, which appears to be more than the other candidates. But it depends on what you mean by "greatest." By sheer numbers, Aaron's still the greatest.

My vote goes to Aaron unless you say "most prolific HR hitter."

I'm not sure you can disqualify Bonds, because you never know who took steroids. But it does cast a pall on things.