Is Babe Ruth the most overrated player of all time?

Question

I think willie mays is the best player of all-time. Babe Ruth looked like a good hitter then cause nobody had great numbers like they do now. If Babe Ruth played today he wouldnt make it past AA ball. Also pitchers throw harder now and they are more talent. I think curt schilling was right when he said the Babe is the most overrated player of all-time. Babe Ruth played in an-all white era. Latino, black and asian players couldnt play then. Ruth is big cause he was popular with the media.

Answer 1

I disagree completely. I think greatness can be seen when you compare a player to others who played during their era, and Ruth absolutely destroyed his peers. Look at what he did to the home run record, not to mention the fact that he completely changed baseball from the stupid, "hit, bunt, hit and run" philosophy to one that actually produced more runs.

If you're listening to anything that Curt Schilling says, then you've got some problems. First off, some pitchers do throw harder, but there's also a hugely diluted talent pool in MLB. And to say that Ruth wouldn't have made it past AA is to say that no player from any past era could play today, which is ludicrous.

In my opinion, this is just a ridiculous question.

Answer 2

Babe Ruth was the greatest of all time and I think it's ridiculous to not think so! He played in an era where baseball was the major sport in America and there were only 8 teams in each league which means you had to be outstanding to make it. Today a .240 hitter gets called up to the major leagues that would have never had a chance in the era Ruth played. Babe was a great natural hitter that had a lot of discipline at the plate, walking often. He also stole 123 bases and hit a lot of triples which means he had above average speed! He hit baseball's over 500 feet with regularity and probably had more power than anyone ever with the possible exception of Mickey Mantle! He had a lifetime average of .342. How many power hitters other than Ted Williams hit that high for average? He was an outstanding outfielder and had a great throwing arm with a reputation of never throwing to the wrong base. Of course he also won 94 games as a pitcher losing only 46. Babe would have been great in any era and is truly an American icon and legend. Willie Mays was great too and I watched him play a lot and he could do some truly amazing things. I would have loved to have had them on the same team! No the Mighty Bambino is not overated at all. He was the Greatest player of them all!

Answer 3

What are you talking about? Babe Ruth is better than any baseball player that ever was and will be. When Babe Ruth hit 138 homeruns, he broke the world record. How much did he hit after that? 714. Sure, Hank Aarron beat it, and he was one of the best players, but in the late 20s and 30s, nobody ever even hit 30 HRs in a season. Then Babe hit 60. Another thing, look at the equipment that he used. It was pretty much a block of wood and his gloves were the equivalent to a garden glove today. Also, before he began hitting, he was also the best pitcher in the league. Think Roger Clemens in his prime years.

Answer 4

not neccessarily overrated, but for sure over Glorified as the "best player ever". He played in an era when there was segregation. He never face the best players that he could have. Could you emagine if Pedro, Sosa, Ortiz, Bonds, Zambrano, Griffey, etc. played in another league. Fans would still think Mark MaGuire was the greatest hitter of the last decade. You ask older black folks about Josh Gibson, and they'll say he was better than Babe. It's all prespective. He never had to face the likes of a Satchel Paige. What if 70s hitters never had to face Bob Gibson?

And if you consider the size, strength, and speed of athletes today, what's to say he would put up the 714 hrs today? Eras aren't easily comparable and shouldn't be compared. To many what ifs.

I'm a Mays fan myself. Ruth wasn't the 5 tool player that Mays was, even if he had the tool of pitching to add(he wasn't the 5 tool player Bonds used to be). People get too locked onto the HR number to determine the "greatest players."

Answer 5

Ruth was by far the greatest.Team traveled by train or bus.Double headers every Sunday. Think how it was traveling from city to city overnite, trying to sleep in a none AC bus. The ball was dead compared to today's.Physical fitness was not a priority.He ran like a tortoise, was a heavy drinker and if you look ,he was well over weight.He also was a pitcher with great numbers the first part of his career.How many more home runs would he have had at the end, if he played in the field instead of pitching/The racial thing doesn't come into it at all.Lou Gairige,Ted Williams , and Phil Rizzuto and many other players stats still stand . I wish I had seen him play.RUTH WAS THE BABE !

Answer 6

All the people calling Babe Ruth "fat" need to look at his early career, not just the newsreels of him in his late 30's. The man STILL holds the record for lowest career ERA in the WS, when he hit 54 HR in one season no other TEAM had that many.

As for him not advancing past AA, lunacy, puer lunacy!! He not only hit for power, he could hit for average as well. Why wouldn't a career .342 hitter make it to the bigs today? 500+ doubles, 130+ triples, 714 Homers, almost half of his 2875 hit went for extra bases, so was he slow? I don't think so..

I'm not even going to get into the "more talent today" argument. Expansion has DILUTED the talent pool, NOT improved it...

Overrated? My A$$ the Babe's overrated. Curt Schilling is a moron...

I agree with Craig S, this is a ridiculous question.

Answer 7

Babe Ruth is by far the best player that ever played the game. For people to say he couldn't run, he had 117 career stolen bases and 136 triples. There are not many players who have had more than that. And the guy was a great pitcher.

Answer 8

I don't think you should make the assumptions that you're making. Part of what made Ruth great is the intangible quality that made people pay attention to him. He was the first sports superstar celebrity, and part of that was for who he was, but most of it was because of what he did on the field. He's been raised to mythic status, and you might call that being overrated, but the things you're saying about him just make you sound angry and ignorant.

Some say willie mays is the most overrated player. I don't think they're right either, but they make arguments similar to the ones you're making now.

Please be careful when you're quoting Curt Schilling. Many of the things he says are just to grab headlines. He's almost as popular with the media as Ruth was, but for very different reasons. They don't call him "Red Light" Curt for nothing. The red light goes on,and he just talks out his ***. They love him because he's always going to give them something to write about.

Answer 9

I think that Barry Bonds is the most overrated player of all-time. I disagree with your statements about Babe Ruth and Willie Mays.

Answer 10

overrated NO NO NO in his era no player hit more than 20 home runs in a a year. he changed the game and the way it was played. most teams played small ball and would steal a base and then hit a double to bring in the runs. he was the most feared hitter of his time. it is hard to compair him to other eras of the game, these days players are stronger and faster, but that does not take anything away from the babe. also when he pitched his era was under 2.00 not bad for a big fat guy...