tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730822.post8913224645964062500..comments2024-03-29T04:32:39.897-07:00Comments on the joy of sox: Happy 114th Birthday, Babe Ruth!allanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04673233312198832937noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730822.post-62837105279967344622009-02-05T20:55:00.000-08:002009-02-05T20:55:00.000-08:00I also loved the read.Allan's writing really makes...I also loved the read.<BR/><BR/><I>Allan's writing really makes him come to life, in all his crazy glory.</I><BR/><BR/>So true - finished the book last week, and this post is a perfect 'epilogue' to it!<BR/><BR/>I enjoyed reading every page of it - kept me hooked, and I agree with the comments I read (either on the back cover or on Amazon) that it was a great, complete and thorough analysis/story of the 1918 Red Sox. <BR/><BR/>I'm really glad that I read the book, and this post. While realizing "The Curse" / CHB was silly before, I now fully understand for myself just how full of shit it really is!timhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12041184236514293677noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730822.post-61533629446279476882009-02-05T15:56:00.000-08:002009-02-05T15:56:00.000-08:00Damn, I keep hitting publish too early.Rounder als...Damn, I keep hitting publish too early.<BR/><BR/>Rounder also has bio/history books on the 1967 and 1975 Red Sox. And there are more in the pipeline.allanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04673233312198832937noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730822.post-33316513929209585832009-02-05T15:55:00.000-08:002009-02-05T15:55:00.000-08:00Good stuff, man. I enjoyed reading that a ton.Now ...<I>Good stuff, man. I enjoyed reading that a ton.</I><BR/><BR/>Now you're supposed to go buy the book!<BR/><BR/>Though the two Deadball Stars books might have a greater appeal on a general baseball level.allanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04673233312198832937noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730822.post-86747624670700335462009-02-05T15:54:00.000-08:002009-02-05T15:54:00.000-08:00In my mind, that's the reason why pre-1915 (even p...<I>In my mind, that's the reason why pre-1915 (even pre-1920) baseball wasn't played at as high a level as baseball afterwards.</I><BR/><BR/>In the Deadball Era (1900-19), runs were more precious and team strategy for getting a guy around -- bunts, stolen bases -- was more intense. They called it "scientific" or "inside baseball".<BR/><BR/>Many people back then (like Cobb and McGraw, I believe) thought Ruth and the power game would be the death of baseball (see, someone is always claiming the game is dying!!) -- just cranking the ball was one-dimensional and required no brains.allanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04673233312198832937noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730822.post-17215655138210823072009-02-05T13:41:00.000-08:002009-02-05T13:41:00.000-08:00I heart Babe. Allan's writing really makes him com...I heart Babe. Allan's writing really makes him come to life, in all his crazy glory.laura khttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05524593142290489958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730822.post-78462103291732922112009-02-05T13:34:00.000-08:002009-02-05T13:34:00.000-08:00Good stuff, man. I enjoyed reading that a ton.One...Good stuff, man. I enjoyed reading that a ton.<BR/><BR/>One thing I don't think is commented on enough is Ruth's creativity as an athlete. Managers, players, writers, coaches... everyone at the time thought it was better to hit the ball on a line or hit it hard into the ground. A lot of factors contributed to this: Long, badly kept infield grass, gravely infield dirt, smaller, less reliable gloves (I don't think webbed gloves came into existence until the 20's, and I don't think they became popular until a little later). There's no data from then, but I don't think it's especially controversial to suggest that the batting average on ground balls was a lot higher then than it is now (and the batting average on groundballs now is still higher than flyballs).<BR/><BR/>So, then Babe Ruth came along, and figured out if you swing with an uppercut, you can take some of those flyball mistakes and turn them into four-baggers. In my mind, that's the reason why pre-1915 (even pre-1920) baseball wasn't played at as high a level as baseball afterwards. Baseball was such a different game in the era of Cy Young, Walter Johnson, Ty Cobb, and Christy Mathewson, that I'm not sure it makes a lot of sense to compare today's players with players of that era.<BR/><BR/>And it doesn't make any sense to compare anyone to the Babe, because no one compares to him.<BR/><BR/>Holy shit, Adrian Gonzalez just hit his third homerun of the day. Mexico 12 - DR 9 in the Caribbean World Series.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14670045693768623299noreply@blogger.com