1935 = Babe Ruth (40) announces his retirement from baseball. 1941 = Lou Gehrig dies in NY at the age of 37
Must have been really cool for Yankee Fans in the twenties and Thirties to see those two going through their paces. Today we have CC & Drew?
If you get a chance or have time, read this book about The Babe. He was larger than life, and quite a character indeed -and there are a couple of stories in this book about his off field escapades that are hard to believe. Lol Babe: The Legend Comes to Life by Robert W. Creamer, Dick Schaap (Editor)
There is very little about people who lived in the 20s and 30s that I am envious of including getting to see Ruth & Gehrig. It was a different world. Baseball was a different sport.
In that book I mentioned, if my memory serves, it cited a situation where Ruth was missing and Miller Huggins and a couple of others got a tip that some jealous husband was holding Ruth hostage demanding that he stop fooling around with his wife. There were also a couple of other instances involving Ruth where if Arod OR Jeter had done so nowadays, they would be hounded, harshly criticized and harassed constantly by the media 24/7
...of course it was difference and among other things, players back then actually gave a shit. ...I would rather have seen Ruth and Gehrig in their heyday than about 98% of today's players.
Players gave a shit yes. However the world and the sport itself were far different. Games were played during the day. Every player was white. The average player worked a 9-5 in the offseason. The average ML player was the size of David Eckstein. Baseballs were hand woven. There was no accurate measure of velocity. If you've ever seen the bat Babe Ruth swung it was basically a tree truck. He wasnt getting around on modern fastballs with that thing. He outhomered some teams. He was also an Ace pitcher. Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig and many others were very talented, obviously. However the average player sucked. The average pitcher sucked. Im not here to shit on that era. It was an era. I dont like to compare different eras as it's virtually impossible. Circumstances change. Things evolve to the point where they devolve. Baseball is devolving in some areas now, but the athletes playing the sport are still superior to those in the 1920s and 30s.
I agree completely! The porch is FAR closer now, the mounds are higher, there are bull pens now, 5 man (or 6) rotations, the seasons are now longer, more teams and therefore more players diluting the talent pool... Some of the greatest to ever play the game came from years gone by... Imagine, just imagine what Ruth/Gehrig could do now with shorter porches (everywhere, not just at Yankee Stadium), stud pitchers are spread out over teams leaving more games to "pad stats", stud pitchers now pitch fewer games also helping out batters... I'd LOVE to have Ruth/Gehrig in their heydey on our team now... heck, Dimaggio, Mays, & Mantle too... They would blow away people today...
...well, you were the one who brought the differences in the first place. And yes, most of us are aware of those same differences but they're all relative and it does not by default mean that one era is better/worse than the other. ...fwiw, good to have you posting here.
When I was stationed at Carlise Barracks Pa we had a civilian doctor from Pittsburgh on the staff who was in Medical School in New York during the '27 World Series. Pretty cool stories from him about baseball in the late 20's. I was there in '77 & '78 and I think he was in his early Seventies at the time, always ate in the mess hall with the troops used to call me a damn Yankee. In my time as a fan I witnessed the great Yankee Teams of the late 50's and early 60's , Ruth & Gherig were like the gods on Olympus but I did see Mantle in his prime, Yogi, Whitey, Richardson, and Skowron to name a few. I also witnessed an aging but still productive Teddy Ball Game, and Stanley Frank, Hank Aaron, Willie Mays and could go on and on. Overall I think todays game has shown better speed, and athleticism but these modern player do not seem to have the staying power. I will state that Jeter is the best Yankee SS in my time as a fan, and probably best ever, but he still ain't Mickey Mantle who is my number 1 Yankee of all time.
I have to chuckle whenever I hear someone say...those old time players really cared, or were more dedicated, or disciplined....or... I'd like to see how some of those players would perform with guaranteed multi year million dollar contracts. Having to mingle and associate with many teammates speaking a different language mainly Spanish....amoung other things.
...well, as it was pointed out, that's impossible to do. But per usual, you totally miss the point. ...why do you have to have everything spelled out for you verbatim?
Quite a date in baseball history. The two greats who built and began the storied Yankee dynasty departed on the same day/date- one leaving the baseball field and the other leaving the world. Kinda weird.......bless them.
We do have our own version of Ruth and Gehrig, Dimaggio and Mantle too: That'd be: A-Roid, Drew, Headley, Tex, Beltran- now I'm only being facetious........ I could of sworn Rick Posted that verbatim when Trashman obtained Drew......!
