Tuesday, March 22, 2005

Barry Bonds .vs Home run Kings and Rickey Henderson's Greatness compared to Barry Bonds

Bonds: I May Miss Entire Baseball Season Isn't it strange now that steroid use is going to have suspensions, Barry is deciding if he is going to play this season? I know he has had two knee surgeries this off season. For me the reason is very [the]Clear.

Has anyone else had enough with him? I have.

Does anyone feel sorry for him? I don't.

He might miss the entire season. I hope so.

Barry Bonds is a great player, but he is not better than Hank Aaron, Ted Williams, and definitely not Babe Ruth.

I remember when Rickey Henderson broke Lou Brock's Stolen Base Record. He stood on the base and proclaimed himself the best ever. Come on, I can't deny Rickey was an awesome base stealer and yes the best as far as I am concerned, but show some respect for the men that went before you!

Rickey Henderson was so far ahead of any other player during his career. Rickey Henderson stole 1406 bases during his career. The league average was 214 stolen bases. A difference of 1406. Lou Brock is second on the career list, stealing 938 bases. League average was 166 stolen bases. A difference of 772. That's a difference of 420. Now that's a true difference. I didn't like Rickey's personality very much, but he truly was the best base stealer ever.

Here are the top 5 positions for stolen bases.
1. Rickey Henderson 1409 SB - 214 league = 1192
2. Lou Brock 938 SB - 166 = 772
3. Billy Hamilton 912 SB - 313 = 599
4. Ty Cobb 892 SB - 315 = 577
5. Tim Raines 808 SB - 598 = 210

Now lets look at Barry compared to the top 5 Homerun hitters.
1. Hank Aaron 755 - 298 = 457
2. Babe Ruth 714 - 92 = 622
3. Barry Bonds 703 - 242 = 461
4. Willie Mays 660 - 270 = 390
5. Frank Robinson 586 - 249 = 337

So, lets put this in order according to difference.
1. Babe Ruth 622
2. Barry Bonds 461
3. Hank Aaron 457
4. Mark McGwire 405
5. Jimmie Foxx 403

(For those Sammy Sosa Fans: his is 337, which is the same as Frank Robinson tied for 13th lifetime)

So, all this Bologna about Barry Bonds being the greatest player ever. It's a bunch of hog wash. Again, I say Barry is a Great Player. He is no Babe Ruth. No matter what Barry says about breaking Babe Ruth's record as a left handed batter, yada, yada, yada. Forget about it.

How many Records will Barry Bonds hold at the end of his career? Babe Ruth held records as a Pitcher and a Batter.

How many World Series rings does Ruth have compared to Barry Bonds?

Oh , one more thing. Babe Ruth spent the first 6 years of his career as a Pitcher. He was the Homerun champion in 1918 and 1919 while he was a Pitcher. He also shared time as a first basemen, outfielder and pitcher during 1918 and 1919.

Babe Ruth has a career batting average of .342!
The league average was .288, a difference of .054

Barry Bonds has a career batting average of .300.
The league average is .266, a difference of .034

Babe Ruth accomplished his feats with 10,616 plate appearances, while Bonds has had 11,584.

To answer the question of who was the greatest baseball player ever? Babe Ruth is the obvious answer. Barry is in the top 10, but I would still place several players above him.



Chicago Cubs Closer Out With Broken Wrist

Joe Borowski is out again. He was hit with a line drive back to the mound in Monday's game against KC. The good thing is it wasn't dislocated. The arm is in a splint and will be out about six weeks. That is six weeks until he can even start throwing again.

Looks like LaTroy Hawkins will have to be the closer. Hawkins had 25 saves in 34 chances last year with the Cubs.

Cubs' Borowski sidelined by wrist fracture (Sports Network)