Baseball
Related: About this forumJudge good but Ruth was great
Judge's season is very good, but let's not get ahead of ourselves with recency bias.
Judge is looking at a OPS+ of around 210 which would be Ruth's ninth or tenth best season. (2.10 times the average MLB player)
This year judge may win the triple crown hitting .311 with 131 rbi and 135 runs. OPS of 1.111 with 175 strikeouts. With a juiced ball relative to the 1920s in smaller ballparks, Which helps with HR but hurts batting average.
Ruth's 1927, 60 hr season, which had an ops+ of 225 was his fifth best season. Ruth hit .356 and didn't win the batting title. 165 RBI wasn't enough that year to win the rbi title (some guy named Gehrig beat him, courtesy of 137 walks that year). 158 runs. OPS of 1.258. 89 strikeouts. FYI Ruth had 8 triples that year and one more double than judge has this year.
How many MVP could Ruth have won if you were allowed to win in back to back years?
Ruth's 1920&21 seasons were even more ridiculous with 255 & 239 as OPS+.
Judge is having a great season in this era of launch angles and ultimate outcomes of hr, strikeouts, and walks, but not the greatest season of all time.
rubbersole
(8,503 posts)but it is fun to watch. Best hitter in years. Apparently steroid free. He seems to be a legitimate role model. Definitely a positive way to spend time in 2022. I even ignore that he's a Yankee.
Timewas
(2,291 posts)Won't win batting title...
viva la
(3,775 posts)The Babe was also a great pitcher.
brush
(57,471 posts)And that includes pitchers like Gibson, Marichal, Jenkins, Matinez, Tiant and on and on. Now with set-up pitchers and closers it's even harder to get hits in the late innings than it was in the past.
Let's just enjoy the eras as they were.
True Dough
(20,244 posts)And you can add "the shift" to the list, at least until next season.
OP makes good points as well.
brush
(57,471 posts)Now the actual bases are being enlarged. I guess it helps the first baseman from getting spiked.