Jamie Mottram's Sports Blog - www.misterirrelevant.com

I sit corrected. After reading your emails and comments, Barry Bonds is not the greatest hitter of all time. Babe Ruth is. And Ted Williams is 2nd on the short list. It would take more time than I have to compare eras and averages and variables etc., but it's easy to figure that Ruth's OPS (1.164) is #1, w/ Ted (1.116) and Barry (1.040) coming in 2nd and 3rd. Further influencing my change of heart is the difference between Ruth's OPS and that of the 2nd-best hitter of his era, Rogers Hornsby. It's more than the difference between Williams' OPS and that of the great DiMaggio, which is also more than the diff between Bonds and A-Rod.

So while Bonds has not had the greatest offensive career ever (quite yet), since 2001 he has experienced the most remarkeable three-year stretch of all time. Single season records for HR, walks and intentional walks have contributed to a 3-year OPS of 1.346. Ruth's best 3-yr OPS? 1.281. Williams? 1.200.

Of course, Bonds extraordinary performance is tainted by steroid scandal, but I will not presume guilt. For now, I'd rather believe in him. As a baseball fan, it behooves us to believe. It makes the following fun.

Reader comments (share your's here):

braves3169 said, "back in the old days they didn't have the same equipment. the bats may not have been cut of only the best wood and balls weren't wound as tight to carry the extra few feet."

dbenbow361 asks, "Why is he so much better at 40 than he was at 30? Name one other player in history that is signifcantly better at 40 than he was at 25, or 28 or 30. Go back and look at the records. He appeared at the end of 2000 to be in the normal decline that good/great players experience toward the end of his career. Suddenly, at 37, he starts posting statistics that only Babe Ruth, in his prime (25-30) has ever posted. And,  he seems to be getting more dangerous every year. Now, at nearly 40, when 99.9% of all players are retired,  or barely hanging on,  he has blossomed into the greatest hitter ever. HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE? At this rate, 20 years from now, we'll be reading that Barry has just knockedhis 1,500th home run, and is working on his 5th triple crown. To quote the line from Sleepless In Seattle, "I'll have whatever he's having!"

t555m said, "Ruth never played against black or hispanic players. Half of the pitchers Ruth played against couldn't make the minor leagues now."

hollywdbos said, "Sure, many people may complain that expansion pitching is watered down, balls are juiced, and many players are on the steroids, but Bonds plays in a much more specialized game today. Williams and company never had to see 3 or 4 different pitchers a game, and the 5 man rotation allows for more rested starters. You can't compare eras, you can only compare one to his contemporary peers.  In that case, Bonds' only rival would be Babe Ruth, not Teddy Ballgame."

dawgvitallink said, "I've been a SF Giants fan since 1962 and I've seen some great players in my time play at the stick. I've seen Mays and McCovey and everyone else who's put on a Giants uniform and no one comes near what Bonds has done for the Giants."

tinytim10000 said, "He is NOT the greatest hitter that ever lived.  If you look at his career stats, his batting average is ONLY .298. How can the greatest hitter have a batting average below .300?"

ctaka558 said, "If you're looking at OPS, try comparing their adjusted OPS+ since that is adjusted for era and home parks.  Following the 2003 season, Bonds' career OPS+ is 179, tied with Lou Gehrig for third best ever. Ted Willliams is at 190. Ruth is in his own club at 207."

butter340 said, "I love baseball, apple pie andGod (of course God is 1st). And since God is good for me, and Apple Pie is good for me, than Baseball is good for me. Guess what?Right now Barry Bonds is Baseball and since Baseball is good for me, then Barry Bonds is good for me as well."

ralphwilcox said, "I grew up with heroes like Mays, Mantle, Aaron, Maris. I had the privaledge of seeing Mays, McCovey, Bobby Bonds, the A's dynasty years, I have respect for many players in my lifetime, but I have to say Barry Bonds is the "Best I Have Ever Seen Live" and hope he becomes the alltime Home Run King."

Up next: Bonds vs. Clemens; which would you draft outta college? Email your thoughts.

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• #3 Comment from mebehanna 
  5/7/04 12:32 PM | Permalink

  I think that Randy Johnson needs to be considered among your selections. I will take Clemens over Bonds. Mickey Mantle was the greatest hitter ever. If Mantle or Mays played with todays improved bats and juiced up baseball they probably would have approached 100 HR. Mantle hit 300 from both sides of the plate. If you want to talk about championships, well we wont go there, for Bonds sake.
• #2 Comment from dlssportsfanbel 
  5/2/04 6:48 AM | Permalink

  In all the years of watching baseball (30+), the way they shift to load up the right side, and still do not give him much to hit.  Interesting observation:  I noticed on a couple of Barry Bonds intentional walks, (intentinal) they still put this right side shift on, this must be a feared hitter.  There have been a lot of power hitters over the years, however, Barry Bonds is by far the best of all time, the numbers now speek for themselves, and by time Barry Bonds career is over, he will have the home run record, and this time it will be extremely hard to break the record.
  As many times as he walks (intentional or unintentional) shows that he has patients and a very good eye of the strike zone.  
• #1 Comment from notecboi 
  4/26/04 8:16 PM | Permalink

  As i said again..Bonds is the Greastest Hitter as Hitting Hr.