Originally posted by DonMichaelCorleone:
How many games did it take sissler to set the record?
They played a 154 game season in 1920. Sisler played in all of them
Ichiro is having a great year but its nothing compared to what sissler did.
Huh?
On what basis can you say that? You want to make an argument that for whatever the reason, Sisler's record is more impressive (altho there are many reasons, IMO, that it's not as impressive as it appears), go ahead. But to say that Ichiro, who is about to break a record that has stood for 84 years, is about to achieve "nothing" is ridiculous.
Same thing with McGwire, Sosa and Bonds.
Well not soo much Bonds but the other two were no where near the amount of games that Ruth did it in.
I'm not sure I see your point here.
McGwire, Sosa, and Bonds all played 162 game seasons, and broke Ruth's record of 60 (and Maris' 61) well within the 154 games that Ruth played.
If you're talking career, at his present pace Bonds will reach 714, needing about 400 more games than Ruth did to reach 714 homers.
But he should pass Aaron in about 300 fewer games than Hank played.
But for the overall Home Run lead Ruth would have hit 800 EASY had he not been a pitcher and played the amount of games these guys play.
First of all, Ruth was
never exclusively a pitcher. From 1914-1917, he pitched in 121 games, but also played some outfield. He hit a total of 22 home runs during those four years, some, presumably, as an outfielder.
Assuming he was a full-time outfielder from 1914-1917, and keeping in mind that it was the "dead ball" era, when homers were scarce, I think it's fair to say that had he played an additional 400 games or so, he wouldn't have hit more than another 50 homers or so, leaving him considerably short of 800.
Bill James makes a distinction between "counting stats" and "percentage stats".
Most hits or homers in a season or career are "counting stats". They are dependent on games played, times at bat, etc.
Seasonal or lifetime batting average leaders are "percentage stats". How many games a guy plays or how many ABs he has are irrelevant.
You want to argue that Babe Ruth was maybe the greatest home run hitter ever because his percentage of home runs per times at bat was the best in history, then I might agree.
But Hank Aaron still holds the record for most homers in a career.
You want to argue that Ty Cobb was maybe the best "hitter" ever because he has a lifetime batting average of .367, then I might agree.
But Pete Rose still hold the record for most hits in a career.
"Counting stats" and "percentage stats" are two completely different things.
