Barry Bonds vs. Babe Ruth Updated
A Comparison of Their Statistics and Records Proves Ruth Was Better
Put the steroid issue aside for a minute. On July 27, 2007, Barry Bonds hit career Home Run Number 754. At some point very soon, Bonds will hit 755 and 756 and become the all-time Home Run king. Because he is also a 13-time All-Star and a seven-time MVP, many wonder if Bonds is the greatest player the game has ever seen. He’s not. Bonds is way, way up there: he is in the top 3 or 4 players who ever set foot on a Major League field. But he is not the best. Babe Ruth is still Number One. A review of their comparative statistics and accomplishments in all aspects of the game supports this assertion.
The Better Hitter: Babe Ruth was better than Barry Bonds
Because Bonds has already played in 350 more games and taken 1,000 more at bats than the Babe, the only way to accurately compare the two as hitters is by carefully analyzing their career averages in the most important offensive categories. Raw numbers are important for some analyses, but any player comparison must begin and end with averages. Here they are:
Career Average: Ruth beat Bonds .342 to .298
Career Slugging: Ruth beats Bonds .690 to .608
Career On-Base %: Ruth beats Bonds .474 to .444
Career OPS: Ruth beats Bonds 1.164 to 1.052
At Bats per HR: Ruth beats Bonds 11.76 to 12.98
RBI per Game: Ruth beats Bonds 0.89 to 0.66
Runs per Game: Ruth beats Bonds 0.87 to 0.65
Looking at those numbers, anyone can see that Barry Bonds is great, but Babe Ruth was better. In addition to these raw statistics, the Babe dominated his era even more than Bonds.
He won 12 Home Run titles to Barry’s two. He won six RBI crowns to Bond’s one. Ruth also led his league in Total Bases seven times, while Bonds achieved that feat only once. Furthermore, when Ruth hit 60 homers in 1927, he slugged more round-trippers than any entire team in the American League. His closest competitor was the 1927 Athletics, who had such legends as Mickey Cochrane, Jimmie Foxx, Al Simmons, Ty Cobb and Eddie Collins. That entire team hit 56 homers, four shy of the Babe. When Bonds smashed his record 73 home runs in 2001, every team in the National League out-homered him. Of course they did; it is simply not human for one player to out-homer an entire league.
Speed and Defense: Barry Bonds versus Babe Ruth
Bonds kills Ruth in the speed department. Nobody can dispute that. Barry has stolen over 500 bases in his career. The Babe stole just 123. Bonds is also the superior outfielder. Although most reports say that the Babe was a good fielder as a young man, he was no Bonds. Barry won eight Gold Gloves during his career, and is considered by many to be the top defensive left fielder of all time.
Babe Ruth Pitched; Barry Bonds Didn’t
Ruth wins the hitting duel in a close fight, and Bonds trounces Ruth in speed and defense. So why is Ruth still the better player? One word: pitching. In addition to being the game’s greatest hitter, Ruth is easily the game’s most versatile player. While other players have switched from pitcher to everyday player in baseball’s long history, nobody did it like Ruth.
From 1915 through 1919, Ruth was the best left-handed pitcher in the American League, compiling a record of 89-46 and posting an ERA of 2.18. The Bambino was also an incredible postseason pitcher. In three World Series games, Ruth pitched 31 innings, posted a 3-0 record and had an ERA of 0.87. Ruth also set a record for consecutive World Series shutout innings, with 29 2/3.
Babe Ruth Beats Barry Bonds
Just imagine if Johan Santana quit pitching today and went on to become the best hitter ever. That is exactly what Ruth did. His status as a great, great pitcher and an unmatched hitter make him the best ever, better even that Barry Bonds.
(all statistics are from www.baseball-reference.com)
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