Legends of Baseball History

1. Legends of Baseball History

2. Baseball is a sport with a rich history that is full of stars. Depending on how far back you want to go, you can look at different classes of legends. A lot of people who like sports know that it is hard to compare eras when it comes to sports. The original legends put up incredible numbers, but the players today put up numbers in a completely different way. In comparing eras, one of the first things that throws a wrench into the process is the fact that the game is constantly evolving. There are new rules today that completely change what kind of stats that you put up. That is why some records are never going to be broken and some are newly in danger of being broken.

3. Starting in the early years of the game, Babe Ruth might be the most famous name, if not the most famous of all time. Ruth, who was also called The Great Bambino, was a two-way player, which is very rare in the game. This means that he was a pitcher as well as a hitter. Back then, pitchers were also hitters in the lineup, but most only hit on days that they pitched. Ruth also played the field on days he did not pitch. The Babe has stood the test of time because he set many pitching and hitting records in his day and many of them stood for decades. His numbers still place him among the greatest players ever and he did not play in the recent steroid eras of the game.

4. Steroids are a huge topic in baseball classes because they changed the game back in the 90s. In the mid-90s, baseball faced a work stoppage thanks to a labor dispute. The strike in 1994 took a chunk out of the audience for what was considered America’s pastime. In the years following, baseball managed to come back thanks to the performances of a few freak athletes that started breaking the records that we thought were etched in stone. Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa made baseball a must-watch during the 1998 season when they both chased the 61 home run record of Roger Maris, which had stood since the 60s.

5. Before that, the previous records were 60 and 59 home runs from Babe Ruth back in the 20s. McGwire dominated 1998 and was the first hitter to pass 61 home runs in a season. He finished that year with 70 home runs. That seemed like it would be impossible to top, but Barry Bonds crushed 73 home runs in 2001 and that is now the unbreakable mark. That said, most of these numbers are considered tarnished thanks to those players cheating by using steroids to improve their power.

6. Records tend to make legends and we will remember some players as long as their records hold. Cal Ripken Jr. is a legend not just in Baltimore, but throughout the league. He played in 2,632 games without a day off, which made him baseball’s Iron Man. Joe DiMaggio holds another streak that is hard to break with 56 straight games with a hit. Of all the players mentioned, these are mostly just the hitters. Chicks dig the long ball, but there are also plenty of pitching legends too. Source: https://www.knowpia.com/s/blog_2f03a33c53fb8df5