This was a nice podcast about the history of home runs. Some things I found interesting.
- I never knew baseball parks were much bigger back then
- Based on physics the longest home run a human can possibly hit is between 550 600 ft
- Reggie Jackson cracked one 550+ feet in the 1971 All Star Game
- If Babe Ruth hit in the modern era he would have 1,000+ home runs
That last fact is crazy. I always think the old timers in baseball had it easier to compile stats but it this proves Ruth was a once in a millennium talent! Dare I say species?
The difference is guys weren’t pitching 100mph when Ruth played. Avg fastball was in the mid 80s. Also guys threw a lot more innings so you were facing the same pitchers all the time and not bullpen specialists.
Not taking away anything from Ruth. Obviously one of the best players of all time but I don’t think he would hit 1000 homers in this era just because the fences are closer. He would face much tougher pitching.