Will include 3 hours of Jay Philips venting over a hypothetical baseball conversation....one of which he admitted calling Mark Kingston about because "it really bothered" him.
So today's 107.5 show...
- Thread starter cocky2atee
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That was one of the worst-argued points (by the hosts) I've had to listen to lately. Ottavino makes the argument that if Babe Ruth were plucked up and placed in 2018, swinging the way he did, with the bat he used, and the training (Ha!) he used, he would be a .140 hitter. In this hypothetical situation, I'd have a hard time disagreeing with much of this.
Jay and Tommy just couldn't accept the premise: they had to continue stressing that Babe Ruth would train differently in this era. Jay seemed really bothered by the premise.
Tommy, of course, argued that when Ottavino was as dominant in his era as Ruth was in his, THEN Ottavino could talk about striking Ruth out. (That was part of Ottavino's statement). Tommy clearly didn't note the contradiction and irony in saying a pro athlete isn't good enough to voice this opinion on Babe Ruth, yet Tommy feels qualified to voice his opinion on Ottavino.
Jay and Tommy just couldn't accept the premise: they had to continue stressing that Babe Ruth would train differently in this era. Jay seemed really bothered by the premise.
Tommy, of course, argued that when Ottavino was as dominant in his era as Ruth was in his, THEN Ottavino could talk about striking Ruth out. (That was part of Ottavino's statement). Tommy clearly didn't note the contradiction and irony in saying a pro athlete isn't good enough to voice this opinion on Babe Ruth, yet Tommy feels qualified to voice his opinion on Ottavino.
Ruth's mechanics were horrible. Ted Williams on the other hand could hit in any era....beautiful mechanics and his lessons will still make you a better hitter today.
I turned the volume up while Mr. Clark was discussing football, and now its turned back down in favor of music.
I don't think I could strike out Babe Ruth, but I probably could have hit him with the ball
I don't think I could strike out Babe Ruth, but I probably could have hit him with the ball
Jay has a Heisman vote. He loves Asheville and is a Portland Timbers fan. His wife is a farmer's daughter. He knows the guys at Morganelli's.
That is why I quit listening to all sports radio. I can’t stand hypothetical comparisons of athletes from different eras. They belong to the world of 10 year-old children.
I hate those arguments. Only meatball sports fans want to listen to a debate about who is the best of all time.
Ted was the greatest of all time . Remember reading his book “The Science of Hitting” in HS . It was Amazing . Guy was a genius
If you want to hit for average and be able to hit to all fields, there is none better.
Poor Jay used a laundry list of logical fallacies in his diatribe. One caller called him out on a few of them.
It was a ludicrous topic and I turned it off after a few minutes.
It was a ludicrous topic and I turned it off after a few minutes.
Hey, look, hey, I-I-I-I-I get it. Hey, Y'all, I-I-I'm just saying. Y'all...Some crap about soccer...
It must be a horribly slow news day when he spent 3 hours disparaging a pro baseball player's opinion. Tommy hardly spoke. Ottavino knows more baseball than Jay could ever hope to know. I heard the statements. Jay was wrong. I had to turn it.
I think Jay took the comments out of context based on what I heard. To me the point was that if guys today ate hotdogs and drank beer as part of their regimine then they’d be dominated. That’s true.
What Jay is saying is that if Babe Ruth played today, he’d train differently. That’s true too.
The guy wasn’t saying he is a better player than Babe Ruth was because he’d dominate him today. If he was then I’d agree with Jay’s point. You can’t allow one guy to learn from 100 years of training and magically go back in time if you don’t let the other guy have some sort of magical transformation as well.
What Jay is saying is that if Babe Ruth played today, he’d train differently. That’s true too.
The guy wasn’t saying he is a better player than Babe Ruth was because he’d dominate him today. If he was then I’d agree with Jay’s point. You can’t allow one guy to learn from 100 years of training and magically go back in time if you don’t let the other guy have some sort of magical transformation as well.
I’d give an honorable mention to Tony Gwynn. Was not born in time to see Ted Williams hit. Have major respect for him. Saw Gwynn tear up Hall of Fame pitching like it was a little leaguer.
I think Jay does fine. But he, like many other host, forget their place. They aren’t the experts. He’s a good radio voice / host. But like Chris Fowler used to do, they somehow think hosting makes them an expert.
Babe had 714 hr and won 94 games pitching and finished with 2.27 era. Call me when Ottavino accomplishes half that
But WOULD he train differently? That's part of the fault with Jay's argument. Yeah, Babe would have to train differently if he was to be a MLB player. But it is just as likely his love of drinking, eating, and night life would keep him out of the game.
I’m sure the babe could have partnered with Big Pappi and trained to today’s standards
He was a great athlete. I believe he would. Saying otherwise doesn’t matter because how could any pitcher from today go back and battle Babe Ruth anyway. I think that’s Jay’s point. Why put down one of the all-time greats when the game was different back then. It’s really just a dumb conversation to have anyway because there is absolutely no way of knowing, yet people constantly try to do these comparisons. Jay knows a pitcher today would dominate the game back then. But the players back then would be much better if they lived today.
People of various eras in any given sport have possessed the God-given characteristics necessary to excel in that sport. Yes, I know that athletes now are bigger, stronger, faster, etc. But people blessed with the right kind of hand/eye coordination, or the right type of strength, or the requisite quickness, or durability or agility required by the sport, could play it well today, or anytime. And expose those people to the conditioning, the medical treatments, and the instruction available now, and they would only be better qualified to compete.
I agree wholeheartedly. There are some guys that work their tails off and get there but for the majority of the star athletes, they worked their tails off and had a level of talent that just everyone doesn’t have.
Of course anyone could ask whether or not those players would’ve trained harder. I’m sure if pitchers saw a guy come in and throw 100 they’d be figuring out how to do it. Not to mention the ball is different. So what ball is the pitcher using in this hypothetical matchup?
Heath is the best on there. I just happen to be in the car during the 1:30-3 pm timeslot just about every day.
He did it in an era where there were not only no internnational athletes but at least half of the best ball players in the United States weren’t allowed to play
True. But does that mean Babe Ruth wasn’t good? Check out and see how many home runs the next closest of that era finished with. regardless, Ottavino hasn’t come close to accomplishing anything near that which was the point. He never will. In fact, the only way Ottavino gets mentioned in the same sentence as Babe Ruth is because of his hypothetical comments that are as meaningless as a Bowl game.
Oh for sure he was a magnificent Player particularly at that time period. He was a natural talent but I highly doubt he would have dominated the leagues today with all things equal. Nothing about him suggested he had a great work ethic he just had some god given natural talent that was beyond anyone that was playing proball at the time
I can’t agree with that. Again, there is no way of proving what you are saying one way or the other. Which is Jay’s issue. Presenting that as fact is ridiculous. Any other record-holding athlete would be considered a competitor. I like to think he would’ve done what was necessary to compete. But I can’t say one way or the other. So I don’t say Babe Ruth would dominate or hit HRs off the pitcher. Yet that’s what people are claiming the other way around. Is it possible? Yes. Is it 100% fact? No way. And it’s
Just a dumb comparison. But again, why would anyone try to tear down what the guy accomplished? What is there to gain by that?
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It's the flipside to what Howard Cosell used to say. He said people that played a sport think they're automatically qualified to step into the booth and become an announcer. They're two different professions and most are only really educated in one.
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