How does Babe Ruth have 123 SBs
 

With a high of 17 in a season happening twice? Sure he got caught a lot... is this just a result of many hit-and-runs, with the catcher not throwing?

http://www.baseball-reference.com/r/ruthba01.shtml

Babe Ruth was a good athlete. I know that comes as a shock to plenty of people. The only videos you see are of Ruth at the end of his career. Find some pictures of a younger Ruth.

Of course he was never as good a basestealer as he thought he was. But he was not the lumbering guy with the pot belly for most of his career.

Kruk stole more than 50 bases in his career. He was every bit of a pig as Ruth.

Sid Bream stole 50 bases, including 13 in one season.

Ah ok. Thanks for educating me.

Also, Ruth used steroids.

Speaking of stolen bases, Tony Clark has the longest active streak of games without a stolen base. He's now up to 793 straight games without a steal, with his last stolen base coming on April 3, 2000 (opening day for his team).

Let's get up to 800, Tony!

Makes sense to me. Did Gehrig and Maris as well?

Julio Franco once had 36 SBs in a season, at the age of 52.

Whoa, he stole 36 bases in a strike year?

Yeah sorry, I forgot that little tidbit. I remember people at the time saying he could have had over 115 if the season continued.

What's that? He would've been 115 years old when the season ended?

Greg Maddux had a stolen base a few weeks ago. Clearly, no one on the opposing team were expecting it and so *bam*, there you go.

No, you're mistaken. He's currently 115 years old. I think maybe that's why Ksyrup has said he can't contribute to a team anymore. That damn age prejudice.

Dola,

I say if you can still play the game, then play the game. I don't care if you're 42, or 115.

Julio Franco still looks younger than Otis Nixon did back in 1991.

Maybe Nixon is Franco's father... are there records of a name-change somewhere?

Maddux apparently has 10 career SBs. Go Maddux!

Hmm.

He couldn't retire until he got to double digits. Now he just needs to get to 100 RBI's and he'll be set.

You know that Rickey Henderson is sitting around somewhere with a frown on his face because we're talking about stolen bases, but we ain't talkin' about Rickey.

And then you had to go and ruin it.

"What's that I hear about stolen bases??"

Come on now. That caption should quite clearly read "What's that Rickey hears about stolen bases??"

I would almost be willing to bet money that, because I mentioned Tony Clark's streak, he's going to steal a base against the Pirates tonight.

:D

I'll check the box score tomorrow for sure!

Tony Clark is gonna steal home and then flash his American Express card.

Wearing a suit jacket, right?

Never steal home without it

Wow

?

I'm more surprised at how many triples Ruth had in his career (136).

El Duque stole bases in back to back starts a couple weeks ago. And they were expecting it.

You know what's really crazy? The amount of steals of home that guys used to get. Apparently it's a lost art...but I think something changed and no one is telling us.

My first guess is pitcher's windups. They're much quicker than they used to be.

Bet that porn star mustache. If he doesn't steal tonight, shave it then post a pick.


Remember, when he got started, the fences were pretty deep. So, he just hit it over their heads.

For whatever reason, most of the photos of Babe Ruth in the public consciousness are from later in his career after he'd gained weight. Imagine if you only ever saw photos and video of Barry Bonds from the last couple of years - it'd be hard to imagine him stealing 52 bases in a season.

FWIW, here's the best video I've seen of Ruth at the plate (comparing his swing with Barry Bonds) - obviously from earlier in his career when he was in prime physical condition:

much more upright than barry

I also do not see the Jaws of Life attached to Ruth's elbow.

So pitchers used to go from a full windup with runners on base, as opposed to the stretch?

It's a black tie affair he'll be wearing a Tuxedo T-Shirt.

Well, I don't know exactly when the "stretch" was invented or when it was standardized. But if you ever watch old footage, the windups are much more intricate, even from the "stretch." Its one of the things that really jumps out at me as a difference in the game.

At the moment of contact you mean? Yeah, a little bit. The much bigger difference is the stride - Barry's front foot doesn't stride as far forward as Ruth's. Ruth also has a little more of a hitch before 'loading up' his bat, whereas Bonds has very little movement in getting his bat back into position. Ruth drops his hands a bit before raising them to get into his swing position - Bonds doesn't have that hand dip that Ruth does.

As a Ruthophile I'm saddened to say I'd never seen that sequence before. Look at the amount of flex he put in the bat at the moment he began the downward motion of his swing. That's absolutely incredible. It seems impossible when you consider that he was using at least a 40 oz bat that didn't have the extreme taper at the handle that modern bats have.

Ruth was a strong mofo. I'm sourcing the clip from Carlos Gomez's latest entry on his Bullpen Mechanics blog. I hadn't ever seen it before either and it gave me new appreciation for his swing - very athletic and very powerful.

Pics Pumpy! I think you agreed to this bet somewhere.

Nope, I didn't accept it. Sorry. :)

Damnit!

This thread delivers. Unexpectedly entertaining. Thusly encouraged, please continue.