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Broncosballer32
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Was he greatest HR hitter of all time? No.
Was he the greatest hitter for average of all time? No.
When I say ALL AROUND hitter, I include everything. The most important factor for me in regards to my stance is the era that Aaron put up most of his numbers. The 60s. Historians often call the 60s (post livened ball era) as the decade of the pitcher. After the 1961 season, Frick made a decision (or at least baseball did) to raise the mounds across baseball. I believe baseball raised the mounds across the board 6 inches. Which, put 6 inches on breaking balls. Which, if you are a pitcher like Sandy Koufax, will make you dominant as hell.
If we look it up, we would see 1961 (unlike the 1998 celebrated HR race) was very controversial and not celebrated. In fact it was utterly condemned, and Maris was turned into an utter villain. You know it is pathetic when Yankee fans were hating Maris for hitting 61 HRs. Something those fans should never live down for the disgraces they were. Never live down. Anyway, in order to alleviate that problem from ever happening again, baseball made the league decision to give a greater advantage to the pitcher.
When you look across the board at the numbers of the 60s compared to every other decade it is that far off. I believe it was 1968 when baseball shaved the mounds down. I am not sure of the year. Anyway, lets consider all of the factors that Aaron had to deal with.
Many are going to say Cobb, or Ruth, or Williams. Well, those hitters played their careers pre-integration. Therefore, they may not have been facing the very best pitchers available, unlike post integration. Plus, the variety of pitches being thrown pre-1941 was rather scarce compared to what pitches were being thrown by the 60s.
Aaron not only hit 755 HRs, he is also number ONE in RBI, he is third behind Rose and Cobb for total hits. Also, he has nearly TWELVE MILES more TOTAL BASES than the second place person that list Stan Musial.
People mock cumulative numbers, and I was once one of those people. However, getting older I see there is more to appreciate about longevity and quality production over a long period of time than I had really known before.
So based on all of the factors like era etc etc, I think Aaron is the greatest ALL AROUND hitter.
Was he the greatest hitter for average of all time? No.
When I say ALL AROUND hitter, I include everything. The most important factor for me in regards to my stance is the era that Aaron put up most of his numbers. The 60s. Historians often call the 60s (post livened ball era) as the decade of the pitcher. After the 1961 season, Frick made a decision (or at least baseball did) to raise the mounds across baseball. I believe baseball raised the mounds across the board 6 inches. Which, put 6 inches on breaking balls. Which, if you are a pitcher like Sandy Koufax, will make you dominant as hell.
If we look it up, we would see 1961 (unlike the 1998 celebrated HR race) was very controversial and not celebrated. In fact it was utterly condemned, and Maris was turned into an utter villain. You know it is pathetic when Yankee fans were hating Maris for hitting 61 HRs. Something those fans should never live down for the disgraces they were. Never live down. Anyway, in order to alleviate that problem from ever happening again, baseball made the league decision to give a greater advantage to the pitcher.
When you look across the board at the numbers of the 60s compared to every other decade it is that far off. I believe it was 1968 when baseball shaved the mounds down. I am not sure of the year. Anyway, lets consider all of the factors that Aaron had to deal with.
Many are going to say Cobb, or Ruth, or Williams. Well, those hitters played their careers pre-integration. Therefore, they may not have been facing the very best pitchers available, unlike post integration. Plus, the variety of pitches being thrown pre-1941 was rather scarce compared to what pitches were being thrown by the 60s.
Aaron not only hit 755 HRs, he is also number ONE in RBI, he is third behind Rose and Cobb for total hits. Also, he has nearly TWELVE MILES more TOTAL BASES than the second place person that list Stan Musial.
People mock cumulative numbers, and I was once one of those people. However, getting older I see there is more to appreciate about longevity and quality production over a long period of time than I had really known before.
So based on all of the factors like era etc etc, I think Aaron is the greatest ALL AROUND hitter.
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