Roger Maris, the real Home Run King

[El Supremo]

[Upton]

1. Not according to the Baseball Almanac

though Maris does get the consolation prize for hitting the most single season in the AL...but there's only 1 HR king.

http://www.baseball-almanac.com/recbooks/rb_hr2.shtml

[madinmaryland]

3. You forget the ASTERISK, there coupton!

[madinmaryland]

2. Didn't he have eight extra games to set the record??

:shrug:

[Upton]

4. Yeah Maris did

in fact he only had 59 after 154 games.

[madinmaryland]

6. Well, at least he did not get his asterisk with chemical enhancements.

[Upton]

8. There never was a an asterisk by Maris

in the baseball record books, that's a myth that you can read about here: http://www.salon.com/news/sports/col/barra/2001/10/03/asterisk/

Nor is there one by Barry's name...therefore your entire post is, per usual, nothing but nonsense..

[madinmaryland]

12. Dude. There are always going to be several by Barry's name. nt

[JonLP24]

5. But Ruth wasn't playing in intergrated baseball

So he didn't have an opportunity to play against black or dark skinned hispanics.

But if we're talking about how many games it takes might as well slap an asterisk on running backs such as Barry Sanders, Terrell Davis, and Jamal Lewis who took 16 games to gain 2,000 yards meanwhile OJ Simpson only needed 14. That should work, every RB except OJ gets an asterisk because he didn't need that many games.

[madinmaryland]

7. Huh?

He was playing against who he could. He had nothing to do with the laws of this country.

Nice post, cboy4.

[JonLP24]

10. Well when it comes to no choice of competition Josh Gibson is the single season

Home run leader. He hit 75 home runs in 1931 according to Britannica

I know he didn't play in the league that matters but he is still in the same hall of fame as Babe Ruth I believe.

My point in all this is how silly I find the idea of asterisks and you can apply them to anyone. The AL in 1961 grew from 8 to 10 games thus watering down the overall league pitching.

Thank god I'm not in charge in this situation as I wouldn't know how to handle it but I find the idea of asterisks silly.

[opiate69]

9. Ahem..

That's the "real" home run king.

[El Supremo]

11. For lifetime homers, yes.

But for single season homers it is Maris.

Just like Dimaggio's hitting streak in '41, a record that won't be broken except by cheaters.

[opiate69]

15. Yeah.. I figured out the single-season bit a little after I posted..

lol.. I'm a bit slow on the uptake today.
:silly:

[wilt the stilt]

21. Joe Dimaggio's most interesting statistic

361 HR's 369 Strikeouts. the only power hitter with a one to one ratio.

[Ter]

34. Sure it will be broken

Since Maris was never a great HR hitter and suddenly hit 61, a more natural HR hitter could easily do it clean. Mantle could have had he not gotten hurt.

[Forkboy]

13. I agree with this, and the response.

:)

[cboy4]

17. Sorry, we don't include international records. And the last time I checked,

Oh didn't face MLB pitchers.

Apples and oranges comparing him to Bonds.

[madinmaryland]

18. That is so rich! "apples and oranges" Fucking classic, coby!

"Pre" and "post" ROID RAGE ERA statistics are quite relevant.

LOSERS!

[opiate69]

20. And Barroid, Maris, Ruth et al didn't face Japanese pitchers... your point?

Ethnocentrism is so fun!
:eyes:

[cboy4]

23. Sorry. I don't compare those screw ball Japanese Leagues .. where all of the

losers from the Major Leagues are forced to go .. because nobody here wanted them here.

And I know of very few Japanese pitchers (I can't think of one off the top of my head frankly) that Bonds, Maris, Ruth, et al faced.

Okay, Bonds faced Dice K I'm pretty sure.

But at this point, you get the Price is Right loser horn.

LOL!

typo

[opiate69]

26. Hmm.. let's see... How's Japanese baseball stack up against MLB?

WBC results
Japan - 2 championships
USA - 0 championships.

[cboy4]

27. I don't recognize the WBC either, because the US doesn't give a crap

whether it beats some screw ball Japanese League.

Listen, if someone wants to organize head to head in some format .. does things like make sure the baseball is the same size and weight, etc., etc........then we can talk.

But to go on and on and say someone like Oh, who is playing half a world away under different guidelines, in wacky stadiums, against American reject pitchers in some cases .. and say he's the home run king over greats like Bonds, Aaron, Mays, Ruth et al ...

That's dumb.

[opiate69]

28. "Listen, if someone wants to organize head to head in some format"

LOL.. you mean, like the WBC?? Frankly, I could give a fuck what a dipshit like you "recognizes". Far as I know, the WBC is about as close to a head-to-head match-up as there's ever been.. and so far, the grand old USA has been thoroughly pwned by those wacky Nipponers. Oh.. and about the American Rejects pitchers.. “He sure hit me. He was a superb hitter. He hit consistently, and he hit with power. " - well known reject Tom Seaver.

[cboy4]

29. They can't even get their own uniforms. Look whose team uniforms

these fans are wearing.

Guess which MLB team had their name stolen!!

But I don't expect an America hater, who roots for the Japanese over us like you do, to give a shiite.

LOL!!

[BulletproofLandshark]

31. MLB is the highest level of baseball anywhere.

NPB uses a smaller ball and a smaller field. Sadaharu Oh would never have come close to Hank Aaron's record otherwise. And to say they are better than American teams because they won a couple of tourneys where many of the best American players didn't participate is ridiculous.

[Jetboy]

14. I say the original asterick should stand.

Which would make Babe Ruth the home run king. The Bambino hit 60 when the season was shorter.

[Onceuponalife]

16. Are you serious?

The guy has one good season and you call him the home run king? Heck, Mickey Mantle was a better home run hitter than Maris. And Hank Aaron, the only home run king I recognize, faced much tougher pitching than Maris.

[wilt the stilt]

22. The guy who would hold the record and was the best

is Willie Mays bar none. 660 homers lost at least a season to the Army and hit HR's in Candlestick. A way harder feat than Aaron. The only player to hit 50 hrs in a season 10 years apart. Aaron never hit 50. Anyone who grew up in the 60's knows May's was better. Aaron had a longer career but wasn't the player May's was.

[Auggie]

25. I acknowledge Aaron and Ruth

They played in different eras so both should be recognized. Aaron for sheer numbers, Ruth because he defined the role of home run hitter and his numbers stood for so long.

[Capt. America]

19. Dont forget both Ruth and Maris had the short right field at Yankee Stadium ("289" ft?)

[H2O Man]

24. That was the era

that my brothers and I grew up in. One of my uncles, a high-ranking detective, was able to secure tickets to Yankee games and access to the locker room back then. Those were the days!

[Faygo Kid]

30. You are ABSOLUTELY right. No steroids. No Negro Leagues.

Thanks for your post; I totally agree. Maris may have had a few more games, but Ruth didn't have to face Satchel Paige et al, and the frauds - Bonds, Sosa, McGwire - were juiced out of their minds.

Roger Maris is the home run king, for one season. Period. What a year, that was, 1961. That's when I started following sports (10 years old). Colavito, Cash, and especially Kaline. My dad left in 1959, and I adopted a too-young Al Kaline as a role model and surrogate father.

He never disappointed. What a class act.

Thanks for your post. Maris is indeed the king. Love the pics.

[joeybee12]

32. Amen! Three cheers for the only Yankee I like!

He got screwed.

[El Supremo]

33. I like Yogi too.