Half a century later, the clean home run batting champ....

[Karen Kraft]

... Roger Maris....

is ignored.

They put at asterisk next to his record, noting that he did it is a 162 game schedule as compared with Ruth's 154 game schedule, ignoring the fact that Maris broke Ruth's record with fewer plate appearances.

No Hall of Fame for Maris -- the world little notes nor long remembers his breaking Babe Ruth's record. To this day, only drug-abusing ball players have bested his mark.

Perhaps Cooperstown and Baseball in general should put an asterisk indicating drug-assisted play next to the so-called records of St. Louis Cardinals' Mark McGwire (70) and the Chicago Cubs' Sammy Sosa (66). and San Francisco Giants' Barry Bonds (73).

In horse racing, if the horse tests positive for drugs after the race, it's first place finish is removed. Hitting a bunch of home runs chock full of steroids seems not to phase those who edit Baseball's record books.

In the end, for many fans, Roger Maris still holds the home run batting crown... and he will until a clean player breaks his record.

What say you?

Link:
http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-1002-plaschke-roger-maris-20111002,0,5892446.column

http://is200.imagesocket.com/images/2011/10/02/2339045-v17b.jpg​

 

[Saint Peter]

How do you know he was clean?

 

[Karen Kraft]

How do you know he was clean?

Well, it was before steroids, he is from East Cufflink, Minnesota, born in 1934, and was very straight laced when compared to his buddy and teammate, Mickey Mantle.

But I'm sure your point is well taken, inasmuch as he no doubt was on very heavy drugs when he died of Hodgkin's lymphoma in 1985.

So.... the way MLB thinks, he deserves yet another asterisk for heavy drug use, albeit on his deathbed.

The world will always hate him for breaking Babe Ruth's record while not being Mickey Mantle.

 

[unregistered]

 

[eyer]

Sorry, KK...

...the Babe is the Sultan of Swat.

 

[SgtSpiderMan]

I don't agree with steroids, but the pitchers were using them too. Maris wasn't facing juiced pitchers.

 

[Karen Kraft]

Looks to me Karen that Ruth hit 60 homers in 540 at bats, and Maris used 590 to hit 61.

As an aside Hank Aaron took 12,364 at bats to beat Ruth's lifetime home run record he achieved in 8399 at bats. Minor point.

Hmmmm......

... so the stats in the article are wrong?

"Baseball immediately slapped a figurative asterisk on the record because Maris had set the mark in a 162-game schedule while Ruth had completed it in 154 games. Never mind that Maris had hit the homers in fewer plate appearances. Never mind that the pressure of catching Ruth had caused Maris' blond hair to fall out in clumps."

Maris actually used more plate appearances to get his 61 homers?

Now KK is all confused. Can't be an L.A. Times Sports Section error. They never make mistakes. Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha.

 

[Karen Kraft]

Sorry, KK...

...the Babe is the Sultan of Swat.

Eye No.

I have no problem with Ruth.

My problem is with the disrespect Baseball has shown to Maris.

Baseball is devoid of disrespect.

"Now let me explain to you how to
hit a baseball. It's a lost art.
Ever since that half-nigger Ruth
started hitting home runs, the
skill, the art, and the science
have been lost."​

-Ty Cobb​

 

[SgtSpiderMan]

Hmmmm......

... so the stats in the article are wrong?

"Baseball immediately slapped a figurative asterisk on the record because Maris had set the mark in a 162-game schedule while Ruth had completed it in 154 games. Never mind that Maris had hit the homers in fewer plate appearances. Never mind that the pressure of catching Ruth had caused Maris' blond hair to fall out in clumps."

Maris actually used more plate appearances to get his 61 homers?

Now KK is all confused. Can't be an L.A. Times Sports Section error. They never make mistakes. Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha.

It's an error in reading. Plate appearances and at-bats are 2 different stats.

 

[Karen Kraft]

It's an error in reading. Plate appearances and at-bats are 2 different stats.

This is true, but the stat I quoted was comparing plate appearances with plate appearances.

 

[SgtSpiderMan]

This is true, but the stat I quoted was comparing plate appearances with plate appearances.

Maris had 698, Ruth had 691. I didn't say it was your error.

 

[eyer]

Eye No.

I have no problem with Ruth.

My problem is with the disrespect Baseball has shown to Maris.

Baseball is devoid of disrespect.

"Now let me explain to you how to
hit a baseball. It's a lost art.
Ever since that half-nigger Ruth
started hitting home runs, the
skill, the art, and the science
have been lost."​

-Ty Cobb​

And I certainly have "no problem" with Maris (except for the fact he was a punk Yankee).

I do wish to congratulate you on your own success:

Including in the same post the word "disrespect" and the name "Ty Cobb" was definitely a four-bagger.

 

[atmas]

And Hank Aaron shows up with a little asterisk for career home runs, also.

There is a bike race up the autoroad on Mt. Washington in New Hampshire. The race is contested at times by very elite cyclists. The record was held for a while by Tyler Hamilton, who raced it while disputing his ban from racing for having doped and won the Olympics. He swore blind he didn't do it, but the World Anti-Doping Administration saw it differently. In due time he admitted to doping (not quite the same as coming clean, though).
The group that organizes the Mt Washington Hill Climb stripped him of his record though it had no evidence he was doping while in the race (they don't do drug tests). Not only that, they redacted any reference to Tyler ever having been in the race at all.

Now that's zero tolerance.

 

[Karen Kraft]

Maris had 698, Ruth had 691. I didn't say it was your error.

I didn't say that you said it was my error.

Meanwhile, the L.A. Times story seems to have a different calculation.

 

[Karen Kraft]

And Hank Aaron shows up with a little asterisk for career home runs, also.

There is a bike race up the autoroad on Mt. Washington in New Hampshire. The race is contested at times by very elite cyclists. The record was held for a while by Tyler Hamilton, who raced it while disputing his ban from racing for having doped and won the Olympics. He swore blind he didn't do it, but the World Anti-Doping Administration saw it differently. In due time he admitted to doping (not quite the same as coming clean, though).
The group that organizes the Mt Washington Hill Climb stripped him of his record though it had no evidence he was doping while in the race (they don't do drug tests). Not only that, they redacted any reference to Tyler ever having been in the race at all.

Now that's zero tolerance.

It's true that we hyperventilate most pompous when it's the other person's ox being gored. That's why I dislike much about the jury system. People who cheat on their income taxes every year and fuck around on their spouse sit in in somber judgment on the character of the accused. Often, it's hypocritical and disgusting.

It's like me saying that I would have hit as many home runs as Barry Bonds if I were lowly enough to have taken steroids. Let us not judge too harshly, etc.

Anyway, the way I see it, Roger Maris still holds the legitimate home run batting crown at 61.

 

[Very_Bad_Man]

How do you know he was clean?

She drank his piss and she said it tasted okay

 

[Joeybagadonuts]

Roger was dissed by Yankee fans during his great season because they were rooting for Mick. I’ve always considered Maris to be the single season home run leader. It’s difficult if not impossible to compare players from different eras as there are so many variables such as the number of teams played, travel and the quality of pitching.

 

[JohnnySavage]

Am I missing something here? I'm not a baseball fan - at all, but googlizing reveals:

Name Home Runs Year Team League Rank
Barry Bonds 73 2001 San Francisco Giants NL 1
Mark McGwire 70 1998 St. Louis Cardinals NL 2
Sammy Sosa 66 1998 Chicago Cubs NL 3
Mark McGwire 65 1999 St. Louis Cardinals NL 4
Sammy Sosa 64 2001 Chicago Cubs NL 5
Sammy Sosa 63 1999 Chicago Cubs NL 6
Roger Maris 61 1961 New York Yankees AL 7
Babe Ruth 60 1927 New York Yankees AL 8
Babe Ruth 59 1921 New York Yankees AL 9
Jimmie Foxx 58 1932 Philadelphia Athletics AL 10


Roger Maris is 7th?

 

[phrodeau]

It's only a game.

They need to build up these controversies so that people have something to talk about.

 

[Karen Kraft]

Am I missing something here? I'm not a baseball fan - at all, but googlizing reveals:

Name Home Runs Year Team League Rank
Barry Bonds 73 2001 San Francisco Giants NL 1
Mark McGwire 70 1998 St. Louis Cardinals NL 2
Sammy Sosa 66 1998 Chicago Cubs NL 3
Mark McGwire 65 1999 St. Louis Cardinals NL 4
Sammy Sosa 64 2001 Chicago Cubs NL 5
Sammy Sosa 63 1999 Chicago Cubs NL 6
Roger Maris 61 1961 New York Yankees AL 7
Babe Ruth 60 1927 New York Yankees AL 8
Babe Ruth 59 1921 New York Yankees AL 9
Jimmie Foxx 58 1932 Philadelphia Athletics AL 10


Roger Maris is 7th?

No, everyone who hit more than Maris has been associated with illegal steroid usage during the time they allegedly hit more than Maris did. In most sports, one loses official stature when one cheats. Maris is number one among the players who did not use steroids to help achieve the mark.