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Thread: Is Ottavino right about the Babe?

  1. #16
    Comparing athletes of different generations, while fun , is really meaningless. So many things change over time. If someone is the best , or one of the best , in their own era , that is all you can ask . Babe Ruth 's accomplishments speak for themselves. Ottavino was probably just fooling around. Much ado over nothing. I would guess that , if the Sox had signed Ottavino ( I think they should have) , and he said the same thing , we would be applauding.

  2. #17
    Super, Duper Moderator Youk Of The Nation's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by BillyWilliams View Post
    Pujols aces scientists' tests -- just like The Babe
    Aug 22, 2006
    Associated Press

    ST. LOUIS -- How does El Hombre match up against the Sultan
    of Swat?

    This spring, Washington University scientists, at the request of
    GQ magazine, put Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols through a series
    of tests similar to those given to Babe Ruth 85 years ago -- tests
    ranging from finger tapping, to visual responses, to bat speed.

    The results? Both men aced the tests, and their performances
    were strikingly similar.

    In 1921, psychologists at Columbia University put Ruth through
    tests to try to determine what made him great. He had faster than
    average reflexes, steady nerves, and superior sight and hearing.

    The same holds true for Pujols. At Washington University,
    clinical neuropsychologist Desiree White and cognitive psychologist
    Richard Abrams and their colleagues gave Pujols tests resembling
    the ones Ruth took. Both men were 26 and top hitters when they were
    tested.

    GQ features some of the results of the Pujols tests in its
    September issue.

    For one test, White put a piece of paper in front of Pujols.
    Capital letters were strewn about the page. White told Pujols to
    locate and cross out all of the As.

    White realized she'd never seen anyone scan the page the way
    Pujols did. Most people scan a page left to right, the way they do
    when they read. Pujols visually divided the page into sectors and
    searched each one briefly for the letters before moving on to the
    next sector. When he'd searched all sectors, he returned to the
    first and started over. It took him four rounds and a minute to
    complete the task.

    "I've never seen anyone scan that way, but it would be
    important on the baseball field," White said, noting the skill
    would allow Pujols to scan the field and know where everyone is
    without missing any action.

    In another test, Pujols replicated 133 symbols in a minute -- a
    testament to his hand-eye coordination. The test makers don't even
    list a score that high.

    http://www.espn.com/mlb/news/story?id=2557786
    That's pretty cool, I'd never heard about that before. I wonder if any of the other greats from the first half of the century ever took any of those tests?
    Quote Originally Posted by YANKEESRULE View Post
    Yea got hand it to the Sox, they just could not go queitly into the night. Well, they are just post-poning the inevitable.
    - From the 2004 ALCS Game 4 Gamethread. A reminder that no game is over until the final out is recorded, and things will always get better. Misspellings unchanged as a reminder that Yankees fans are just terrible.

  3. #18
    Quote Originally Posted by Youk Of The Nation View Post
    That's pretty cool, I'd never heard about that before. I wonder if any of the other greats from the first half of the century ever took any of those tests?
    I thought it was pretty cool, too. I first read about this a few years back but I am not aware of anyone else that took these tests.

    Here's another cool article about how the game has changed:

    http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/2...-changed-years

  4. #19
    El mar no cesa iortiz's Avatar
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    Putting Ottavino and the Babe in the same sentence makes me puke. Ottavino is a bum.

    Quoting a recent twit of Bill James "What people don't get is that the difference between TEAMS is much less than the diff between PLAYERS, & the diff between LEAGUES is less than teams. So there is enormous improvement since 1927, but on the scale of LEAGUES. On the scale of PLAYERS it isn't nearly as large"
    Tiburones Rojos de Veracruz & Boston Red Sox

    Quote Originally Posted by a700hitter View Post
    In the words of Don Corleone when he slaps a crying Johnny Fontaine: "Act like a man!" No, offense ladies.

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