Ruth, Not Bonds or Sosa
Babe's Best Seasons Were Greater Than Barry's or Sammy's
Bonds set the single season home run record. Sosa hit more than 60 home runs in three different seasons. But Ruth was clearly the best hitter of them all.
They may be the greatest four consecutive seasons any hitter ever produced, yet they are never mentioned. From 1998-2201, Sammy Sosa hit 243 home runs and batted in 597 runs, while batting .310. That is an average of 61 home runs a season.
SAMMY SOSA'S FOUR GREAT CONSECUTIVE SEASONS
- YEAR AB H HR RBI BA
- 1998 643 198 66 158 0.308
- 1999 625 180 63 141 0.288
- 20000 604 193 50 138 0.320
- 2001 577 189 64 160 0.328
- TOT 2449 760 243 597 0.310
Barry Bonds hit 73 home runs in a season, but his second highest total is 49. The only time Barry hit more than 50 home runs was the year he set the record. His best consecutive home runs seasons were from 2000-2003, when he hit 213 home runs and batted in 443, while hitting .334. That is average of 53 home runs a season. Barry’s walks explain the relative “low” RBI totals.
BARRY BONDS' FOUR GREAT CONSECUTIVE SEASONS
- YEAR AB H HR RBI BA
- 2000 480 147 49 106 0.306
- 2001 476 156 73 137 0.328
- 2002 403 149 46 110 0.370
- 2003 390 133 45 90 0.341
TOT 1749 585 213 443 0.334
Now let us go to the greatest of all sluggers to ever swing a bat, a left handed pitcher who would have been a Hall of Famer as a pitcher but who was such a devastating batter that he became Babe Ruth. From 1926-1929, Ruth hit 207 home runs and had 610 RBIs, while batting .348. That is an average of 52 home runs a season, compared to Sammy’s 61 and Barry’s 53.
BABE RUTH'S FOUR GREAT CONSECUTIVE SEASONS
- YEAR AB H HR RBI BA
- 1926 495 184 47 150 0.372
- 1927 540 192 60 164 0.356
- 1928 536 173 54 142 0.323
- 1929 499 172 46 154 0.345
- TOT 2070 721 207 610 0.348
Selecting the four best CONSECUTIVE seasons gives Sammy and Barry an advantage because those seasons started with 1998. Each had fine seasons prior to 1998, but Ruth had some great seasons prior to 1926, so we will “cheat” and use Ruth’s 1920 and 1921 seasons instead of 1926 and 1929. Ruth averaged 57 home runs and 154 RBIs a season.
BABE'S FOUR GREATEST SEASONS
- YEAR AB H HR RBI BA
- 1920 457 172 54 137 0.376
- 1921 540 204 59 171 0.378
- 1927 540 192 60 164 0.356
- 1928 536 173 54 142 0.323
- TOT 2073 741 227 614 0.357
Ruth Was Better Than Any of Them
Barry Bonds broke Roger Maris’ single season home run record once. Sammy Sosa broke it three times. Roger Maris broke Ruth’s record once and never hit as many as forty home runs in any other season. Mark McGwire exceeded 61 home runs twice but is being ignored because it is known that he used 4-androstenedione, which leads to the obvious conclusion. Babe Ruth was better than any of them.
