Angels#1Fan

I used to post on the Angel MLB board for several years and it was a shame that it went the way it did. Now they've canned the rest of the teams..oh well. For me message boards are much more fun, but maybe that's because I'm just used to it and am reluctant to change. I will say this, I'm sure glad AngelsWin was here to move to after the other board closed.

Beat the dogs.

I just finished watching "Fastball" at your suggestion. It's pretty entertaining and they draw several conclusions. Walter Johnson was clocked at 83 point something back in the day using something that can only be described as very crude that actually timed the pitch 7 feet behind the plate and they (the doc experts) corrected it to 93 point something because todays radar gun clocks the pitch at close to the point of release or about 50 feet from home plate. I don't want to say any more because I wouldn't want to ruin it for those that might want to watch it..it's definitely worth a watch.

Is that a statement of fact or speculation on your part? The truth is that no one knows how fast pitchers threw 70 years ago. We have a slight idea of what Feller may have done (some have suggested that he threw over 100) but no one else. You're assertion that Feller was an anomaly isn't based on any fact nor does it have any supporting evidence. In the doc "Fastball" they conclude he threw well over 100 mph! If Feller threw over 100 as was suggested in the doc "Fastball" would it be unreasonable to think others threw over 90? Yes..speculation?

If this is the doc that claims Walter Johnson (or pitchers of his era) only threw 82 then I'm sorry I just don't believe it. There is no way the human species has evolved to that point especially if you consider Nolan Ryan threw over 100 50 years ago or that Bob Feller threw between 95 and 100 82 years ago! One would have to believe that humans of Feller's era evolved from being able to throw only 82 to 100 in the space of just 30 years from Walter Johnson's time. Sorry I don't believe it. The real truth is that no one knows exactly how hard those guys threw the ball because there weren't any radar guns at that time. There was an interesting experiment done with Feller in which he threw a baseball against a motorcycle that was traveling at 86 mph and had about a ten foot head start. It has been estimated that because Fellers ball beat the motorcycle that it had to be traveling between 95 to 100 mph. Frankly I think the notion that pitchers of Johnson's era ( or Dizzy Dean's and Fellers) were only able to throw 82 mph is preposterous..that's my opinion.

While I agree that Williams wasn't a great defender he was far from worthless. lol The statement that Williams played in a hitters park is only half true as he played half his games on the road!

And that would be a mistake. Picking just one stat is foolish when there are so many others that give valid insight into how good a player is. Why not use all the tools available?

I don't mean to be repetitive but my point has more to do with the over use of WAR as some kind of super stat that ends all arguments rather than a point about what generation had the best talent. It's not my intention to dismiss WAR as a stat, it's my opinion that WAR is just one of many ways to judge talent, but it isn't the end all of be all that some seem to think. Like in, "well so and so had a WAR of"..end of argument. That is essentially what the article said and I for one ain't buying it. ymmv

Agree.

@Chuckster70 sorry Chuck but I don't by the notion that players of Williams era faced inferior talent, in fact, there are twice as many players in MLB today than there were in Williams time and imho the talent is diluted down some. Think about it Chuck..half of the players today would be in the minors if they played when there were only 8 teams in each league! As far as the opinion of pitchers throwing harder now than in Williams time goes, that argument will never be put to rest because there were no radar guns then. Besides I think it's hard to believe that the human species has evolved that much in the last 60 to 80 years or so. In fact didn't Nolan Ryan throw over 100 mph when he came up as a Met in 1968..50 years ago??? You're going to have a hard time convincing me that players like Koufax or Gibson and many others didn't throw over 95 consistently. Again, to make my point very clear, it is not about todays players versus yesterdays. My point is about basing an entire argument of a players greatness on WAR alone..it's bs imo. The fact that so many people do it (including the authors in the article above) makes their argument a very weak one imo.

I love Trout as much as the next guy but the entire article is about WAR. These guys act like WAR is the only measuring stick in the game that defines greatness. lol They completely ignore any other stat when comparing Trout to other players. Makes for a weak argument imo. Ted Williams first seven years he hit: .327, .344, .406, .356, (he missed the next three seasons in WWII came back and hit) .342, .343, .369 and he hit 222 HR in the same time frame leading the league 3 times in the process! That's right Williams averaged .355 his first seven years!!! For Trout's first six seasons he's averaging .309. I won't bother listing Williams OBP, walks or RBI because these stats are pooh poohed as meaningless today. lol Williams played 19 years and K'd only 709 times..his worst season he struck out 64 times (his rookie year). Trout has already K'd 874 times. (I know K's don't mean shit in todays game) Trout is off to a great career, but to mention him in the same breath as players like Williams, Ruth and Mays based solely on WAR is nonsense. Perhaps by the time Trout retires he will surpass some of the greats of the game but until then lets try and refrain from anointing him the greatest of all time based solely on WAR. Again, I love Trout as much as anyone and I'm more than happy he's an Angel and hope that he plays his entire career here. Edited to add: my post is more about WAR and how it has become "the stat" to end all arguments than it is about Mike Trout's greatness.

I can't believe all of the panic here given Ohtani has pitched all of 8 innings! Unreal.

Exactly! If at the end of ST and Ohtani is still struggling then he should be sent down but not a minute beforehand. People have been pushing the panic button for a week now and it's just too early. Some here need to just chill out and wait and see what happens.

Deadwood was great..it really should have had at least one or two more seasons. Three just wasn't enough.

Ah, Shirley Hardman I remember her. I think she was an Outlaw. I thought the picture resembled the Blonde Bomber whose real name I don't remember. Anyone remember Psycho Ronnie Rains? Dude had a great act, first as a heel then a good guy on the T-Birds. lol

Is she the "Blonde Bomber"?

THIS!!

^^^

@JustATroutFan that's because you're just a Trout fan.

@OHTANILAND nah he was just a little parched.

It would be extremely risky to give Richards a multi-year deal and I honestly think it would be irresponsible to extend him given his history of injuries. It's a shame but sometimes these things happen..the guy has great stuff. Richards is way too close to returning from a serious injury in which he received an unusual treatment for that doesn't have much of a track record one way or the other. As I said, it would be too risky in my opinion. If he stays healthy and pitches good this season then good on him. He'll have a chance at becoming a free agent and getting a good payday but to gamble on him at this point would be the same as betting on the come.

I have to admit that my dislike for the Dodgers hasn't waned in my old age. lol

@eligrbait is fun here isn't it.