Monday, April 13, 2009
The Golden Age of Sport
Baseball has grown to become some of the biggest sports not only in America but across the world. But before it became what it is today there were a few players that made it the spectacle it is because each sport had its superstars that helped the sport become larger then life. The first prolific player was Babe Ruth and his impact that he had on baseball. Babe Ruth was by no means athlete, but during this era of baseball, most players the most athletic. The Babe's image of drinking and smoking cigars, was justified by the public because of his ability to hit an outrageous amount of home runs. Not even was he justified for his actions, he was even paid more money then the president at that time. This can show how much baseball was beloved at this time in history.
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I agree, that Babe Ruth had a major impact on Baseball, but I disagree with the notion that he is not an athlete. What makes someone an athlete? I guess this could be debated just as much as what is a sport? In my opinion Babe Ruth was an athlete. Sure he may not have been the fastest guy in the league or the most agile, but he sure could hit that ball. I'm pretty sure he was a pitcher as well. The fact that he could hit the ball alone, is enough for me to classify him as an athlete. You don't become a pro ball player if you aren't an athlete. He obviously had some great hand-eye coordination, which is a basic requirement of most sports. Just my opinion.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with Jim's comment on this; Babe Ruth was an athlete. He may not have fit our "idea" of an athlete-someone strong, in shape, fast, and competitive. However, he did play a sport and he did excel at it; I believe this makes him an athlete. I can't even imagine what it was like having baseball as the most important sport and something little boys looked up to--the first thing I think of is the movie "Sandlot" and it makes me associate baseball with "the good old days" which goes right along with the Golden Age of Sport.
ReplyDeletePerhaps the disagreement about what is an "athlete" stems from differing notions of what an athlete was during distinct eras in our history. If we measure athletes of yesteryear against the athletes of today, there is no way that the former can measure up--for a variety of reasons. Most importantly, from an historical perspective, we have to understand the athletes within the context of the time in which they lived. Certainly, as Jim and Gina point out, the things that Babe Ruth accomplished were nothing short of remarkable from an athletic standpoint. The sheer number of home runs that he hit would make Ruth an asset on any team in today's MLB. In addition, he did pitch in the early part of his career, and he won over 90 games! If you think about the athleticism required to hit a baseball, consider one of the greatest athletes of our time, Michael Jordan, and how he fared when he tried to play Minor League baseball. I don't believe his average was much above the "Mendoza line."
ReplyDeleteJust because someone does not look the part of an athlete does not mean the person can not be an athlete. In wrestling for example, some kids looked really athletic hence I thought they were good but they really were not and others looked not to athletic so not to good and were really great. It is king of like the saying "Don't judge a book by it's cover". To be a great pitcher early in your careet and then be one of the greatest hitters of all time is pretty athletic even if he was not in the greatest shape.
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