What was Hank Aarons record compared to Babe Ruth's record?

Question

What was Hank Aarons record compared to Babe Ruth's record?

Answer 1

For Aaron, in 12364 at bats, he hit 755 HRs, 2297 RBIs, 2174 runs.  He hit 36.6 HRs per 600 at bats in an era where players were typically hitting 14.1 HRs per 600 at bats.

For the %'s, Aaron hit .305, OBP 374 and slugging of 555.  His OPS+ was 155

Ruth, in 8398 at bats, hit 714 HRs, 2217 RBIs and 2174 runs.

Ruth hit 51 HRs per 600 at bats in an age where players were hitting 5.6 hrs per 600 at bats..

For the %'s, Ruth hit .342, OBP .474 and slugging .690 while getting an OPS+ of 207

So, in close to 4000 more at bats, Aaron hit 41 more home runs and 80 more RBIs in an age where it was much easier to hit home runs.

Edit to Vince:  I never mentioned 800 hrs in my answer AT ALL.  I simply meant that Aaron got 41 additional home runs in an extra 3900+ at bats.

I mention the easier time of hitting home runs because people view the one dimensional # (762 or 755 or 714) and associate accomplishment to that.  Asserting that Bonds is the greatest home run hitter because he has the highest amount of HRs is ludicrous.  

People should look at the comparison to what is typically accomplished.

Also, there was NO reference to anything fantasy at all.  Stats are objective and are simply put into perspective with additional facts.

I realize that they made a really short right field in Yankee stadium, but

1) Ruth didn't start hitting home runs when they moved to Yankee Stadium (didn't he hit 59 at the polo grounds)

2) there were also other left handed hitters on the Yankees (and opposing teams) and the league average per 600 at bats was still low.

3) If Ruth only hit home runs to the right field line and at home, you'd have a point, but that's not the case.

The simple thought of 'hit em where they ain't' was limited to the field, the other players never saw the magic in hitting it out of the park.  They felt with large fields, it would just be a fly ball anyway.  (plus, people go into the habit of not hitting it in the air because of a previous rule that you could secure an out if you caught the ball after one bounce)

So, I point out that compared to his peers, Ruth was far more dominant a home run hitter (and batter overall, let's compare batting averages if you want to ) than Aaron.

It's not to say that Aaron wasn't great, he was, but he's Mark Messier to Ruth's Wayne Gretzky.

Longer career, not quite the impact.

Answer 2

From a straight numbers comparison, Ruth topped Aaron's stats.  It is very difficult--and fairly useless--to try to compare different eras.  So many things change from one period to another.  However, Ruth totally dominated baseball when he played.  His stats were so superior to his peers.  Aaron was one of the very best when he played and some of his numbers were achieved through longevity.  Aaron was a great player, but I would have to give the edge to Ruth due to his complete dominance when he played.  Also, he was an excellent pitcher who could have been one of the best except his bat was so incredible.

Answer 3

The guy that answered before this is right and wrong with his answer. Yes his point that Ruth would have hit over 800 HR's easy if he had played as an outfielder his whole career rather than have started as a pitcher.  He is wrong though stating that it was "easier" to hit HR's in the 50-70's when Aaron played.  He doesn't know that Right Field at Yankee Stadium was created with Babe Ruth in mind.  They knew that the shorter dimensions would generate more HR's for Ruth.  Also you have to realize what transition was going in baseball back then.  They were slowly ending the dead ball era where most sluggers only hit 10 HR's.  Alot of the greatest hitters like Cobb, Wagner of that era got mostly singles, doubles and triples.  Not because they weren't strong enough to hit HR's.  The ball parks were HUGE!!  So to generate more revenues in baseball, they brought in fences in.  Look up players like Mel Ott and Ralph Kiner.  Each played in parks that were specially designed for them to hit more HR's.  Same thing happened in the 1990's til today with alot of the newer HR friendly ballparks. Colorado, Houston, Cin, Baltimore ..the list goes on and on.  What happened during Aarons playing days is that they slowly add MORE teams to MLB. Hence pitching got slowly watered down.  Also they added 8 more games to a total of 162 in the early 60's which benefitted ALL played stats during a season.  That same year Roger Maris broke Babe Ruth season HR record which caused MAJOR waves in MLB.  They considered it a separate record from Ruth for decades!! If you want to know the history of any sports people, READ! Stop looking at stats alone!!  Fantasy sports is really dumbing down peoples understanding of the sports and the value of each player.  You have to know also the circumstances behind the stats.  That can have alot more importance than stats purely as a number.

Answer 4

Idk what you mean, but if you mean the home run record, Aaron hit 755 while Ruth hit 714.