Baseball is the finest team sport ever invented by man, in my humble but usually accurate opinion. The World Series, currently playing out between Philadelphia and Houston, underscores that posit. As a sports announcer, I often get asked questions about great players in the game, as well as in other various sports. Recently, someone asked me who I thought was the greatest all-around baseball player of all time. “Oh, that’s easy,” I replied. “It has to be Willie Mays.” [Note: the late Hall of Fame announcer Ernie Harwell also held this position, so I knew I was in good company.]
My questioner persisted, however: “What do you think his batting average would be if he were playing today?”
“Oh, probably .200, maybe .220,” I responded.
“That low?” he exclaimed. “Do you think pitching has improved that much in fifty years?”
“No,” I told him. “But you have to remember he’s ninety years old.”
Baseball is the finest team sport ever invented by man, in my humble but usually accurate opinion. The World Series, currently playing out between Philadelphia and Houston, underscores that posit. As a sports announcer, I often get asked questions about great players in the game, as well as in other various sports. Recently, someone asked me who I thought was the greatest all-around baseball player of all time. “Oh, that’s easy,” I replied. “It has to be Willie Mays.” [Note: the late Hall of Fame announcer Ernie Harwell also held this position, so I knew I was in good company.]
My questioner persisted, however: “What do you think his batting average would be if he were playing today?”
“Oh, probably .200, maybe .220,” I responded.
“That low?” he exclaimed. “Do you think pitching has improved that much in fifty years?”
“No,” I told him. “But you have to remember he’s ninety years old.”