Adam Ottavino is coming off a great year, pitching 77.2 innings in relief for the Colorado Rockies, striking out 112 batters while maintaining a 2.43 ERA and a 0.99 WHIP. Those are elite numbers, and Ottavino – who is now a free agent – may be trying to pair those with a flex of confidence in hopes of more money.
That could be why he dropped Babe Ruth’s name on a podcast, in what some old school baseball fans may perceive as a blasphemous manner.
The following is an excerpt taken from ESPN:
"I had an argument with a coach in Triple-A about Babe Ruth's effectiveness in today's game," Ottavino said. "I said, 'Babe Ruth, with that swing, swinging that bat, I got him hitting .140 with eight homers.'
"He was like, 'Are you nuts? Babe Ruth would hit .370 with 60 homers,' and I'm like, 'I would strike Babe Ruth out every time.'
Woah, that’s a take. The “different eras” argument is certainly something to consider when taking in a bold statement like this, but so is the idea of era adjustment – as in, Babe Ruth would have adjusted to whatever today’s pitchers were throwing.
The reaction has been very split. Nobody is thinking that it would be fair competition between the two, it’s either Babe crushes Ottavino, or vice versa. No in between.
(H/T ESPN)
