Bill Belichick's place in sports history

[Judge Jude]

these articles make about as much sense to me as the debates about "which cap" goes on the player's HOF plaque.

[The Feral Slasher]

these articles make about as much sense to me as the debates about "which cap" goes on the player's HOF plaque.

I disagree

[TS Garp]

I think Williams would be more prepared to face today's pitchers than Ruth would be, in the same situation where they are dropped in and have days or weeks to prepare as opposed to years. But I think he would suffer from many of the same issues to a lesser degree.

Is there a hitters from a different era whose swing/approach you think would more easily translate?

[Kevin Seitzer]

Is there a hitters from a different era whose swing/approach you think would more easily translate?

In terms of swing path, I think Cobb's would work well today. But I think anyone from before the 1970s or so would struggle with the slider and anyone from 30+ years ago would probably have some trouble adjusting to the velo because they hadn't seen it. Guys like DiMaggio had a pretty quick, compact swing. He'd probably be okay. Maybe Rose, too.
Brett, Carew. I'm sure there are more. I've only studied video of some of them.

[The Feral Slasher]

In terms of swing path, I think Cobb's would work well today. But I think anyone from before the 1970s or so would struggle with the slider and anyone from 30+ years ago would probably have some trouble adjusting to the velo because they hadn't seen it. Guys like DiMaggio had a pretty quick, compact swing. He'd probably be okay. Maybe Rose, too.
Brett, Carew. I'm sure there are more. I've only studied video of some of them.

Dimaggio, Mays, Burkett, Latham.... possibly others.

[Kevin Seitzer]

Charlie Lau's book The Art of Hitting .300 is the best on the topic. It's out of print but you can find used copies. Williams' The Science of Hitting is all the rage now, and it's a good book, too, but Lau understood and explained the technical aspects of hitting far better than anyone. It's no accident he was filming hitters with high-speed cameras back in the 1970s.

[TS Garp]

Charlie Lau's book The Art of Hitting .300 is the best on the topic. It's out of print but you can find used copies. Williams' The Science of Hitting is all the rage now, and it's a good book, too, but Lau understood and explained the technical aspects of hitting far better than anyone. It's no accident he was filming hitters with high-speed cameras back in the 1970s.

Thanks, will check it out. Sounds a bit like the Bill Walsh coaching book, which is hard to find but supposedly the holy grail of modern coaching.

[TS Garp]

Out of curiosity, have we been able to approximate how hard pitchers were throwing in Ruth's era? Re: Williams' era -- supposedly, Feller was throwing over 100, right?

[Kevin Seitzer]

Out of curiosity, have we been able to approximate how hard pitchers were throwing in Ruth's era? Re: Williams' era -- supposedly, Feller was throwing over 100, right?

Not reliably, no. I don't trust any of the velo measurements made before the introduction of the radar gun in the 1960s (and really late 1970s before it was in widespread usage).

[Kevin Seitzer]

Bob Feller's fastball was variously measured at 104 mph, 107.9 mph, and 98.6 mph. You tell me whether that gives you confidence in the measurement methods.