Is 500 the new 400?
-Dexter Sports
2:22 PM
Dexter-Sports Inbox
It was inevitable that Manny Ramirez reached the 500 plateau. From 1995-2006 Manny parked at least 30 homers each season. In that span 4 seasons were 40 + production
. What makes this so impressive is Manny's career .312 average. At 36 years of age, if all goes well, Manny will reach the 600 mark. With club options in 2009 and 2010, Manny most likely will be in a Red Sox uniform for at least two seasons. If his production continues, then it will be another from the steroid era in the ultimate 600. This leads me to wonder, is 500 really the new 400? Should the new standard for the hall of fame be that prestigious 600 dingers?
With home runs per game continuously going down, it will probably be a while before we see another power surge like we have. Of what I would call the new era, (2000-onward) only a few project to be 500 homer plus guys. Some power hitters, such as Ryan Howard have started their careers later than youngsters Ken Griffey Jr. and Alex Rodriguez who came right in to help the Mariners in a hitters ball park. For others like Miguel Cabrera the numbers don't add up. If Cabrera was to just match his career numbers for the next five years, he would only be at 292 homers at 30 years old. I understand that in this day in age, players can lace it up until they are 40, but what are the chances of him succeeding? Right now we are witnessing the effects of the steroid era, I don't believe that we will see this type of production again. With guys such as Magglio Ordonez, James Loney, Chipper Jones and Victor Martinez hitting for average, we are seeing a trend of ol' time baseball coming to the fore front. Our game is turning back to the Ted Williams and Ty Cobb era, where average, grit, singles came first and power follow when needed. That was how you won ball games.
After Gary Sheffield and possibly Carlos Delgado, Chipper Jones, and Vladamir Guerrero we may not see a 500 homer run career for a good long time. For this era, the 500 plateau might not be a judge for the hall, but soon enough it could be the highly prestigious group that it once was.
2:22 PM
Dexter-Sports Inbox
It was inevitable that Manny Ramirez reached the 500 plateau. From 1995-2006 Manny parked at least 30 homers each season. In that span 4 seasons were 40 + production
. What makes this so impressive is Manny's career .312 average. At 36 years of age, if all goes well, Manny will reach the 600 mark. With club options in 2009 and 2010, Manny most likely will be in a Red Sox uniform for at least two seasons. If his production continues, then it will be another from the steroid era in the ultimate 600. This leads me to wonder, is 500 really the new 400? Should the new standard for the hall of fame be that prestigious 600 dingers?With home runs per game continuously going down, it will probably be a while before we see another power surge like we have. Of what I would call the new era, (2000-onward) only a few project to be 500 homer plus guys. Some power hitters, such as Ryan Howard have started their careers later than youngsters Ken Griffey Jr. and Alex Rodriguez who came right in to help the Mariners in a hitters ball park. For others like Miguel Cabrera the numbers don't add up. If Cabrera was to just match his career numbers for the next five years, he would only be at 292 homers at 30 years old. I understand that in this day in age, players can lace it up until they are 40, but what are the chances of him succeeding? Right now we are witnessing the effects of the steroid era, I don't believe that we will see this type of production again. With guys such as Magglio Ordonez, James Loney, Chipper Jones and Victor Martinez hitting for average, we are seeing a trend of ol' time baseball coming to the fore front. Our game is turning back to the Ted Williams and Ty Cobb era, where average, grit, singles came first and power follow when needed. That was how you won ball games.
After Gary Sheffield and possibly Carlos Delgado, Chipper Jones, and Vladamir Guerrero we may not see a 500 homer run career for a good long time. For this era, the 500 plateau might not be a judge for the hall, but soon enough it could be the highly prestigious group that it once was.
