A-Rod and the Babe

Ron Rollins was reading ShysterBall — and yelling at me for saying statheady things — way back in early 2007. Back then the only other regular readers were my mom and the people Googling pictures of Alyssa Milano. The Googlers soon realized that there was nothin’ good here, and even my mom eventually gave up, but Ron still reads, comments and generally stirs up crap around here from time to time. I’m glad he does that.

I’m also glad to report that Ron, who already writes a nice international baseball bog, is now writing professionally for an even bigger international baseball blog. His first post compares the social/media phenomenon that is Alex Rodriguez to the social/media phenomenon that was Babe Ruth. It’s striking in that “Kennedy had a secretary named Lincoln, Lincoln had a secretary named Kennedy” kind of way. There will be new posts there every Wednesday, and I highly recommend that you check them out. And of course, don’t forget to check out his regular blog, Baseball Over Here.

Another good reason to click thorugh: of all of the people who are trying to make a buck or two off of blogging, Ron deserves your clicks the most. Why? Because unlike the rest of us, Ron is doing this for 100% selfless reasons. Until around a year ago, Ron had a pretty comfortable life in Missouri, working a job like the rest of us, enjoying the occasional beer, reading blogs, and watching a lot of baseball. Ron has a young daughter in the U.K., however, and Ron knew that she needed him in her life, and he needed her. So he quit his job, sold all of his stuff, and at an age where most of us are most worried about lawn care and antacids, Ron picked up and moved to Bournemouth, England. As you might expect, it’s not easy to get a job when you’re not a citizen, especially in this economy. Ron has nonetheless perservered, long beyond the point most of us would have given up and come home. Our clicks — both on the articles and the ads if you’d be so good to do so — would help him out immensely.

Thanks, all.


14 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Jason @ IIATMS
14 years ago

here, here!  Well said, Craig.  Ron, we’re all pulling for ya.

My link to the same is here:  http://itsaboutthemoney.blogspot.com/2009/04/casting-arod-in-babes-shadow.html

Everyone reading this: click on the link to Ron’ story and even click on a few ads.

Dave W
14 years ago

If I click on the link I get a warning:

The website at baseballdeworld.com contains elements from the site internetcountercheck.com, which appears to host malware – software that can hurt your computer or otherwise operate without your consent. Just visiting a site that contains malware can infect your computer.

Craig Calcaterra
14 years ago

Ah, sorry about that Dave.  I’m working on a pretty locked down machine right now, and that doesn’t pop up for me.

Wooden U. Lykteneau
14 years ago

How many times did A-Rod…

…win 20 games as a pitcher?
…throw a complete game?
…throw a shutout?
…post a .700+ slugging percentage?
…post a .500+ on-base percentage?
…hit more than 10 triples in a season?

Oh, yeah. They’re like twins. I can hardly tell them apart.

themarksmith
14 years ago

Way to completely miss the point.

Wooden U. Lykteneau
14 years ago

Says the pot to the kettle…

The ONLY parallel that would REMOTELY reach the (weak) media exposure and turn-a-blind-eye comparison would be Michael Jordan. And in terms of the sheer volume and variety of the products endorsed, #23 falls WAY, WAY, short of #3.

Never mind, of course, the fact that A-Rod is a shadow of the player that Babe Ruth was.

themarksmith
14 years ago

First, using Ruth’s pitching to differentiate the two is missing the point that Ron is trying to make about perception, not about specific positions played.

Second, Ron is trying to make the point that if you want to ding A-Rod for his faults, then you can’t forget about the Babe. Just because he was a better player (I won’t argue that), it does not excuse Ruth from his personal conduct if we can’t excuse A-Rod’s.

Arguing over the difference in ability is missing the point.

themarksmith
14 years ago

Forgot this, the two are considered the best of their times, making this a good comparison. Both should be held in similar esteem compared to their fellow players.

Wooden U. Lykteneau
14 years ago

Nice try, but saying that A-Rod is the one baseball player that anybody could name or knew something about is a specious argument. Perhaps you’re just unaware of how big Babe Ruth was in his prime (and I don’t mean his weight).

RoyceTheBaseballHack
14 years ago

Thanks for plugging Ron’s work, Shyster. I’ve always enjoyed his input here.  Looking forward to rowing around on his site.

tadthebad
14 years ago

Wooden, have you talked with DavidB?

themarksmith
14 years ago

Last try, even if Babe was the most famous person ever, that does not give him license to do illegal things, just as ARod has no license to do the same. It should not matter how good or bad a player or how famous he is, they should be held to the same standard. And I, as well as Ron, think that if Ruth was around today, knocking homers and so forth, and was found to be guilty of illegal activities, we may not be so forgiving.

DavidB
14 years ago

Arod is a creepy closet gay, viagra poppin piece of crap and can’t build anything.

lookatthosetwins
14 years ago

sorry,

couldn’t help myself.