Baseball: Baseball Trivia Queston #17---Multiple Choice

Here is a new kind of trivia question. EVERYONE who wants to take a few seconds can participate, and at 10 p.m. Eastern Time tomorrow, I will post the correct answer.

As suggested by the title, this will be a multiple choice question. There is ONLY ONE correct answer. Without consulting any sources--on line or otherwise-- give me your best guess. If, like me, you not only know the answer for sure, but also know the relevant statistics, please do not print any of the statistics involved, because that will make it obvious to our fellow site mates that your answer is correct. I'd like as many people as feel inclined to get involved in this simple question.


OK, THE QUESTION:

Which of the following records does Babe Ruth NOT hold?

A. Most extra base hits in a single season, in either a 154- or 162-game season. Ruth's career high was 119, in 1921;

B. Highest career on-base percentage--i.e., take his .342 career batting average, and add the 2,062 walks to it. Ruth's career OBP was .474 or .475, depending on whom you consult;

C. Most total bases in a single season. Nota Bene: This does not include bases on balls or "plate appearances," just singles, doubles, triples and HR's. Ruth's career best was 457, in 1921;

D. Most runs scored in a single season (154 or 162 games), in the 20th or 21st century. Ruth's career best was 177, in 1921 (surprise);

E. Most career runs created, including my great friend in San Fran, through the end of the 2005 season. Ruth's career total is 2,757.


I have deliberately omitted stats Ruth owns by a famously ridiculous margin, such as career slugging percentage (.690!!!!!), where he is "only" 56 points above the nearest contender (Teddy Ballgame)... and would have had a career slugging WELL over .700, had not he spent his first 5+ years hitting a dead ball in Fenway Park, before those bleacher in RF existed. If you figure his career slugging starting in 1920, it's something like .715, as I recall.

Obviously my main purpose in making this post is to make casual fans, or even non-fans, realize just how ridiculously great Ruth was. The stereotype of Ruth as a grotesquely tumid old guy who got hold of one, every now and then, is blasphemy. And I again urge all of you to take 3 or 4 days to read what is always a consensus choics, among sports broadcasters, for the greatest American sports bio ever: Robert Creamer's Babe: The Legend Comes to Life.

BHN

I'm going to take a wild guess here and say "B".

1) Because that stat has nothing to do with runs or total/extra bases and

2) Because "B" is always my default guess when I don't know


But yes, if he's got any 4 of the 5, that's definitely Ruthian [hence the term]

It's gotta be B) Highest career OBP. If I'm not mistaken, that mark belongs to Ted Williams.

Nobody else want to take a guess? You can all guess (B), along with YeahRight and BTB, if you like.

Jeesh, this is kind of disgruntling. Thirty-some people have viewed this multiple choice question, and only TWO have chosen to take a guess?

On the positive side, however:

Both of those people are CORRECT! Many congrats to YeahRight and BirdstheBest.

Ruth holds all of the other aforementioned records, but his staggering .474 or .475 (depending on your source) is only good for second place all time. (Had he not played those Dead Ball years with Boston....)

As BirdstheBest says, Teddy Ballgame is #1 in this category, with a career on-base percentage of, depending on your source, .482 or .483. It's not nearly as big an edge as the one Ruth enjoys in slugging, but still, give the guy his due:

On-base percentage is one of the biggest stats in all of baseball--I think it's probably THE biggest, at least until I get a clearer grasp of "runs created" and decide if I agree with its greatness--and in this category, Teddy Ballgame is #1.

BHN