Whats the harder feat 500 homers or 3,000 hits?

[bigboydan]

I was lucky to see both of these great milestones achieved live today. Frank Thomas' number 500 home run and Craig Biggio's 3,000th hit.Thats the first time I can remember two great feats like this that were accomplished on the same exact day.

I know 500 home runs is very hard to accomplish and all, however I believe 3,000 hits is a much tougher feat to achieve. Now combined that with the tainted home run totals put up by Bonds, McGwire, and Sosa then ask yourself which is the harder to achieve.

[tacomax]

Now combined that with the tainted home run totals put up by Bonds, McGwire, and Sosa then ask yourself which is the harder to achieve.

Tainted. Why?

[bigboydan]

Tainted. Why?

The steroids factor Taco

[tacomax]

Have they all been proven to have taken steroids when it was banned in MLB? And remember that steroids were around a heck of a long time before MLB decided to ban them - the Olympics banned them in the 1960s if I remember rightly.

[Razz]

500 HRs is more impressive to me. I think that a good hitter with longevity and good health can accomplish it. I mean, Biggio's a career .282 hitter. Looking over the names in the 500-HR club, I mean, these are the most well known names in MLB history.

[bigboydan]

Have they all been proven to have taken steroids when it was banned in MLB?

Palmerio is the only one proven to have taken them, and he accomplished both feats I do believe.

[tacomax]

Looking over the names in the 500-HR club, I mean, these are the most well known names in MLB history.

And that's because MLB watchers much prefer HRs to hits.

[Razz]

A lot more members of the 500 HR club have approached the 3,000 hit club than vice versa.

[onlooker]

I think HR's are harder to come by then Hits. So 500 HR's.

[Razz]

I think HR's are harder to come by then Hits.

[onlooker]

Your welcome Razz, and thanks for posing for that picture.

Dan asked the question, and I answered it.

[tacomax]

A lot more members of the 500 HR club have approached the 3,000 hit club than vice versa.

"Have approached" is the key factor here.

I was watching ESPN earlier while pissed and it was something like 27 members of the 3000 hit club and 21 members of the 500 HR club. Bear in mind that there are quite a lot of players pretty damn close to the 500 HR club, not too sure how many are close to 3000 hits.

Aside from that, change your avatar and signature. For what the Spurs are surely going to pay for Bent, it's not a good move.

[Razz]

Aside from the fact that Spurs now have four strikers better than any you have ...

There are 29 retired and one active (Barry Bonds at 2896) players that made it 90% of the way to 3,000 hits.

There are seven retired and four active (A-Rod, Thome, Manny, and Shef) that made it 90% of the way to 500 HRs.

[onlooker]

Thank god for google.

[Razz]

Thank god for google.

And baseball-reference.com

[tacomax]

Nearly = nothing.

4 better strikers?

[Razz]

Oops. Fernando Torres to Liverpool is official, just read it. Okay, one better striker.

[jjgold]

Hrs are harder

Believe me I played HS ball and was an athlete

[tacomax]

Fernando Torres to Liverpool is official, just read it. Okay, one better striker.

Is it official?

[SBR_John]

Home Runs seperate the men from the boys. But it really depends. I mean a guy with 500 homers and an on-base pct of .330 is in no way better than a 3,000 hit guy with an on-base pct of 440. The headline numbers are just for show. How good a player really is is buried down in career average, on-base pct and average with men in scoring position and of course errors/put outs.

[BatemanPatrickl]

3,000 HITS is harder.

[linebacker]

I was lucky to see both of these great milestones achieved live today. Frank Thomas' number 500 home run and Craig Biggio's 3,000th hit.Thats the first time I can remember two great feats like this that were accomplished on the same exact day.

I know 500 home runs is very hard to accomplish and all, however I believe 3,000 hits is a much tougher feat to achieve. Now combined that with the tainted home run totals put up by Bonds, McGwire, and Sosa then ask yourself which is the harder to achieve.

HOMERS

[LargeMouthBass]

Back couple decades ago, 500...

Nowadays, I'd say 3000...

[Stumpage]

I guess the all-knowing answer would come from somebody who is in both clubs. Maybe the question was put to Palmiero, Aaron, Eddie Murray or Willie Mays one time, though how one would get that type of archived info is way, way beyond me. I hope I didn't miss any other guy, 'cause a 3000-500 combo is some serious talent.....

[Willie Bee]

And baseball-reference.com

Combine it with Retrosheet.org and you have my two most favorite websites. Only way I can have more fun is to read a dictionary (seriously).

I'm not sure which one is more difficult. Certainly it's 'harder' to hit a ball 400 feet instead of dink one into right field, looking at it from the most simplistic viewpoint. If Ted Williams was still alive, I'd defer to whatever he said about the subject. Only reason he's not in the 500 HR/3,000 Hit club is because of his military service. But I do recall a conversation between him and Tony Gwynn that was broadcast on ESPN maybe 7-8 years ago, and Williams sort of chastised Gwynn for not being able to hit more home runs.

Speaking of simplistic, JJ your note about playing high school ball is laughable in terms of that having any bearing upon your knowledge of hitting at the major league level. Even I played into my high school years, so that should show you how much water that bucket will hold. The difference is like sending men to the moon as opposed to man landing and walking on the sun's surface.

[isetcap]

Even if JJ landed and walked on the sun's surface I still wouldn't value his opinion about hitting a baseball.