Ted Williams might not be such a great player if he played today Ted Williams died. Yes, he was a great player - in his era . But we're doubtless going to be subjected to all kinds of stuff about how Williams was one of the "all time greats", which is a curious optimality criterion. After all, if we were picking the "best players of all time", I'd bet that the list would be loaded with modern era players. If Ruth or Williams played today, I think we might find that they wouldn't be anywhere near as dominant as they were when baseball players were predominantly white and fat. As the Onion says, "In my day, ballplayers were for shit."

It seems everywhere I go these days, some young fella's jibber-jabbering about how great some ballplayer of today is. It's always Mark McGwire this or Sammy Sosa that. Well, of course they're the best. These modern big leaguers, with their blinding speed, cannon arms, and towering home runs—they've got it all. Back in my day, ballplayers were for shit!