1976 Reds > 1927 Yankees

I woke up with a song in my head this morning. I do that quite often, but most of the time, they're songs that I like. This morning, for no reason I can fathom, Ebony and Ivory was in my head. Yeah, the Paul McCartney/Michael Jackson song. No, I don't know why it was in my head. I wish it weren't.

It seems strange to me that such a song had to exist, not because it's so awful, but because of its subject matter. Since I escaped the middle of the country a decade ago, I've been to many places and met enough people to think the racial problems that have plagued our nation's history are in the past, like they are just part of a Stephen King novel, left for our nightmares.

Alas, that is not the case. Yes, we have made progress, and many of the more educated and traveled folk of my generation have reached a point where race doesn't matter except in being part of someone's identity. But in many parts of the country, well, suffice it to say that racism is a part of the daily existence. How sad. How backwards.

Which brings me to baseball. All weekend, people were thinking about which team was better - the 1927 Yankees or the 1976 Reds. The '27 Yankees played before segregation. The '76 Reds ran out Joe Morgan, Ken Griffey, George Foster, Cesar Geronimo, Tony Perez, Dave Concepcion, and Dan Driessen to sweep the Yankees in the World Series.

Imagine if the '27 Yankees had had to play the likes of Cool Papa Bell, Buck Leonard, Mules Suttles, Fats Jenkins, Turkey Sterns, Oscar Charleston, Willie Wells, Bullet Joe Rogan, a young Satchel Paige, Smoky Joe Williams, or Bill Foster, among many others. Would the Yankees have had five starters with at least 10 wins, three of them with at least 18 (plus their closer, who had 19 wins. No, that's not a typo.)? Would the team have had a .307/.381/.489 team batting line? Would Babe Ruth have hit 60 homeruns if he had had to face Bullet Joe Rogan or Smoky Joe Williams?

It's pretty tough to compare eras. The '27 Yankees and the '76 Reds played at very different times. The '27 Yanks wound up with 6 Hall of Famers: Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig (take a look at his stats - they always leave me in awe), Earl Combes, Tony Lazzari, Waite Hoyt, and Herb Pennock. The '76 Reds had 3 Hall of Famers, plus Pete Rose and Davey Concepcion, both of whom SHOULD be in the Hall. But I'd have to say the competition was much tougher in 1976 than in was in 1927, thanks to integration. Edge = Reds.

I'm so proud of baseball for playing such a vital role in the advancement of human rights. It's just one of the many things to love about this game.
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