OT: Are athletes really getting faster, better, stronger?

Tony2046 said:

Epstein is not arguing that athletes have not gotten bigger or smaller rather the equipment, the nutrition, the science supporting the athletes have gotten better and the lure of a sport has attracted specific sized people to specific sports.

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The idea that this needs to be explained to anyone is ludicrous & Ive seen the video before this thread. All of this is common knowledge Tony.

BaconGrundleCandy said:

The idea that this needs to be explained to anyone is ludicrous & Ive seen the video before this thread. All of this is common knowledge Tony.

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So you watched the video "before" and criticize the OP for sharing the video, that you watched "before", with us?? haha Nice one.

Tony2046 said:

So you watched the video "before" and criticize the OP for sharing the video, that you watched "before", with us?? haha Nice one.

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Apparently you're missing the point or just trying to argue?
This isn't breaking news, none of this is new.
The "lure" of sport, the sport being available to more people etc..

BaconGrundleCandy said:

Apparently you're missing the point or just trying to argue?
This isn't breaking news, none of this is new.
The "lure" of sport, the sport being available to more people etc..

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You watched the video "before" and criticized the OP for sharing the same video with us that you watched "before".

Get it?

There are pitchers these days who are regularly hitting 103, maybe even 104 mph on the radar gun. That’s blazing speed. Back when I was a kid, if Clemens or Gooden threw some heat, it was usually in the mid-90s.

supafly said:

There are pitchers these days who are regularly hitting 103, maybe even 104 mph on the radar gun. That’s blazing speed. Back when I was a kid, if Clemens or Gooden threw some heat, it was usually in the mid-90s.

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That's mostly MLB messing with the numbers. Back then they used radar guns to get the speed of the ball. The point at which the radar guns picked up the speed was about 50 feet in front of the plate. Now they use much more advanced technology which tracks the velocity of the ball at any point. MLB say they take the velocity at about the point where the radar guns did, but clearly not. I'm convinced they're taking it a few feet earlier. Remy and Eck were talking about that during a game earlier this year. They both said if Nolan Ryan was pitching today, his pitches would regularly be clocked at 105 mph.

Deus Irae said:

The advances in nutrition, technology, and training are where most of the differences lie, as opposed to the differences being in the people themselves. And people who want to argue against that can just look at today's players a few years after they retire. Hell, people understand it enough to be commenting on the seemingly shrinking body of Gronk.

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Medicine too. I think of Larry Bird's back problems.

patriot1136 said:

human evolution in this case

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Vitamin S says hi...

scout said:

Watched the video. The emphasis was on individual sport versus team sport. Possibly, if Jesse Owens had today's technology then he would have given Bolt a run for his money. I wish this guy would do an analysis on Bill Russell versus today's players as the emphasis is "yea but that was decades ago". Russell was an athletic freak. The speaker never mentioned football as there are no comparisons of yesterday's athletes.

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Jim Thorpe and Ben Johnson are the two athletes I'd most like to see in the modern environment (with access to the full gamut of wink wink, nudge nudge). I suspect both would deliver some special performances. Also, you can't help but wonder what Eddy Merckx would have done had he had access to Lance Armstrong's tech and "tools".

Deus Irae said:

The advances in nutrition, technology, and training are where most of the differences lie, as opposed to the differences being in the people themselves. And people who want to argue against that can just look at today's players a few years after they retire. Hell, people understand it enough to be commenting on the seemingly shrinking body of Gronk.

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I do not discount training, nutrition, technology. No doubt they have had an impact as well as the larger pool of genetic outliers. However, what hormone/hormone mimic has done to the genetic potential ceiling is quite big. For any guy who has used it they know how shocking the difference from lifting A to WOW! Lifting Z in a pretty short span of time.

And I know "they check for that stuff" is the argument to this. Quick acting, quickly gone is there (how would that not be a technological advancement too). But even at levels below what is considered too high, see Bashir study for what a consistent serum level of 800 will do for a guy who isn't even working out/physically active. Now discretely slip in just two months at a supraphysiological level (one done within a fairly short span you will not have a above test level)? See ya scrawny players of old

Looks like ol' Unca Joker missed the party boat a long time ago....faster, better ,stronger?....all I get is slower, worser and weaker...

Joker said:

Looks like ol' Unca Joker missed the party boat a long time ago....faster, better ,stronger?....all I get is slower, worser and weaker...

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You and me both, buddy.

Of course they are bigger, stronger and faster. It has everything to do with nutrition, training and the need for 110 percent dedication to the sport you participate in. Same reasons people grow taller than 5’3 and average lifespans are twice as long. Genetics I am sure play some small role as well.

NashuaPats said:

That's mostly MLB messing with the numbers. Back then they used radar guns to get the speed of the ball. The point at which the radar guns picked up the speed was about 50 feet in front of the plate. Now they use much more advanced technology which tracks the velocity of the ball at any point. MLB say they take the velocity at about the point where the radar guns did, but clearly not. I'm convinced they're taking it a few feet earlier. Remy and Eck were talking about that during a game earlier this year. They both said if Nolan Ryan was pitching today, his pitches would regularly be clocked at 105 mph.

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Eh, I don’t know. While your point stands about the placement of the gun, I still think they’re hitting a few MPH quicker, at a minimum.

No doubt they’re faster, stronger, and possibly even armed with a “smarter” skill set, thanks to sabremetrics/analytics. Any way you look at it, the professional athlete has evolved. At least in my opinion, anyway.

Mickey Mantle put up Hall of Fame numbers while drinking every night! Imagine if he was on the TB12 method, what he could have done!

supafly said:

There are pitchers these days who are regularly hitting 103, maybe even 104 mph on the radar gun. That’s blazing speed. Back when I was a kid, if Clemens or Gooden threw some heat, it was usually in the mid-90s.

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Yep. Iirc Nolan Ryan hit 100.4 in an ASG in the early 70s. He was really the only one before Rocket, Dibble, etc to throw gas

FreeTedWilliams said:

Mickey Mantle put up Hall of Fame numbers while drinking every night! Imagine if he was on the TB12 method, what he could have done!

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He did a lot more than that every night...and day

Women weaken legs.

Remind me not to invite most of you guys to dinner. Sheesh. You'd think I, and this video, were an attack on the Patriots.
New information is what makes life interesting and worthwhile. If you know everything already, what's the point? Just the animal pleasures of beer, arguments, and spectator sports?
The fact that Jesse Owens was essentially just as fast as Usain Bolt is amazing.

Smarter.....as in freezing your feet to the point of frostbite? This guy would be dumb in any era.

NashuaPats said:

That's mostly MLB messing with the numbers. Back then they used radar guns to get the speed of the ball. The point at which the radar guns picked up the speed was about 50 feet in front of the plate. Now they use much more advanced technology which tracks the velocity of the ball at any point. MLB say they take the velocity at about the point where the radar guns did, but clearly not. I'm convinced they're taking it a few feet earlier. Remy and Eck were talking about that during a game earlier this year. They both said if Nolan Ryan was pitching today, his pitches would regularly be clocked at 105 mph.

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Yeah, in the 9th inning. Ryan was a freak.