[CJFusco]

Steroids and shrinking fields don't explain why Bonds, Helton, et al cannot approach the career numbers of Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, or Ted Williams.

Career Batting Average:
1. Ty Cobb+ .3664 L
2. Rogers Hornsby+ .3585 R
3. Joe Jackson .3558 L
4. Lefty O'Doul .3493 L
5. Ed Delahanty+ .3459 R
6. Tris Speaker+ .3447 L
7. Ted Williams+ .3444 L
8. Billy Hamilton+ .3443 L
9. Dan Brouthers+ .3421 L
Babe Ruth+ .3421 L

Career On-Base Percentage
1. Ted Williams+ .4817 L
2. Babe Ruth+ .4739 L
3. John McGraw+ .4657 L
4. Billy Hamilton+ .4552 L
5. Lou Gehrig+ .4474 L
6. Bill Joyce .4349 L
7. Rogers Hornsby+ .4337 R
8. Barry Bonds (38) .4332 L
9. Ty Cobb+ .4330 L
10. Frank Thomas (35) .4284 R

Career Slugging Percentage:
1. Babe Ruth+ .6897 L
2. Ted Williams+ .6338 L
3. Lou Gehrig+ .6324 L
4. Todd Helton (29) .6159 L
5. Jimmie Foxx+ .6093 R
6. Hank Greenberg+ .6050 R
7. Barry Bonds (38) .6021 L
8. Manny Ramirez (31) .5977 R
9. Mark McGwire .5882 R
10. Vladimir Guerrero (27) .5876 R

It also doesn't explain how pitching today seems to be better than it ever has... i guess pitching has evolved into something very precise over the past few decades.

Career Win-Loss Percentage:
1. Al Spalding+ .7956 R
2. Spud Chandler .7171 R
3. Pedro Martinez (31) .7124 R
4. Tim Hudson (27) .7080 R
5. Whitey Ford+ .6901 L
Dave Foutz .6901 R
7. Bob Caruthers .6877 R
8. Don Gullett .6855 L
9. Lefty Grove+ .6803 L
10. Babe Ruth+ .6714 L
11. Joe Wood .6705 R
12. Jay Hughes .6694 R
13. Randy Johnson (39) .6686 L
14. Bill Hoffer .6667 R
Vic Raschi .6667 R
16. Larry Corcoran .6654 R
17. Christy Mathewson+ .6649 R
18. Sam Leever .6599 R
19. Roger Clemens (40) .6596 R
20. Sal Maglie .6575 R

Hits allowed Per 9 Innings
1. Nolan Ryan+ 6.555 R
2. Pedro Martinez (31) 6.723 R
3. Sandy Koufax+ 6.792 L
4. Sid Fernandez 6.851 L
5. J.R. Richard 6.876 R
6. Andy Messersmith 6.937 R
7. Hoyt Wilhelm+ 7.014 R
8. Randy Johnson (39) 7.019 L
9. Sam McDowell 7.034 L
10. Ed Walsh+ 7.123 R

Here we see the dominance of modern pitching -
Ks per 9 innings pitched
1. Randy Johnson (39) 11.158 L
2. Pedro Martinez (31) 10.502 R
3. Nolan Ryan+ 9.548 R
4. Sandy Koufax+ 9.278 L
5. Hideo Nomo (34) 9.074 R
6. Sam McDowell 8.858 L
7. Curt Schilling (36) 8.847 R
8. Dan Plesac (41) 8.740 L
9. Lee Smith 8.732 R
10. Roger Clemens (40) 8.622 R
11. Eric Plunk 8.453 R
12. Sid Fernandez 8.404 L
13. J.R. Richard 8.367 R
14. David Cone (40) 8.284 R
15. Jesse Orosco (46) 8.194 L
16. Chan Ho Park (30) 8.179 R
17. Tom Gordon (35) 8.153 R
18. Bob Veale 7.958 L
19. John Smoltz (36) 7.951 R
20. Mark Davis 7.915 L