This Footage From the 1945 World Series Proves How Unbelievably Bad Everyone Was Back Then

Is this real? There's no way those are Major League Baseball players during a World Series. Those guys don't look like they have any idea what sport they're even supposed to be playing. They're just staring at each other while the ball drops right in front of them.

Now to be completely fair, this was during World War II when many players were away fighting, but that's no excuse for what's happening in that video. There is nobody on the field who even has any idea what baseball is.

Anyone who can watch those clips and then tell me Babe Ruth could even make contact with any pitcher who has made an MLB appearance since 2000 is certifiably insane. I would have been the best player on the field in the 1945 World Series, let alone 20 years prior when Ruth was hitting ground rule doubles that counted as home runs. 

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In almost any sports comparison between athletes from different eras, the more recent one is probably better — Michael Jordan and LeBron James excluded. Watching clips like this makes me so much more appreciative of the level of athlete we all watch now. The arguments people make now for baseball being boring are nonsense, but the position of defending the game of baseball would have been much tougher 80 years ago. Luckily, it was the most popular game in America because everybody knew what a great sport looked like.

Also, as someone in the comments hilariously pointed out, this footage comes from the Chicago Cubs' second-most recent World Series appearance. Even with a recent title, that still has to be a little demoralizing.