Chris Russo scolds Pete Crow-Armstrong for disparaging Babe Ruth: ‘You’re talking to me now!’

Chicago Cubs All-Star Pete Crow-Armstrong shared a strange Babe Ruth conspiracy theory that set Christopher “Mad Dog” Russo off.

Crow-Armstrong recently appeared on Kristin Cavallari’s Let’s Be Honest podcast, where he was asked to share an “unpopular opinion” that he has. And Crow-Armstrong delivered a doozy when he repeated a conspiracy that “Babe Ruth never existed.” Crow-Armstrong added that if Ruth really did exist to hit 714 career home runs, he did it against pitchers who were basically tossing underhand to him.

Much like Russo had an issue with JJ Redick once claiming Bob Cousy played against “plumbers and firemen” in the 1960s, he was equally outraged by Crow-Armstrong attempting to dismiss Ruth’s greatness.

“PCA, who might be the MVP, this drove me nuts, mentioned on a podcast things that were derogatory as far his playing ability is concerned of the Bambino,” Russo ranted this week on First Take.

Russo proceeded to highlight Ruth’s historic offensive numbers from the 1921 MLB season where he slugged 59 homers and scored 177 runs while driving in 168.

“Hey Pete, you’re talking to me now about Ruth!” Russo continued. “Nobody hit home runs like Babe Ruth. Say what you want about Ohtani, we understand that he’s a unicorn. Babe Ruth is so good it’s mindboggling. Did you know, Peter Crow-Armstrong, that Babe Ruth hit 27 home runs over 500 feet? Bonds? Never. Not one…Ruth owned baseball, nobody hit home runs like Ruth! He out-homered leagues!

“To sit there and say they were pitching underhand, well why didn’t anybody else hit the home runs hitting underhand? Outside of Gehrig, nobody hit home runs! It drives me crazy, especially in baseball, it drives me crazy when I hear today’s athletes and media guys who are 30 years old, who disparage the old-time guys.”

Russo noted it’s a fair argument to say MLB’s “horrific” segregation era may have inflated some statistical records, but as far as talent is concerned, the older players were every bit as talented as today’s athletes.

“It drives me crazy when people think the baseball player in 1927 is not nearly as good as the baseball player today. Are you crazy?” Russo asked. “He would have been a Hall of Famer as a pitcher, forget as a hitter. There’s only one Babe Ruth. He hit anywhere, any place, any time. He’s that good. And when you start to knock Ruth…pay attention, do your homework. That was a disgrace what he said this week.”

In Crow-Armstrong’s defense, he wasn’t dismissing Ruth’s numbers. He was basically saying Ruth’s numbers are so incredible that it’s hard to imagine they were real. Which is true. When we look back and see one player was out-homering the rest of the American League, it’s natural to want to know how that could be possible. For Crow-Armstrong, it led him to wonder whether Ruth existed, which might be extreme. But he’s only questioning Ruth’s existence because his statistics are difficult to fathom.