Babe Ruth
"The Bambino"
In 1914 the Boston Red Sox bought Babe Ruth from the Baltimore club,
they signed him for $3,500 a year, three times the amount he was being paid.
During the next 3 years Ruth was the best left-hander in baseball.
He chalked up 18 wins in 1915, 23 in 1916 and 24 in 1917.
From 1915-17, Ruth won 65 games, more than any other southpaw in the majors.
In 1916 he led the league with a 1.75 ERA and threw a league leading nine shutouts.
On May 6, 1915 Babe hit his first major league home run off Jack Warhop, who pitched for the Yankees.
In 1917, Ruth was 24-13, completing 35 of the 38 games he started.
Babe Ruth's pitching career: 94 Wins 46 Losses, .671 pct. 2.28 ERA,
He started 148 games and completed 107, opponents batting ave .221.
Because of his abilities as a hitter, base runner and fielder, Ruth was converted to a outfielder-pitcher in 1918.
In 1919, when he wasn't pitching he played 111 games in the outfield
Babe hit 29 home runs, the most in major league history,
"The Bambino" hit a homer in every American League park.
He led the league in runs (103), in RBIs (114), in on-base-pct and slugging pct.
"The Curse of the Bambino"
The Boston Red Sox won four World Series in the eight years Babe Ruth played on the team.
In 1920 they sold Ruth to the New York Yankees for $125,000 and a $300,000 loan because
Boston's owner Harry Frazee needed cash to invest in a new play on Broadway.
Ruth single-handedly outhomered the entire Boston team in 10 of the next 12 seasons.
After selling Ruth, Boston has not won a single World Series Title.
Ruth brought back the fans who had soured on the sport because of the Black Sox scandal in 1919.
The fans began pouring into the ballparks across the country to see the Babe in action.
By 1923, the Yankees were drawing huge crowds and built a new stadium, quickly called "The House That Ruth Built".
Ruth again led the league in homers, runs, RBIs, walks, and slugging pct. and a .393 batting average.
The Yankees won their first World Championship.
Babe Ruth's career bating average of .342 is ninth highest in baseball history.
When he died on August 16, 1948, Ruth held 56 Major League records plus 10 AL marks.
The 'Babe' led the American League in home runs in 10 different years and tied for the lead in two other seasons.
In 1920, Ruth established a still-standing mark with his .847 slugging average.
He followed that with the second-highest mark ever (.846) in 1921.
Ruth's 1927 single season record of 60 home runs stood unsurpassed until Roger Maris hit 61 in 1961.
Babe Ruth's lifetime record of 714 homers was not broken until Hank Aaron broke it in 1974.
Babe Ruth batted 8,399 times while Aaron batted 12,364 times.
Aaron hit 755 career homers, Ruth hit 714 in 3,965 less times at bat.
Babe Ruth walked 2213 times, (811 more times) than Aaron's 1402 walks.
Babe Ruth was the first player in history to hit over 30 homers in one season, the first to hit 40, 50 and 60.
When Babe Ruth hit 700 career homers, no one else had even hit 300 home runs.
June 13 1948: At Yankee Stadium's "Silver Anniversary Day," the Bronx Bombers bring back the 1923
team that opened the ballpark and won the Yankees' first world championship.
At the pregame ceremony, the Yankees retire Babe Ruth's uniform number.
Never again will a Yankee ever wear No. 3. The uniform will be sent to the Hall of Fame.
Ruth carries a bat to home plate as the crowd of 49,641 sings "Auld Lang Syne" to him.
In a raspy voice, the Babe, who is suffering from throat cancer, gives a speech that tugs at the hearts of all.
He says how proud he is to have been the first to homer in Yankee Stadium
and how glad he is to be reunited with his former teammates again.
It is the Babe's last appearance at Yankee Stadium. He will die two months later.
Babe's Farewell
He was inducted into the Hall Of Fame in 1936
When Ruth was paid $80,000 in 1930, he earned more than the President of the United States (Hoover)
Ruth stated, "So What?. I had a better year than he did."
His highest salary was $80,000 annually in 1930 and 1931. He suffered a $5,000 pay cut in 1932 despite hitting .373, leading the majors in 1931 with a .700 slugging percentage, tying for the lead in homers with 46 and knocking in 163 runs.
The 1932 World Series is best remembered for Babe Ruth's "called shot" (pictured below).
In Game 3 of the Series, Ruth pointed his bat at Cub's pitcher Charlie Root and then belted a home run to center field.
Debate has raged ever since about whether he actually "called" the homer, but the Ruthian legend has endured.
When asked about the called shot Ruth said.
"Aw, every body knows that game, the day I hit the homer off ol' Charlie root there in Wrigley Field,
But right now I want to settle all agreements. I didn't exactly point to any spot, like the flagpole.
Anyway, I didn't mean to, I just sorta waved at the whole fence, but that was foolish enough.
All I wanted to do was give that thing a ride out the park anywhere."
Sportswriter Fred Lieb was credited with coining the term "The House That Ruth Built".
