(1895–1948). Probably the best-known player in baseball history, Babe Ruth was known as the Sultan of Swat. With his home run hitting power, he changed the way baseball was played. He was a larger-than-life figure to millions of Americans in the 1920s and 1930s. Early lifeGeorge Herman Ruth was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on February 6, 1895. At the age of 7, George was placed at St. Mary's Industrial School in Baltimore. There he learned to play baseball. CareerRuth entered professional baseball as a pitcher, not a hitter, in 1914 with the Baltimore Orioles of the International League. The Orioles' manager, Jack Dunn, paid him 600 dollars for his first season. Ruth got his famous nickname on his first day of practice, when he was called “another one of Dunn's babes.” Later that year Ruth was sold to the Boston Red Sox of the American League. When Boston won the league championship in 1916 and 1918, Ruth pitched in the World Series. There he pitched 29 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings, a record that stood for decades. Ruth was one of the best left-handed pitchers in the American League. In about 1918 he began to play the outfield on days he was not pitching. New York YankeesIn 1920 Ruth moved to the New York Yankees. He soon came into his own as a home run hitter. Before his time, players tried to hit singles or doubles, moving runners from base to base. Ruth swung for the fences and electrified fans. Yankee Stadium, which opened in 1923, was known as the House that Ruth Built. Ruth broke the major-league home run record in three successive years, 1919–21. In 1927 he hit 60 home runs, a season record that was not broken until 1961, after the season had been expanded from 154 to 162 games. In 1935, after 15 years with the Yankees, he joined the Boston Braves as a playing vice-president. The same year, before the season ended, Ruth laid down his bat for the last time. He finally served as coach of the Brooklyn Dodgers until 1938, when he retired from the game. RecordsRuth played 22 major-league seasons. He led the league in home runs for 12 years, hitting at least 50 in 4 separate seasons and at least 40 in each of 11 seasons. His lifetime record of 714 home runs remained unbroken until Hank Aaron hit his 715th home run in 1974. Ruth's total of 2,204 runs batted in was surpassed only by Aaron, and his record of 2,062 bases on balls (walks) still stood at the end of the 20th century. Although Ruth also had the major-league strikeout record for many years, he hit well for average. His lifetime batting average of .342 ties him for eleventh place on the all-time list. He also starred in ten World Series. In 1936 Ruth became one of the first five players to be elected to the new National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. RetirementAfter leaving baseball, Ruth was prominently involved with charities. On August 16, 1948, shortly after appearing at the premiere of a Hollywood film about his life, he died of throat cancer in New York City. |