100 years ago today, Babe Ruth started his major-league baseball career. He was with the Boston Red Sox. And he would go on to change major-league baseball.
Most people don't realize that he started off as one of the best pitcher in baseball, at the time. He won his debut on July 11, 1914 against Cleveland 4-3.
In 1917 Ruth went 24-13 with a 2.01 ERA and six complete game shut outs.
It wasn't until 1918 that Ruth became an every-day outfielder on the days he did not pitch. That year the Red Sox would win the World Series for the last time until the curse of the Bambino (Babe Ruth) was lifted in 2004. That was Boston's third title in four years and its fifth since 1903.
At the end of 1918, the Red Sox were the dynasty in baseball and the New York Yankees were an after thought. That all would end a year later when Boston's owner Harry Frazee sold Babe Ruth's contract to the New York Yankees on December 26, 1919 for $100,000 to bank roll his passion for the theatre. Red Sox fans and baseball would never be the same.
It was fitting that Babe Ruth's career started in New York as the roaring 20's began. The attendance from Babe Ruth's home runs alone, would go on to fund the 'house that Ruth built' just a few years later.
In 1920, when Ruth hit 54 homeruns, that was more than double his closest competitor in the league. He would hit 59 in 1921 and best that at 60 in 1927. That mark would be the standard for another 34 years until fellow Yankee Roger Maris hit 61 in an expansion year with depleted pitching and eight more games.
Babe Ruth was larger-than-life and still is today. Kids all over the world still know his name, and it is synonymous with big belting home runs. He didn't just hit it farther and harder than everybody else, he also had a gigantic personality and smile to go with it. Babe Ruth was also well-known for visiting kids in hospitals and other acts of kindness.
Babe Ruth's contribution to society's vocabulary is still present today. A Ruthian blast, a 'home run' (used all over in describing great things, started in the 1920s) and 'he's out there in left field' (meaning clueless) came from anybody who knew what was really going on, knew Babe Ruth was a right fielder.
He led us out of the 'dead ball era'. Before his career 10 or so homeruns was considered a great season. And his 29 1/3 score less inning streak as a pitcher, in World Series play, stood until the '60s. His 714 career home runs stood as the record until Hammerin' Hank Aaron broke it in 1974. Aaron would finish with 41 more home runs, but almost 4,000 more at bats.
Babe Ruth simply was the greatest baseball player to ever walk the earth.
714 Home Runs
.342 Batting Average
690 Slugging Pct
2873 Hits
2174 Runs Scored
2213 RBI
2062 Base On Balls
506 Doubles
136 Triples
Top 10 In 9 Categories All Time (!)
94 Wins
2.28 ERA
This writer's favorite story of Babe Ruth took place in the 1920's while he was in Chicago playing the White Sox. The White Sox players decided that they were going to take Babe Ruth out drinking and chasing women so that he would be worn out the next day. Back then all of those games were played in the early afternoon. The next day all the White Sox players, were reportedly hanging their heads in the dugout, and feeling extremely under the weather (hung-over). They and Babe Ruth had been out until the early morning hours watching the sun come up and tearing up the nightlife in Chicago. Babe Ruth hit two homeruns that day. The Yankees won in a landslide. People there said Babe Ruth, in the ninth-inning, was on the top of the dugout steps and yelled out in a grin,
"Hey boys, hey boys. Where we going tonight?!"
Some people will say that today's players are better than Ruth. That with weight training and everything else he could not compete. Just remember while Barry Bonds did it on PEDs and steroids with a scowl, Babe Ruth did it on beer and hot dogs and a smile.