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Babe Ruth

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   CAPTION: Babe Ruth

                                   Babe Ruth
                                 Personal Info
 Birth          February 6, 1895, Baltimore, Maryland
 Death:         August 16, 1948, New York, New York
                              Professional Career
 Debut          July 11, 1914, Boston Red Sox vs. Cleveland Indians, Fenway Park
 Team(s)        Boston Red Sox ( 1914- 1919)
                New York Yankees ( 1920- 1934)
                Boston Braves ( 1935)
 HOF induction: 1936
                               Career Highlights

 All-Time records

   * Career SLUG: 0.690
   * Career OPS: 1.164

 Notable achievements

   * 2nd in career OBS (.469)
   * 3rd on All-Time Home Run list (714)
   * Only player to hit 3 home runs twice in a World Series game (1926 &
     1928)
   * Won the 1923 MVP Award
   * Appeared in 1933 & 1934 All-Star Game
   * First player ever to hit 60 home runs in a season

   George Herman Ruth, Jr. ( February 6, 1895 -- August 16, 1948), also
   known as "Babe", "The Bambino", "The Sultan of Swat", and "The Colossus
   of Clout", was an American baseball player. Ruth, a notable sports
   figure during the Roaring Twenties, was one of the first five players
   elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

   Ruth accomplished many things during his career. He set the record for
   home runs in a single season when he hit sixty in 1927. The record
   stood for 34 years. Ruth was a member of the original American League
   All-Star team in 1933. He also made the team in 1934. In 1969, he was
   named baseball's Greatest Player Ever in a ballot commemorating the
   100th anniversary of professional baseball. In 1998, The Sporting News
   ranked Ruth No. 1 in its list of "Baseball's 100 Greatest Players." In
   1999, Ruth was elected to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team by
   fans.

Early life

   Young George attended St. Mary's Industrial School for Boys, a school
   run by Roman Catholic brothers. While Ruth was there, a man by the name
   of Brother Matthias became a figure in his life. Brother Matthias
   taught Ruth the game of baseball. He worked with Ruth on hitting,
   fielding and, later, pitching.

   In early 1914, a teacher at St. Mary's brought George to the attention
   of Jack Dunn, owner and manager of the Baltimore Orioles. After
   watching Ruth pitch, Dunn signed Ruth to a contract and became Ruth's
   legal guardian When the other players on the Orioles caught sight of
   Ruth, they nicknamed him "Jack's newest babe." The reference stayed
   with Ruth the rest of his life as he was most commonly referred to as
   Babe Ruth from then on.

   On July 7, 1914, Dunn offered Ruth, along with Ernie Shore and Ben
   Egan, to Connie Mack of the Philadelphia Athletics. Dunn asked $10,000
   for the trio, but Mack refused the offer. The Cincinnati Reds, who had
   an agreement with the Orioles, also passed on Ruth. Instead, the team
   elected to take George Twombley and Claud Derrick.

   Two days later, on July 9, 1914, Dunn sold the aforementioned trio to
   Joe Lannin and the Boston Red Sox. The amount of money exchanged in the
   transaction is disputed.

Major League Career

The Red Sox years

   When Ruth arrived in 1914, the Red Sox had many star players. As such,
   he was optioned to the minor league Providence Grays of Providence,
   Rhode Island for part of the season. Behind Ruth and Carl Mays, the
   Grays won the International League pennant. Ruth appeared in five games
   for the Red Sox that year, pitching in four of them. He finished the
   season 2-1 for the major league club. Shortly after the season, Ruth
   proposed to Helen Woodford, a waitress he met in Boston, and they were
   married in Baltimore on October 14, 1914.

   During spring training in 1915, Ruth secured a spot in the starting
   rotation. He joined a pitching staff that included Rube Foster, Dutch
   Leonard, and Smokey Joe Wood. Ruth won 18 games, lost eight, and helped
   himself by hitting .315. He also hit his first four home runs. The Red
   sox won 101 games that year on their way to a victory in the World
   Series. Ruth did not appear much in the series. He did not pitch in the
   series and he recorded only one at-bat.

   In 1916, after a slightly shaky spring, he went 23 - 12, with a 1.75
   ERA and 9 shutouts. Despite a weak offense and hurt by the sale of Tris
   Speaker to the Indians, the Red Sox still made it to the World Series.
   They defeated the Brooklyn Robins four games to one. This time Ruth
   made major contributions in the series. In game 2 of the series, the
   Red Sox won the game and Ruth pitched a 14-inning complete game.

   George went 24-13 in 1917 and hit .325. The Sox finished nine games
   behind the Chicago White Sox, good enough for second place in the AL.

   In the 1918 World Series, Ruth appeared as a pitcher and went 2-0 with
   a 1.06 ERA. Ruth extended his World Series consecutive scoreless inning
   streak to 29⅔ innings. Since Hippo Vaughn and Lefty Tyler, two
   left-handers, pitched nearly all the innings for the Cubs, Ruth, who
   batted left-handed registered only five at-bats.

   During the 1919 season, Ruth pitched in only 17 of the 130 games in
   which he appeared. He also set his first single-season home run record
   that year. It was his last season with the Red Sox.

The sale

   In the early part of 1920, Red Sox owner Harry Frazee agreed to sell
   Babe to the New York Yankees. Frazee and Jacob Ruppert, Yankee owner,
   agreed to exchange Ruth for $125,000 and a loan of more than $300,000.
   The deal was completed on January 3, 1920.

The Yankee Years

The Early 20’s

   Ruth in 1920, the year he joined the Yankees.
   Enlarge
   Ruth in 1920, the year he joined the Yankees.

   Ruth hit 54 home runs and batted .376 in his first year with the
   Yankees. His .847 slugging average was a major league record until
   2001.

   In 1921, the Yankees met the New York Giants in the World Series. Ruth
   badly scraped his elbow during Game 2 sliding into third base. After
   the game, he was told by the team physician not to play the rest of the
   series. Without him, the Yankees lost the series. Ruth hit .316, drove
   in five runs and hit his first World Series home run.

   Ruth's appearance in the 1921 World Series created a problem. After the
   series, Ruth played in a barnstorming tour. At the time, there was a
   rule that prohibited World Series participants from playing in
   exhibition games during the off-season. Baseball Commissioner Kenesaw
   Mountain Landis suspended Ruth for the first six weeks of the 1922
   season.

   Despite his suspension, George was named the Yankees on-field captain.
   Ruth started his 1922 season on May 20. Five days later, he was ejected
   from a game and Ruth subsequently lost the title.

   In his shortened season, Ruth appeared in 110 games, hit 35 home runs
   and drove in 99 runs. Even without Ruth for much of the season, the
   Yankees still made it to the World Series. Unfortunately, Ruth got just
   two hits in seventeen at-bats and the Yankees lost to the Giants for
   the second straight year.

   Ruth finished the 1923 season with a career-high .393 batting average
   and major leagues leading 41 home runs.

   For the third straight year the Yankees faced the Giants in the World
   Series. The Bambino batted .368, walked eight times, scored eight runs,
   hit three home runs and slugged 1.000 during the series. The Yankees
   won the series 4 games to two.

   During spring training in 1925, Ruth fell ill. In order to recover,
   Ruth returned to New York. Coming off the injury, Ruth finished the
   season with a .290 average and 25 home runs in 98 games. The team
   finished next to last in the A.L. with a 69-85 mark.

The Mid-Late 20’s

   Babe performed at a much higher level during 1926 season. That year,
   Ruth hit .372 with 47 home runs and 146 RBI.

   The Yankees won the AL title and advanced to the World Series.
   Unfortunately for Ruth, the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Yankees in
   seven games. However, Ruth had his moments. In game 4, he hit three
   home runs.

   The 1927 Yankees went 110-44, won the A.L. pennant by 19 games, and
   swept the Pittsburgh Pirates in the Series. That year Ruth , hit a
   career high 60 home runs, batted .356, drove in 164 runs and slugged
   .772.

   The following season started off very well for the Yankees. The team
   even built a 13-game lead in July. But the Yankees were soon plagued by
   some key injuries, erratic pitching and inconsistent play. The
   Philadelphia Athletics club quickly ate into the Yankees lead. In early
   September, the A's took over first place with a 1-game lead. But in a
   pivotal series later that month, the Yankees took 3 out of 4 games and
   held on to win the pennant.

   Ruth's play in 1928 mirrored his team's play. He got off to a hot
   start, and on August 1, had 42 home runs. This put him on pace to hit
   more than the 60 home runs he hit the previous season. But Ruth's power
   waned, and he hit just 12 home runs in the last two months of the
   regular season. Still, he ended the season with an impressive 54, the
   fourth (and last) time he passed 50 home runs in a season plateau.

   The Yankees had a World Series rematch with the St. Louis Cardinals,
   who had upset them in the 1926 series. The Cardinals had the same core
   players as the 1926 team, except for Rogers Hornsby, who was traded for
   Frankie Frisch after the 1926 season.

   The series was no contest. The Yankees swept the Cardinals 4-0. Ruth
   batted .625 and hit three home runs in game four of the series.

Decline and end with Yankees

   In 1929, the Yankees failed to make the World Series for the first time
   in three years. The Yankees failed to make the playoffs in each of the
   next three years. Although the Yankees slipped, Ruth led or tied for
   the league lead in home runs each year from 1929-1931.

   In 1932, the Yankees went 107-47 and won the pennant under manager Joe
   McCarthy. Ruth did his part as he hit .341, with 41 home runs and 137
   RBIs. Ruth did miss 21 games on the schedule that year; this included
   the last few weeks of the season.

   The Yankees faced the Chicago Cubs in the 1932 World Series. The
   Yankees dispatched the Cubs in 4 games and batted .313 as a team.
   During game 3 of the series, Ruth hit what has now become known as Babe
   Ruth's Called Shot. During the at-bat, Ruth supposedly gestured to the
   bleachers in an attempt to predict the home run.

   Ruth remained productive in 1933. He batted .301, hit 34 home runs,
   drove in 103 runs, and led the league in walks. As a result, Ruth was
   elected to play in the very first All-star game. He hit the very first
   home run in the game’s history on July 6, 1933, at Comiskey Park in
   Chicago, Illinois. The two-run home helped the AL score a 4-2 victory.

   In 1934, the Bambino recorded a .288 average, 22 home runs, and made
   the All-Star team for the second consecutive year. During the game,
   Ruth was the first of five consecutive strikeout victims for Carl
   Hubbell. In what turned out to be his last game at Yankee Stadium, only
   2,000 fans attended.

   After the 1934 season, Ruth went on a baseball barnstorming tour in the
   Far East. Players such as Jimmie Foxx, Lefty Gomez, Earl Averill,
   Charlie Gehringer, and Lou Gehrig were among 14 players who played a
   series of 22 games.

1935 with the Braves

   In 1935, Boston Braves owner Emil Fuchs signed Ruth to a Free Agent
   contract. On opening day, before a capacity crowd of over 25,000, Ruth
   played in his first game with the Braves. They defeated the New York
   Giants in Boston by a score of 4-2.

   On May 25, 1935, at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh, Ruth went 4-4, drove in
   6 runs and hit 3 home runs in an 11-7 loss to the Pirates. These were
   the last three home runs of his career. Five days later, in
   Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Ruth played in his last major league game.
   That season, he hit just .188 with six home runs in 72 at-bats. The
   Braves had similar results. They finished 38-115, and it was the third
   worst record in major league history.

Personal life

Marriages

   Ruth married Helen Woodford, his first wife, in 1914. Together, they
   adopted a daughter. They were reportedly separated as early as 1920 and
   as late as 1926. After they separated, Helen perished in a house fire.
   Ruth and a number of Yankees attended her funeral.

   On April 17, 1929, the Babe married actress Claire Hodgson. They stayed
   married until the Babe's death in 1948.

Retirement and post-playing days

   In 1936, Ruth was one of the first five players elected into the
   Baseball Hall of Fame. Two years later, Larry MacPhail, the Brooklyn
   Dodgers general manager, offered him a first base coaching job in June.
   Ruth took the job, but quit at the end of the season. The coaching
   position was his last job in Major League Baseball. In 1942, Ruth
   decided to get into acting. He played himself in the film The Pride of
   the Yankees. The film was biopic of Lou Gehrig. His baseball career
   finally came to an end in 1943. In a charity game at Yankee Stadium, he
   pinch hit and drew a walk.

Illness

   In 1946, he began experiencing severe pain over his left eye. In
   November 1946, a visit to French Hospital in New York revealed Ruth had
   a malignant tumor in his neck that had encircled his left carotid
   artery. He was released from the hospital in February 1947.

   On April 27, 1947, the Yankees held a ceremony at Yankee Stadium.
   Despite his health problems, Ruth was able to attend "Babe Ruth Day".
   Ruth spoke to a capacity crowd of more than 60,000. Later, Ruth started
   the Babe Ruth Foundation, a charity for disadvantaged children. Another
   Babe Ruth Day held at Yankee Stadium in September of that year helped
   to raise money for this charity.

   After the cancer returned, Ruth attended the 25th anniversary
   celebration of the opening of Yankee Stadium on June 13, 1948. He was
   reunited with old teammates from the 1923 Yankee team and posed for
   photographs.

Death

   Shortly after he attended the Yankee Stadium anniversary event, Ruth
   was back in the hospital. He received hundreds of well-wishing letters
   and messages. This included a phone call from President Harry Truman.
   Claire helped him respond to the letters.

   On July 26, 1948, Ruth attended the premiere of the film The Babe Ruth
   Story, a biopic about his life. William Bendix portrayed Ruth. Shortly
   thereafter, Ruth returned to the hospital for the final time.

   Cancer had eaten away at his body and he was barely able to speak.
   Ruth's condition gradually became worse, and in his last days, scores
   of reporters and photographers hovered around the hospital. Only a few
   visitors were allowed to see him, one of whom was the then National
   League President and future Commissioner of Baseball, Ford Frick. “Ruth
   was so thin it was unbelievable. He had been such a big man and his
   arms were just skinny little bones, and his face was so haggard,” Frick
   said years later.
   Babe Ruth's headstone in Gate of Heaven Cemetery
   Enlarge
   Babe Ruth's headstone in Gate of Heaven Cemetery

   On August 16, the day after Frick's visit, Babe Ruth died at the age of
   53. His body lay in repose in Yankee Stadium his funeral was two days
   later at St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York. Ruth was then buried in the
   Cemetery of the Gate of Heaven in Hawthorne, New York.

Statistics

   Career Statistics

   CAPTION: Hitting

     G    AB     H   2B  3B  HR    R    RBI   BB    SO   AVG  OBP  SLG   OPS
   2,503 8,399 2,873 506 136 714 2,174 2,213 2,062 1,330 .342 .469 .690
                                                                        1.159

   CAPTION: Pitching

   W  L   WP  GP  GS  CG  Sh SV   IP    BB  SO  ERA  WHIP
   94 46 .671 163 148 107 17 4  1,221.1 441 488 2.28 1.16

Trivia

     * In 1920, Ruth hit 54 home runs. That season, only the Philadelphia
       Phillies (and of course the Yankees) managed to hit more as a team.
       They hit 64.

     * For the first 40 years of his life, Ruth believed his birthday to
       have been February 7, 1894. Most contemporary accounts, therefore,
       will contain inaccurate accounts of Ruth's age. Ruth continued to
       use the 1894 date when asked his age, because he was accustomed to
       it.

     * The statue of Babe Ruth at the Eutaw Street entrance of Camden
       Yards has him holding a catcher's mitt for a right handed player.
       This is not a mistake as the statue portrays Ruth during his days
       at St. Mary's Industrial School for Boys. In his autobiography Ruth
       states that lefty gloves were not available.

     * Ruth played himself in a cameo appearance in the Harold Lloyd film
       Speedy (1928).

     * In 1929, the Yankees became the first team to use uniform numbers
       regularly (the Cleveland Indians used them briefly in 1916). Since
       Ruth batted third in the order, he was assigned number 3. The
       Yankees retired Ruth's number on June 13, 1948.

     * Ruth's 1919 contract that sent him from Boston to New York was
       auctioned off for $996,000 at Sotheby's on June 10, 2005. The most
       valuable memorabilia relating to Ruth was his 1923 bat which he
       used to hit the first home run at Yankee Stadium on April 18, 1923.
       Ruth's heavy Louisville Slugger solid ash wood bat sold for $1.26
       million at a Sotheby's auction in December of 2004, making it the
       second most valuable baseball memorabilia item to date, just behind
       the famous 1909 Honus Wagner baseball card.

     * Named his Farm: Home Plate Farm.

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