Summary:
A review of the life history of Babe Ruth, the baseball legend.
For many years baseball legends have popping up all over the world, but there was one baseball legend that will never be forgotten, Babe Ruth. Babe Ruth made a huge impact on baseball in many different ways. Babe Ruth changed the way baseball was played and looked at by others. Babe was a remarkable player and tried the best he could every time he stepped on the field. George Herman "Babe" Ruth will never be forgotten in baseball history.
Babe Ruth's personal life was very interesting, strange, and exciting. George Herman Ruth was born in Baltimore, Maryland to the father of George H. Ruth Sr., and the mother of Kate Schamberger. George was born on February 6, 1985. There is much confusion on that though, people though the date he was born was February 7, 1894, but his birth certificate says February 6, 1895. George was the oldest of eight children; his sister (Wilbur Moberly) and George were the only ones to survive through adulthood. George's mother lived until George was thirteen and his father survived until his second year in the major leagues. George's parents enrolled him in St. Mary's Industrial School in Baltimore in 1902. St. Mary's served as a vocational school as well as an orphanage, boarding school, and reform school. At St. Mary's George studied to become a tailor and also learned to play baseball. At that school Brother Matthias taught George the game of baseball. He was his hitting, fielding, and pitching coach. George got good fast and said he would never forget St. Mary's. On October 17, 1914 George married Helen Woodford, a waitress that he met in 1914. In 1922, the Ruth's adopted a girl named Dorothy. In 1926 they got a divorce and in 1929 Helen was killed in a tragic fire. Three months later George married a beautiful widow named Claire Merritt Hodgson and adopted her daughter named Julia. They remained together until death. In June of 1948 George waved goodbye in front of Yankee stadium to thousands of fans. He died of cancer two months later in a New York Hospital. Ruth's body lay in front of Yankee stadium on the night of August 17, 1948, and it said that more than 100,000 passed by to pay their respects to the great baseball player. Ruth was criticized for financial, gastronomic, and sexual excesses. Although, in his career starting in 1914 and ending in 1935, Babe was portrayed as exciting, intelligent, and an astonishing well-rounded player.
In 1914 there was a professional named the Baltimore Orioles that Drafted George. They were a minor league team who were managed by Jack Dunn. Jack heard about George and signed him to their team. George discovered that he did not have to become a tailor; he could make a living doing what he loves the most, baseball. On February 27, 1914 George left St. Mary's and joined the Baltimore team. On the first few days, George got the nickname Babe because he was Jack's new baby. Babe was also the subject of some practical jokes too. Babe was an amazing left-handed pitcher, and the prices being offered for him were so high that the Orioles were forced to give it away. Ruth was signed to the Boston Red Sox's in July of 1914. On July 11, 1914 Babe pitched his first major league game and was victorious. Babe had tremendous speed and a sharp breaking ball. Babe impressed the Sox's manager, but the Red Sox's would not win the pennant in the American League so Babe was dropped down to the minor league and helped then win the International League pennant. In 1915 the Red Sox's won the American League Pennant. The team won 101 games that season. Ruth had won eighteen of them. In the 1915 World Series the Sox's beat The Philadelphia Phillies four games to one. In 1916, Babe won 23 games, he repeated that number in 1917. Babe won 92 games as a pitcher and only losing 44. He also maintained a 2.24 earned run average. Babe went to the World Series with the Sox's in 1915, 1916, and 1918. He won the three games he pitched, and had an earned run average of 0.87. In 1918, Babe was recognized as one of the best pitchers in baseball. He also hit 11 home runs, knocked in 64 runs, and batted.300 as a pitcher. Ruth was to good of a player to have to sit out every four games, they need him every game. As a pitcher he hit an amazing 59 home runs, drove in 170 runs, and batted .378. The price tag on Babe was also too high. His salary in 1917 was five thousand dollars, in 1918 it was seven thousand dollars, and by 1919, it was a remarkable ten thousand dollars. In 1920, Babe was traded to the New York Yankees for the price of $100,000 and a loan of $350,000. Overall, Babe's seasons with the Boston Red Sox were remarkable, and a great starting point in his life.
The season of 1920 was a turning point in the history of baseball. Babe hit 54 home runs and driving in 137. Babe was changing the game of baseball from a short game (a game of bunts, sacrifices, and steals), to a long game (a game of home runs and big scoring innings). In 1921 Ruth hit 59 home runs and drove in 170, while batting .378. The Yankees won 98 games that season and beat the New York Giants in the World Series four games to three. When Babe was with the Yankees, the won the pennant again in 1922, 1923, 1926, 1927, 1928, and 1932. The also won the World Series in 1922, 1923, 1927, 1928, and 1932. In the World Series games Babe played, he hit 15 home runs, drove in 29 runs, and batted .347. Everybody was amazed at Babe's hitting (as a pitcher), fielding, throwing, and base running. In the 1926 World Series, Babe was on second base with two outs, and the batter had two strikes. The Yankees were losing 3-2 in the ninth inning and Babe tries to steal second and was thrown out and the Yankees lost to the Saint Louis Cardinals. In 1927 the Yankees won the World Series in a four game sweep to the Pittsburgh Pirates. Ruth's salary at the time was $70 thousand dollars, which he also received in 1928 and 1929. In 1930 and 1931, he got paid $80 thousand dollars per season. His total earnings for twenty-two seasons was $896,000, also he had World Series shares, and about 1 million dollars for endorsements. Because Babe attracted so many fans to the games, the new Yankee stadium (1923) was nicknamed "The House That Ruth Built." In 1934, it was Babe's last full year in the major leagues. He only hi 22 home runs, batted in 84, and his average sank to .288. It was the signal of the end of Babe Ruth. In 1934, the Yankees failed to win the pennant, and Babe was traded to the Boston Braves. In the 1935 season with the Braved, Babe only played 28 games and hit only 6 home runs. Over Babe's career, he played 2,503 games; he batted 8,369 times and had 2,873 hits, 714 that were home runs. He also held 54 major league records. Although recent players have beaten a lot of those records, Babe Ruth is still a standard against which baseball players are measured.
Clearly, Babe Ruth made a huge impact on baseball in many different ways. Babe Ruth changed the way baseball was played and looked at by others. Babe was a remarkable player and tried the best he could every time he stepped on the field. George Herman "Babe" Ruth will never be forgotten in baseball history.
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