Position:
Right Field
Pitcher
Teams:
Boston Red Sox (1914-1919)
New York Yankees (1920-1934)
Boston Braves (1935)
Career Statistics:
Batting Average: .342
Home Runs: 714
RBI: 2,217
Slugging Percentage: .690
On-Base Percentage: .474
Hits: 2,873
As a pitcher:
Record: 94-46
ERA: 2.28
George Herman "Babe" Ruth, Jr. was born in Baltimore, Maryland. Not much is known about his early life, but it is known that his mother was constantly sick (later dying of tuberculosis when he was a teenager). When he was seven, his father sent him away to live in a reformatory and orphanage, called St. Mary's Industrial School for Boys. He remained there for twelve years, only seeing his family on special occasions. While he was at the orphanage, he was taught how to play baseball by the Head of Discipline, a man named Brother Matthias Boutlier, who also taught him how to read and write. Ruth began to look to Boutlier as more of a father than his own ever was.
In 1913, when Ruth was nineteen years old, his school's team was playing against Mount St. Mary's University. Joe Engel, a former student at Mount St. Mary's and pitcher for the Washington Senators, was attending the game that day. He was so impressed with Ruth's pitching abilities, that he brought him to the attention of Jack Dunn, the owner and manager of the Baltimore Orioles (which was a minor league team at the time). After watching Ruth perform, Dunn signed him to a contract, though he was obligated to become Ruth's legal guardian because the age of majority was 25 at the time. When the other players saw Ruth, they called him "Jack's newest babe." From then on, George would always be "Babe." On July 9, 1914, Dunn sold Ruth's contract to the Boston Red Sox.
As a pitcher, Babe picked up his first major league win on July 11, 1914. He only appeared in five games that season because the Red Sox lineup was so full of star players. He was soon sent to the minors to play for the Providence Grays, where he helped them win the International League penant.
In 1915, Babe secured a spot in the Red Sox pitching rotation. He went on to an 18-8 record, while batting .315. He also hit his first four homers. That year the Sox would go on to win the World Series. In 1916, he went 23-12 with a 1.75 ERA, and had nine shutouts. Again, Boston won the World Series. In 1917, Ruth went for a 24-13 record with a 2.01 ERA and six shutouts, as well as hitting .325. The Sox ended up falling to second place that year to the Chicago White Sox. In 1918, Ruth posted a 13-7 record with a 2.22 ERA, though the Sox were beginning to use him more and more as an outfielder. He also hit a league-leading eleven homers. The Red Sox would again win the World Series, this time defeating the Chicago Cubs. By 1919, Ruth only pitched in 17 out of 130 games and set a single-season home run record with 29.
On December 26, 1919, Ruth was sold to the New York Yankees because Ruth was demanding a raise that the Red Sox were unwilling to give him.
In his first season with the Yankees (1920), Ruth obliterated his single season home run record by hitting 54 homers, while batting .376. His slugging percentage was .847, which was a record until Barry Bonds broke it in 2001. He performed even better the following season, belting 59 homers and batting .378 with a .846 slugging percentage. On July 18, Babe Ruth became the all-time home run leader with 139. Ruth's Yankees made it to the World Series that year, but ultimately lost to the New York Giants. Ruth's productivity during the Series was diminished because of a badly scraped elbow.
The Babe started the next season suspended because he had played in some exhibition games in the off-season, which was prohibited. Ruth returned to the lineup May 20, 1922, but his production slipped slightly from the previous season. The Yankees would again lose to the Giants in the World Series.
Ruth finished the 1923 season with a career-high .393 batting average and 41 homers. Once again, the Yanks met the Giants in the World Series, which Ruth dominated. He batted .368, walked eight times, scored eight runs, hit three homers, and slugged 1.000. The Yankees won the series 4-2, their first championship.
Ruth nearly won the Triple Crown in 1924. He hit .378, led the league with 46 home runs, and drove in 121 runs, which was just short of Goose Goslin's 129. However, the Yankees finished second that year to the Washington Senators, who would go on to win their first and only title (while based in D.C.). Due to illness, Ruth was limited to 98 games in 1925. This would be his most unproductive season as a Yankee, hitting .290 with 25 homers. They came in next to last place, sporting a losing record which wouldn't be repeated until 1965.
He came back with a vengeance in 1926, batting .372 with 47 homers and 146 RBI. The Yanks met the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series that season. In Game 4, Ruth hit three home runs, but ended up making a baserunning blunder trying to steal second base that ended the game and the Series. In 1927, Ruth and his "Murderer's Row" teammates won a then-record 110 games (out of 154). They took the penant by 19 games and swept the Pittsburgh Pirates in the World Series. The 1926 season was also notable because Ruth broke his own single season home run record with 60. This record would stand until broken by Roger Maris in 1961. Ruth also batted .356, drove in 164 runs and slugged .772.
Ruth got off to a hot start in 1928, but was soon hobbled by a bad ankle that limited his performance. He ended up batting .323, but still hit 54 homers. This would be the fourth and final season he would hit over 50. When his Yankees faced the Cardinals in the World Series that year, Ruth erupted for a .625 batting average, while also having another three home run game. They destroyed the Cardinals in four games.
The Yankees failed to make the World Series in 1929 for the first time in four years. The team itself had slipped, but Babe still put up impressive numbers, leading or tying the lead in home runs each year between 1929 and 1931. In 1930, Ruth was called on to pitch for the first time since 1921. He pitched a complete-game victory. In 1932, the Yankees returned to prominence, posting a 107-47 record. The Babe batted .341 with 41 homers, and 137 RBI. The Yanks swept the Cubs in the World Series that year. During Game 3, Ruth (after already hitting one homer) hit what is now known as Babe Ruth's Called Shot. Supposedly, the Babe pointed to centerfield, and then proceeded to drive a monster home run to that same spot. There is some doubt, however, that he was actually calling his shot. Some believe he was either pointing at the pitcher or at the Cubs dugout, where he was being heckled.
Ruth batted .301 with 34 homers and 103 RBI in 1933, though it was becoming painfully obvious that he was gaining weight at a rapid pace. Towards the end of that season, he was called on to pitch again, and got a complete-game victory. Babe's numbers dropped in 1934, as he recorded an average of .288 with 22 homers. By the time the All-Star break rolled around, Ruth had 700 career homers and was ready to retire.
Ruth's ambition was to retire as a player and become the Yankees manager. However, Yankees owner Jacob Ruppert, had no desire to replace skipper Joe McCarthy. Soon, Ruth began shopping himself to other teams around the league, offering his services as a player or a manager. Some serious discussions began with the Detroit Tigers, but Ruth failed to show up at a meeting, so any deal was called off. Emil Fuchs, the owner of the Boston Braves was drowning in debt and thought the addition of Ruth was just what was needed to improve attendance. On February 26, 1935 the Yankees traded Ruth to the Braves. In addition to his capacities as a player, Ruth would become vice president and would be consulted on all transactions. He would also be assistant manager to Bill McKechnie. Fuchs also promised Babe a share of the Braves's profits, as well as the possibility of becoming co-owner of the team. He also raised the possibility that Ruth could eventually become the Braves's manager.
Interest in the Braves spiked once fans learned that the legendary Babe Ruth was going to be part of their lineup. But it soon became obvious that Babe had lost it. He could still hit, but his fielding was abysmal, and he could little more than trot around the bases. Before long, he'd lost his hitting touch, as well. His abilities in the field were so bad that several Braves pitchers refused to take the mound if Ruth was allowed onto the field. Ruth soon discovered that he was vice president and assistant manager in name only.
On May 25, 1935, the Babe hit the last home runs of his career. He went 4-for-4, drove in 6 runs, and hit 3 homers. Five days later, he played his last major league game. Two days after this game, he spoke to reporters and announced his retirement. He had hit a paltry .181 with only six homers. His Braves team finished with a 38-115 record, which remains the third-worst record in history.
In 1936, Babe was one of the first five players to ever be inducted into the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame. Two years later, he was offered a job as first base coach for the Brooklyn Dodgers. He took the job, but only stayed for one season. It would be the last job he ever had in Major League Baseball.
In 1946, he began to experience pain over his right eye. After a visit to the hospital, Babe learned that he had a malignant tumor in his neck that was wrapped around his carotid artery. The tumor was removed and he had to undergo radiation treatment. By the time he left the hospital in February 1947, he had lost 80 pounds. In June 1947, he began receiving a new, experimental chemotherapy drug that had shown some promise in clinical trials. Ruth had been experiencing headaches, hoarseness, and difficulty swallowing. On June 29, he began a regimen of these chemotherapy drugs, to which he responded very well. We now know that Ruth was suffering from nasopharyngeal carcinoma, a tumor located in the back of the nose.
On April 27, 1947, a ceremony was held to honor Babe at Yankee Stadium. He spoke to a crowd of more than 60,000 people, and gave a heartfelt speech outlining his love for the game and his encouragement for the children in attendance to play.
Shortly thereafter, the cancer returned. Babe attended the 25th anniversary of the opening of Yankee Stadium on June 13, 1948. He got to reconnect with many of his old teammates from the 1923 team who were in attendance. Soon after, he was back in the hospital, where he received hundreds of cards and letters from fans and well-wishers. He was able to leave the hospital temporarily on July 26, 1948 to attend the world premiere of the film The Babe Ruth Story. By this time he was barely able to speak. He was visited by Commissioner of Baseball, Ford Frick. Frick later said, "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."
The day after Ford's visit, August 16, 1948, Babe Ruth died of pneumonia. He was 53. According to an autopsy, the cancer had begun in his nose and mouth and spread widely inside his body.
After his death, the New York Times called him "a figure unprecedented in American life. A born showman off the field and a marvelous performer on it, he had an amazing flair for doing the spectacular at the most dramatic moment."
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