Babe Ruth: Legends in Sports

by Matt Christopher

  Dunn considered Babe Ruth a pitcher. Just three weeks after Ruth joined the Orioles, Dunn tapped him to pitch an exhibition game against the Philadelphia Athletics, the defending world champions of the major leagues.

  Most rookie pitchers would have been nervous, but not Ruth. He barely followed major league baseball at St. Mary’s and didn’t even know the names of the players. Although the Athletics peppered him with thirteen hits, Ruth stayed cool and held them to only two runs, beating the champs 6–2!

  The regular season began in late April. The Orioles returned to Baltimore and Ruth received his first paycheck of fifty dollars. He immediately went out and bought a motorcycle. Although Dunn was scared Ruth would crash and get hurt, he couldn’t keep Ruth off the bike. The sight of Babe Ruth tearing around the city on the bike soon became familiar.

  Ruth pitched his first regular season game on April 22 against Buffalo. After a shaky start, he settled down and spun a six-hit shutout. The Orioles won 6–0, with Babe knocking two singles.

  Unfortunately, hardly anyone saw him. One year earlier, a new major league, the Federal League, had placed a team in Baltimore called the Terrapins. Local baseball fans all but ignored the Orioles. Dunn knew that unless the Orioles started drawing some fans he would soon go broke.

  Dunn hoped Ruth, as a Baltimore native, would bring people back to the park. Although Babe didn’t win every game he pitched, he was clearly one of the best rookies in the league. In fact, by mid-May, Dunn became concerned that the Terrapins would try to lure him away with a big salary. He tripled Ruth’s pay to $1,800 for the season.

  Keyed by the performances of Ruth and another rookie pitcher, Ernie Shore, in June, the Orioles won thirteen in a row. Yet Baltimore fans continued to ignore the Orioles — and Dunn was losing money fast. Even though the Federal League was also having financial trouble, Dunn was afraid he would run out of cash before the season was over. In early July, despite the fact that Baltimore was in first place, Dunn decided to sell players to raise some money. Within a few days, Ruth, pitcher Ernie Shore, and catcher Ben Egan’s contracts were purchased by the Boston Red Sox for a total of $25,000.

  The Red Sox were one of the most successful franchises in baseball, world champions in both 1903 and 1912. But in 1914, the Red Sox were rebuilding for the future. Owner Joseph Lannin and manager Bill Carrigan hoped that Ruth and Shore would anchor the pitching staff.

  Ruth left for Boston by train and arrived at Back Bay Station on July 11. In the past six months he had gone from being a student at St. Mary’s Industrial School for Boys to a professional ball player with one of the strongest teams in the major leagues. But despite this huge change, Ruth himself stayed much the same.

  As soon as he arrived in Boston, he checked into a hotel and then sought out a place to eat. He found Lander’s Coffee Shop and ordered a big meal. As he ate he told his waitress, a pretty young woman named Helen Woodford, all about his trip to Boston. Ruth would return to Landers many times in the next months and become very close to Helen. But on July 11, he couldn’t stay long to chat. Fenway Park was calling.

  CHAPTER THREE

  1914–1918

  Boston’s Babe

  The Red Sox were in sixth place with a record of 40–38 when Ruth joined the team. Manager Bill Carrigan was already looking ahead to next season and wanted to see how close his new players were to being able to help the club win. When Babe arrived at Fenway Park on July 11, 1914, Carrigan told him to start warming up because he was going to be on the mound that afternoon against the Cleveland Indians.

  Some players might have been nervous, being put into play so soon. But not Ruth. Over the first six innings he held the Indians in check, giving up only six hits and one run before tiring in the seventh inning. The Red Sox and Ruth won the game, 4–3.

  However, over the next month Carrigan rarely used Ruth. Before Ruth became a regular on the mound, he needed to break some habits — such as the one he had of curling his tongue in the corner of his mouth when he was going to throw a curve ball, something he probably didn’t realize he was doing, but hitters picked up on soon enough.

  Carrigan was just as concerned with Ruth’s adjustments to big league life. After living a sheltered life in St. Mary’s, Ruth was making up for lost time. He stayed out all hours of the night, often letting “friends” take advantage of him and his newfound money.

  His fellow ballplayers didn’t quite know what to think of the newcomer. He was obviously a talented ballplayer, but he didn’t behave like a rookie. Most young players are intimidated by older players, but not Ruth. He insisted on taking batting practice, something pitchers, particularly rookie pitchers, just didn’t do. When the veterans complained, Ruth stood his ground. He argued with umpires, and on one occasion was even thrown out of a game. He didn’t bother to learn anyone’s name and called everyone “Kid,” even players much older than he was. In the clubhouse he played practical jokes and tried to get other players to wrestle.

  Off the field, Ruth was still learning how to act and behave. On the road he shared a hotel room with Ernie Shore. When Shore complained to Ruth that he was using Shore’s toothbrush, Babe quipped, “That’s all right. I don’t mind.” Shore just shook his head in wonder. Ruth could be aggravating, but it was hard to stay angry at him. He was just a big kid trying to catch up in a hurry.

  In mid-August the Red Sox arranged to send Ruth to another club owned by Lannin, the Providence Grays of the International League. Ruth needed to pitch, not sit on the bench, and the Grays were fighting for the pennant.

  Although Ruth was sad to leave Boston — and Helen — Providence was only forty miles south. Ruth gave the Grays a much-needed boost. He learned fast and over the remainder of the season won nine games out of ten.

  On September 5, he did something else for the first time as a professional. While twirling a shutout, he also hit his first home run. The Grays went on to win the pennant.

  After the victory, Ruth rejoined Boston for the last ten days of the season. He also rejoined Helen at Landers. One day, while eating his usual enormous breakfast, Ruth turned to her and said while chewing, “Hey hon, how about you and me getting married?” It wasn’t the most romantic proposal in history, but Helen said yes. They married in Baltimore soon after the season ended.

  In March of 1915 Babe joined the team for spring training in Hot Springs, Arkansas. Ruth quickly developed a reputation as one of the most promising players in the game, and one of the most problematic.

  By day, Ruth was securing a place as one of the team’s best pitchers, and his batting performances during practice and exhibition games began to attract attention. At that time, the home run was a rarity. Players who hit ten or twelve for an entire season were considered power hitters. Most batters just tried to make contact and get base hits.

  But not the Babe. He swung from his heels at every pitch and didn’t seem worried when he missed the ball. In fact, fans enjoyed watching him swing and miss almost as much as they did watching him connect, for when Ruth missed a pitch he spun almost completely around. Yet when he did hit the ball, it was a wonder. The ball soared through the sky longer and farther than anyone had ever seen.

  Off the field, however, Ruth was a terror. Hot Springs was a party town and Ruth stayed out all hours of the night. Carrigan tried to keep him in check with small fines and lectures, but Ruth usually paid him little attention. He was now twenty-one years old, an official adult. He enjoyed doing whatever he wanted, and he wanted to do everything all at once.

  Ruth opened the season as one of Boston’s top pitchers, but in his first four games he won only one. Then, on May 6, he turned his season — and perhaps his career — around, both on the mound and at the plate.

  Carrigan picked him to start a game against the Yankees. After two scoreless innings, Ruth came to bat in the third against pitcher Jack Warhop.

  At the time, the Yankees didn’t have their own field. They played at the New York Giants’ home ballpark, the caverno
us Polo Grounds. Although the fences were relatively close right down the lines, elsewhere they were among the most distant in the game. At the Polo Grounds it was far more common to hit an inside-the-park home run rather than hitting one over the fence.

  Ruth, however, always swung for the fences. War-hop delivered a pitch and Ruth swung as hard as he could. The ball hit the bat squarely and a loud crack echoed through the park. The drive soared high to right center field and just kept going, up and up, before finally landing in the upper deck of the right field grandstand. Ruth jogged around the bases with his first big league home run as the startled crowd buzzed with excitement. No one could recall ever seeing a ball hit that far in the Polo Grounds before. In a New York newspaper the next day, a reporter accurately referred to it as a “mighty homer.”

  Although the Red Sox lost the game 4–3 in thirteen innings, Ruth pitched the entire game and impressed his teammates with his batting and his solid pitching. The game gave manager Carrigan confidence in Ruth and, more importantly, gave Babe Ruth confidence in himself. For the remainder of the year he won another seventeen games and lost only once, finishing 18–6 while cracking two more home runs.

  Boston’s other pitchers were even better and with a batting attack led by future Hall of Fame outfielder Tris Speaker, the Red Sox won the pennant and the right to play the Philadelphia Phillies in the World Series. Ruth was thrilled and looked forward to pitching.

  The Phillies featured a potent offense led by Gawy Cravath, who had hit a record 24 home runs, many of them into the short porch in left field in the Phillies’ home park, the Baker Bowl. Fans wondered if Boston’s pitching could shut Cravath down.

  So did Boston manager Bill Carrigan. Most right-handed batters hit left-handed pitching well and he didn’t want a left-handed pitcher to face Cravath in Philadelphia. In the first two games he pitched two right-handers, Ernie Shore and Rube Foster. Apart from a pinch-hitting appearance, Ruth sat on the bench as the Sox split the first two games. As he recalled later, “I ate my heart out.”

  He confronted Carrigan, demanding to know why he wasn’t pitching. Carrigan didn’t like Ruth’s “me first” attitude, and when the series returned to Boston for game three, he passed over Ruth once more and pitched lefty Dutch Leonard. The Red Sox arranged to play their home games in more spacious Braves Field rather than Fenway Park, both to attract more fans and make it harder for Cravath to hit home runs. The veteran Leonard kept Cravath in the ballpark and won, putting Boston up in the Series. Then, in games four and five, Ernie Shore and Rube Foster pitched Boston to victory and the Red Sox won the world championship.

  In the midst of the team celebration, Ruth was heartbroken. Even though he earned more than $3,600 as a member of the winning team, he was disappointed that he didn’t get to pitch.

  That winter Ruth and his wife again returned to Baltimore. When he returned for spring training, his teammates and manager hardly recognized him. Ruth had gained twenty pounds during the off-season, making him much stronger. He was clearly becoming a better pitcher, and his fastball was now one of the best in baseball.

  However, Boston owner Joseph Lannin was having financial trouble. Over the past few seasons he had paid big salaries to keep players from jumping to the Federal League. The league collapsed in the off-season, and now Lannin wanted to save some money. He sold star outfielder Tris Speaker to Cleveland.

  The 1916 Red Sox would have to win or lose with their pitching. Fortunately, Babe Ruth emerged as one of the best pitchers in the league, and at times gave notice that he was one of the most dangerous hitters, too.

  On his way to a record of 23–12 with a league best earned run average of 1.75, Ruth beat Washington Senators pitcher Walter Johnson, arguably the greatest pitcher in baseball, four different times, all by the score of 1–0. He also hit .272 with three home runs, tied for best on the team.

  Paced by Ruth’s performance, the Red Sox fought off several challengers and won the American League pennant for the second consecutive season. They played the Brooklyn Dodgers in the World Series.

  After Ernie Shore pitched and won game one, Carrigan selected Babe Ruth to pitch the second game of the World Series. Ruth was thrilled with the assignment and determined to win. In the first inning, however, he got off to a bad start. Brooklyn outfielder Hy Myers hit a line drive to center field. It skipped past the Boston centerfielder and rolled to the wall. Myers raced around the bases for a home run. However, Ruth bounced back and in the third inning he knocked in the tying run with a ground ball.

  Inning after inning, the score stayed knotted at 1–1 as Brooklyn pitcher Sherry Smith equaled Ruth’s effort. The game entered extra innings as the sun slowly set.

  Finally, in the fourteenth inning Boston pushed across a run to win the game, 2–1. After the first inning run, Ruth had pitched thirteen innings of shutout ball, one of the best performances in World Series history. After the game he gave Bill Carrigan a huge hug and bellowed, “I told you I could take care of those National Leaguers!” Boston went on to win the series in five games to become world champions for the second time.

  In the off season, Lannin sold the Red Sox to Harry Frazee, an extremely successful producer of Broadway plays. Manager Bill Carrigan retired and was replaced by Jack Barry.

  The year 1917 brought other changes, too. The United States declared war on Germany and became involved in World War I. The government instituted a draft to build up the military. Baseball, like all parts of American life, was thrown into turmoil.

  Ruth himself was also going through some personal turmoil. On the field, he pitched just as well as he had in 1916. But off the field he began to spin out of control. He was famous now, and rich, earning more than $5,000 a season. He still liked to party, and he didn’t respect manager Barry as much as he did Bill Carrigan. Ruth started drinking more and staying out all hours of the night.

  His on-field behavior started to get out of control as well. On June 23, in a game against the Senators, he became enraged when umpire Brick Owens called his first four pitches balls. As the leadoff hitter jogged to first base on a walk, Ruth rushed the plate and confronted Owen. When the umpire told Ruth he would throw him from the game if he didn’t settle down, Ruth screamed, “Throw me out and I’ll punch you in the jaw!”

  Owen tossed Ruth from the game — and Ruth threw a punch, striking Owen on the side of his head and knocking him to the ground. Babe received a well deserved one-week suspension and was fined $100. Fortunately for the Red Sox, Ernie Shore came on in relief and didn’t give up a hit the rest of game.

  That season, Ruth won 24 games, but it was the White Sox who won the pennant, besting Boston by nine games. When the season was over, Babe and Helen didn’t Return to Baltimore as before, but stayed near Boston on a farm he purchased and named “Home Plate.” Although he enjoyed being on the farm with Helen, the bright lights of Boston proved too attractive to the fun-loving ballplayer. Ruth spent much of his time carousing in the city. He loved driving — especially driving fast. Once that off-season he narrowly avoided being killed when he crashed his car into a trolley.

  Still, when spring training started in 1918, Ruth was there and ready to play his best. Because of the draft and the war, the Red Sox, like many clubs, didn’t have quite enough players. Even manager Jack Barry had joined the military and was replaced by Ed Barrow. As a result, Babe Ruth, the pitcher, turned into Babe Ruth, the slugger, outfielder, and first baseman. He hit several long home runs and fans started turning out as much to see him hit as they did to see him pitch.

  But when the season officially opened, Ruth returned to full-time mound duty. In a 5–4 loss to the Yankees on May 4, he slugged a long home run into the upper deck of the Polo Grounds. In the next game, he played first base — and hit another long home run. Then he then did it again in his next contest, this time off the great Walter Johnson. By May 11 he was leading the league in hitting. Over the next few months he was the sensation of baseball, hitting four more home runs.
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  Ruth enjoyed pitching, but he loved hitting. Nothing in his life gave him as big a thrill as smashing a long fly ball for a home run and then jogging around the bases while the fans roared.

  And the fans did roar for him. Ruth was already one of the most popular players in the game. Kids loved him and Ruth, nothing but a big kid himself, loved being around kids. On occasion he was spotted after games roughhousing with kids in local city parks.

  By mid-summer Ruth had hit a league best of eleven home runs and decided he didn’t want to pitch anymore. But the Red Sox had enough hitting; they needed him on the mound.

  Ruth refused, and in mid-summer he left the team and joined a semi-pro club in Maryland that offered him a big salary. The Red Sox threatened to file suit to prevent Ruth from playing for another team. His Boston teammates were also upset. They liked Ruth but thought he was selfish for abandoning them in mid-season. After realizing the Red Sox could take him to court for breaking his contract, Ruth reluctantly returned to the team and took his regular turn in the rotation, making only an occasional appearance on the field as his batting average slumped.

  Ruth came back just in time to save the season. He won nine of his last eleven starts and the Red Sox took command of the American League and won the pennant. Ruth finished the season with a record of 13–7 and a .300 batting average. The Red Sox then faced the Chicago Cubs in the World Series.

  The Red Sox started Ruth in game one in Chicago. He was magnificent and shut out the Cubs. George Whiteman, the Red Sox left fielder, was the other big hero of the game, cracking two hits to help Boston score the only run they needed in the 1–0 victory.

  The two teams split the next two games and then traveled by train to Boston. On the journey back home, Ruth started goofing around — running through the train, grabbing straw hats and punching holes in them. Then, just before the train reached Boston, he ran out of straw hats to destroy. Still bubbling with energy, he scuffled with teammate Walt Kinney He took a swing at Kinney — and accidentally punched, his left hand into the steel wall of the train car.