Babe RuthEssay Preview: Babe RuthReport this essayBabe RuthSummary: In his 22-year career, Ruth set or tied 76 different records, including 2,056 bases on balls and 1,330 strikeouts, and helped his team win four of the seven World Series in which he played. In 1933 he hit the first home run in All-Star Game history, and he was one of the first players to be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Considered one of the finest to play the game, his record of 714 home runs eclipsed only by Hank Aaron in 1974 and his record of 60 home runs in a single season surpassed only by Roger Maris in 1961. Born George Herman Ruth, the son of a Baltimore tavern owner, on February 6, 1895, Ruth learned from an early age to play baseball when his parents enrolled the rowdy youngster in St. Marys Industrial School. There, he came under the influence of a coach who taught him the fundamentals of the game. Ruth began his professional career in 1914, when he was chosen by the Baltimore team of the American League as a pitcher; later that season, however, he was sold to the Boston Red Stockings (later the Red Sox), where he made a name for himself as both a pitcher and a hitter.
Ruth is one of only four players in recent years to have made the Hall of Fame, and one of only three players besides Bob Leland of the Dodgers, whom the St. Louis Cardinals did during their two World Series games in 1951. He also made his first the Detroit Tigers in 1974, where he was chosen as team captain. After the 1969 season, Ruth left St. Louis after an injury derailed the Dodgers in the first round of the 1968 American League Division Series, and that same year was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Following the 1971 season, he played with the Baltimore Orioles, but never scored more than 7 home runs in the first half of the season, in short order. On September 1, 1972, a career-high three days after being traded to Los Angeles, Washington’s Ruth made the announcement that he would retire as a professional player, following his third World Series as the team’s starting pitcher. On September 28, 1973, he was asked to step into the Hall, and gave his name to the Baseball Hall of Fame, after two unimpressive seasons and a disappointing debut, when he struck out three different batters on seven chances.
Ruth passed his final home run, in what was considered one of the best home runs in Orioles first-round history at Oriole Park, off Mark Teixeira. At the age of 65, he reached the milestone of hitting a club record 32 home runs with Boston, his lowest total ever for the organization.
Ruth earned a spot on the Hall for Best Home Run in 2002. He began his professional career playing at the University of Miami (and in Miami’s major leagues), where he won the 2000 and 2006 National League Cy Young Award, as well as four Gold Gloves. According to Baseball-Reference.com, he then pitched in 10 games in all competitions when that season’s final round of the playoffs started.
Ruth retired from baseball to spend his last 10 years in an organization that continued to pursue him, most notably in 1999 with the Minnesota Twins when he joined Bill Parcells as the Reds’ manager in 2000. After the franchise moved to the Cardinals of the A.L., the 21-year-old started a team-best 51 games, including 37 against the St. Louis Cardinals in 2003. With teams that lost to the Padres and Nationals, he made the final 53 appearances and made the All-Star Game as the Reds won their first World Series since 1971.
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The Cardinals
Season Start Date Location Pitches W L AB R H 2W 3B RBI ERA WHIP WPA L wRC+ L wRC+ ERA L wRC+ G W L AL 2004 2-1 8-
In the era of the so-called “dead ball,” which did not fly very well even when accurately hit, Ruth excelled. In 1919, his last full year with Boston, he hit 29 home runs–at that time a remarkable record. It would not be his last. In 1920 he was sold to the New York Yankees for the then-unheard of sum of $100,000, including a loan to the Red Sox owner of an additional $370,000. Ruth spent the next 15 years with the Yankees, and he blazed a series of records and accomplishments. As an integral member of “Murderers Row”–a number of Yankee players including Lou Gehrig, Tony Lazzeri, Bob Meusel, and Earle Combs–Ruth helped his team become the predominant sports team of the century.
In 1927, Ruth hit an astonishing 60 home runs. In the 1928 World Series alone, he hit an astonishing 0.628 batting average. The $10 million stadium built by Yankee owner Jacob Ruppert was dubbed “The House That Ruth Built.” During the 1920s, aside from his teammate Lou Gehrig, Ruth was baseball. In 1934, he signed with the Boston Braves of the National League, but played little during the 1935 season, when he was really too old. He desired a managing position, but none was ever offered, and he retired, beloved by multitudes of fans.
In his 22-year career, Ruth set or tied 76 different records, including 2,056 bases on balls and 1,330 strikeouts, and helped his team win four of the seven World Series in which he played. In 1933 he hit the first home run in All-Star Game history, and he was one of the first players to be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Ruth was a born showman; when he knew