Babe Ruth Was the Babe Ruth of Baseball

Why George Herman Ruth Was The Babe Ruth of Baseball

When I hear conversations about who the best baseball players of all-time are, many names are thrown around:   Ty Cobb, Ted Williams, Sandy Koufax, Hank Aaron, Barry Bonds, Willie Mays, etc...  Arguments can be made for a number of players being included on this list.  After all, everyone is entitled to their opinion.  No one can dispute fact, though, and the fact is that Babe Ruth is the greatest baseball player ever, PERIOD!  He always was, he is still presently, and he always will be.  I don’t care what phenom comes around in the next few hundred years- they will NEVER be the player Ruth was.  In terms of stats, what he meant to the game and his enormous popularity during his lifetime, Ruth plays second fiddle to no one.  Top Stanford University Scientists could unfreeze Ted Williams, mix his DNA with that of Jesse Owens, Wilt Chamberlain and Walter Payton, and proceed to clone a super-athlete.  This mutant juggernaut could then be blessed by the Pope himself, and he will still be embarrassed on the diamond by the Bambino.

Even though he died over 60 years ago, the Babe still remains one of the talked about athletes in the world.  Stories of his greatness have been passed from generation to generation to the point where he is almost not considered human.  He is as much of a folk hero as Paul Bunyan, Davey Crockett, Abraham Lincoln or George Washington.  Back when he was alive, it was said that he was less than a God; but more than a man.  I can’t think of anyone else, living or dead, who people thought of like this, outside of Achilles and a few other human anomalies throughout history.  Over the next few pages I will discuss why Babe Ruth is the best baseball player ever.  You may be shocked by some of these statistics.

Even though he died over 60 years ago, the Babe still remains one of the talked about athletes in the world.  Stories of his greatness have been passed from generation to generation to the point where he is almost not considered human.  He is as much of a folk hero as Paul Bunyan, Davey Crockett, Abraham Lincoln or George Washington.  Back when he was alive, it was said that he was less than a God; but more than a man.  I can’t think of anyone else, living or dead, who people thought of like this, outside of Achilles and a few other human anomalies throughout history.  Over the next few pages I will discuss why Babe Ruth is the best baseball player ever.  You may be shocked by some of these statistics.

It’s no secret that power hitters have always been the face of baseball.  Power hitters win the most prestigious awards, sell the most merchandise, earn the most All-Star Votes, get the biggest contracts, get the most press, and are remembered the fondest by future generations.  A great power hitter is idolized by millions and is recognized throughout the world.  Don’t get me wrong, a great glove man or a batting champion has their place in the Hall of Fame, but nobody puts butts in the seats like a power hitter.  It is for this reason that the best baseball player of all-time should definitely be a power hitter.  But who should it be?  There are 25 members of the 500 Home Run Club.   All are Hall-of-Famers or future Hall-of-Famers, except for those who are suspected of using PED’s.  Of these 25, which ones were the most feared?  Well, all had 500 homers, so I would think all of them were feared hitters.  However, of these great hitters, three stand out as the most dominant.  Hank Aaron, for his consistency and longetivity; Barry Bonds, for being the Home Run King and for being so feared well into his forties; and, of course, the Babe. 

The “Home Run Champ” might technically be Barry Bonds, but no one should take this title seriously.  I would say this even if Barry didn’t need the help of Performance Enhancing Drugs to break the All-Time HR Record.  I say this because Babe Ruth invented the Home Run.  Before him, baseball was a singles’ hitters’ game.  Teams won by scoring runs station to station.  Sacrifices and stolen bases were the key to victory.  That all changed when the Babe came on the scene in 1915.  Even though he came up as a pitcher, he led the league in Home Runs in 1918, despite playing in only 75 games he did not pitch in.  Before the Babe, the career Major League Home Run Leader was Roger Connor…with 138.  Babe passed him in 1921, only his third season as a hitter.  That means that the last 576 Home Runs Ruth hit set a new Major League Home Run Record.  Compare that with the other Home Run “Chumps”.  Hank Aaron hit 755 Home Runs; which means he only set a new record 41 times.  Barry Bonds, who has 762 homers, only got to enjoy his last 7 dingers as a new record.  Also, when the Babe retired, the man sitting at number two on the All-Time Home Run List was teammate Lou Gehrig, who had only 378.  That means Babe had almost twice as many as the next person on the list.  Babe held the All-Time Home Run record for an astonishing 53 years.  Aaron?  34.  Bonds will only hold this most cherished record in all of sports for 5 or 6 years at the most.  It depends on how healthy A-Rod stays throughout the rest of his career.  After him, the record will probably be set again every few years, due to the (much) smaller parks, the juiced balls, and the even more juiced players.

Even if he is no longer the Official Home Run King, he will always be the Real Home Run King.  No one in the history of baseball, nor any other sport, nor any other profession; within any other civilization; in any time period throughout history; in any Galaxy in the Universe; will ever be, or has been as dominant as Ruth He was truly a man amongst boys.  Take 1920 for example, which was his first season on the Yankees.  Ruth led the American League with 54 Home Runs.  2nd place on that list had 50!  This wouldn’t be so mind blowing if it wasn’t for the fact that 2nd place was THE ENTIRE ST. LOUIS BROWNS TEAM!  Ruth out homered the entire rest of the league.  If not for the Philadelphia Phillies of the National League -who combined to hit a whopping 60, Babe would have out-homered every other team in all of Major League Baseball.  Even though Ruth lost out in that battle, I’m sure he was able to sleep easy that off-season knowing that those same Phillies finished in last place, while Ruth’s Yankees easily won their division.  These figures are too ridiculous to be made up.

“Twenty years ago I stopped talking about the Babe for the simple reason that I realized that those who had never seen him play didn’t believe me.”-  Tommy Holmes

As impressive as Ruth’s numbers were, they could have been even better.  His first six years in the big leagues, he was primarily used as a pitcher; he only batted on the days he pitched.  Also, the Babe only played 154 game seasons, compared with 162 that the players enjoy today.  If Ruth hit only 3 more Home Runs each season (which would be at about his Home Run-per-at-bat ratio) it would have given him 48 more career Home Runs.  This would have bumped his career total up to 763, which would mean he would still be the Official All-Time Champ.  This 763 would be 1 more than what Barry Bonds hit in his distinguished career.

This isn’t even taking into account the fact that Bonds used PED’s throughout his career to increase his power in an attempt to gain a bigger advantage over pitchers.  Babe didn’t have access to these Aids.  In the days before weight rooms and Nautilus Machines, the Babe’s strength-training regimen included eating hot dogs and drinking heavily before, after and even during games.  Unless beer muscles count as a banned substance, the Babe would not have needed to worry about Congressional Hearings.  The only area on the Babe that grew significantly over the course of his career was his gut.  Compare that to Bonds’ abnormal, unexplained growth spurt he experienced in his late 30’s, which saw every part of his body seemingly double in size – including his head!   Barring a fast-growing, flesh eating brain tumor forming, whose head grows naturally that much at such an advanced age?

Going beyond the alleged drug use of Bonds and other sluggers of today, we must also consider the different rules the game had back then when comparing each man’s respective prowess.  In Ruth’s day, if a batted ball hit the foul pole and landed in the stands, it was ruled a ground-rule double - not a home run.  Also, if a batted ball went over the fence fair, but curved foul, it was ruled a foul ball.  These rules were later changed so that now both of these batted balls are considered Home Runs.  Who knows how many Home Runs Babe lost this way.  Author Bill Jenkinson wrote a book entitled The Year Babe Ruth Hit 104 Home Runs - Re-Crowning Baseball's Greatest Slugger, where he looks at these, and other facts.  Using various factors, Jenkinson determines that in 1921, the year Babe had 59 Home Runs, he would have actually had 104 if present rules applied.  No, that is not a misprint!

Besides the above listed rule changes, Jenkinson’s book also takes into account the much bigger size of older stadiums compared to today.  The Polo Grounds, where Ruth played half his games until Yankee Stadium was built, had a centerfield fence of almost 500 feet.  Even after Yankee Stadium opened in 1923, its centerfield fence was 465 feet to dead center.  Today the distance from Home Plate to the Centerfield wall in Yankee Stadium is only 408 feet. All parks have much shorter fences nowadays, the main reason being that Home Runs sell tickets.  Understandably, team owners want as many Home Runs as possible to fly out of the park when their team is playing, regardless of which team hits them.

Lastly, take into consideration that Babe did not bat against the inconsistent, bottom-of-the-rotation starting pitchers like today’s hitters enjoy.  There were only 8 teams in the American League in Ruth’s day; it was much harder to become a big league player back then.  Also, starting rotations had only three or four men, not five.  Needless to say, you needed you’re “A” game every day if you were to get a hit, much less hit a Home Run.

From 1915-1935, the years Ruth played; an average of .36 Home Runs were hit per game by each team.  Compare this stat to the years 1954-1976, which was the career span of the other Home Run King, Hank Aaron played.  In Aaron’s time, the average Home Runs per game per team was .81 - over double what it was in Ruth’s time.  If you compare these numbers to the next generation, which was when Bonds played, the stats are even more skewed.  From 1986-2007, which are the years Bonds played, the HR/Team/Gm number was a ridiculous .92 - almost three times the rate as the Babe’s.  You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to realize how big a difference that is.  If Babe played in today’s game, he would have easily hit over 1000 Home Runs, especially when you figure in the “Home Run Inflation Rate’.  Not to mention that, as good as the pitchers were in his day, they still cheated.  Spit balls and doctored balls were commonplace.  Back then, it was not uncommon for one ball to be used for an entire game, plenty of time for a pitcher to do what he wanted to the ball.  Now, the average life of a major league baseball is around 7 pitches.  This doesn’t allow the pitcher much time to try to scuff the ball up.

Another interesting fact is that, in the 1920’s, a game ending Home Run only counted as a Home Run if the batters’ run is needed to win the game.  For example, if the bases are loaded in the bottom of the 9th and the batters’ team is down by only 2 runs, the batter was only given credit for a double; the last 2 runs would not matter in the score so we’re not credited to the batting team.  I won’t even go into the fact that the mound was 5 inches higher back then, giving an even bigger advantage to the pitchers.  The strike zone was also much bigger in Ruth’s day, going from the shoulders to the knees.  Both these rules changed in 1969, following the so-called “year of the pitcher”.  Since then, every new rule enacted benefits the hitter it seems.

To determine a true Home Run Champion, we need to go beyond career numbers and look at consistency.  Ruth hit over 40 Home Runs in a season eleven times. He hit over 50 four times.  Aaron, despite playing much longer, had only had eight seasons of 40+ Home Runs and never hit more than 45.  Bonds, as we know, had that magical 2001 season when he hit 73.  In his 2nd highest season, he hit only 49.  He did not even crack 50 one other time in his career.  This Bonds fact reminds me of two other players who came out of nowhere to hit some disgusting amount of Home Runs, only to barely hit half that number again:  Brady Anderson hit 50 in 1996.  His next highest total was 24, that being in 1999.  The other player was Luis Gonzalez, who hit an amazing 57 in 2001.  His next highest total was the year before, when he hit a whopping 31.

No question Babe was the best Home Run hitter in baseball history.  Bonds and Aaron may have hit more, but they both needed way more at bats to do so.  Aaron had almost 4000 more at bats than Ruth.  His career average was one HR every of 16.4 at bats.  Bonds needed almost 1,500 more at bats to hit his 762.  His career HR/AB rate was 12.9.  The Babe, who played part of his career as a pitcher and all of it in a dead-ball era; with rules that favored pitchers; averaged one home run every 11.8 at bats.  Babe homered multiple times in a game 72 times, which is still a record.  He was the first player to hit 3 Home Runs in a game in both the AL and NL.  He homered 3 times in his last game.  He hit the first Home Runs in both Yankee Stadium, and the All-Star game.  In 1920, he hit 14% of the Home Runs in the major leagues!  Today, someone would have to hit over 300 HR to match that statistic. 

Babe also saved baseball.  Attendance was way down after the Chicago “Black Sox” scandal of 1919, when they threw the World Series.  Baseball needed a hero, someone to put people in the seats, and Babe was that person.  In 1920, Ruth’s first year on the Yankees, the team drew 1.3 million fans to the Polo Grounds, outdrawing the Giants, who owned the Stadium.  Ruth’s tremendous drawing power allowed the Yankees to start construction on Yankee Stadium, which would hold 60,000 people.  Most ballparks back then only held 30,000 or so.  Most ballparks didn’t have Babe Ruth playing 77 games in every year, though.  Even though building the extra 30,000 seats was a financial gamble, especially considering the popularity of baseball after the black Sox scandal, it paid off handsomely for the Yankees.  They routinely led the league in attendance and significantly more than 30,000 fans showed up to most of their home games.  Yankee Stadium truly was “The House that Ruth built”.

“He was a circus, a play and a movie all rolled into one.”- Lefty Gomez

Going past the Home Runs, we must also take into account the popularity of the player to determine who the Face of the Sport should be.  Hank Aaron was never considered a celebrity.  He didn’t endorse many products or star in any movies.  This is mostly due to the fact he played in Milwaukee and Atlanta; two small market teams that were at or near the bottom of the National League for most of Aaron’s career.  Barry Bonds was definitely a celebrity, especially during his ridiculous 5 year run from 2000-2004, when he was by far the most feared hitter baseball had seen in awhile.  Despite this, he did not have many endorsements.  He did make the news and tabloids a lot, but most of it was for the wrong reasons.  In his defense he did not let it affect his production, but it definitely is affecting his Legacy.  He was thought of as a cheater and a diva, and it is partly because of this, and his portrayed ignorance, that the public did not like him other than in San Francisco.  Ruth was lucky in that he played for the two biggest market teams in baseball, Boston and New York.  With this came endorsements and fame.  Babe should not be penalized or faulted for this, as it wasn’t his fault he played here.  It is very true that everything that happens in New York is blown up way bigger than it otherwise would be.  It is also very true that sometimes athletes that play and succeed in the Big Apple are over-rated.  On the other hand, it is very true, and tragic, that athletes that play in New York and do not perform well are looked at as failures.  The list of players who couldn’t hack it in the Big Apple  includes many solid ballplayers, like: Mo Vaughn, Kevin Brown, Roberto Alomar, Bobby Bonilla, Hideki Irabu, Carl Pavano, Jeff Weaver, Kenny Rogers, Esteban Loiaza, Ken Phelps, Ed Whitson, Rich Rhoden and Danny Tartabull, to name a few.  In New York, a player’s life, both professional and personal, is under a microscope, and all too often individuals cracked under that pressure.  For this reason, the Babe is to be admired more than he is to be considered lucky.  With everybody following his every move on and off the field, he still put up ridiculous numbers.  He would have done the same no matter where he played.

The Babe was the most popular figure in America from the time he first got to the Yankees.  People still tell stories about him as if he was still alive.  Who can forget the story of little Johnny Sylvester, a dying 11 year-old boy who Babe promised a Home Run for in the 1926 World Series.   Babe did not hit that one Home Run for Johnny… he hit 3!  Sylvester went on to survive his illness and lived to the ripe old age of 74.  Now I’m not saying Babe hitting those 3 Home Runs saved little Johnny’s life, but they certainly could not have hurt.

There is also the legendary (and controversial) story of the so-called called shot in the 1932 World Series.  Countless articles, stories and interviews have been conducted and written on this occurrence.  It cannot be confirmed, nor denied, that Ruth did indeed call his shot.   Regardless, the fact that the story still survives, gathering people on both sides of the argument to this day, shows how powerful Babe’s Legacy is.  This act has been reported on countless times.  It has been mimicked in many TV shows and movies, both for dramatic and comedic, effect.  Even if he did not point to the centerfield bleachers, he did make some kind of gesture, and he did indeed hit a Home Run on the next pitch.  Something needs to be said about that simple fact.  If he pointed to the bleachers, then hit a ground ball to second, nothing would ever have been said about it again.  On the same note, if he made that gesture, then hit a Home Run 4 pitches later, nothing would have been said about that either.  The fact that it was the very next pitch makes it a very interesting story.

There is also the famed ‘Curse of the Bambino’.  Many people, most of them Red Sox fans, point to the sale of Babe Ruth to the Yankees as the darkest point in franchise history.  They attribute that wretched, unforgiveable act as the cause of 86 years of misery and frustration that franchise endured between 1918 and 2004.  During this time Boston did not win one World Series; after having won 5 Championships prior to selling Ruth (including 3 with him on the team).  It could just be that the team wasn’t good enough to win all that time.  Look at the White Sox and Cubs, who went 88 and 103 (and counting) years, respectively, without a World Series Title.  Unlike these teams though, the Red Sox have suffered tremendous let downs and one-in-a-million collapses.  Red Sox lost the 1946, 1967, 1975 and 1986 World Series, all in seven games.  The story does not end there, as the Red Sox did not just lose; they lost in some of the most heart-breaking ways possible.  They lost big games in such tragic ways that a curse often seemed like the only possible explanation why they didn’t win.  Many of these big losses came at the hands of the Yankees, which are fitting, being that the Curse basically transferred franchise success from the Boston to New York.  Below is a sample of some of the heartbreak and torture Red Sox Nation has been put through over the years:

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• In 1946, Boston lost the World Series in 7 games to the St. Louis Cardinals.  In Game 7, Boston was down 3-1 in the 8th inning.  They fought back and tied the score, only to lose the lead, and the Series, when the Cardinals scored in the bottom half of the 8th inning.

• In 1949, the Red Sox needed to win just 1 of the season’s final 2 games to take the pennant.  They ended up losing both to the hated Yankees, who went on to win 5 straight World Series from 1949-1953. 

• In 1967, they lost the World Series in 7 games, again to the Cardinals. 

• In 1972, the Red Sox lost the Division to Detroit by ½ games.  Because of the early season strike, many teams only played 155 games.  The Red Sox had a rain-out earlier that year which was never made up.  Despite these unfair occurrences, they still almost pulled out a Division Title.  On the second-to-last day of the season, the Red Sox lost to the Division winning Tigers by a score of 3-1.  A potential game-tying hit was spoiled late in the game when Boston Shortstop Luis Aparicio slipped rounding third on a base hit and was tagged out, tragically ending the team’s Title hopes.

• In 1975, after Carlton Fisk’s heroics in game 6 of the World Series, Boston took a 3-0 lead over Cincinnati in Game 7.  They eventually lost 4-3 on a 9th inning single by Joe Morgan that scored Ken Griffey.

• In 1978, the Red Sox held a 14-game lead in the AL East over the Yankees on July 18.  However, the Yankees subsequently caught fire, eventually tying Boston atop the standings.  This impressive run was helped out by a sweep of a four-game series of Boston at Fenway Park.  This disastrous event is known throughout Red Sox Nation as the "Boston Massacre."  Still, the Red Sox caught fire in the last few weeks of the season and the two teams were dead-locked in First after the season’s end, which resulted in a one-game playoff in Fenway.  Once again refusing to quit, the Red Sox took an early lead in the game.  They were still leading into the 7th inning.  That’s when light hitting Yankee shortstop Bucky Dent once again broke Red Sox fans’ hearts with a 3-run go ahead Home Run over the Green Monster.  Yankees went on to win the game, the Pennant, and yet another World Series.

• In 1986, Red Sox held a 3-2 World Series game lead over the Yew York Mets.  Game 6 went into extra innings.  In the 10th inning, the Red Sox scored 2 runs to take a 5-3 lead.  In the bottom frame, Boston quickly got the first 2 Met batters out, bringing them within 1 out of a long-sought after World Series Title.  Clubhouse Attendants and Boston Red Sox Personnel were actually in the Red Sox locker room with carts full of champagne, ready to uncork and spray on their victorious team when they entered the locker room.  It didn’t turn out well, though, as, with 2 outs, the Mets rallied.  A wild pitch tied the game, and then the World famous Buckner play happened.  Three different times that inning the Red Sox were within 1 strike of a World Championship.  Like always, the Sox came right back in Game 7 and took a 3-0 lead.  They, of course, eventually lost. 

• Most recently, in 2003, Boston was winning game 7 of the ALCS over the Yankees 5-2 in the 8th.  Grady Little left starting pitcher Pedro Martinez in to start the 8th inning.  After Pedro ran into trouble, Little came out to the mound, yet left Pedro in the game, against the better judgment by pretty much everyone else in America.  New York rallied to tie the score that inning.  The game went into extra innings, where it remained tied until the 11th inning, when disaster once again found its way into Fenway.  Twenty-five years after Bucky Dent’s famous Home Run against the Red Sox in 1978, another light hitting Yankee infielder, Aaron Boone, hit another heart wrenching, soul crushing home run over the Green Monster to win the Pennant.  It was such a tragic loss that fans in any other city would be depressed for months.  It was just another tragic day for Red Sox fans, who were used to their team snatching defeat out of the jaws of victory.

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One more Babe Ruth Legacy, also controversial, is the story of the Baby Ruth Candy Bar.  The makers of the bar, the Curtiss Candy Company, claim it was named after U.S. President Grover Cleveland’s daughter Ruth, who was born in 1891, during the four years between Cleveland’s two terms in office.  The problem with this proclamation is that Ruth Cleveland was a very sickly girl who died in 1904, at the age of 12.  The candy bar was not introduced until 1920- which, coincidentally was Ruth’s first year on the Yankees; a year he hit 54 Home Runs and out homered every other team but one.  As a result, his fame blew up, and the Babe became a household name.  The timing of the release of the candy bar is very intriguing, isn’t it?  The Curtiss Candy Company itself wasn’t even around until 1916, 12 years after “Baby Ruth” died.  To say the candy bar is named after the long dead daughter of a former President (and not even a good one) is a bit fishy.  The bar was named Baby Ruth to attract attention, and sales by using the name of a national celebrity.  Since it was called the Baby Ruth candy bar, and not the Babe Ruth candy bar, the company did not have to pay Ruth a dime in royalties.  This was a very shrewd business move.  Babe definitely did not need the money, but it’s the principle of the thing.  It’s like coming out with a shoe called “Heir Jordan’s”, or, for a real life example, the fast food chain called Kennedy Fried Chicken.  It has the same menu as Kentucky Fried Chicken, similar prices as well.  It even has the same exact colors- red and white!

In terms of commercial success, Babe Ruth has had 2 major motion pictures made about his life.  There were also hundreds of books and TV specials, and thousands of articles written about him.  Compare that with anyone else- athlete or not, alive or dead, in American history.  Babe Ruth was the original American celebrity.  He was like Elvis in the 1950’s, the Beatles in the 1960’s, Michael Jordan in the 1990’s and Brangelina today, combined.  Ruth was celebrity.  He created endorsements.  He endorsed countless products; many still around, like:  Wheaties, Murphy’s Soap, Puffed Wheat, Old Gold Cigarettes, Boys Club, and many more.  His likeness as a clay figure has even recently been used to sell Brisk Iced Tea.

Babe Ruth has many other Legacies.  Some are very well-known, although people don’t realize it.  For example, when someone hits a monster Home Run, it is often referred to as a “Ruthian” shot.  You hear it on Sportscenter every night during the baseball season, yet everyone takes for granted where it came from.  Also, when an individual dominates a sport or activity, they are called its Babe Ruth.  Michael Phelps is the “Babe Ruth of swimming”; Lance Armstrong is the “Babe Ruth of bicycling”.  You use that comparison and everyone understands what you mean.  On the other hand, if you use another figure as a comparison to one’s greatness, people are confused as to what you mean.  For example, you can’t say “Lance Armstrong is the Barry Bonds of bicycling”, as people might think you mean that Lance is a diva and doesn’t get along with his fellow cyclists.  Worse, many people might assume you mean he used performance-enhancing drugs to win all those races.  Not only would Lance not take this as a compliment, he will probably want to fight you.  See, there’s a big difference on whose name you use as a comparison.

One more enduring Legacy of Mr. Ruth is the Youth Baseball League that bears his name.  The Babe Ruth Youth Baseball League has been around since 1954.  Young men, aged 13-18 (4-18 years old for girls), learn to play for the first time under the regulations and rules of a standard diamond.  It now ranks as the premier amateur baseball and softball program in the world, with over 1,035,000 players worldwide.  It has become a rite of passage for young ballplayers; a place where they hone their skills after Little League and before college baseball.  Considering the Babe’s love of children, I could not think of a better legacy for him to have than to provide a medium for children to play the game he loved.  I think I have shown who the true Home Run champ is.  The only way Aaron and Bonds should be before Ruth is if you are ranking the players alphabetically by last name.

Babe Ruth was by no means perfect.  He ate too much, he was a heavy drinker.  He also chewed tobacco and smoked cigars.  He chased women and was not faithful to his wife.  He once famously said “I’ll promise to go easier on drinking and get to bed early.  But not for you, $50,000 or $250,000, will I give up women, they’re too much fun.”  He was not the best teammate either, but that’s why people loved him so much.  He wasn’t a Super Hero- he had many faults, just like everybody else.  It wasn’t his greatness that made him so beloved, it was his character flaws; that’s what people latch onto.  They want people they idolize to be like them, not some untouchable God-like being.  People that have demons they must slay or have a personal tragedy to overcome is what grabs people’s heart.  Look at most popular athletes of all-time.  Michael Jordan was so beloved because of all he had to overcome to succeed.  His father’s death, his failure at playing baseball and his gambling addiction are just three of the personal issues he had to deal with throughout his career.  His legend was consummated in Game 5 of the 1997 Finals against the Utah Jazz.  This is often called the “Flu Game”.  Despite suffering from a severe stomach virus and barely having enough energy to stand up, Jordan scored 38 points; including 15 in the 4th quarter, in a big Chicago win on the road.  He played 44 minutes that game, and collapsed into teammate Scottie Pippen’s arms after the game.  Ruth has Johnny Sylvester, the called shot and Baby Ruth, and Jordan has the flu.

What other baseball player has as many nicknames as George Herman Ruth.  He is known by, amongst other names: The Bambino, The Sultan Of Swat, The Wali of Wallop", "the Rajah of Rap", "the Caliph of Clout", "the Wazir of Wham", The Colossus of Clout, Maharajah of Mash, The Behemoth of Bust, "The King of Clout, and, of course, Babe, among others.

Classic Babe Ruth Quotes

·         On making more than…

Ø  The President:  Why Not?  I had a better year than he did!”

Ø  The biggest stars in Hollywood:  “I don’t give a damn about actors.  What good will John Barrymore do you with the bases loaded and two down in a tight ball game?  Either I get the money or I don’t play.”

·         On hitting for average

Ø  “If I just tried for them dinky singles, I could’ve batted around .600.”

·         On helpful life lessons

Ø  “Don’t ever forget 2 things I’m going to tell you.  One is don’t believe everything that’s written about you, and two, don’t pick up too many checks.”

• On playing baseball

Ø  “If it wasn’t for baseball, I’d either be in the penitentiary or the cemetery”

*These are just a few quotes from one of the most colorful personalities the world has ever seen.  He was a quote machine!  He will always be remembered, for his bat, his mouth, his immense popularity, and his huge heart.  Babe Ruth is, and always will be, the true Home Run Champ.