Babe Ruth: Legends in Sports (3 page)

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 cavernous 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.

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.