I did not want to do it, but you made me. I promised myself that I would not bring up Babe Ruth again this year, but there are just so many misinformed people out there. In the text of this post I will also answer questions/statements that have been posted on other blogs.

 

Babe Ruth is the greatest ballplayer of all time. Yep there I said it. Now I know you are going to tell me that he did not play against Black players, but you would be wrong.  Once Ruth switch to the outfield he went “barnstorming” in the off-season, playing against #### league teams and All-Stars, Cuban ball clubs and other “barnstorming teams” In those games, Ruth was known to put on a show. Overall, he excelled in those games; even Buck O’Neil admitted that Babe Ruth did not play his hardest, while everyone wanted to strike him out. The truth is that Ruth faced some of the best pitchers of all time. Stats show that 4 out of the top 7 pitchers played in the “Ruth Era” according to adjusted E.R.A. One argument has been made that the pitchers of that era only had a few pitches and did not throw hard. The fact is that there is no evidence to back that statement up. If you do a little research the only pitch that I have come across that did not exist in the “Ruth Era” was a slider. Ruth had to content with a pitch that does not exist today, the spitball. Also there are plenty of pitchers that only command 1 or 2 pitches, Mariano throws only a cutter, how effective is he? Oh one more thing, one person has suggested that this era was dominated by knuckleball pitchers. The fact is that knuckleball pitchers have been some of the most effective pitchers throughout baseball history. Some have stated that Ruth was hitting against pitchers who had day jobs at the saw mill. Funny, because in 1910 many minor league players made more then the average worker in the United States, sometimes as much as 30% more. To think that all MLB players had day jobs demonstrates ignorance and the inability to separate history from different sports. There are those that would also argue that Ruth did not face pitching specialist, just pitchers with tired arms. What they fail to realize is that there were also less teams and games. Also, pitchers throw everyday, not just game day, while also throwing in winter leagues. Babe also hit the majority of his homeruns in the early innings, actually the most in the 1st inning. In 1919 Ruth hit more homeruns then 10 MLB teams. In 1920 Ruth hit more Homeruns then 14 out of 15 MLB clubs. In 1927, Ruth hit more homeruns then 7 other American league teams.

 

Now for some Quotes:

 

“Sweet. We always hoped he’d miss the ball so we could see the whole swing. Sweet, just sweet”       -Buck O’Neil, speaking about Ruth’s Swing.

 

“Only heard that sound three times. Babe, Josh Gibson, Bo Jackson”

-Buck O’Neil, speaking about the sound of the ball hitting the bat.

 

“To understand him, you had to understand that he wasn’t human”

-teammate Joe Dugan

 

Buck O'Neil stated that his most cherished possession was a baseball that Babe Ruth hit for a homerun.