Babe Ruth Discussion Thread

[Bill Burgess]

I'd like to create this companion thread to our amazing Babe Ruth Thread. To let us all expand to our hearts content all of our Babe chat. The best of this will be eventually transferred to the other Thread, so the chit chat doesn't sink it.

Any good Babe stuff guys. Randy, Joe, Chris, this is for us to chew the fat and shoot the Babe breezes. So we can give the other Babe thread a rest for a while.

Bill Burgess

[Sultan_1895-1948]

Joe, have you seen the footage of him choking up a good 4 inches and slapping the ball to left? Perhaps the shift was on in that AB.

Interesting to note, that if you take away his 1356 extra base hits from his 8398 AB, it leaves him with 7042 AB. He had 1517 singles, so he'd be a career .215 hitter just going by singles. He definately took what was given to him, and had to learn to go the other way when it the opportunity presented itself.

In his first ever start against the Yanks, lefty Sherry Smith walked him the first four times he faced him, once intentionally which drew what he called "an awful howl from the stands." He went on to tell F.C. Lane, "Ruth's eye was so good, there was little alternative. If Babe got balls somewhere near where he liked to hit them, he would bat .450. He seldom gets a good ball. A pitcher is foolish to give him a good ball, especially with men on base."

[SHOELESSJOE3]

i thought baby ruth came out in 1917 following the back to back world championships

Curtiss did have a candy bar named Kandy Kake some years before. They then reshaped the bar, replaced it's pastry center with caramel made a couple of other content changes and then renamed it Baby Ruth in 1921.

[SHOELESSJOE3]

Joe, have you seen the footage of him choking up a good 4 inches and slapping the ball to left? Perhaps the shift was on in that AB.

Never saw him "shorten" up on the bat, he might have but it was always pointed out that in his time most hitters would shorten up but they say Ruth never did.

I took a good look at a number of his at bats the other night and noticed something very unusual, especially coming from a slugger. In the box his front foot, right foot was some inches in front of his rear left foot. Kind of like we did as kids when we were trying to hit to the opposite field.

More unusual, I don't recall any of the big boys actually having their back slightly to the pitcher. The back of his front shoulder is certainly facing the pitcher. His stride very long, starts with feet close together and then gets some real extention.

His feet close together, front foot positioned as though to go the other way, back to the pitcher. This does not appear to be anything a hitter would do if going for the long ball.

[SHOELESSJOE3]

Lou Gehrig doesn't feel urban to me. He seems to represent old world values. Mama's boy. Quiet, unassuming, introverted, shy, hard-working.

He seems more Midwest to me. Wisconsin farm boy, Minnesota small town guy. Like Walter Johnson. And that's NOT a knock, but a plug.

Bill

I think Hollywood and most of the viewing public have come to except Gary Cooper as the hero type guy, the guy you admire, pull for. Playing such rolls as Lou Gehrig, Sgt. Alvin York, Meet John Doe and the sheriff in High Noon.

[SHOELESSJOE3]

A few pics from '27.

Combs, Ruth, Meusel

Before game 1 of the '27 Series, Babe and Lou meet the brothers Waner

It's understandable, obvious that Ruth was a powerful guy, no wonder he could put balls into orbit, great wrist action, reflexes, eyes and again a big guy.

Almost always when we see pictures of him standing next to other players he looks as big and often bigger that those next to him. Even next to Gehrig and Foxx he looks more than equal their size, two big powerful muscular men.

I'm sure my comment about him looking as big or bigger will lead some to make comments about his body weight and the word over weight and fat will creep in. I don't think you could have fat shoulders, look past his gut and look at the whole man, he is massive in the chest and shoulder area.

In a physique contest Ruth would not be on the platform with these two beautiful muscular men, Gehrig and Foxx. Thats not my point, speaking of upper body frame, hugh.There no endurance involved in taking one swipe at a ball with a bat, a fraction of a second and Ruth could pull that bat around as fast as anyone in the game, he proved it.

[johnny]

Take a look at all those characters. They were all pretty much the same persona. Quiet, down to earth, heroic, selfless, lack of ego, unassuming, and the guy next door type. Add in another name...Gary Cooper himself.

In almost all of his movies he pretty much played himself. Name a Cooper movie that broke the mold. He was typecast in Hollywood...to play himself.

Hey
What about High Noon? That was some damn fine acting.

[SHOELESSJOE3]

how many of Ruth's home runs were really ground-rule doubles?

From what I know none of his balls were of the bounce type.I did request some info from the boys at Elias sports Bureau and they know of none.

In 1921 he lost a home run at the Polo Grounds when a fan attempting to catch the ball knocked it back on to the playing field. Different rules than, today thats a home run. That season could have been his first 60 home run season, that lost home run left him with 59.

In 1930 at Shibe Park, twice, one time in April and one time in September he hit drives to deep right center that cleared the wall but struck speaker supports and bounce back on to the field. There was no ground rule covering that, the Yanks argued home run, they lost both times, Ruth was given a double. Those two lost home runs would have given him his 5th season with 50 ore more, He ended that season with 49 home runs.

[SHOELESSJOE3]

ok i dont know if any1 here has seen this before, but i found it on www.baseball-almanac.com:
"Aw, everybody knows that game, the day I hit the homer off ole Charlie Root there in Wrigley Field, the day October first, the third game of that thirty-two World Series. But right now I want to settle all arguments. I didn't exactly point to any spot, like the flagpole. Anyway, I didn't mean to, I just sorta waved at the whole fence, but that was foolish enough. All I wanted to do was give that thing a ride... outta the park... anywhere."-Babe Ruth
that should clear up the whole "called shot" thing.

I don't think he actually called the shot or pointed. But as I've said before he did more than enough. He held up one finger after the first strike, then yelled at the Cub's on the bench. He held up two fingers after the second called strike, then made dagger like thrusts at the Cub bench, he was clearly angry with their name calling. He took two balls than held up one finger, looking at the Cub bench. Cub catcher Gabby Hartnett said Ruth yelled," it only takes one." Then it happened, a rifle shot to deep center striking a ticket booth 440 feet away, only a few feet from landing in the street.

Isn't that enough, being that bold and with two strike on him, that take balls, lots of balls and then he delivers.

Unknown but printed in a New York paper, which I have copied, the original. In the first inning with Ruth on deck, the Cubs were already riding him. Ruth turned to the Cub bench while waiting his turn to bat, grinned at them and made pointing gestures to the right field bleachers. When he came to bat he hit a three run homer, into the right field bleachers.

It's not wise to tease the Babe.

[SHOELESSJOE3]

The day before that first game in Chicago, he had driven 60 miles into the country, to visit a sick boy at his home. The boy's father had called the Yankee Clubhouse after game 1 or 2, and spoke with Babe about it. Even though it was a day off, he agreed to go see the kid. Grantland Rice rode along with him.

lol, then he shows up for game 3 with Claire, and she gets spit on, and yelled at by Cubs fans. Yeah, I'd say "It's not wise to tease the Babe" is about right.

That boy was 16 year old Lee Koeppen, blinded by a bomb thrown in front of a judge McGoorty's home. Unfortunately he never regained his eyesight.

[SHOELESSJOE3]

By the way, both Musial and Ted Williams had a stance which wasn't that far removed from Joe/Babe.

Bill

True Bill but I think Ruth's front shoulder was turned more away from the pitcher. What I mean is that the pitcher would seem to be looking at the back of Ruth's front shoulder.

[SHOELESSJOE3]

The problem here is that there is little in the way of news footage and even still pictures of Joe in an actual game situation at bats. Myself I have seen very little of this, Joe in an at bat, in a game. Many of the photos I've seen of him appear to be with him posing, is that his game stance, I don't know.

[SHOELESSJOE3]

The Shoeless one, the great Joe Jackson. A bit heavier, after being banned , some time around 1922 or so the caption stated. He looks older than I would think in 1922.

[SHOELESSJOE3]

Joe Jackson, Cleveland Indians, 1911-15

[SHOELESSJOE3]

Year unknown.