*Babe Ruth Thread*

[Corgidog1]

Haven't read way back into the thread so excuse if already mentioned- Another good book on Babe Ruth is "Babe Ruth Launching the Legend" by Jim Reisler. The book chronicals the entire 1920 season from spring training to the end and has some interesting pieces on Carl Mays and Ray Chapman plus the usual Babe antedotes and stories.

[SHOELESSJOE3]

I am trying to get Babe Ruth's stats while batting at League Park in Cleveland, Ohio. I know Ruth hit his 500th HR there. Since this park had a short right field fence (290 ft) I would think he would have faired very well in this park. Any help with these stats would be greatly appreciated. The information will be posted on www.leaguepark.org.

Thanks!

Here is Willis Hudlin and number 500.

[hammer44]

Awesome work! Would it be possible to complete his stats for League Park? That begs the question did he hit better in little old League Park with the 290 right field wall or his home park(s)?

[SHOELESSJOE3]

How tall was the RF wall extending to CF?

Yes, I will finish looking for you. You want a final total or year by year totals? Or both?

Also, I need confirmation that I am to exclude 1932 and 1933. They played elsewhere for those two years, correct?

Part of 1932 season played at League park opening day to July 30, 1932. July 31 to end of 1932 season at Cleveland Municipal Stadium.
Entire 1933 season at Municipal.
1934 opening day back to League Park

Not sure which number it is, but positive either one of these two heights, the wall and fence on top of the wall combined 40 or 45 feet.

[SHOELESSJOE3]

Here is one of his hard hit drives at League Park. The write up in the Cleveland Plain Dealer described it as a rifle shot. Although clearing the 40-45 foot high fence by a few feet, it left the park as a line drive stopped by that cable.

[Badge714]

Shoeless, any idea of the date on this home run?

Here is one of his hard hit drives at League Park. The write up in the Cleveland Plain Dealer described it as a rifle shot. Although clearing the 40-45 foot high fence by a few feet, it left the park as a line drive stopped by that cable.

[Dude Paskert]

I don't think that one was ever put on a DVD for sale. I have searched for years and can't find it, DVD or even VHS. What burns me, I recorded that one on VHS and have moved since then and can't find it. I had a few dozen VHS tapes toss some out a few years ago, that may have been one of them.

Title "Babe Ruth" starring Stephen Lang, played on TV in 1991. This one is worth watching, it's a good one. Hollywood did not get the chance to screw this one up like the other two, this one wa made for TV only. Lang plays a great part, put on 30+ pounds for the part.
Still looking for that one......................

Gotta admire Lang's versatility...the Babe, Gen. Pickett, the psycho mercenary in "Avatar". I thought his performance as Pickett in "Gettysburg" was truly outstanding and his delivery of "General Lee...I HAVE no division" was very powerful.
PS - just saw that he's going to play Lincoln!

[SHOELESSJOE3]

Shoeless, any idea of the date on this home run?

That home run was hit August 6, 1926. You will see the date Aug. 7, 1926 underlined. The 7th was the day after, the write up date.

[Badge714]

Thanks Shoeless. Jenkinson ("The Year Babe Ruth Hit 104 Home Runs") has it off Levsen at 510' (Page 319): "Line drive over wall in deep right center field; landed across street." There is a photo of where the ball approximately landed on page 368 of the same book. Jenkinson has the ball landing across the street while the article states that it fell in the street. The link below has it 340' to right center. Anyway, a long one. The shot the previous day was a 415 footer off Smith. By the way, I'm really impressed with the depth and breadth of Jenkinson's research.

http://www.ballparktour.com/League_Park.html

That home run was hit August 6, 1926. You will see the date Aug. 7, 1926 underlined. The 7th was the day after, the write up date.

[SHOELESSJOE3]

Going through some old "Babe stuff" and dug up these two oldies. Actually not really that old. But I can't believe that Babe Ruth Birthday Bash at Mickey Mantle's was 4 years ago. Got an invite from Babe's granddaughter Linda Ruth Tosseti, Babe's 114th birthday. The place was packed some ex ballplayers and a number of sports writers. Took a two day trip to NY.

Linda came over to me, I put on a pair of white gloves and she handed me one of his bats, took a couple of swings, all the while thinking....Babe himself once held this bat. After about an hour this guy walked over to my table and asked, "are you Sholessjoe3", I am, he said I'm Bill Jenkinson, now the whole trip was worthwhile. Obviously Linda had to tell him who I was. Invited me to his table, met his wife and another couple, talked baseball. I had to ask him, Babe best season, it usually comes down to 1920-1921-1923. Close call but he liked 1923. Just a regular type guy easy to talk to.

This is the poster Linda gave me from the Birthday Bash, had to scan in it sections and then put it together, too big for the scanner.
Later received an invite to a Babe Memorial Mass, did not make that event.

PS. I said to Bill, "you know Bill, the Bam would fit right in here, the place is packed, lots of food and cold beer", of course he agreed.

[SHOELESSJOE3]

Ruth, through 1929 at League Park -- .355/.522/.697

Of course, this is all available on bbref.com but it's nice to see the game by games stats all together.



Interesting note:

7/29/28

Yankees - 6
Indians - 24


Cleveland 27 hits
New York 15 hits

Ruth goes 4-4, game is played in a "hitters" park, and not a single HR hit in this game. Wonder what the record for most runs, without a HR being hit is.

I assume you saw the box score on this one Randy. Indians 8 in the first and 9 runs in the second.
In this game 30 runs scored and game time 2 hours- 22 minutes.

[SHOELESSJOE3]

Awesome story Joe. I have been privileged to speak with Bill Jenkinson on the phone several times. Like you said, just an easy going, knowledgeable, and down to earth guy who is passionate about baseball in general, but Babe Ruth specifically. The amount of time and detail he has put into his research astounds me to this day. One of these days, an east coast road trip is goin' down. Baltimore, Hawthorne, Cooperstown are tops on the list but have to throw in a few other things to get the girlfriend as stoked as I am LOL

True and the search for more on the Babe never ends for Bill.

Sounds like you've never been to Cooperstown, a must see.
They are always adding on, new features. Beautiful location, right by the water.

[Badge714]

Good stuff guys, thanks.

True and the search for more on the Babe never ends for Bill.

Sounds like you've never been to Cooperstown, a must see.
They are always adding on, new features. Beautiful location, right by the water.

[SHOELESSJOE3]

One factor.

[SultanOfWhat]

Nice to see so much excellent research going on in this thread.

I thought of something related to Ruth the other day. Many writers claim that Ruth would not have done as well had baseball been integrated during his day. But we have the careers of Musial and Williams to use as benchmarks to give us an idea of how Ruth would have fared in later decades, as the careers of these two all-time great hitters straddled the integration of baseball. Might be worth a look by the researchers on here. From my cursory look, Musial and Williams fared about as well from 1946-on as they did before, when accounting for age decline. My view is that great hitters like these 3 would not be stopped, no matter who is pitching to them.


Here are some financial documents related to Ruth's sale to the Yankees. I have larger versions of the checks, if needed:







Caption with the checks at auction:

The Most Famous Transaction in Baseball History: Two Checks Related to the New York Yankees' Purchase of Babe Ruth from Boston Red Sox! Perhaps only Walter O'Malley, who wrenched the Brooklyn Dodgers from the loving arms of Flatbush at the close of the 1957 National League season, is more reviled in baseball history than former Boston Red Sox owner Harry Frazee, the man who unleashed an eighty-six year curse on New England with the sale of Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees. And while it's unlikely that the further passing of decades will serve to erase either executive's villain status in the minds of those faithful to their respective ballclubs, the truth of these men's personal culpability in the heartbreak of their team's supporters has long been overstated. For O'Malley, the steady exodus of Brooklynites to the suburbs of Long Island heightened the need for a new ballpark easily accessible by rail and motorcar, a dream that would go unrealized despite a protracted campaign for funding. And for Frazee, it was the onset of a World War that slowed the spin of turnstiles at Fenway Park, leaving him awash in red ink as revenues dwindled. While history has attributed the sale of baseball's greatest human commodity to Frazee's theatrical ambitions--a play entitled "No, No, Nanette" specifically, this has always been an overly simplistic diagnosis.

But regardless of the cause, the effect remained the same. The Boston Red Sox, winners of one third of the first fifteen editions of the World Series, progressively bled talent to keep Frazee's head above water. And so began a procession of stars from Beantown to the Big Apple, Fenway favorites like Herb Pennock, Waite Hoyt, Carl Mays and Joe Dugan trading red socks for navy pinstripes. But no transaction in baseball history has ever been more significant than the sale of young George Herman Ruth to the New York Yankees, the prime factor in this tectonic shift in baseball's balance of power. Beginning in 1923, the Yankees would enjoy twenty-six World Championships over an eight decade span. The Boston Red Sox: zero.

Presented are two checks directly related to the sale of Babe Ruth from the Boston Red Sox to the New York Yankees, documents that rate as sacred or profane depending upon your position in relation to the dividing line between the sport's fiercest rivals. The final deal placed a $100,000 price tag upon the superstar southpaw, and added the guarantee of a $300,000 loan in the form of a second mortgage against the fledgling Fenway Park. No other transaction between the Yankees and Red Sox involved such large dollar amounts, assuring that these checks could only relate to the Ruth transfer.

The first check, dated "December 30, 1921," pays the "Boston American League Baseball Club" the sum of $100,000, a figure approved by Yankees owner Jacob Ruppert's signature at lower left, and the countersignature of co-owner Tillinghast L'Hommedieu Huston at left. The reverse bears the scrawl of the struggling Red Sox executive, reading "deposit to acct. of Boston American League Base Ball Club, By H.H. Frazee, Pres't."

The second check, dated "February 4th, 1922," adds $50,000 to the Boston coffers, signed by Jacob's brother George Ruppert at bottom left, and again countersigned by Huston. Frazee's endorsement likewise appears on reverse.


From Keith Olbermann's blog: