Meet Babe Ruth

BABE RUTH

"The Bambino", "The Sultan of Swat"

Positions: Outfielder and Pitcher

Full Name: George Herman Ruth, Jr.

Bats: Left - Throws: Left

Born: February 6, 1895 in Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Died: August 16, 1948 in New York, New York, USA

Organizations: New York Yankees (15), Boston Red Sox (6), Boston Braves (1)

BABE RUTH'S WALL OF GLORY

HONORS AND AWARDS

• Hall of Fame: Inducted as Player in 1936, by BBWAA with 95.13%
• All Star: 2 (1933, 1934)
• MVP: 1 (1923)
• World Series Rings: 7 (1915, 1916, 1918, 1923, 1927, 1928, 1932)

BATTING

• AVG Leader: 1 (1924)
• HR Leader: 12 (1918, 1919, 1920, 1921, 1923, 1924, 1926, 1927, 1928, 1929, 1930, 1931)
• RBI Leader: 5 (1919, 1920, 1921, 1923, 1926)
• Runs Leader: 8 (1919, 1920, 1921, 1923, 1924, 1926, 1927, 1928)
• BB Leader: 11 (1920, 1921, 1923, 1924, 1926, 1927, 1928, 1939, 1931, 1932, 1933)
• OBP Leader: 10 (1919, 1920, 1921, 1923, 1924, 1926, 1927, 1930, 1931, 1932)
• SLG Leader: 13 (1918, 1919, 1920, 1921, 1922, 1923 1924, 1926, 1927, 1928, 1929, 1930, 1931)
• OPS Leader: 13 (1918, 1919, 1920, 1921, 1922, 1923, 1924, 1926, 1927, 1928, 1929, 1930, 1931)

PITCHING

• ERA Leader: 1 (1916)
• GS Leader: 1 (1916)
• CG Leader: 1 (1917)
• SHO Leader: 1 (1916)

FIELDING

• Def. Games as OF: 1 (1928)
• PO as P: 2 (1916, 1918)
• Fielding % as LF: 1 (1919)
• Fielding % as OF: 1 (1919)

WHO?

"Babe" Ruth was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. He began his MLB career as a stellar left-handed pitcher for the Boston Red Sox, but achieved his greatest fame as a slugging outfielder for the New York Yankees. Ruth established many MLB batting (and some pitching) records, including career home runs (714), runs batted in (RBIs) (2,213), bases on balls (2,062), slugging percentage (.690), and on-base plus slugging (OPS) (1.164); the latter two still stand as of 2018.

Ruth is regarded as one of the greatest sports heroes in American culture and is considered by many to be the greatest baseball player of all time. He has been called an American original, undoubtedly the game’s first great slugger and the most celebrated athlete of his time.

In 1936, Ruth was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame as one of its five inaugural members.

MY COMMENT:

The man. The myth. The legend.

One of my all-time favorites players, Babe Ruth could do almost ANYTHING in a baseball field: He could pitch for a good ERA (2.28 lifetime ERA), and also win games (23 and 24 won games in 1916 and 1917). But The Bambino is better known for being one of the most feared sluggers in the history of the game, batting for a high average (.378 in 1924, and .342 at the end of his career), he brought home a lot of runs (5 times RBI leader), but was his power what made him famous, bringing the Dead Ball Era to an end with his 714 lifetime home runs, leading the American League 12 times (including those well-known 60 homers in 1927).

He even averaged a good amount of doubles, triples and stolen bases, so we can say that he had some speed, too.

As a closing note, he was undefeated as a Yankee pitcher (5-0) and in the World Series (3-0).

BEST FIVE SEASONS

Year	Tm	Lg	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	Pos
1921	NYY	AL	152	540	177	204	44	16	59	168	17	145	81	.378	.512	.846	1.359	*78/31
1923	NYY	AL	152	522	151	205	45	13	41	130	17	170	93	.393	.545	.764	1.309	*97/83
1927	NYY	AL	151	540	158	192	29	8	60	165	7	137	89	.356	.486	.772	1.258	*97
1930	NYY	AL	145	518	150	186	28	9	49	153	10	136	61	.359	.493	.732	1.225	*97/1
1931	NYY	AL	145	534	149	199	31	3	46	162	5	128	51	.373	.495	.700	1.195	*97/3

Note: If you are using a cell phone to look at this table, put it horizontally for a better experience

What do you think? is he the best baseball player ever? If not, who is? Share your thoughts!