Today in New York Yankees’ history, Babe Ruth set the single-season home run record. September 24, 1919, in a game between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees, played in the Polo Grounds, George Herman Ruth slugged the 28th home run of the season to set a new single-season record. The catch? Ruth was playing for the Red Sox and the homer came off Bob Shawky in the bottom of the ninth in the second game of a doubleheader. Ruth finished the game 2-of-4 with the record-setting home run, two walks, and one strikeout. Despite the late Ruth home run, the Yankees won the game 2-1.
Babe Ruth To The Yankees
After the Red Sox lost game 135 of the season to the Yankees in 1919 to fall to 66-68, they would lose all three games of the series against the Washington Senators to finish up the season. Babe Ruth would make his final plate appearance for the Red Sox against the Senators. His final box score was 0-of-1 in four plate appearances. He finished his career in Boston hitting .308/.413/.568 with 49 home runs, 224 RBI, and 202 runs.
As a pitcher with the Sox, Babe Ruth led the league in 1916 with a 1.75 ERA. That year he also led the league with 9 shutouts. With the cursive B on his cap, Ruth won 89 games and sported a 2.19 ERA. The rest is history.
On January 5, 1920, the Yankees acquired Babe Ruth from the Red Sox for $100,000. The Yankees paid the Red Sox four installments of $25,000 throughout 1920. The $100K transaction comes to $1,631,067.36 in today’s dollars. Still quite the steal.
Ruth With The Yankees
As the 2024 Major League Baseball season winds to a close and the eyes of baseball fans linger on Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani, reflections on Babe Ruth’s accomplishments are appropriate. Starting in his first season in New York, Ruth hit .367.532/.847 with 54 home runs, 135 RBI, and 158 runs.
He led the league in home runs, RBI, runs, OBP, SLG, OPS, and OPS+. Oh, and he led the league in walks and total bases. For good measure, Ruth stole 14 bases but was also caught stealing 14 times. He was no Ohtani.
Babe Ruth led the league in home runs 10 times as a New York Yankee. Obviously, his 60 home runs in 1927 have been a benchmark that baseball players have been chasing for nearly 100 years. In the AL only Roger Maris and Aaron Judge have scaled that Ruthian mountain.
The Bambino finished his career back in Boston with the Boston Braves in 1935, one year removed from his run in the Bronx. He would retire after the season at age 40. His final numbers in 15 years in pinstripes were .349/.484/.711 with 659 home runs. The Boston dingers brought his career number to 714, a mythical achievement that every baseball fan for decades would know until it was broken by Henry Aaron.
Ruth Is Still Revered
Modern baseball historians are quick to point out that Babe Ruth played in a segregated league, as well they should. But what are Yankees fans and all baseball fans watching for the final week of the season? History. And history in baseball has always been measured by numbers. Who can hit 60 HR? Will anyone ever hit .400 again? Can one of today’s players get a hit in 57 straight games?
As we look to see how many more home runs Judge hits and root for Ohtani to build on his 50/50 accomplishments, it’s important to remember that Ruth essentially is the father of baseball stat-watching. And it’s good to be reminded that owners not wanting to pay star players is nothing new.
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