European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - August 17, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 24 the stars and stripes wednesday August 17,1988 dead 40 years Ruth still breathes life into baseball by Jim Kaplan yesterday marked the 40th anniversary of babe Ruth s death. Larger than life larger than death larger with every passing year he is the sports hero of our his passing had a measure of greatness. Losing his Battle with cancer Ruth addressed his fans in Yankee stadium on a National babe Ruth Day held april 27, 1947. Wearing his trademark Camel Shair overcoat and Cap he leaned painfully Over the microphone and spoke extemporaneously. You know How bad my voice sounds he croaked. Well it feels justas but then Ruth struggled to his rhetorical feet and went on to deliver his celebrated Anthem to baseball the Only real game in the world the game that comes up from the on aug. 16, 1948, George Herman babe Ruth died at the age of 53. The nation mourned and 100,000 people viewed his Bier in Yankee stadium. The babe was dead. Long live the babe. If Ruth was heroic he was no Saint. Though he earned the nickname babes a minor league Prodigy Ruth had been hanging out with men Swilling Bee Rand chewing tobacco since age 7. He lusted after food booze and women. He forgot his teammates names. Hebrew a paunch. But there was t an ounce of artifice or pretence to the Man. He was so alive so attractive like an animal or a child Robert Creamer writes in babe ingenuous unselfconscious who Are the sports heroes of today athletes who show up on to commercials who bore us with their religious conversions drug confessions and Politi Cal rhetoric who break our hearts with scandals and then accuse the press of invading their privacy. Not the babe. Heddin t read the papers because he thought it was bad for his eyes. He did sound off on All subjects. He did t Start scandals in fact he ended baseball biggest one by reviving the game after the 1919 Black sox affair. If there s one word that describe modern sport it s superstar has become As commonplace a word but it s almost impossible to exaggerate Ruth s accomplishments. Baseball dictionaries dryly refer to him As the game s greatest offensive yes and the Pacific Ocean is Anice body of water. Ruth not Only rewrote the record books but the definitions. That common Standard of baseball versatility a player who can run catch throw hit and hit with Power says so much about others but so Little about him. Plenty of players could perform those five feats Willie Mays probably Best of All. But imagine something else. Imagine Roger Clemens right now deciding that he wanted to become the game s leading slugger. And then doing it just like the babe. The mythical baseball Star is a hit Ting and pitching Dynamo. Ruth was the Only one to pull off this double play. If stats impress you take a look at the babe s. Ruth had a 94-46 pitching record and a 2.28 earned run average. Master of the dead Ball he helped Boston win the world series in 1916 and 1918 by run Ning off 29% consecutive scoreless innings. As a full time Pitcher from 1915-17, the left handed Ruth was 65-33 with a2.02 Era. The leading right hander of the time Washington s Walter Johnson was 75-49 with a 1.91 Era. When the Era s leading righty and lefty faced each other the confrontations were their 10-game rivalry Ruth went 6-2, with a 1.44 Era and Johnson was 4-6 with a 1.54 Era. In 1919, the first year he played More than 100 games Ruth led the american league with 29 homers and 114 run batted in hit a nifty .322, and still pitched enough to go 9-5. The Yankees bought Ruth in 1920 and made a full time outfielder of him. The babe was suddenly master of the new Lively Ball. His records lasted Long into this Cen Tury of evanescent achievement. His world series Mark for consecutive scoreless innings was broken by Whitey Ford in 1961. Ruth s 60-Homer \ 927 sea son also stood up until 1961, when Roger Maris playing 161 games to Ruth s 151hit61. The babe s 714 career homers and 2,211 runs batted in were records until Hank Aaron batting 3,965 More times than Ruth broke them in the 1970s.no one is Ever Likely to touch the babe s Home run percentage of 8.5 per 100 times at Bat or his slugging percentage of .690 or his 2,056 walks. But Ruth was More than a mighty stat he was baseball s greatest drawing says so right on his Hall of Fame plaque. This son of a Saloon keeper set attendance records everywhere he played from major league Parks to exhibitions in Tokyo and Lake Wobegon. It was t just his prowess it was his personality. The babe s Aura lights up the Hall of Fame. Here s a picture of him at his induction ceremony timeless his socks fall ing about his feet. Here Are other Pic Tures of him with his favorite people kids and women. Here s a film of Ruth taking a shuffle step before hovering. What an original new York Herald Tribune the babe makes his final appearance in the House that Ruth built in june 1948. When the Boston red sox picked up the 19-year-old Pitcher in 1914, they were dumbfounded by his behaviour. His former teammate Harry Hooper told Lawrence Ritter in the glory of their times that Ruth would Down a dozen hot dogs and As Many bottles of pop belch a few times and Bellow to his teammates of boys let s a Cou ple of hours later he d be hungry again. Admirers gave Ruth a slew of Nick names the Sultan of swat being the most poetic. Most teammates called him judge a corruption of George. Opponents had less complimentary names Monkey the big Monk and Baboon among them. Ruth could respond in kind. He used to Call people kid Doc pop or mom because he could t remember their names but he also invented other mor Akrc Voo taking to of roof f 6am to a mov/16 colourful calling cards. He labelled the in fielder Julian Wera Flop ears and the Pitcher Myles Thomas Duck there was no depression for Ruth who led the Yankees to seven pennants and four world championships. He be came As synonymous with the roaring twenties As Lindbergh Dempsey jazz and Bathtub Gin. Today s stars mostly get Rich the babe enriched baseball. Every ballplayer should get Down on his Knees and than babe Ruth says Pete Rose referring to Ruth s popularity after the Black sox scandal. He saved the a but he did More. In 1969 a panel of sportswriters elected Ruth the greatest figure in american sports history. Boy could we use him today. Jim Kaplan is the editor of baseball research journal and the author of a forthcoming Book on the Hall of Fame ruthian numbers pitching games won 94 games lost 46 winning percentage 671 earned run average 2.28 games started 147 Complete games 107 shutouts 17 batting at bats 8,399 hits 2,873doubles 506 triples 136 Home runs 714 runs batted in 2,211 batting average 342 slugging percentage 690 walks 2,056 strikeouts 1,330
