A Year of Blogging: April 27, 2011

When I looked at the possibilities for today's blog, it was crystal clear which day I would write about. April 27 is Babe Ruth Day. You can't be a Yankee fan without knowing about Babe Ruth, so of course, I must write about it. For those who may not know, Babe Ruth is one of the greatest baseball players ever. He started his baseball career as a pitcher, but he is known as a tremendous hitter. In 1919, while playing for Boston, he was moved to the outfield and hit 29 home runs that year, a Major League record. Boston won two World Series titles with the Babe. In 1920, he was sold to the Yankees for $125,000. That sum was more than double what any team had paid for any player prior to that. I guess it also started the Yankees' legacy of paying a lot for players. Whether or not this was a good decision depends on if you are a Red Sox fan or a Yankees fan. From 1903 to 1919, the Red Sox had won 5 World Series, while the Yankees hadn't even been in one. The Red Sox did not win their 6th World Series until 2004. The Yankees have won 27 championships since 1923. It was certainly a reversal of fortunes for both teams. In 1923, the original Yankee Stadium opened in the South Bronx. It was the first triple decker stadium in baseball. It quickly became known as 'The House That Ruth Built', because he hit a lot of home runs out of that ballpark. The stadium was actually built to accommodate Ruth, who hit left-handed. Balls went to the right with a left-handed hitter, so the stadium was built with a short porch: ie: the wall on the right side was a much shorter distance than it was in left field or center field. The idea was to reward Ruth, who drew the fans, and the fans, who came to see Ruth, with a lot of home runs from the Babe. April 27, 1947 was declared Babe Ruth day, and he was honored by all baseball organizations throughout the country. No doubt the biggest celebration was in the Bronx. It was one of the last times he was at Yankee Stadium. He was battling throat cancer and succumbed the following year. His fabled number 3 was retired on June 13, 1948- the Babe's last appearance at Yankee Stadium. I think the best way to celebrate this day is to sit back and watch a Yankees game. They face the Chicago White Sox at 7:05pm tonight.