Is He Still The Greatest Of All Time?

In 1895 a star was born. A star that had a talent that surpassed all others. An unlikely hero became a legend told for many generations. He was a troublemaking kid who had an outrageous appetite, but an even bigger ability to play a game at a higher level then ever witnessed. George Ruth Jr. was his name and that named will live forever in baseball history.

So why have I introduced the most famous name in baseball? Not only have I mocked some people’s intelligence, but I may have dumbfounded a few. Except for, of course, Scotty Smalls in the movie The Sandlot, George Herman Ruth also known as “The Babe” has a name recognized by everyone in the world. We all know about his glorious home run prowess and his short-lived ability to pitch a good game. He is truly a legend whose list of records are getting smaller every year, but still can command the title of the greatest baseball player that ever lived.



Many will argue that point, as I would do the same in some cases. But the man is the face of baseball. As Michael Jordan has become the face of basketball and Wayne Gretzky is the face of hockey, the same can be said of The Babe.

So, where am I going with this? What I would like to do is examine what kind of a man Ruth was and why he was as dominate at the plate as he was. And I would also like to face the challenge of connecting him with the stars of today and align their talents with his to measure his greatness to those who can be compared to him or perhaps argue that they are even better than he was.

Many people know of Ruth’s love for eating and drinking. His escapades followed him throughout his career and live on as legendary as are his performances on the field. The man’s appetite was large and thus his body frame was that of a man who consumed a great amount. He was big, very big. So big in fact that he loved to play the game big. Here is a quote from him talking about his approach to hitting home runs and the connection of his living big and hitting big.

No question, he was a legend before he ever finished playing the game. But the questions still float around the world every single day. Is Jim Thome comparable to The Babe? Is David Ortiz the new Babe Ruth? Cecil Fielder, Prince Fielder, and even Dmitri Young have been mentioned in strange and somewhat clueless circles. What makes these guys comparable is their large frames and their ability to use those big bodies to hit the ball hard.

So why isn’t this comparison made on a larger scale than just sitting around with your pals popping off at the mouth about your contention as to who is or was the greatest player of all time? Babe Ruth was a great ambassador for the game in his own rights. It was he who said;

Though far less talked about, but no less a matter of fact, Babe Ruth was also a legend on the mound. We cannot forget that he still holds the record for the longest scoreless inning gem in World Series history. Babe Ruth threw 13 innings without giving up a single run in Game 4 of the 1916 Series. For 43 years, He held the record for having 29.2 scoreless innings in his World Series career. Babe Ruth was an amazing pitcher, but his bat took him off the mound and made him an outfielder. He was an ace, but needed at the plate far more than needed on the mound. Could David Ortiz put that decision in Theo Epstein and Tony Francona’s mind when he went to Boston? Absolutely not, he is a hitter and that is all. Flip the script a moment and imagine if Roger Clemens were a power hitter. Do we think the Red Sox would have made him an outfielder because of his bat? Imagine if they did? Furthermore, imagine if the Red Sox never made Ruth an everyday outfielder that season in 1919. Would he be as remembered as he is today? Would he still be the face of baseball?

Even though we know that a staff ace will not likely turn into a prolific home run hitter any time soon, what is it that tells us Babe Ruth has not been outdone? His records are getting beat. There are many players today who are just as large as he was and swing even larger. Not only do we have fat bodies, but the steroid era has come into play as well. The guys who play professional baseball are much larger than they were before. It is like comparing Wilt Chamberlain’s dominance to what his performance would be now. He towered all other players on the court, and therefore destroyed his opposition. Was Babe Ruth before his time in that his body was larger than most? Are those players who are as big as he was hitting the ball equally as hard?

The debate is yours. But it is a fine discussion to finally be able to admit that there are some who can flirt with giving our generation a glimpse of how Babe Ruth played the game.

Pictures and quotes made available by: Welcome to BabeRuth.com