Showing posts with label Babe Ruth. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Babe Ruth. Show all posts

Saturday, May 1, 2021

George Herman Ruth: What if Babe Never Stopped Pitching?

Everyone knows George Herman Ruth. The "Bambino," the "Sultan of Swat," the "Babe" is the most famous slugger of all-time. Many baseball fans also know that Ruth was a pitcher for the Boston Red Sox at the beginning of his career. 

Hardly an extra arm, he was one of the best left-handed pitchers in the game before his batting efforts led to a full-time position in the field. So, let's consider what direction Ruth's career might have taken if he had never put his pitching glove away.

Suppose that...the 6-foot-2-inch, 215-pound Ruth was just an adequate hitter. In that scenario, he may very well have remained in the Red Sox's rotation. If he would have been traded to another team, it would have been to join their pitching staff and not to assume a spot in their lineup.

Early in his career, he pitched full-time for three seasons and for parts of three other seasons. Including some other New York Yankees years, where he started an occasional game, his overall record was 94-46. He threw 1,221 1/3 innings, allowed 974 hits, 441 walks, struck out 488 batters and had a 2.28 ERA.

Ruth's two best seasons were 1916, when he went 23-12 with a 1.75 ERA, and 1917, when he went 24-13 with a 2.01 ERA. He pitched over 300 innings in both of those years.
People can reference the "Dead Ball Era" all they want. Few were capable of doing what he did on the mound. There were better pitchers than Ruth. But many men who threw in his era weren't nearly as good as he was.
Hypothetically speaking....Ruth's career numbers project to an average record of approximately 20-10 over a 154-game season.
Ruth played from 1914 through 1935. So, over the course of 22 seasons would he have won over 400 games? Maybe not. But he seems likely to have won between 300-350 games. Those numbers would have gotten him into the Hall of Fame.
Would Ruth have been traded to the Yankees if he was a pitcher? Would that franchise have become a dynasty if he continued to dominate from the mound, rather than transform into a legendary home run hitter? Great questions that also can never be answered, but are challenging to at least consider.
Ruth's pitching numbers serve as further supporting evidence that he was clearly one of, if not the greatest ballplayers to have ever lived.
(I hold all copyrights to this article which originally appeared on Yahoo's platform in 2011.)

Let's connect on Twitter @SeanyOB 

Tuesday, June 2, 2020

What If Babe Ruth Never Stopped Pitching?

Everyone knows George Herman Ruth. The "Bambino," the "Sultan of Swat," the "Babe" is the most famous slugger of all-time. Many baseball fans also know that Ruth was a pitcher for the Boston Red Sox at the beginning of his career. Hardly an extra arm, he was one of the best left-handed pitchers in the game before his batting efforts led to a full-time position in the field. So, let's consider what direction Ruth's career might have taken if he had never put his pitching glove away.

Suppose that...the 6-foot-2-inch, 215-pound Ruth was just an adequate hitter. In that scenario, he may very well have remained in the Red Sox's rotation. If he would have been traded to another team, it would have been to join their pitching staff and not to assume a spot in their lineup.

Early in his career, he pitched full-time for three seasons and for parts of three other seasons. Including some other New York Yankees years, where he started an occasional game, his overall record was 94-46. He threw 1,221 1/3 innings, allowed 974 hits, 441 walks, struck out 488 batters and had a 2.28 ERA.

His two best seasons were 1916, when he went 23-12 with a 1.75 ERA, and 1917, when he went 24-13 with a 2.01 ERA. He pitched over 300 innings in both of those years.

People can reference the "Dead Ball Era" all they want. Few were capable of doing what he did on the mound. There were better pitchers than Ruth. But many men who threw in his era weren't nearly as good as he was.

Hypothetically speaking....Ruth's career numbers project to an average record of approximately 20-10 over a 154-game season.

Ruth played from 1914 through 1935. So, over the course of 22 seasons would he have won over 400 games? Maybe not. But he seems likely to have won between 300-350 games. Those numbers would have gotten him into the Hall of Fame.

Would Ruth have been traded to the Yankees if he was a pitcher? Would that franchise have become a dynasty if he continued to dominate from the mound, rather than transform into a legendary home run hitter? Great questions that also can never be answered, but are challenging to at least consider.

Ruth's pitching numbers serve as further supporting evidence that he was clearly one of, if not, the greatest ballplayers to have ever lived.

(I hold all copyrights to this article which originally appeared on Yahoo's platform in 2011.)

Let's connect on Twitter @SeanyOB

Thursday, March 26, 2015

Baseball: 5 amazing single-season records that will never be broken


As with all older records, we need to refrain from jawboning about how times were different and the rules weren't the same. All players in the eras to be mentioned lived in the same baseball atmospheres, regardless of what leagues they played in, but only the men noted below accomplished what they did. That accurate preview will satisfy all rational minds.
Of course there are many records that are likely to never be broken. But, the pitcher is on the mound, a runner is on base and the batter is at the plate. So, let's look at these five amazing records:
Amazing record #5: Runs scored
The Philadelphia Phillies once had a player score almost 200 runs in a season. Doing so certainly helped Hall of Fame outfielder Billy Hamilton to earn the nickname 'Sliding Billy'.
During the 1894 season Hamilton scored 198 runs in 132 games.
The next closest player to him on the all-time list is Boston Reds outfielder Tom Brown, who scored 177 runs in 1891. In 1931, New York Yankee Hall of Famer Babe Ruth scored the same amount, which tied with Brown for second place.
Amazing record #4: Most pitching wins in one season
In 1884, Providence Grays Hall of Fame pitcher Charles 'Old Hoss' Radbourn went 59-12. He did that over the course of 678 2/3 innings.
We also must add that in the prior season, he went 48-25, which meant that Radbourn won 107 games in two seasons.
Amazing record #3: Errors committed
In 1892, Boston Beaneaters 'fielder' Herman Long committed 99 errors at shortstop and 3 errors in the outfield during the course of 151 games.
He returned in 1893 to commit another 98 errors at shortstop and 2 errors at second base.
Amazing record #2: Complete games
Cincinnati Reds right-handed pitcher Will White started and completed 75 games in 1879.
He threw 680 innings that season, had a record of 43-31 and posted a 1.99 ERA.
White completed more than 50 games in four other seasons and more than 60 in one other season.
Amazing record #1: Batting average
In 1894 Boston Beaneaters Hall of Fame outfielder Hugh Duffy had a .440 batting average.

In 125 games 'Sir Hugh' had 237 hits in 539 at bats. Duffy's .363 average in the prior season was the closest that he ever came to that unbelievable mark during his 17-year career.

(I hold all copyrights to this article which originally appeared on Yahoo's platform in 2011. Photo via totalsportscomplex.)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Let's connect on Twitter @SeanyOBthrough Facebook, or on LinkedIn.

Friday, February 6, 2015

What If Babe Ruth Never Stopped Pitching?


Everyone knows George Herman Ruth. The "Bambino," the "Sultan of Swat," the "Babe" is the most famous slugger of all-time. Many baseball fans also know that Ruth was a pitcher for the Boston Red Sox at the beginning of his career. Hardly an extra arm, he was one of the best left-handed pitchers in the game before his batting efforts led to a full-time position in the field. So, let's consider what direction Ruth's career might have taken if he had never put his pitching glove away.


Suppose that...the 6-foot-2-inch, 215-pound Ruth was just an adequate hitter. In that scenario, he may very well have remained in the Red Sox's rotation. If he would have been traded to another team, it would have been to join their pitching staff and not to assume a spot in their lineup.

Early in his career, he pitched full-time for three seasons and for parts of three other seasons. Including some other New York Yankees years, where he started an occasional game, his overall record was 94-46. He threw 1,221 1/3 innings, allowed 974 hits, 441 walks, struck out 488 batters and had a 2.28 ERA.

His two best seasons were 1916, when he went 23-12 with a 1.75 ERA, and 1917, when he went 24-13 with a 2.01 ERA. He pitched over 300 innings in both of those years.

People can reference the "Dead Ball Era" all they want. Few were capable of doing what he did on the mound. There were better pitchers than Ruth. But many men who threw in his era weren't nearly as good as he was.


Hypothetically speaking....Ruth's career numbers project to an average record of approximately 20-10 over a 154-game season.

Ruth played from 1914 through 1935. So, over the course of 22 seasons would he have won over 400 games? Maybe not. But he seems likely to have won between 300-350 games. Those numbers would have gotten him into the Hall of Fame.

Would Ruth have been traded to the Yankees if he was a pitcher? Would that franchise have become a dynasty if he continued to dominate from the mound, rather than transform into a legendary home run hitter? Great questions that also can never be answered, but are challenging to at least consider.

Ruth's pitching numbers serve as further supporting evidence that he was clearly one of, if not, the greatest ballplayers to have ever lived.

(I hold all copyrights to this article which originally appeared on Yahoo's platform in 2011.)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Let's connect on Twitter @SeanyOB, or through Facebook.

Blog Archive

Labels