Babe Ruth
As with most players, 1918 was an eventful year for Babe Ruth. He was 24 years old, still immature on the field and wild off it. Of course, Ruth would go on to have the greatest career in the history of baseball, revolutionizing the game with his slugging ability. But entering the ’18 season, Ruth was a star lefthanded pitcher, not a hitter. More than any other season, it was 1918 that changed the course of Ruth’s career from pitcher to slugger, and changed the course of baseball with it.
Ruth had been used some as a pinch-hitter prior to 1918, and had slugged nine home runs in the previous three seasons, an impressive number for a guy who spent such limited time at bat. But he was a wonder on the mound, amassing a record of 67-34 in his first four big-league seasons, leading the American League with a 1.75 ERA in 1916 and finishing seventh in ERA (2.01) in 1917. He was one of the game’s top young fireballers.
A few things happened during 1918’s spring training, though, that began to alter Ruth’s outlook.
--- With America’s entry into the World War, all major-league teams were under strict rail restrictions, limiting the number of players they could take on their spring trips.
Babe Ruth as a Red Sox in 1919. (Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress.) That left managers with few players available for daily workouts and scrimmages, and more players had to dabble at different positions.
--- Inexperienced manager Ed Barrow dumped coach John Evers after Evers proved too grating for the players. Without a player-coach to lean on, Barrow turned increasingly to Red Sox star Harry Hooper for advice. Hooper, for one, was always impressed with the way Ruth swung the bat and pressed Barrow to use him in the field.
--- First baseman Dick Hoblitzell, a dentist by trade, passed an examination for acceptance into the army’s Dental Corps in March. Hobby, the team’s captain and cleanup man, knew he would be inducted into the army at any time, and had trouble focusing on baseball. He hit just .159 in 25 games before he left for the army.
--- Ruth clobbered the ball that spring. Forced by the lack of available personnel to take a lot of playing time in the outfield, Ruth received far more at-bats than most pitchers normally would. In the team’s 14 exhibition games against Brooklyn, Ruth hit .429 with four homers in 21 at-bats. That success gave Ruth a taste for hitting.
Ruth was on the mound and batting ninth on May 5 when he hit his first home run of the season. The next day, Hoblitzell sat out with a swollen thumb, forcing Barrow to start Ruth. On May 6, for the first time in his career, Ruth started a game at a position other than pitcher. He batted sixth and hit another home run. Ruth was the cleanup man the next day, and hit another home run. In one game on May 10, Ruth tallied five hits, including a triple and three doubles. He was hitting a league-best .407 by May 20, playing first base and taking his turn in the rotation.
Ruth tired of pitching and wanted to keep his focus on hitting. He found reasons to skip out on starts, earning the annoyance of Barrow. By early July, Barrow and Ruth were at loggerheads, and when Ruth failed to obey a take sign and struck out in a game at Washington, Barrow went after him. The two nearly came to blows. Ruth bolted the team and went back to Baltimore and the Red Sox left for Philadelphia without him. Only through the intervention of Hooper, coach Heinie Wagner and other teammates did Ruth return to the team. And it helped that owner Harry Frazee sat down with both Ruth and Barrow, and worked out an agreement, including a bonus for Ruth as a reward for him pulling double duty.
Ruth struggled at bat in the last part of the season, but he did finish at .300 and knocked 11 home runs to lead the league. He was 13-7 on the mound, with a 2.22 ERA, and was chosen by Barrow to start Game 1 of the World Series. He pitched that game and Game 4, winning both, but because of the Cubs’ strategy to start all left-handed pitchers, Ruth did not come to bat in the other four games.
Ruth’s transition from pitcher to outfielder continued for the Red Sox in 1919, as he made just 15 starts and set a record with 29 home runs, 19 more than the second-place finisher. He was sold to the Yankees in 1920 and, well, the rest is history.
