Editing Babe Ruth (section)

====Batting title and "bellyache" (1924–1925)====
[[File:Babe Ruth Knocked Out (retouched).jpg|thumb|Ruth after losing consciousness from running into the wall at [[Griffith Stadium]] during a game against the [[Washington Senators (1901–60)|Washington Senators]] on July 5, 1924. Ruth insisted on staying in the game despite evident pain and a bruised pelvic bone. He hit a double in his next at-bat. Note the absence of a warning track along the outfield wall.<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=May 16, 2014|title=Babe Ruth Knocked Out|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/17/upshot/babe-ruth-unconscious.html|last=Beschloss|first=Michael|access-date=January 31, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180219105342/https://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/17/upshot/babe-ruth-unconscious.html|archive-date=February 19, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>]]

In 1924, the Yankees were favored to become the first team to win four consecutive pennants. Plagued by injuries, they found themselves in a battle with the Senators. Although the Yankees won 18 of 22 at one point in September, the Senators beat out the Yankees by two games. Ruth hit .378, winning his only AL [[List of Major League Baseball batting champions|batting title]], with a league-leading 46 home runs.<ref>{{harvp|Graham|1943|pp=101–102}}</ref>

Ruth did not look like an athlete; he was described as "toothpicks attached to a piano", with a big upper body but thin wrists and legs.{{r|menand20200525}} Ruth had kept up his efforts to stay in shape in 1923 and 1924, but by early 1925 weighed nearly {{convert|260|lb}}. His annual visit to [[Hot Springs, Arkansas]], where he exercised and took saunas early in the year, did him no good as he spent much of the time carousing in the resort town. He became ill while there, and relapsed during spring training. Ruth collapsed in [[Asheville, North Carolina]], as the team journeyed north. He was put on a train for New York, where he was briefly hospitalized.<ref name="s112">{{harvp|Stout|2002|p=112}}</ref> A rumor circulated that he had died, prompting British newspapers to print [[List of premature obituaries|a premature obituary]].<ref>{{harvp|Montville|2006|p=202}}</ref> In New York, Ruth collapsed again and was found unconscious in his hotel bathroom. He was taken to a hospital where he had multiple convulsions.<ref>{{harvp|Montville|2006|p=203}}</ref> After sportswriter [[W. O. McGeehan]] wrote that Ruth's illness was due to binging on hot dogs and soda pop before a game, it became known as "the bellyache heard 'round the world".<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=233980 |title=Freak sports injuries: Now that's a bad break! |last=McCoppin |first=Robert |date=September 11, 2008 |work=Daily Herald |access-date=August 31, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110609022404/http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=233980 |archive-date=June 9, 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref> However, the exact cause of his ailment has never been confirmed and remains a mystery.<ref>{{harvp|Montville|2006|p=204}}</ref> Glenn Stout, in his history of the Yankees, writes that the Ruth legend is "still one of the most sheltered in sports"; he suggests that alcohol was at the root of Ruth's illness, pointing to the fact that Ruth remained six weeks at [[St. Vincent's Hospital (Manhattan)|St. Vincent's Hospital]] but was allowed to leave, under supervision, for workouts with the team for part of that time. He concludes that the hospitalization was behavior-related.<ref>{{harvp|Stout|2002|pp=112–113}}</ref> Playing just 98 games, Ruth had his worst season as a Yankee; he finished with a .290 average and 25 home runs. The Yankees finished next to last in the AL with a 69–85 record, their last season with a losing record until 1965.<ref>{{harvp|Stout|2002|pp=113, 460–462}}</ref>