Editing Babe Ruth (section)

===Boston Red Sox (1914–1919)===
====Developing star====
[[File:Babe Ruth Boston pitching.jpg|thumb|left|Ruth pitching for the [[Boston Red Sox]]]]
On July 11, 1914, Ruth arrived in Boston with Egan and Shore. Ruth later told the story of how that morning he had met [[Helen Woodford Ruth|Helen Woodford]], who would become his first wife. She was a 16-year-old waitress at Landers Coffee Shop, and Ruth related that she served him when he had breakfast there. Other stories, though, suggested that the meeting occurred on another day, and perhaps under other circumstances. Regardless of when he began to court his first wife, he won his first game as a pitcher for the Red Sox that afternoon, 4–3, over the [[Cleveland Naps]]. His catcher was [[Bill Carrigan]], who was also the Red Sox manager. Shore was given a [[Starting pitcher|start]] by Carrigan the next day; he won that and his second start and thereafter was pitched regularly. Ruth lost his second start, and was thereafter little used.<ref name="debut" /> In his major league debut as a batter, Ruth went 0-for-2 against left-hander [[Willie Mitchell (baseball)|Willie Mitchell]], [[Strikeout|striking out]] in his first [[at bat]] before being removed for a [[pinch hitter]] in the seventh inning.<ref>{{harvp|Creamer|1992|p=87}}</ref> Ruth was not much noticed by the fans, as Bostonians watched the Red Sox's crosstown rivals, the [[Boston Braves|Braves]], begin [[1914 Boston Braves season|a legendary comeback]] that would take them from last place on the [[Fourth of July]] to the [[1914 World Series]] championship.<ref name="debut">{{harvp|Montville|2006|pp=41–44}}</ref>

Egan was traded to Cleveland after two weeks on the Boston roster. During his time with the Red Sox, he kept an eye on the inexperienced Ruth, much as Dunn had in Baltimore. When he was traded, no one took his place as supervisor. Ruth's new teammates considered him brash and would have preferred him as a rookie to remain quiet and inconspicuous. When Ruth insisted on taking batting practice despite being both a rookie who did not play regularly and a pitcher, he arrived to find his bats sawed in half. His teammates nicknamed him "the Big Baboon", a name the swarthy Ruth, who had disliked the nickname "Niggerlips" at St. Mary's, detested.<ref>{{harvp|Montville|2006|pp=43–44}}</ref> Ruth had received a raise on promotion to the major leagues and quickly acquired tastes for fine food, liquor, and women, among other temptations.<ref>{{harvp|Wagenheim|1974|pp=27–29}}</ref><ref>{{harvp|Creamer|1992|pp=52–55}}</ref>

Manager Carrigan allowed Ruth to pitch two [[exhibition game]]s in mid-August. Although Ruth won both against minor-league competition, he was not restored to the pitching rotation. It is uncertain why Carrigan did not give Ruth additional opportunities to pitch. There are legends—filmed for the screen in ''[[The Babe Ruth Story]]'' (1948)—that the young pitcher had a habit of signaling his intent to throw a [[curveball]] by sticking out his tongue slightly, and that he was easy to hit until this changed. Creamer pointed out that it is common for inexperienced pitchers to display such habits, and the need to break Ruth of his would not constitute a reason to not use him at all. The biographer suggested that Carrigan was unwilling to use Ruth because of the rookie's poor behavior.<ref>{{harvp|Creamer|1992|pp=89–90}}</ref>

[[File:1914 Providence Grays with Babe Ruth.jpg|thumb|right|[[Providence Grays (minor league)|Providence Grays]] team photo with Babe Ruth (top row, center), 1914]]
On July 30, 1914, Boston owner [[Joseph Lannin]] had purchased the minor-league [[Providence Grays (minor league)|Providence Grays]], members of the International League.<ref>{{harvp|Montville|2006|p=44}}</ref> The Providence team had been owned by several people associated with the [[Detroit Tigers]], including star hitter [[Ty Cobb]], and as part of the transaction, a Providence pitcher was sent to the Tigers. To soothe Providence fans upset at losing a star, Lannin announced that the Red Sox would soon send a replacement to the Grays. This was intended to be Ruth, but his departure for Providence was delayed when Cincinnati Reds owner [[Garry Herrmann]] claimed him by [[Waivers (baseball)|waiver]]. After Lannin wrote to Herrmann explaining that the Red Sox wanted Ruth in Providence so he could develop as a player, and would not release him to a major league club, Herrmann allowed Ruth to be sent to the minors. Carrigan later stated that Ruth was not sent down to Providence to make him a better player, but to help the Grays win the International League [[pennant (sports)|pennant]] (league championship).<ref>{{harvp|Creamer|1992|pp=92–93}}</ref>

Ruth joined the Grays on August 18, 1914. After Dunn's deals, the Baltimore Orioles managed to hold on to first place until August 15, after which they continued to fade, leaving the pennant race between Providence and [[Rochester Red Wings|Rochester]]. Ruth was deeply impressed by Providence manager [[Bill Donovan|"Wild Bill" Donovan]], previously a star pitcher with a 25–4 [[Win–loss record (pitching)|win–loss record]] for Detroit in 1907; in later years, he credited Donovan with teaching him much about pitching. Ruth was often called upon to pitch, in one stretch starting (and winning) four games in eight days. On September 5 at [[Maple Leaf Park]] in Toronto, Ruth pitched a one-hit 9–0 victory, and hit his first professional home run, his only one as a minor leaguer, off [[Ellis Johnson (baseball)|Ellis Johnson]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://m.mlb.com/news/article/83873114/ten-facts-for-100th-anniversary-of-babe-ruths-debut/|title=Ten facts for 100th anniversary of the Babe's debut|last=Castrovince|first=Anthony|work=MLB.com|date=July 10, 2014|access-date=January 7, 2017|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170109021513/http://m.mlb.com/news/article/83873114/ten-facts-for-100th-anniversary-of-babe-ruths-debut/|archive-date=January 9, 2017}}</ref> Recalled to Boston after Providence finished the season in first place, he pitched and won a game for the Red Sox against the [[New York Yankees]] on October 2, getting his first major league hit, a [[double (baseball)|double]]. Ruth finished the season with a record of 2–1 as a major leaguer and 23–8 in the International League (for Baltimore and Providence). Once the season concluded, Ruth married Helen in [[Ellicott City, Maryland]]. Creamer speculated that they did not marry in Baltimore, where the newlyweds boarded with George Ruth Sr., to avoid possible interference from those at St. Mary's—both bride and groom were not yet of age<ref name="99facts" /><ref>{{harvp|Creamer|1992|pp=99–100}}</ref> and Ruth remained on parole from that institution until his 21st birthday.<ref>{{harvp|Creamer|1992|p=103}}</ref>

In March 1915, Ruth reported to [[Hot Springs, Arkansas]], for his first major league [[spring training]]. Despite a relatively successful first season, he was not slated to start regularly for the Red Sox, who already had two "superb" left-handed pitchers, according to Creamer: the established stars [[Dutch Leonard (left-handed pitcher)|Dutch Leonard]], who had broken the record for the lowest [[earned run average]] (ERA) in a single season; and [[Ray Collins (baseball)|Ray Collins]], a 20-game winner in both 1913 and 1914.{{sfnp|Creamer|1992|p=104}} Ruth was ineffective in his first start, taking the loss in the third game of the season. Injuries and ineffective pitching by other Boston pitchers gave Ruth another chance, and after some good [[relief pitcher|relief]] appearances, Carrigan allowed Ruth another start, and he won a rain-shortened seven inning game. Ten days later, the manager had him start against the New York Yankees at the [[Polo Grounds]]. Ruth took a 3–2 lead into the ninth, but lost the game 4–3 in 13 innings. Ruth, hitting ninth as was customary for pitchers, hit a massive home run into the upper deck in [[right fielder|right field]] off of [[Jack Warhop]]. At the time, home runs were rare in baseball, and Ruth's majestic shot awed the crowd. The winning pitcher, Warhop, would in August 1915 conclude a major league career of eight seasons, undistinguished but for being the first major league pitcher to give up a home run to Babe Ruth.<ref>{{harvp|Creamer|1992|p=106}}</ref>

[[File:Babe Ruth by Conlon, 1916.jpeg|thumb|left|Ruth during batting practice with the [[Boston Red Sox]] in 1916]]
Carrigan was sufficiently impressed by Ruth's pitching to give him a spot in the starting rotation. Ruth finished the 1915 season 18–8 as a pitcher; as a hitter, he batted .315 and had four home runs. The Red Sox won the [[List of American League pennant winners|AL pennant]], but with the pitching staff healthy, Ruth was not called upon to pitch in the [[1915 World Series]] against the [[Philadelphia Phillies]]. Boston won in five games. Ruth was used as a pinch hitter in Game Five, but [[Ground out (baseball)|grounded out]] against Phillies ace [[Grover Cleveland Alexander]].<ref>{{harvp|Montville|2006|pp=50–52}}</ref> Despite his success as a pitcher, Ruth was acquiring a reputation for long home runs; at [[Sportsman's Park]] against the [[St. Louis Browns]], a Ruth hit soared over Grand Avenue, breaking the window of a [[Chevrolet]] dealership.<ref>{{harvp|Wagenheim|1974|pp=33}}</ref>

In 1916, attention focused on Ruth's pitching as he engaged in repeated pitching duels with Washington Senators' ace [[Walter Johnson]]. The two met five times during the season with Ruth winning four and Johnson one (Ruth had a [[Win–loss record (pitching)|no decision]] in Johnson's victory). Two of Ruth's victories were by the score of 1–0, one in a 13-inning game. Of the 1–0 [[Shutouts in baseball|shutout]] decided without extra innings, AL president [[Ban Johnson]] stated, "That was one of the best ball games I have ever seen."<ref>{{harvp|Montville|2006|pp=56–57}}</ref> For the season, Ruth went 23–12, with a 1.75 ERA and nine shutouts, both of which led the league.<ref>{{harvp|Montville|2006|pp=55}}</ref> Ruth's nine shutouts in 1916 set a league record for left-handers that would remain unmatched until [[Ron Guidry]] tied it in 1978.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Schlueter |first=Roger |date=February 23, 2012 |title=Verlander's 2011 was epic |url=http://mlb.mlb.com/news/print.jsp?ymd=20120223&content_id=26813526&vkey=news_mlb&c_id=mlb |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304040445/http://mlb.mlb.com/news/print.jsp?ymd=20120223&content_id=26813526&vkey=news_mlb&c_id=mlb |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |access-date=January 20, 2014 |website=MLB.com}}</ref> The Red Sox won the pennant and [[1916 World Series|World Series]] again, this time defeating the [[Brooklyn Dodgers|Brooklyn Robins]] (as the Dodgers were then known) in five games. Ruth started and won Game 2, 2–1, in 14 innings. Until another game of that length was played in 2005, this was the longest World Series game,{{efn|An 18-inning World Series game, also between the Red Sox and Dodgers, was played in 2018.}} and Ruth's pitching performance is still the longest postseason [[complete game]] victory.<ref name="99facts">{{cite magazine|last=Corcoran|first=Cliff|url=http://mlb.si.com/2013/07/11/99-cool-facts-about-babe-ruth/|date=July 11, 2013|access-date=January 20, 2014|title=99 cool facts about Babe Ruth|magazine=[[Sports Illustrated]]|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140208062047/http://mlb.si.com/2013/07/11/99-cool-facts-about-babe-ruth/|archive-date=February 8, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Berg |first=Ted |date=October 12, 2013 |title=12 longest games in MLB postseason history |url=http://ftw.usatoday.com/2013/10/12-longest-games-in-mlb-postseason-history/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140202121315/http://ftw.usatoday.com/2013/10/12-longest-games-in-mlb-postseason-history/ |archive-date=February 2, 2014 |access-date=January 20, 2014 |work=[[USA Today]]}}</ref><ref>{{harvp|Wagenheim|1974|p=38}}</ref>

Carrigan retired as player and manager after 1916, returning to his native Maine to be a businessman. Ruth, who played under four managers who are in the [[National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum|National Baseball Hall of Fame]], always maintained that Carrigan, who is not enshrined there, was the best skipper he ever played for.<ref>{{harvp|Creamer|1992|pp=33, 85}}</ref> There were other changes in the Red Sox organization that offseason, as Lannin sold the team to a three-man group headed by New York theatrical promoter [[Harry Frazee]].<ref>{{harvp|Creamer|1992|p=133}}</ref> [[Jack Barry (baseball)|Jack Barry]] was hired by Frazee as manager.<ref>{{harvp|Creamer|1992|p=134}}</ref>

====Emergence as a hitter====
Ruth pitched a league-leading 35 complete games and went 24–13 with a 2.01 ERA and six shutouts in 1917, but the Sox finished in second place in the league, nine [[games behind]] the [[Chicago White Sox]] in the standings.<ref>{{Cite news |title=12 things you probably don’t know about Babe Ruth |url=https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Sports/2014/0721/12-things-you-probably-don-t-know-about-Babe-Ruth/Hurler-heroics |access-date=2025-04-19 |work=Christian Science Monitor |issn=0882-7729}}</ref> On June 23 at Washington, when home plate umpire '[[Brick Owens|Brick' Owens]] called the first four pitches as balls, Ruth was ejected from the game and threw a punch at him, and was later suspended for ten days and fined $100. Ernie Shore was called in to relieve Ruth, and was allowed eight warm-up pitches. The runner who had reached base on the [[base on balls|walk]] was [[caught stealing]], and Shore retired all 26 batters he faced to win the game. Shore's feat was listed as a [[Perfect game (baseball)|perfect game]] for many years.<ref>{{harvp|Creamer|1992|pp=138–140}}</ref> In 1991, [[Major League Baseball]]'s (MLB) Committee on Statistical Accuracy amended it to be listed as a combined [[no-hitter]].<ref>{{harvp|Montville|2006|p=59}}</ref> In 1917, Ruth was used little as a batter, other than for his [[plate appearance]]s while pitching, and hit .325 with two home runs.<ref name="stats">{{harvp|Wagenheim|1974|pp=273–274}}<!-- note: This is Ruth's year-by-year career statistics, batting on page 273, pitching on page 274 --></ref>

[[File:Babe Ruth Red Sox 1918.jpg|thumb|right|Ruth in 1918, his penultimate year with the Red Sox]]
The United States' entry into [[World War I]] occurred at the start of the season and overshadowed baseball. Conscription was introduced in September 1917, and most baseball players in the big leagues were of draft age. This included Barry, who was a player-manager, and who joined the [[United States Naval Reserve|Naval Reserve]] in an attempt to avoid the draft, only to be called up after the 1917 season. Frazee hired International League President [[Ed Barrow]] as Red Sox manager. Barrow had spent the previous 30 years in a variety of baseball jobs, though he never played the game professionally. With the major leagues shorthanded because of the war, Barrow had many holes in the Red Sox lineup to fill.<ref name="m67plus" />

Ruth also noticed these vacancies in the lineup. He was dissatisfied in the role of a pitcher who appeared every four or five days and wanted to play every day at another position. Barrow used Ruth at [[first baseman|first base]] and in the [[outfield]] during the exhibition season, but he restricted him to pitching as the team moved toward Boston and the season opener. At the time, Ruth was possibly the best left-handed pitcher in baseball, and allowing him to play another position was an experiment that could have backfired.<ref name="m67plus" />

Inexperienced as a manager, Barrow had player [[Harry Hooper]] advise him on baseball game strategy. Hooper urged his manager to allow Ruth to play another position when he was not pitching,<ref name="m67plus" /> arguing to Barrow, who had invested in the club, that the crowds were larger on days when Ruth played, as they were attracted by his hitting.<ref name="c153">{{harvp|Creamer|1992|p=153}}</ref> In early May, Barrow gave in; Ruth promptly hit home runs in four consecutive games (one an exhibition), the last off of Walter Johnson.<ref name="m67plus">{{harvp|Montville|2006|pp=67–69}}</ref> For the first time in his career (disregarding pinch-hitting appearances), Ruth was assigned a place in the [[Batting order (baseball)|batting order]] higher than ninth.<ref name="c153" />

Although Barrow predicted that Ruth would beg to return to pitching the first time he experienced a batting slump, that did not occur. Barrow used Ruth primarily as an outfielder in the war-shortened 1918 season. Ruth hit .300, with 11 home runs, enough to secure him a share of the [[List of Major League Baseball annual home run leaders|major league home run title]] with [[Tilly Walker]] of the Philadelphia Athletics. He was still occasionally used as a pitcher, and had a 13–7 record with a 2.22 ERA.<ref name="stats" /><ref>{{harvp|Wagenheim|1974|p=42}}</ref><ref>{{harvp|Creamer|1992|pp=153–170}}</ref> On July 8, in a scoreless game, with a runner on first base Ruth hit a ball out of the ballpark to drive in the game-winning run; this was recorded as a triple, since the rules at that time considered the game over once the winning run scored. In 1968 the Special Baseball Records Committee unanimously ruled this, along with 36 other hits, a home run, but in part due to the perceived importance of preserving Ruth's home run total at 714, in 1969 the committee reversed this decision.<ref>{{Cite web |last=admin |title=1918 Was Short Home Run Year – Society for American Baseball Research |url=https://sabr.org/journal/article/1918-was-short-home-run-year/#:~:text=On%2520July%25208%252C%2520Ruth%2520broke,which%2520was%2520the%2520prevailing%2520regulation. |access-date=2025-01-15 |language=en-US}}</ref>

In 1918, the Red Sox won their third pennant in four years and faced the [[Chicago Cubs]] in the [[1918 World Series|World Series]], which began on September 5, the earliest date in history. The season had been shortened because the government had ruled that baseball players who were eligible for the military would have to be inducted or work in critical war industries, such as armaments plants. Ruth pitched and won Game One for the Red Sox, a 1–0 shutout. Before Game Four, Ruth injured his left hand in a fight but pitched anyway. He gave up seven hits and six walks, but was helped by outstanding fielding behind him and by his own batting efforts, as a fourth-inning triple by Ruth gave his team a 2–0 lead. The Cubs tied the game in the eighth inning, but the Red Sox scored to take a 3–2 lead again in the bottom of that inning. After Ruth gave up a hit and a walk to start the ninth inning, he was relieved on the mound by [[Bullet Joe Bush|Joe Bush]]. To keep Ruth and his bat in the game, he was sent to play left field. Bush retired the side to give Ruth his second win of the Series, and the third and last World Series pitching victory of his career, against no defeats, in three pitching appearances. Ruth's effort gave his team a three-games-to-one lead, and two days later the Red Sox won their third Series in four years, four-games-to-two. Before allowing the Cubs to score in Game Four, Ruth pitched {{frac|29|2|3}} [[Scoreless innings streak#Postseason|consecutive scoreless innings]], a record for the World Series that stood for more than 40 years until 1961, broken by [[Whitey Ford]]. Ruth was prouder of that record than he was of any of his batting feats.<ref name="stats" /><ref>{{harvp|Creamer|1992|pp=170–181}}</ref>

[[File:Babe Ruth by Bain, 1919.jpg|thumb|left|Ruth in 1919]]
With the World Series over, Ruth gained exemption from the war draft by accepting a nominal position with a Pennsylvania steel mill. Many industrial establishments took pride in their baseball teams and sought to hire major leaguers. The end of the war in November set Ruth free to play baseball without such contrivances.<ref>{{harvp|Montville|2006|pp=78–80}}</ref>

During the 1919 season, Ruth was used as a pitcher in only 17 of his 130 games<ref name="stats" /> and compiled a 9–5 record. Barrow used him as a pitcher mostly in the early part of the season, when the Red Sox manager still had hopes of a second consecutive pennant. By late June, the Red Sox were clearly out of the race, and Barrow had no objection to Ruth concentrating on his hitting, if only because it drew people to the ballpark. Ruth had hit a home run against the Yankees on Opening Day, and another during a month-long batting slump that soon followed. Relieved of his pitching duties, Ruth began an unprecedented spell of slugging home runs, which gave him widespread public and press attention. Even his failures were seen as majestic—one sportswriter said, "When Ruth misses a swipe at the ball, the stands quiver."<ref>{{harvp|Creamer|1992|pp=196–197}}</ref>

Two home runs by Ruth on July 5, and one in each of two consecutive games a week later, raised his season total to 11, tying his career best from 1918. The first record to fall was the AL single-season mark of 16, set by [[Socks Seybold|Ralph "Socks" Seybold]] in 1902. Ruth matched that on July 29, then pulled ahead toward the [[List of Major League Baseball progressive single-season home run leaders|major league record]] of 25, set by [[Buck Freeman]] in 1899. By the time Ruth reached this in early September, writers had discovered that [[Ned Williamson]] of the 1884 [[Chicago White Stockings (1870–89)|Chicago White Stockings]] had hit 27—though in a ballpark where the distance to right field was only {{convert|215|ft}}. On September 20, "Babe Ruth Day" at Fenway Park, Ruth won the game with a home run in the bottom of the ninth inning, tying Williamson. He broke the record four days later against the Yankees at the Polo Grounds, and hit one more against the Senators to finish with 29. The home run at Washington made Ruth the first major league player to hit a home run at all eight ballparks in his league. In spite of Ruth's hitting heroics, the Red Sox finished sixth, {{frac|20|1|2}} games behind the league champion White Sox.{{efn|The American League had eight teams from 1901 to 1960.}}<ref>{{harvp|Montville|2006|pp=88–90}}</ref><ref>{{harvp|Creamer|1992|p=203}}</ref> In his six seasons with Boston, he won 89 games and recorded a 2.19 ERA. He had a four-year stretch where he was second in the AL in wins and ERA behind [[Walter Johnson]], and Ruth had a winning record against Johnson in head-to-head matchups.<ref name=":1" />