BOISE, Idaho — THIS DAY IN SPORTS…July 12, 1914, 110 years ago today:
Before he was the “Great Bambino,” he was a pitcher for the Boston Red Sox, and Babe Ruth makes his major league debut, giving up two runs on eight hits over seven innings in a 4-3 win over Cleveland. Ruth had arrived in Boston that morning after being sold to the Red Sox by the then-minor league Baltimore Orioles. His catcher was Bill Carrigan, who also happened to be the Red Sox manager (it was a different time in the big leagues). Ruth was already known as a good hitter but wasn’t utilized for that by Carrigan. Ruth went 2-for-10 in five games that first season and did not hit a home run.
Ruth’s first four career homers would come in 1915, but his pitching remained the focus of the Red Sox. The 1916 season saw him become a bona fide star pitcher. Ruth’s duels with Washington Senators ace Walter Johnson, the all-time pitching great who was discovered while in semipro ball in Weiser, were riveting. The Babe and the Big Train faced off five times that year, with Ruth winning four and Johnson one. Ruth went 23-12 in 1916 with an American League-leading 1.75 ERA, and he was 24-13 in 1917.
By 1918, though, Ruth was splitting time between the mound and the outfield, and he clubbed 11 home runs, which (believe it or not) led the AL that season. Ruth pushed the front office to let him be an everyday player, and the team acquiesced in 1919. He responded by pounding 29 homers, an unthinkable number in that era. It was after that campaign that the Babe was sold to the New York Yankees.
It’s a significant day in the career of the Babe. On this day in 1921, Ruth broke the big league record with his 137th career home run (yes, 137th). And on this day in 1927, the Babe swatted his 30th homer of the season, halfway to his record of 60 that would stand for the next 34 years. Keep in mind that he would end his career with 714 homers, a mark that would stand for 41 years. That’s the impact he had on baseball.
(Tom Scott hosts the Scott Slant segment during the football season on KTVB’s Sunday Sports Extra. He also anchors four sports segments each weekday on 95.3 FM KTIK and one on News/Talk KBOI. His Scott Slant column runs every Wednesday.)
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