Today, I got to thinking about Babe Ruth. Yeah, the legendary baseball player, the “Sultan of Swat” himself. We all know about his home runs, but I got curious about his pitching record. I mean, the guy started as a pitcher, right? So, I decided to dig a little deeper into whether Babe Ruth was actually a good pitcher or not.
First thing I did was hit up some history websites. Right away, I found some interesting tidbits. Did you know that Babe Ruth once hit a home run that went 560 feet? That’s insane! I also found that his 714 career home runs were the record for a whopping 39 years. But no info about his pitching skills yet. So, I kept digging.
I then stumbled upon some details about his 1916 season. It said he had 23 wins, 170 strikeouts, and a 1.75 ERA, with 9 shutouts and 23 complete games. Now, I’m no baseball expert, but even I know those are some serious numbers for a pitcher! My mind was pretty much blown. Could he really have been that good of a pitcher?
Next, I learned that he was initially a left-handed pitcher for Baltimore before he joined the Boston Red Sox. That made sense, I guess. He was a pitcher before a hitter. And apparently, he even hit three home runs in a World Series game once. This guy was just full of surprises.
After going through all this, I realized Babe Ruth wasn’t just a home run king. He was a legit pitcher too! His 1916 stats are proof of that. It really makes you wonder what would’ve happened if he’d stuck with pitching. Could he have been a Hall of Famer as a pitcher? We’ll never know, but it’s fun to think about.
So, that was my little adventure into Babe Ruth’s past today. I went in thinking about home runs and came out with a whole new appreciation for the guy’s all-around baseball skills. I guess the lesson here is, don’t judge a book by its cover, or in this case, a player by his home runs. Even the greatest hitters might have some hidden talents up their sleeves!
That’s all I’ve got to share today, see you all in my next post!