He won the Indians' final World Series in 1948, against Jackie Robinson and playing with Larry Doby. He was on the field when Babe Ruth's number was retired, he was the Braves' general manager when Hank Aaron broke Ruth's home run record, and he was in the grandstand when Mark McGwire hit home run No. 62.
Babe Ruth played in 1,946 regular season games over 16 seasons, finishing with a.272 average, 3484 hits, and 910 homers. The Yankees/Yankee fans love him very much.
He began his career under the reserve clause and rose through the ranks to become an executive with the introduction of free agency. His name is Branch Rickey.
Branch Rickey was one of the most influential people in baseball history. He created a system that allowed for the integration of baseball by drafting African-Americans up until the time that he died. He managed the Brooklyn Dodgers for three years before being fired by the team president because he wanted to bring in black managers so that they could learn how to manage a major league team. After leaving the Dodgers, he helped build another world champion, this time with the St. Louis Cardinals. Branch Rickey invented the concept of farm teams. Before his time, minor leaguers were not expected to make the transition from the minors to the majors. But by using his new system, he was able to identify and develop young players who could be brought up to the major leagues when needed.
Branch Rickey also designed some of the first protective gear used in baseball. When he started out in baseball, there were no rules against hitting with bats made from wood that had been grown before 1947 (when Major League Baseball adopted its current set of rules).
Babe Ruth makes his final appearance in a major league game. Ruth went 4-for-4, drove in 6 runs, and hit 3 home runs in an 11-7 loss to the Pirates on May 25 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. These were his final three home runs of the season. The first two shots he hit against Pirate pitcher Red Lucas came in the first inning; the third was a solo shot into the right-field stands off Ralph Houk about 5 1/2 hours after the game started.
Ruth had been playing first base since his return from the military service in April. At the end of that month, the Yankees sold his contract to the Boston Red Sox. However, they later re-acquired him during the season when New York player-manager Lou Gehrig was diagnosed with ALS (now known as motor neuron disease). In the final game of the season, Ruth was back at first base.
In his career with the Yankees, Ruth played 2,130 games over 16 seasons, finishing with a record of 714-355. He is one of only eight players to have their numbers retired by both the Yankees and the national baseball organization they belong to now, the United States National League team. The others are Ty Cobb, Bob Gibson, Mel Ott, Eddie Murray, Mike Schmidt, Billy Williams, and Albert Pujols.
Babe Ruth establishes a World Series record. In the fourth game of the World Series on October 6, 1926, Yankee slugger Babe Ruth set a record with three home runs against the St. Louis Cardinals. The Yankees won the game 10-5, but despite Ruth's historic effort, they were defeated in the seventh game of the World Series.
Ruth's three homers broke a 1-1 tie in the fourth inning and gave him 30 for the season, a New York newspaper reported. It was also reported that he had already hit four homers this postseason - two in each of the American League's (AL) championship games. The Yankees went on to beat the Cardinals in seven games.
Ruth is considered by many to be the greatest hitter in baseball history. He finished his career with a.654 batting average, including a.714 mark in the postseason. During his time playing for the Yankees, Ruth led the team to victory in 17 of 19 World Series games he participated in.
His 3478 total bases are still second all-time while his 914 RBIs are third most in MLB history. The Home Run King passed away at the age of 53 in March 1948 after suffering from throat cancer.
The Race to Break Babe Ruth's Home Run Record Bobby Richardson and Bob Costas, both former New York Yankees players, recount Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle's 1961 attempt to break Babe Ruth's home run record. This 1961 file photo features Mickey Mantle, right, and Roger Maris. The two were among more than 100 candidates trying to break Ruth's record.
Bob Gibson, Jim Palmer, and Mike Schmidt also made strong cases for consideration. But it was Maris' record-breaking season that proved to be the most memorable as he became the first player to hit 60 home runs during the regular season.
Besides playing baseball, Mickey Mantle also had a big influence on home run records. He is considered by many to be the greatest hitter of all time because of his ability to hit for power and averageity. During his time with the Yankees, Mickey Mantle broke several major league records including hitting number seven home run in a game five times.
In 1959, the Yankees' manager Joe McCarthy proposed that Ruth's record should be broken by someone other than himself. So, in order to give him some time off, Ruth's record was held by the Yankees' player-manager until May 30, when the team placed him on injured reserve. At this point, Bobby Richardson was called up from Triple A to take over as manager of the Yankees.
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