The Return of The King
(...of Swing, The Sultan of Swat, The King of Crash, The Wali of Wallop, The Rajah of Rap, The Caliph of Clout, The Wazir of Wham, The Maharajah of Mash, and The Home Run King)
The Career of George H. "Babe" Ruth
1914: Player, Baltimore Orioles (International League)
1914-1919: Player, Boston Red Sox (American League)
World Series: 1915, 1916, 1918
1920-1933: Player, New York Yankees (American League)
World Series: 1923, 1927, 1928, 1932
American League Pennant: 1921, 1922, 1926
American League MVP: 1923
American League All-Star Team: 1933
1934-1935: Player-Manager later Manager, Newark Bears (International League)
Runner Up, Governor's Cup: 1934
Governor's Cup: 1935
Junior World Series: 1935
1936-1950: Manager, New York Yankees (American League)
World Series: 1936, 1937, 1939, 1940, 1942, 1943, 1949, 1950
American Leauge Pennant: 1938, 1944, 1945, 1947
Inaugural Class Induction Baseball Hall of Fame: 1936
By 1933 Babe Ruth, was possibly the most famous man in the world, and was clearly, past his prime. Staring down 40 with two decades of professional baseball and hedonistic living the end was coming. And yet in some ways, his genius could not be denied. He could not play doubleheaders any longer, he sat the bench on many in-season exhibition games, and the press discussed his decent towards Pinch Hitter-dom and his collapse in the outfield, and yet he increased his RBI, hit the first home-run in the inaugural All-Star Game and maintained statistics that for anyone else in the game would have been exceptional. And while the New York Yankees owners had cut his pay, offers were floated by the Detroit Tigers, the Cleveland Indians, the Boston Braves, the Brooklyn Dodgers, and the Cinncinatti Reds all seeing if they could buy him out and set himself up as a Player-Manager.
When the 1933 Season and post-season barnstorming tour were finished Yankees Owner Jacob Ruppert requested a meeting with The Babe, his Agent Christy Walsh and his wife, Claire. The Babe he said, knew he was at the end of his career. And that, for every agreement they had ever signed about self-denial and self-control, inevitably Ruth would find himself back on Booze, Parties, and Hot Dogs. And yet he had pitched the season-ending game, for the first time in years and won. He had hit a respectable, for a mortal, 34 home runs. The Yankees had not gone to the world series or won the pennant, but Ruppert believed Ruth could use his skills, and his knowledge and begin to transition to Management. Ruth had lobbied hard in the Yankees organization and in the press to get the top job that had gone to Joe McCarthy in 1930. But McCarthy had had experience and self-control and Ruth had not. And while Self-Control still seemed to elude The Babe, Ruppert was willing to offer a chance at building up the experience. And so he made his offer, for Ruth to become the Player-Manager of the Newark Bears, the Yankees leading farm team in the International League. Ruth's ego was bruised, and both Christie Walsh and Claire agreed, it was a demotion beyond what Ruth should be willing to hear. But Ruppert told them to keep thinking about it, and that the offer would remain on the table until Spring Training in a few months.
The wait is what proved decisive. Walsh and Claire Ruth would begin to turn almost as soon as the meeting was over, and The Babe himself both began to be pushed by and pull the two of them along. It didn't have to be a long deal. A season or three at most. He could enjoy playing a few more seasons, build up some attention, and when it was over, he could reach out to every team in the majors and have a better resume for the job. He'd prove the doubters wrong and with just a bit of luck, he might even make it back to the Majors in a year, with the dignity and title he really wanted. And so, shortly before Spring Training would have begun, the greatest sports story since the drama of his 1927 comeback season hit the Sporting Press. The Babe was out of the Majors and into a, if not
the big seat.
Of course, The Babe's ego meant that he would actively try to be a Player-Manager. The results of which are apparent. 24 Home Runs and a .291 batting average were impressive for a man in his shape, at his age, in the minor leagues, and helped fill the seats across the International League. Sports Writers then and Baseball scholars now agree though that Ruth's focus on playing was a detriment to his developing coaching role. And yet in spite of that, The Babe learned fast, and the Bears have ensured a post-season slot, and making it through the first round of playoff games would give the Montreal Royals a run for their money in the Governor's Cup Championship, winning 3 games and requiring the series to go the full 7 games. In the final game of the Series Ruth would score 3 home runs before declaring to the press after the loss that he was pretty sure he was finished on the field. If the Bears would have him Ruth would only fix himself up as a manager from there on out. Jacob Ruppert looking at the ticket sales that his top AA team had earned was more than willing to give The Babe that chance.
1935 would see ticket sales drop, but it would see Ruth find his footing, he would be ejected from games, he would struggle to put into words the batting skills that had made him a living legend that was pure instinct, but he would also learn to work with his players, work with his coaches, juggle the challenges of the minors where your best talent would be nurtured and built by you and would prove themselves dependable, only to be sent across New York Harbor to the House that he had built, and all the rest of the mundane work of management. It was hard as the limelight faded and attention went down. But he was doing what he loved and found that he was more than decent at it. And then the Bears went into their second post-season under their tenure. They would win at 4 games to 1 the Governor's Cup, smashing the Rochester Red Wings. Victory in hand suddenly Ruth was back in the press as he took "His Kids" to the Junior World Series. There had been talk of canceling the inter-league championship in 1935 but with Ruth there the games were put back on to stunning results in sales. And in the end, with more of the sporting press present than had ever been at the minor-league championships, the Bears under Ruth's guidance would smash the Minneapolis Millers and be crowned the greatest minor-league team in The World/The United States and Canada.
Jacob Ruppert could pat himself on the back for his genius, and saw The Babe off from Yankee Stadium as Ruth and a mercenary team set off on his latest barnstorming tour, bound for the West Coast and then Hawaii, Manila and Japan where Ruth would continue his legend with another stint as a "player-manager." But he and Christy Walsh would spend the tour with much to talk about via coded telegrams. There were quite a few Yankees on the "Bustin' Babes", and they were setting out via train before the World Series was finished. Which was the problem, they weren't needed because yet again Yankees Manager Joe McCarthy had busted out. In the five seasons since taking over the team, McCarthy had produced a World Series win. In 1932. With Ruth on the team. But in 1931, 1933, and 1934 they had finished second in the American League, and while The Babe was off leading The Bears to Victory, 1935 had seen bad luck hit hard and McCarthy had led the team to an even more disappointing third-place finish. Ruppert didn't even have to begin talking to the press about his private thoughts before the Sporting Press had caught on. It was obvious. And in those empty months between seasons when there is nothing but gossip to fill the pages of baseball columns, the whole country could catch on too.
In February there were meetings over cocktails and fine dinners, in private offices and in vacation cottages. Joe McCarthy wasn't going to go down without a fight but The Babe could make a strong case, he had, after all, shown that even if Ruppert didn't think he could manage himself, that he could manage a team. And hell, there were other offers on the table. Sure the St. Louis Browns were a dumpster fire of a team but they were making the offer, and there were sounds that the Red Sox were thinking of doing the same. Ruppert, ever the businessman decided the answer by the end of the month. And a few weeks before the start of Spring Training made his call. At the very least, The Babe would fill seats. And so after pay cuts, and slander, and fading glory, The Babe came home.
The awkward peacemaking between The Babe and Lou Gerhig and the fights that followed would be the stuff of legend, before a final, real reconciliation as The Babe wept, while thoughtlessly but innocently leaning on Gerhig's shoulder as number 4 prepared to walk to the microphones and declare himself to be the Luckiest Man In the World. There would be insults and throwdowns and respect with the wunderkind: DiMaggio and then a few years later Williams. "Red", and "The Scooter", and Dickey and a dozen other grown men who The Babe would only ever call "The Kid" unless he really needed to show he did in fact, in spite of all appearances, know "The Kid's" actual name. And there would be the victories. Some will argue that Ruth could have sat comatose in the dugout and the Yankees with their new burst of talent couldn't have helped but win, and yet it was The Babe who made peace in the locker room stick. It was he who kept egos in check, and it was he who offered strategy and a sort of crass wisdom when needed.
The glory would follow season after season, as the wunderkind turned to elders, as World War II set the world aflame and took talent into the ranks, as new kids like some guys named Mantle and "Yogi" and "Whitey" would show up, and as the color barrier that Ruth had despised came down. (First with Satchel Paige winning the Dodger's a pennant and making Ruth smile all the same while he cursed his loss, and then with Josh Gibson leaving the Homestead Grays to sign with the Yankees in 1949 at Ruth's insistence.) Ruth would turn into an old man, and then to an elder statesman of the game. He didn't drink as much as he used to or eat as much, but he was still The Babe. In the end, ever the showman he would pick a high note to leave on announcing his final retirement after winning one last World Series against the Phillies. The Sunset as it was, was ridden into, where ghost-written books and television appearances, and great seats at any game he ever wanted would follow. All that smoking and processed food would catch up in the end, but Cancer would find Ruth an old man, content and vindicated. The Babe would pass away leaving a sport in mourning in 1959 at the age of 64.
