Babe Ruth: Legends in Sports by Matt Christopher Read Free Book Online Page A

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     of first baseman Lou Gehrig, who was beginning to show that he was almost as dangerous at the plate as Ruth. Hodgson stayed
     close to Ruth all year and she kept him from running around all hours of the night.
    The Yankees got off to a great start and just kept going. Babe Ruth wasn’t just back, he was all the way back, hitting .372
     and cracking 47 home runs while driving in 155. Tony Lazzeri and Lou Gehrigeach knocked in over 100 runs as well, and the Yankees cruised to the pennant. They then met the St. Louis Cardinals in the
     World Series.
    The Yankees were big favorites, but the Cardinals were a talented team. After New York won the first game, the Cardinals came
     back to win the next two. Ruth, in a post-season slump, collected only two singles in the first three games. Game four in
     St. Louis was a must-win for New York.
    Ruth came to the plate determined to do what it took to give his team that win. In the first inning he hit the first pitch
     he saw for a home run. In the third inning he hit another home run. Then, in the sixth inning, he truly outdid himself.
    With the count at three-and-two, Ruth swung and hit the ball as hard as possible. It soared deep to center field. Announcer
     Graham MacNamee was broadcasting the game to the nation over the radio, one of the first national broadcasts. Fans all over
     the country heard his description:
    The Babe hits it into the centerfield bleachers for a home run! A home run! Did you hear what I said? Oh, what a shot! … This
     is a WorldSeries record, three home runs in one series game … They tell me that’s the first ball ever hit into the center field stand.
     That’s a mile and a half from here!
    It wasn’t quite that far, but it was the farthest ball ever hit in St. Louis. Even Cardinal fans applauded his hit, which
     was in fact the first ball ever hit into the centerfield bleachers. Not that the ball stopped there — it bounced out of the
     bleachers into the street!
    No one knew, however, that the home run meant even more to a little boy listening to MacNamee’s broadcast. Young Johnny Sylvester
     had been badly hurt in a fall from a horse and was laid up in a New York hospital. His father had asked for the Cardinals
     and Yankees to send him some autographed baseballs to cheer his son up. The teams did, and Ruth added a promise that he would
     hit a home run for Johnny. The boy heard MacNamee announce all three of Ruth’s three home runs. The smile that lit his face
     didn’t go away for days.
    The Yankees won 10–5. They took the next game, too, thanks to a great save made by Ruth. The Yankeeswere up in the series, but the Cardinals fought back and took game six to tie. It came down to the final game, and as it turned
     out, the final pitch.
    The Yankees trailed 3–2 in the ninth. With two out, Ruth walked. If he could score, the Yankees would tie the game. Yankee
     outfielder Bob Meusel dug in at the plate. Suddenly, Ruth took off, trying to steal second! The throw from home came in fast,
     hard, and on target. Ruth was out, and so were the Yankees.
    Ruth was roundly criticized for the play. It dampened an otherwise great series and a great comeback for the Babe.
    The loss only made Ruth and the Yankees more determined for victory in 1927. Ruth had proven to his teammates that he was
     in control of his life, so no one worried anymore about the way he acted off the field. Although he still liked to have fun
     and still had an enormous appetite, he knew when to stop and made sure that he was ready to play every day.
    And play he did. No one will ever forget Babe Ruth and the 1927 Yankees.
    Everything went right. Many people still consider the 1927 Yankees the greatest team in the history of baseball. They had
     great pitching, great fielding,and great hitting. They didn’t just beat other teams, they beat them badly. One reason was the emergence of Lou Gehrig.
    The very first time a Yankee scout saw Gehrig playing for