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It’s April Again By Charlie McBriarty Wow, it is already the fourth month of 2014. It must be a testament to the expression that time flies when you are having fun. Some of the more gifted readers may remember the 1952 Academy Award-winning movie “Mouhn Rouge,” starring Jose Ferrer and Zsa Zsa Gabor. “Its April Again” was a song from that film which became a popular hit. The tune was later recorded by a series of different artists, changing most of the lyrics and changing the title to “Where is Your Heart.” Beyond being in the title song of an award-winning movie of the early ’50s, the month of April has much to offer. Of course, most of us recognize that on the first day of the month we need to be wary of practical jokers spewing outrageous April Fools Day tales. It figures that a month with such an auspicious beginning might also tout events such as National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day, Hug a Newsman Day, Take a Chance Day and Plan Your Epitaph Day. Then there are the religious days; Palm Sunday on April 13, Passover beginning at sundown on April 14 and Easter on Sunday, April 20. In addition there are days of the month that acknowledge achievements of individuals. Wednesday, April 9, is Winston Churchill Day, for on that day in 1963 Churchill was posthumously granted honorary citizenship of the United States. Churchill was the first to receive this designation and since then only five others have been so honored. Saturday, April 26, has been identified as Richter Scale Day. It is on this day in 1900 that the inventor of this device, American seismologist Charles F. Richter, was born. Of course everyone knows that the Richter Scale measures the intensity of earthquakes. April also marks the advent of another season of Major League Baseball (MLB) for both the American and National Leagues. It should come as no surprise that one of the greats of the game of baseball would be honored this month. Sunday, April 27, is Babe Ruth Day. It was on this date in 1947 that MLB established this day to honor this unique baseball figure. As most fans of the sport acknowledge, statistics are a critical dimension of baseball. The vastness of the data surrounding Babe Ruth and his impact on the game DuoCraft Call Now for a FREE Consultation, MoreheadCitv • I j(K:. Biidg« St.* (2>2i:M0-l j‘o NewBera • I18B Marker St. • (252)638-6470 Jacksonville ♦ Si'.i) (, miien .\ve. ,Sie Ci! • i,9IOi93'»-3ro Wilmington • 420 Eastwood Rd, • (910)763-8419 precludes the feasibility of consolidating his impact on the game in a single article. As a result, this article will focus on Babe Ruths early role as a baseball pitcher. It is generally accepted that George Herman Ruth, Jr. was born in Baltimore on February 6,1895; however, George insisted that his birthday was February 7,1894. His parents had eight children, only two of whom lived beyond infancy—George, the eldest, and his-sister Mary Margaret, known as Mamie. Both parents worked to support their family and they found little time or energy to devote to their children. As a consequence . of some of Georges behaviors, his parents sent him to a boarding school at the age of seven. The school, St. Mary’s Industrial School for Boys, afforded George a setting which offered him structure and discipline that he had not found at home. One of the monks at St. Mary s. Brother Matthias, took a liking to young George and helped him acquire vocational skills while also tutoring him on the game of baseball. Brother Matthias must have been an excellent teacher, for when George was still a teenager he invited Jack Dunn, owner and manager of the International League Balti more Orioles, to watch one of George’s baseball games. Dunn was impressed enough to oflfer him a contract to play with the Orioles; George signed it on February 27, 1914. Shortly thereafter, he traveled to Fayetteville, North Carolina, for spring training. Upon his arrival, some of the veteran Orioles players referred to him as “Jack’s newest babe” and from that point forward, George Herman Ruth Jr. became forever known as Babe Ruth. In spite of his youth. Babe’s skill as a left-handed pitcher and his power hitting impressed his coaches and teammates. On March 7,1914, during an intrasquad game in Fayetteville, he hit his first professional home run. The ball cleared the right field fence, setting ajtiew record by traveling some 60 feet further than the previous record held by Jim Thorpe. However, Ruth’s time with the minor league Orioles was brief On July 9,1914, his contract was sold to the Boston Red Sox, one of the founding members of the American League. Between their founding in 1901 and 1918, the Red Sox was one of the dominant teams in the league. In 1903 they defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates of the National League in the first World Series and captured four additional World Series titles. Within days of Ruth’s joining the Red Sox in Boston’s Fenway Park, he was selected to be the starting pitcher. In this, his first major league appearance, he pitched seven innings and was the winning pitcher. During his initial year with the Red Sox, because of the strength of more veteran pitchers, he was used sparingly, winding up the season with a record of four wins and just one loss. His pitching prowess blossomed with the Red Sox for the next three years and he amassed an outstanding record. In 1915 his win-loss record was 18-8, with an Earned Run Average (ERA) of 2.44. In 1916 he posted a 23-12 record and led the league with nine shutouts and a 1.75 ERA. Ruth pitched in game two of the 1916 World Series against the Brooklyn Dodgers. After giving up an inside-the-park home run in the first inning, he pitched 14 scoreless innings, defeating the Dodgers 2-1. During the 1917 season he won 24 games while losing 13, posted a 2.01 ERA, and completed 35 of the 38 games he started. During Ruth’s years as a pitcher he continued to demonstrate his ability to hit the ball with power. Unlike the other eight team members, who play with regularity, pitchers participate in games at scheduled intervals so they have time to rest their pitching arm. Thus Ruth’s batting skill was not fully realized. Following the 1917 season, the decision was made that his bat was needed on a daily basis. As a consequence, during the 1918 season he was the starting pitcher of only 19 games, one of those a shutout, amassing an impressive 13-7 record with a 2.22 ERA. However, he hit 11 home runs, had 66 runs batted in (RBI) and maintained a .300 batting average. i The Red Sox won the American League pennant and faced the Chicago Cubs in the 1918 World Series. During the series he was used primarily as a pitcher. In the first game of the series he threw a shutout. In his next appearance, game four, he shut out the Cubs for seven innings before being relieved. Those 16 consecutive innings of shutout games, coupled with the 13 he had in the 1916 World Series, broke the existing record of 28 held I by Christy Mathewson in 1905. | As it turned out, 1919 would be Ruth’s last year with the Red Sox. Although it was not his last year as a pitcher, it was the year that he became the foremost hitter in baseball. j In 1919 Ruth pitched in just 17 games and ended the season with a 9-5 record and 2.97 ERA. As a hitter he ended the season with a .322 batting average with 114 RBIs and a record-setting 29 home runs—four of those grand slams (homers with men on all three ! bases). Ruth’s change of venue, his hitting feats, the rise of one team and the decline of another ; and the 1919 scandal that nearly killed America’s pastime will continue next month. 6 i April 2014
The Shore Line (Pine Knoll Shores, N.C.)
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April 1, 2014, edition 1
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