Babe Ruth
By: Zach Wilhite
Biography
By the age of fourteen, George was one of the top pitchers in Baltimore. The Baltimore Orioles were the first team to sign him. His salary was six hundred dollars a year. While on the O's, he got his nickname "Babe Ruth". He got the nickname when his coach said to a reporter that George was "the biggest and most promising babe in the lot." The reporter thought Babe was a nickname for Mr. Ruth in his past and it ended up staying with George Herman Ruth the rest of his life and beyond.
After playing for the Orioles, his contract was bought by the Boston Red Sox. While on the Red Sox he was mostly a pitcher, but he slowly started to become more of a hitter. With his tremendous power, he became one of the best power hitters in the game. Before Ruth hitting for power, most of hitting in the league was only contact swings or playing small ball by bunting. Babe Ruth changed the game to a more hit for power, rather than just hitting for contact.
In 1919, the Yankees bought Babe Ruth for a record setting 125,000 dollars. He became a full time hitter and excelled at it. He set records for home-runs, extra-base hits, runs batted in, runs scored, walks, and even strikeouts. He also led the Yankees to four World Series championships.
After retiring, George got introduced as one of the first five players to the Major League Baseball Hall Of Fame. He also became an ambassador for baseball, trying to spread the game all over the globe. But in 1948 George Herman (Babe) Ruth died of throat cancer. He is still remembered today as one of the best that ever lived.
Impact
Red Sox days
Calling His Shot
Hall of Fame
Sources
http://www.history.com/news/10-things-you-may-not-know-about-babe-ruth