In Boston, a Renewed Appreciation for the Babe

Visits: 2

It was also the year he began to separate himself as a power hitter. Ruth hit 11 of the Red Sox’ 15 home runs in 1918, when no teammate had more than one. Fenway Park’s right-field wall, without bullpens in those days, required a good wallop of the old dead ball to reach, and all of Ruth’s home runs were hit on the road.

“If he had stayed with Boston his whole career,” Edes said, “I’m not sure he would have become the prolific home run hitter that he became at the Polo Grounds and then Yankee Stadium.”

In 1919, Ruth it 29 home runs in his final season in Boston, 23 of them on the road. His career pitching record for Boston was 89-46, and that, combined with his immaculate postseason record, makes him one of the best pitchers in Red Sox history.

But because of how he is embedded in Yankee lore, Ruth has almost been overlooked in Boston.

“I think his place in Boston history just gets forgotten,” said Dan Shaughnessy, the Boston Globe columnist and author of “The Legend of the Curse of the Bambino.” “People have to be reminded, Oh yeah, he played for Boston. He wasn’t a Boston figure. He was a New York figure.”

Marty Appel, the author and Yankee historian, agreed. He said any association that people have of Ruth with the Red Sox is minor, and diminishes over time.

“It was a little more on my mind this year because of Ohtani,” Appel said, referring to the rookie Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Angels, whose ability to hit and pitch recalls Ruth’s tenure in Boston. “It’s just hard to even picture in my mind Ruth in a Red Sox uniform.”

Around Fenway Park, there are a several reminders of Ruth’s great history there. He was inducted into the Red Sox Hall of Fame (along with all other former Red Sox players who are also inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame), and his plaque hangs in the suite level, right above the one for Ted Williams, adjacent to those for Carl Yastrzemski and Jim Rice.

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