Lifestyle
The Great Bambino: How Babe Ruth Revolutionized Baseball Forever
by Julian Sonny
Wikimedia Commons
Today marks Babe Ruth's 120th birthday, and while he's been gone for nearly 70 years, his legacy is something that remains untouched.
As iconic as he's been throughout the years, it's safe to say many of today's youths don't understand his impact on baseball and just how he revolutionized the sport.
If it weren't for his contributions to the original American pastime, the course of the past 100 years of baseball could've turned out very differently.
His story is that of a champion, a pioneer and a true icon in our society. For him to stay relevant after all these years is nothing but a testament to his greatness.
Babe Ruth was born in Baltimore, Maryland on February 6, 1895 and his real name is George.
By the time he turned 8, people say he was already chewing tobacco and drinking whiskey.
He was signed by his hometown minor-league Orioles before being sold to the Boston Red Sox in 1914.
He met his wife, who was 16 at the time, on his first day in Boston at a coffee shop.
There he was credited for single-handedly taking the "dead ball" sport into the modern era with power hitting, home runs and overall swag.
But, it wasn't until he got traded to the New York Yankees in 1920 that he cemented his status as the city's biggest icon.
Sure, Babe Ruth wasn't too fast around the bases...
But, considering he held the single-season hitting and home run record (among many others), it didn't matter.
Babe Ruth was also the first baseball player to ever receive a ridiculously large contract (worth $125,000) with the Yankees.
As a part of the luxury lifestyle, he was known for being drunk during games and smoking cigars at bat.
With success comes haters and Ruth was credited for his signature shot call, which was one of the earliest forms of trash talking.
This diagram of his body shows what type of shape he was in during 1926.
He was also known for putting a hex on the Red Sox after being traded to New York, and Boston wouldn't win a title for the next 84 years.
Babe Ruth finished his career with 714 home runs, 2,873 hits and 2,213 RBIs.
Babe Ruth was a baller way ahead of his time.
