04/06/2022
What did Babe Ruth do differently to hit so many more home runs than anyone previously?
Many factors. Ballpark size. Hitting style. Mindset. A changing game.
When Ruth broke in there were men who could drive the ball for doubles and triples. Honus Wagner comes to mind. But the style of play was defensive and the emphasis was on pitching.
John McGraw - who did not manage Ruth but was about halfway through his managerial career when Ruth broke in - was perhaps the first manager who embraced offense.
McGraw’s New York Giants of the National League were usually above the league average in home runs and often atop that list.
As the 19-teens wore on, fans embraced more offense. Rather than advancing runners and bunting, the game was changing.
Along came Ruth.
Ruth called himself a “swing hitter.” He didn’t choke up, swung from his heels and didn’t care if he struck out. Although by today’s standards, he didn’t strike out much.
He was a big man for the era, but certainly not the first big man. Wagner was three inches shorter but only 15 pounds lighter if you compare the pair in their younger years.
But Wagner played in parks such as Exposition Park III, which had huge dimensions.: 400 feet down the lines and 450 to CF. Much smaller Yankee Stadium (by 1923 it was a little over 400 feet fo CF) eventually was built for Ruth’s left-handed swing (314 down the line.) This resulted in fan and media outcry among the same type of stratified-thought folks who hate the DH today.
Ruth said when he broke into baseball most players copied Ty Cobb’s “choke style” of batting. Cobb was successful, and others imitated him. And again, in a big ballpark, driving the ball rather than lofting it created runs. Fly balls were outs.
Also, right about the time Ruth came along and began to hit home runs, pitchers were not allowed to doctor baseballs and more new baseballs were put into play during each game. There was, also in 1920, plenty of outcry about “a rabbit ball.” It was well founded.
Ruth said he started to hit home runs, newspapers wrote about it, fans liked it, and suddenly others weren’t choking up anymore.
