The national pastime was no longer a game for the purists. The ball rocketed more than 300 feet off the ground, and far beyond the right field roof of the Giants' Polo Grounds-a blast later estimated at 475 feet (144.8 metres).Īs Mr Weintraub says, by dethroning the Giants, the Yankees and their bashing style had accelerated the decline of Scientific Baseball.
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A run he hit in the 1923 World Series against the Giants was described by an awed sportswriter as “a wallop that sounded like a barrel of crockery being pushed down the stairs”.
No other team made more than 50.Īfter Ruth wowed mainstream America, there was no turning back. Taking advantage of the new “live ball” rules, Ruth alone clubbed 54 home runs in his first year with the Yankees. And a new ball would be used whenever the one in play showed any sign of wear. Pitchers were forbidden to give the ball an artificial spin or trajectory by, for instance, nicking it or spitting on it and from discolouring the ball with dirt or tobacco juice or hair grease. In 1920 the rules of baseball were changed to favour batters. He fanned the slander that Ruth seldom took a bath by sniffing hard and pretending to detect a horrible smell whenever the slugger came near him. Ty Cobb, a rival baseball star, was even ruder. Ruth's slugging thrilled the crowds, broadened baseball's appeal and filled the stands, but for McGraw he was a mere slugger, “the Big Baboon” or “the Big Ape”. He saw the home run as an abasement of the game he loved, a cheap, undignified method of scoring runs. John McGraw, manager of the then New York Giants, was the chief proponent of Scientific Baseball. The sacrifice hit, the stolen base and hit-and-run play…It was the baseball equivalent of the trench warfare in France. “Runs came at a premium, earned with difficulty through cunning, aggression and patience. Pre-Ruth the prevalent style of play was known as Scientific Baseball or Inside Baseball. His far more interesting sub-theme is how Ruth's might helped change the character of baseball for the better and for good. Mr Weintraub's main theme is the role Ruth played in the 1923 season, when the New York Yankees famously won their first World Series after moving to a brand-new stadium in the Bronx.
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