This Day In MLB History…

January 3nd, 1920: The secret deal made on December 26 to sell Babe Ruth to New York for $125,000 (twice the amount ever paid previously for a player) is announced publicly. Harry Frazee, the cash-strapped owner of the Red Sox, also secures a $300,000 loan from the Yankees as part of the deal.

There isn’t one person that loves America’s Game that doesn’t think this is a huge part of baseball history; without Babe Ruth being dealt to the New York Yankees, nothing would have been the same. Ruth had a dynamic, 22-year career spending five seasons with the Red Sox before being dealt to the Bronx Bombers and spending 14 years there. It’s common knowledge that the Sultan of Swat was sold to the Yankees by Harry Frazee because he really needed the money, but it’s probably safe to assume that the normal baseball fan doesn’t know how successful Ruth was with Boston, especially on the mound.

While pitching for the Red Sox, Ruth appeared in 158 games (starting 143 of them), and compiled an 89-46 record with a 2.19 ERA, 105 complete games, 1190.1 innings pitched, 483 strikeouts, and a WHIP of 1.142. In his limited time at the plate with the Sox (1110 at-bats), he hit .308, hit 49 home runs, 230 RBI, .413 onbase%, and .568 slug%. While doing all of that, he helped the Boston Red Sox become the royalty of Major League Baseball, winning three World Series before he was sold by Frazee.

What surprised me the most about this transaction was not the $125,000 New York paid for Ruth, but the additional $300,000 loan secured by the Red Sox owner. I mean, this guy must have really been hurting for money! It’s also amazing that the Yankees had that much money to spend on one player; as if spending twice as much on one player wasn’t enough, they threw in that loan as well to make sure Ruth would be their property. Frazee definitely made a good business deal, being able to take care of his financial issues with this transaction, but many Red Sox fans were distraught that he would give up one of Boston’s best players to get back in the black on his balance sheet. It’s also safe to assume that Red Sox fans grew more distraught year after year until they returned to the pinnacle of the game in 2004, a measly 86 years after their last championship.

Ruth’s time with the New York Yankees needs no explanation; anyone familiar with baseball knows exactly how important he was not only to New York, but to the game as a whole. He helped transform baseball into what the game is today. To briefly sum up how good Babe Ruth was during his career, he currently ranks in the top-10 in ten different offensive categories, which include: slugging %, OPS, OPS+, on base %, RBI, home runs, walks, runs, total bases, and batting average.

I’d say that’s a decent career.