Quote:
Originally Posted by transplant99
The Sox wanted him to be a pitcher first and a hitter secondly. He didnt like that idea....and a plethora of other reasons not the least was his off field "activities". Dude was a full blown party animal.
Great read from a few years back here...
https://nypost.com/2016/03/06/the-re...old-babe-ruth/ |
Yeah I read that too.
Ruth either by fluke or by brilliance revolutionized power hitting with an upper cut swing. At the time a parallel swing plane to make contact was thought to be ideal. Not recognizing that parallel was off axis and resulted in less time in the hitting zone.
So Ruth wanted to become a power hitter and the Red Sox didnt want that. Both teams were poorer in those daus as neither owned their stadium and both had mediocre attendance. Yankees thought a power hitter like Ruth would bring more fans. Sox owner had wealth but was cash poor. Yankees owner was facing a serious hit to his wealth with prohibition on the horizon.
Ultimately Baseball became more popular and both owners benefitted financially from the deal. Sox owner sold the team for double the price a few years later.