July 11, 2014
Written by Rocky Julich

As someone who has been in the game of baseball for seasons, it is always important to be reminded of what was real in the history of “our game”.

I do acknowledge Babe Ruth revered throughout history.

I can’t help but question, does a number need to be retired for the Babe to remain beloved by the population who hear his name. Does the Babe need a number to remind the world of baseball what he stood for and why he is alive in memory 100 years later?

His name says it all – BABE RUTH

April 22, 1914: Babe Ruth’s first Minor League game with the Minor Leagues team of the Orioles of the International League. By July, 2014 Babe Ruth was in the Major Leagues and what followed, today, is 100 years of history.

Facts about Babe Ruth’s debute:

Date: July 11, 1914
Final Score: Red Sox 4, Naps 3
Location: Fenway Park
Attendance: Not Known, but the Red Sox’s average attendance that season, per Baseball Reference, was 6,093.

Ruth’s line: 7.0 IP, 3 R, 2 ER, 8 H, 0 BB, 1 K
He was 0-for-2 at the plate.

Famous K: Ruth struck out in his first at-bat, against Naps pitcher Willie Mitchell, who in 1909 had thrown a perfect game against LSU. In that game, while pitching for Mississippi State, Mitchell logged an incredible 26 strikeouts.

Cooperstown: Three eventual Hall of Famers were on the field that day. Ruth, Boston center fielder Tris Speaker and Cleveland second baseman Nap Lajoie. Hall of Famer right fielder Harry Hooper did not play in this game but was with the Red Sox that season.

Notable opponents: Two other Naps players who faced Ruth that day – “Shoeless Joe Jackson, whose involvement in the 1919 Black Sox scandal and continued ineligibility for the Hall of Fame remains a subject of great dispute. Also in the game, Ray Chapman, who in 1920 became the only Major League player to die from an injury suffered on the field.