Chicago journalist, SABR member debunks Babe Ruth’s called shot

From Larry Getlen at the New York Post on February 2, 2014, with SABR member Ed Sherman:

On Oct. 1, 1932, in Game 3 of the World Series, New York Yankee star Babe Ruth hit two home runs against the Chicago Cubs to lead his team to a 7-5 victory, the third win of the Yankees’ four-game series sweep. But one event that day eclipsed not only the team’s win, but the entire series.

Ruth’s second homer that day became one of the most famous home runs in baseball history — the infamous “called shot” that Ruth supposedly predicted by pointing to center field.

While the legend became one of the defining moments of Ruth’s already remarkable career, there has long been reason to question its accuracy — whether Babe Ruth actually called that shot.

In a new investigation, veteran Chicago Tribune journalist Ed Sherman spells out the relevant events of the day, interviews people who were there and pores over other eyewitness accounts to determine whether Ruth’s called shot was one of baseball’s greatest achievements or simply the most loved and lasting of the sport’s outsized myths.

Read the full article here: http://nypost.com/2014/02/01/chicago-journalist-debunks-babe-ruths-called-shot/



Originally published: February 3, 2014. Last Updated: February 3, 2014.