Babe Ruth: Legends in Sports

Babe Ruth: Legends in Sports by Matt Christopher Page B

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Authors: Matt Christopher
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their pennant run. Yet his teammates had voted him only
     a half-share of the World Series money. His old teammates on the Yankees, particularly Babe Ruth, thought the Cubs were being
     unfair to Koenig. In the first two games in New York, both teams razzed each other from the bench. Ruth kept calling the Cubs
     “cheapskates,” and the Chicago players gave it right back to him.
    When Ruth and the Yankees went to Chicago for game three, Ruth didn’t let up. Wrigley Field, the home of the Cubs, was much
     smaller than Yankee Stadium. During batting practice Ruth hit home run after home run into the stands. He told a reporter,
     “If I could hit here all the time I’d play for half my salary.”
    When the game started, the bench jockeying continued. Even Cubs fans got into the act, and Ruth kept up a running conversation
     with Cubs playersand fans. It grew worse after his first at bat against pitcher Charlie Root. Ruth clubbed a pitch into the stand to give the
     Yankees a 3–0 lead.
    But in the fourth inning Ruth gave the Cubs and their supporters something to howl about. He tried to make a shoestring catch
     and missed the ball. The hit went for a double and the Cubs were able to tie the game 4–4. Cub fans threw paper and lemons
     at Ruth and hooted him unmercifully.
    Ruth was embarrassed, and also a little mad. He stepped to the plate to lead off the fifth inning determined to quiet the
     crowd.
    As he approached the plate he was booed loudly and the Cubs called him all sorts of names. Ruth listened and then cupped his
     hands over his mouth and yelled back at them.
    The fans started booing even louder. Then Ruth stepped into the batter’s box.
    Pitcher Charlie Root buzzed a pitch over the heart of the plate and Ruth just watched it pass. Then he turned to the Cub bench
     and held up one finger, as if to say “That’s one.”
    The howling increased. The Cubs and their fanswanted to see Ruth embarrassed and humiliated by a strikeout.
    Root threw two more pitches for balls, and again Ruth didn’t take the bat from his shoulder. It appeared as if he wasn’t going
     to swing.
    Then Root threw another strike. Ruth again watched it pass like he was just a spectator. Then he looked at the Cubs and held
     up
two
fingers as if to say “Strike two.”
    The crowd was roaring at a fever pitch and Cubs were on the dugout steps screaming at Ruth. He stepped out of the box and
     gestured to them as if he were pushing them away, like he was some kind of colossus they couldn’t touch.
    He turned to the Cub catcher and said, “It only takes one to hit it.” Root yelled something at Ruth and he yelled back, “I’m
     gonna knock the ball down your throat.”
    All the while, Ruth was grinning widely. His gamesmanship was driving the Cubs crazy!
    Then Ruth gestured again. To some observers it looked as if he gestured to the Cubs bench again. Others thought he waved at
     Root. But some wereconvinced he pointed to the center field bleachers as if that’s where he intended to hit the next pitch.
    Root wound up and threw. This time Ruth was ready. He took a tremendous swing at the pitch.
    Boom!
The sound of the bat hitting the ball echoed over the park and stilled the crowd. The ball rocketed directly over Root’s
     head on a line and kept rising, growing smaller and smaller. The Cub center fielder ran straight back and then ran out of
     room as the ball sailed over his head and deep into the stands in center field.
    Ruth just watched, and then, as he jogged toward first base, started to laugh. He had a choice comment for each Cub infielder
     he passed, plus a few things to the Cub bench as he trotted past third to home.
    The Cubs were silent. Ruth had spoken in a way no other player in the game could.
    On the very next pitch, Lou Gehrig homered, and the Yankees went on to win the game 7–5 to take command of the series. They
     won big the next day to capture the series.
    But that wasn’t the end of the story. Everyone atthe

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