Babe Ruth sold to the New York Yankees.


On Jan. 3, 1920, Babe Ruth officially became a member of the New York Yankees.
Boston Red Sox owner, Harry Frazee was the chief architect behind the selling of "Boston's greatest baseball player."

By 1918, the colorful left-handed pitcher was moved to the outfield by Red Sox manager Ed Marrow. Even with Ruth's power surge on full display, the Red Sox still tumbled in the standings.

Because of World War I, and Frazee's inability to raise the funds from his many theaters, Frazee began selling off his players to generate some cash. And that included Babe Ruth.

The Bronx Bombers got an immediate return on their $425,000+ investment. The Yankees won their first-ever American League Pennant in 1921. Which later culminated in the celebration of their first World Series title.

"The Sultan of Swat", was not only a national icon, but is considered to be the greatest baseball player to ever play the game. He was the first player to ever hit 30, 40 and 50 home runs in one season.

The selling of Babe Ruth sent the Red Sox into a tailspin. The Red Sox were the worst team n the American League fora period of 14 consecutive seasons
(1920-1934). They failed to record not one single winning season. And finished in last place 10 times.

George Herman Ruth was the centerpiece of the greatest dynasty in the history of sports, the New York Yankees. Ruth was solely responsible for the increase in the number of fans , the overall interests in all sports and saving the game of baseball from extinction.

Harry Frazee said that Babe Ruth had become simply impossible, and the Red Sox could no longer put up with his eccentricities.

The success of of the Yankees during Ruth's tenure, and the Red Sox's failure to win a World Series title for the next 86 years led to a superstition that was known as the "Curse of the Bambino".

The selling of Babe Ruth has been called the worst deal in sports history. In his first season with the Yankees, Ruth accomplished the following: hit 54 home runs, led the league in runs(15, RBIs(137), slugging average, and walks(14.

Ruth's flamboyance symbolized the city of New York. Fans of the game flocked to see Babe Ruth swing a bat.

Bae Ruth's full, free swing produced what the fans of baseball wanted to see most of all: offense. Baseball players from around the league slowly adopted his "swing for the fences" style and the number of home runs increased dramatically.

In 1921, Babe Ruth had the greatest season by any batter in Major League history. Baseball purists have indicted that Ruth's season is unmatched.


STATS:

- Led the American League in home runs 12 times.

- Second in career RBIs(2213)

- Yankees All-Time leader in batting average(.349), home runs(659), slugging %(.711), on-base %(.484), runs(1,960), total bases(5,131), walks(1,852),runs created(2,485), at bats per home run(10.9) and OPS(1,195).

- Member of 4 World Series championship teams.

- He was one of the first five players elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.