The Sultan of Swat
MLB HOME RUN CHAMPIONS BY YEAR DURING CAREER OF BABE RUTH (1914-1935)
1914: Gavvy Cravath, Phillies – 19
1915: Gavvy Cravath, Phillies – 24
1916: Wally Pipp, Yankess; Cy Williams, Phillies; and Dave Robertson, Giants – 12 each
1917: Gavvy Cravath, Phillies and Dave Robertson, Giants – 12 each
1918: Babe Ruth, Red Sox and Tilly Walker, Athletics, 11 each
1919: Babe Ruth, Red Sox – 29
1920: Babe Ruth, Yankees – 54
1921: Babe Ruth, Yankees – 59
1922: Rogers Hornsby, Cardinals – 42
1923: Babe Ruth, Yankees and Cy Williams, Phillies – 41 each
1924: Babe Ruth, Yankees – 46
1925: Rogers Hornsby, Cardinals – 39
1926: Babe Ruth, Yankees – 47
1927: Babe Ruth, Yankees – 60
1928: Babe Ruth, Yankees – 54
1929: Babe Ruth, Yankees – 46
1930: Hack Wilson, Cubs – 56
1931: Babe Ruth, Yankees and Lou Gehrig, Yankees – 46 each
1932: Jimmie Foxx, Athletics – 58
1933: Jimmie Foxx, Athletics – 48
1934: Lou Gehrig, Yankees – 49
1935: Hank Greenberg, Tigers and Jimmie Foxx, Athletics – 36
The Home Run King reign of Babe Ruth began simply enough. He started out as a partial season call-up pitcher in 1914 by the Boston Red Sox during an era in which few players collected double digit totals as home run hitters – least of all pitchers – and. among pitchers, least of all were those who got called up for four game appearances as pitchers. Babe Ruth’s power as a hitter during his six years with the Red Sox (1914-1919) pushed him more and more into the everyday lineup as an outfielder because of his hitting. By 1918, Ruth had taken his first shared season HR title for the most HR in the season and by 1919, he hit those MLB-leading 29 total that fired the imaginations of all about his even greater power possibilities. It was enough to provoke his infamous sale to the New York Yankees and germinate the seeds of a championship drought in Boston that would come to be known as “The Cure of the Bambino.”
Ruth would go on to win or tie for the major league HR season leadership title in nine of the fifteen years (1920-34) he played for the years. 1935 was his too little, too late swan song partial season with the Boston Braves. Of course, he won no titles in that short time on the roster, but he did have that unforgettable late active duty game against the Pirates in which he blasted three mighty home runs at Forbes Field as one last majestic reminder of his contribution to baseball’s survival of the 1919 Black Sox Scandal.
Like so many others among us fans, Babe Ruth has always been my favorite baseball player of all time. The only thing that kept him from his enshrinement in the Hall of Fame as one of the greatest pitchers of all time was the great – no, not just great – but his peerless hitting for power and average. His explosiveness forced him into action as an everyday player who spent the better time of his 22-season MLB career bashing the best offerings of some of his former rival mound rivals – and all the younger ones who came up after them once the Babe roared into the 1920s as baseball’s first really true and dangerous slugger.
1922 was a quirky year in Ruth’s career in the sense that it was one of those rare times that the babe lost both the MLB and AL home run titles to others. As noted in the chart, Rogers Hornsby of the Cardinals had his breakout year by leading the big leagues with 42 homers, and Ken Williams of the Browns beat him out for AL HR title by a tally of 39 to 35.
By winning the 1922 AL HR title, Ken Williams help set up a recent Twitter comparison between the 1922 St. Louis Browns and a within-the-grasp possible matching accomplishment by the 2014 Houston Astros.
In 1922, left fielder Ken Williams of the Browns won the American League home run title with 39 and Hall of Fame first baseman George Sisler led the league in hitting (.420), most hits (246) and most stolen bases (51). The 2014 Astros can become only the next AL team to complete that same leadership parlay if left Fielder Chris Carter wins the league HR title and second baseman Jose Altuve holds on to his leads for the highest league batting average, most total hits, and most stolen bases.
Here’s the reference link we received from Darrell Pittman of Astros Daily on the possibility of this accomplishment:
We shall see. And soon.
Meanwhile, back to the central thought behind this whole column. – Before him, here never existed a player on the MLB scene like Babe Ruth. Once he left, no other player has since come along who could wear his shoes and accomplish what he did – sometimes – or maybe all the time – in spite of himself. The Babe was one of a kind – and baseball should be forever grateful that he came along, especially, when he did.
Thanks again also to both Baseball Reference and Baseball Almanac for being our constant fact-checking support system on articles of this nature.
Have a nice weekend, everybody!
The Pecan Park Eagle 
September 7, 2014 at 1:31 am |
His conversion to outfield isn’t the only thing that kept Babe Ruth from enshrinement in the Hall of Fame as a pitcher. Another is that he was washed up as a pitcher. His strikeout rates were plummeting, and he would have lost effectiveness soon. Among his most similar pitchers through age 24 (1919) are Joe Wood, Don Gullett, Hub Leonard, Vida Blue, Frank Tanana, Wes Ferrell, and Gary Nolan, a bunch of guys who were washed up at a young age.
September 7, 2014 at 6:19 am |
That’s assuming, Cliff, that Ruth wouldn’t have developed a new pitch or two, as did Warren Spahn, Roger Clemens, Mike Scott, Randy Jones, Bobby Shantz, Bert Blyleven, and others who lost velocity but who extended their careers – and in some cases excelled enough to win election to the HOF – thanks to their new pitches. Ruth might not have been able to make that adjustment, but it can’t be assumed he wouldn’t a priori.
September 7, 2014 at 6:22 am |
I’ll add Frank Tanana and Nolan Ryan to that list.