TABLE OF CONTENTS The Babe’s Legend Begins in Boston 4 The Curse Ends 2004 Sox Win It All 6 Fenway Park Home for Over 100 Years 8 Teddy Ballgame Makes Hitting His Expertise 10 Yaz Picks Up Where Williams Left Off 12 Carlton Fisk Waves the Ball Fair 14 Sox Celebrate Another Title in 2007 16 Red Sox Are Boston Strong in 2013 18 Red Sox and Yankees Duke It Out for Decades 20 Sox Standouts Star throughout the Years 22 Red Sox Nation Stands Tall 24 Big Papi Comes Through in the Clutch 26 12 Key Dates 28 Glossary 30 For More Information 31 Index 32 About the Author 32
1 THE BABE’S LEGEND BEGINS IN BOSTON George Herman Babe Ruth made his major league debut for the Red Sox on July 11 1914 At first Ruth was a pitcher for the Red Sox who occasionally batted as well And he was quite a pitcher Ruth was a key member of the Red Sox’s 1916 World Series team But soon he started to get attention for his hitting too In 1918 he pitched less and began playing in the outfield Doing so allowed him to be in the everyday lineup This was in the so-called dead-ball era Not many home runs were hit Still Ruth led the American League AL with 11 home runs The Red Sox won the World Series again Ruth earned two victories on the mound in the Series By 1919 Ruth played even more in the outfield The left-handed hitter 4 THE CURSE OF THE BAMBINO The Red Sox were one of baseball’s best teams in the early 1900s They won five World Series through the 1919 season Then they sold Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees Soon after the Yankees began a run They won 26 World Series between then and 2003 The Red Sox meanwhile won none It was The Curse of the Bambino belted a then-major-league record 29 home runs Ruth asked for a salary increase But Red Sox owner Harry Frazee decided instead to sell his
Babe Ruth won three World Series with the Red Sox and four more with the Yankees star player The New York Yankees agreed to pay more than 100,000 for the player nicknamed The Bambino Ruth’s big swing would result in even more home runs with the Yankees He led them to four World Series titles For the Red Sox Ruth’s departure began The Curse of the Bambino 5 89 Pitching wins Babe Ruth earned with the Red Sox against 46 losses He had an earned-run average ERA of 2 19 with Boston Ruth won two of his 12 AL home run titles while in Boston When he retired Ruth held the single-season 60 in 1927 and career 714 records for home runs
