Quote:
Originally Posted by jacksons
Guy Bush, the Cubs starting pitcher in the very next game (Game 4), drilled Ruth in the wrist. So yeah, they threw at him.
On his jog down to first base Ruth yelled to Bush if that was his fastball because it felt like a gnat bit him.
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I don't think Ruth gets enough credit for what he accomplished over the course of his career. Of course he got hit with pitched balls plenty of times. In fact, he seldom even got anything to even swing at, as pitchers were always doing their best to avoid throwing anything in the zone to him. So many of his home runs came on pitches that weren't even strikes! On top of that, they wouldn't just toss a baseball aside every time it touched the ground like they do today. Often, between the spitball tobacco juice, which was allowable back then, and the pummeling from being batted around, the baseball would be quite blackened and softened by the time the Babe came up for the third time. And he still managed to get home runs . . . over the 450' centerfield fences that were common place back then. What a player!