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Joe D." And how many fans know that Ruth didn't entirely desert pitching during his 15 seasons (1920-1934) with the Yankees but made five appearances in all of which he was the winner?
His last showing was the most noteworthy, coming in 1933, the same year in which he added to his legend by hitting the first home run in the first major league All-Star Game at Comiskey Park in Chicago.
On October 1, 1933, with the Yankees out of contention, an aging Ruth, approaching 40, slow, fat and hobbled by aches and pains, agreed to start the last game of the season on the mound against the Boston Red Sox.
It was no masterpiece, Ruth giving up 12 hits and walking three, but he went all the way and hit a home run to provide the margin in a 6-5 Yankees victory before a supportive crowd 20,000, many of whom turned out just to watch him pitch.
"I had such a sore arm I had to eat with my right arm for a week," Ruth said later.
It may not have been Ruth's finest hour, but his last pitching appearance is well worth recalling as displaying his undiminished determination in the face of fading talent.
Ruth's modest final mound triumph and Baylor's singular embarrassment on the basepaths are just two of the achievements and records that warrant a better fate than the total neglect to which so many have been relegated."
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FCI/is_2_60/ai_69057362/pg_1
