1915 Babe Ruth?

[Bpm0014]

He's playing pepper, not taking BP.

[packs]

It looks like there is only one team on the field in the photo. There is a batter on their way to the home plate area, which may suggest a team taking BP.

Is there a way to determine definitively that it's the Red Sox on the field as opposed to the Phillies?

[JeremyW]

Philadelphia wore solid dark socks during this game. All of the players in the photo appear to have Boston socks on.

[T206Jim]

My guess is it is most likely Tris Speaker holding the bat. It is a characteristic pose for him and he was the star of the 1915 Red Sox. The intriguing question no has asked is who is the lefthanded Boston pitcher on the mound? Great image regardless.

[JeremyW]

I'm guessing the left handed pitcher is Dutch Leonard. He started & won game 3 for Boston. I see someone, possibly Hoblitzell, at first. If, big if, the rest of the starters are fielding their positions, that would put Speaker in center. Of course it's also possible that only the infielders are at their positions.

Also wanted to thank those who have chimed in. Really appreciate your thoughts.

[nolemmings]

It appears from the long shadows that this pic was taken nowhere near the noon start time of Game 3. Seems to be all Red Sox, and as noted, the batter is playing pepper or some other similar game rather than taking BP– with a catcher backing up any errant tosses. Since it is all Red Sox on the field it makes sense that they are taking fielding practice – no way you’re exposing that pepper player to getting racked by a line drive. It also makes sense that the starters and perhaps some reserves are at their stations for fielding practice reps, which would make it more likely that the pepper batter is a player not expecting to see game action; e.g. Ruth, maybe peppering his fellow moundsmen.

[Beercan collector]

Appears to be some kind of demon

[Casey2296]

Originally Posted by T206Jim

My guess is it is most likely Tris Speaker holding the bat. It is a characteristic pose for him and he was the star of the 1915 Red Sox. The intriguing question no has asked is who is the lefthanded Boston pitcher on the mound? Great image regardless.

My initial gut reaction when I saw the photo was Speaker also.

[Spike]

Lots of lefties on the 1915 Red Sox, enough to give us odds against Ruth by numbers alone. These guys all batted more often than Ruth that year and were seasoned, in their mid-late 20s. Photographers might single out everyday players like Hooper and Speaker in particular for a World Series photo.

C Pinch Thomas
1B Dick Hoblitzel
3B Larry Gardner
OF Harry Hooper
OF Tris Speaker
OF Olaf Henriksen

[Spike]

Group photo from the same day with Hooper and Speaker. You might need to judge by the uniform bunching at the knees. :-)