| Some quotes that The Babe said and what some | | | | wearing a glove and swinging a bat." |
| other people had to say about Babe Ruth. | | | | "Every strike brings me closer to the next home |
| "The way a team plays as a whole determines its | | | | run." |
| success. You may have the greatest bunch of | | | | The following quotes were made by teammates, |
| individual stars in the world, but if they don't play | | | | a broadcaster and an opponent |
| together, the club won't be worth a dime." | | | | "No one hit home runs the way Babe did. They |
| Babe Ruth | | | | were something special. They were like homing |
| In August 1948, Ruth died of throat cancer and | | | | pigeons. The ball would leave the bat, pause |
| lay in state at Yankee Stadium, the baseball | | | | briefly, suddenly gain its bearings then take off for |
| cathedral built on the fruits of his work. Ruth's | | | | the stands." |
| funeral took place on a day of such heat that | | | | Lefty Gomez |
| pallbearer and former teammate Joe Dugan said, | | | | "To understand him you had to understand this: |
| "I'd give a hundred dollars for a beer." The old | | | | he wasn't human." |
| pitcher Waite Hoyt replied in Ruth's spirit: "So | | | | Teammate Joe Dugan |
| would the Babe."by Mark Maxon | | | | "Every big leaguer and his wife should teach their |
| "I had a better year than he did." | | | | children to pray, "God bless Mommy, God bless |
| Babe Ruth, when told that President Hoover | | | | Daddy, and God bless Babe Ruth." |
| made less than the $80,000 he was demanding in | | | | Waite Hoyt |
| 1930. | | | | "He wasn't a baseball player. He was a worldwide |
| "Hotter 'n hell, ain't it, Prez?" | | | | celebrity, an international star, the likes of which |
| Babe Ruth, after meeting Calvin Coolidge | | | | baseball has never seen since." |
| This next group of quotes was made by Babe | | | | Broadcaster Ernie Harwell |
| Ruth | | | | "He came up again in the ninth. I was a little mad. |
| "I have only one superstition. I touch all the bases | | | | I told my catcher, Tommy Padden, he was not |
| when I hit a home run." | | | | good enough to hit my fastball. I came through |
| All I can tell them is pick a good one and sock it. I | | | | with a fastball for strike one. I missed with the |
| get back to the dugout and they ask me what it | | | | second. The next pitch I nodded to Tommy. I |
| was I hit and I tell them "I don't know except it | | | | was going to throw the ball past Mr. Ruth. It was |
| looked good." | | | | on the outside corner. As he went around third, |
| "As soon as I got out there I felt a strange | | | | Ruth gave me the hand sign meaning 'to hell with |
| relationship with the pitcher's mound. It was as if | | | | you.' He was better than me. He was the best |
| I'd been born out there. Pitching just felt like the | | | | that ever lived. That big joker hit it clear out of |
| most natural thing in the world. Striking out | | | | the park for his third home run of the game. It |
| batters was easy." | | | | was the longest homer I'd ever seen in |
| "Don't let the fear of striking out hold you back." | | | | baseball."—Guy Bush of the Pittsburgh |
| "How to hit home runs: I swing as hard as I can, | | | | Pirates on giving up Ruth's last home run (it was |
| and I try to swing right through the ball… | | | | the first to clear the right field grandstand at |
| The harder you grip the bat, the more you can | | | | Forbes Field and some estimated the distance at |
| swing it through the ball, and the farther the ball | | | | 600 feet.) Quoted in Bush's "Sporting News" |
| will go. I swing big, with everything I've got. I hit | | | | obituary after his death. |
| big or I miss big. I like to live as big as I can." | | | | Feel free to pass this article on to baseball |
| "I won't be happy until we have every boy in | | | | enthusiasts that you know. |
| America between the ages of six and sixteen | | | | |