There's Only One

It's February 6th, the birthdate of the man without whom, we would not love and celebrate baseball as we've done for over a century.  George Herman Ruth sounds like a lawyer's name, maybe that of a captain of industry.

Thankfully, he didn't spend his professional life in a court house or executive suite.  His home was on the diamond, wearing a uniform, with one glove, one bat and a boyish enthusiasm befitting his nickname.

He came along at the right moment, emerging as baseball's greatest star just as the game rebounded from the ugliness of the Black Sox scandal.  Ruth's talent and personality turned a struggling New York team that had never won a pennant into the game's dominant franchise.

If you're into numerical coincidences: the Babe was born 2/6 -- in "old math," two into six is three -- the number 3 he wore from 1929 on as a Yankee.

As the author Jane Leavy says so well in her book The Big Fella, he was the first true sports celebrity.  And he's still one: his image still pops up in commercials and promotions around and outside baseball.  Nearly 90 years after he played his final big league game -- he's as recognized as any classic sports figure.

Babe Ruth wasn't just the game changer. He was and remains the Game Itself.

(I visited birthplace in Baltimore, just steps away from the Orioles' home, Camden Yards, back in 2013.)