Hot Corner: Should we honor Ruth like Robinson?
Carrie Wood
Sports | 7/6/08
Linda Ruth Tosetti is likely a name you don't recognize.
…Well, except for that whole "Ruth" part.
Babe Ruth's granddaughter recently began a movement to convince Major League Baseball to retire the number 3 in the Babe's honor. The number has been retired by the Yankees, but that's not good enough for Ruth Tosetti. A selection from her petition reads as follows:
"Babe Ruth single-handedly saved the game of baseball with his mighty bat, his charismatic personality and his inherent sense of fair play. He made it possible for baseball to become the international game it is today."
It's the phrase "single-handedly" that bothers me. While I can agree with the fact that Babe Ruth had an immense impact in the nation's ability to forget about the 1919 Black Sox travesty, leaving eight White Sox players banned from baseball after throwing the World Series, it's hard to say that he did it by himself. Besides that, baseball has always proven itself to be an incredibly resilient sport - recovering from strikes and other types of drama - and we can't really say that it wouldn't have done the same without Ruth.
However, I do agree with Ruth Tosetti; Babe Ruth's number deserves to be retired by all major league teams. The only number that has received that honor so far is Jackie Robinson's 42, recognizing the fact that he was not only a fantastic player but contributed to society as well.
But because of this, there are a lot of people who are against the movement to honor Ruth. They bring up facts such as how Ruth never played with any black players, and that if he was playing in an integrated league he may not have been the greatest there ever was.
But we'll never know. Sure, if Ruth had played in the same league as say, Josh Gibson, he may have had some real competition for top dog.
But he didn't.
And people can't blame him or fault him or his record because of that. That's not fair to him, that's not fair to the sport. Ruth played at a time where Major League Baseball was all white. But he had zero, absolutely zero impact on that decision. He didn't make the rules, and he certainly isn't to blame for being alive at the time when such unfair bylaws were in place.
Babe Ruth is hands-down the greatest baseball player there ever was. There's no use even trying to argue against that fact. His legend transcends his number, for sure, but I feel as though if MLB retired his number throughout baseball, it would solidify that legend.
Some people have chosen to argue that if number 3 were retired, it would put a damper on Robinson's tribute.
I disagree. To have Ruth's number next to Robinson's would do nothing but make number 42 more impressive. Their contributions to the game were both immense in their own ways and it's nothing other than stupidity and ignorance to say that one has ever been more important than the other.
The National Hockey League retired Wayne Gretzky's number 99, simply to recognize that he was the most skilled player the game ever had.
Why shouldn't MLB do the same?
…Well, except for that whole "Ruth" part.
Babe Ruth's granddaughter recently began a movement to convince Major League Baseball to retire the number 3 in the Babe's honor. The number has been retired by the Yankees, but that's not good enough for Ruth Tosetti. A selection from her petition reads as follows:
"Babe Ruth single-handedly saved the game of baseball with his mighty bat, his charismatic personality and his inherent sense of fair play. He made it possible for baseball to become the international game it is today."
It's the phrase "single-handedly" that bothers me. While I can agree with the fact that Babe Ruth had an immense impact in the nation's ability to forget about the 1919 Black Sox travesty, leaving eight White Sox players banned from baseball after throwing the World Series, it's hard to say that he did it by himself. Besides that, baseball has always proven itself to be an incredibly resilient sport - recovering from strikes and other types of drama - and we can't really say that it wouldn't have done the same without Ruth.
However, I do agree with Ruth Tosetti; Babe Ruth's number deserves to be retired by all major league teams. The only number that has received that honor so far is Jackie Robinson's 42, recognizing the fact that he was not only a fantastic player but contributed to society as well.
But because of this, there are a lot of people who are against the movement to honor Ruth. They bring up facts such as how Ruth never played with any black players, and that if he was playing in an integrated league he may not have been the greatest there ever was.
But we'll never know. Sure, if Ruth had played in the same league as say, Josh Gibson, he may have had some real competition for top dog.
But he didn't.
And people can't blame him or fault him or his record because of that. That's not fair to him, that's not fair to the sport. Ruth played at a time where Major League Baseball was all white. But he had zero, absolutely zero impact on that decision. He didn't make the rules, and he certainly isn't to blame for being alive at the time when such unfair bylaws were in place.
Babe Ruth is hands-down the greatest baseball player there ever was. There's no use even trying to argue against that fact. His legend transcends his number, for sure, but I feel as though if MLB retired his number throughout baseball, it would solidify that legend.
Some people have chosen to argue that if number 3 were retired, it would put a damper on Robinson's tribute.
I disagree. To have Ruth's number next to Robinson's would do nothing but make number 42 more impressive. Their contributions to the game were both immense in their own ways and it's nothing other than stupidity and ignorance to say that one has ever been more important than the other.
The National Hockey League retired Wayne Gretzky's number 99, simply to recognize that he was the most skilled player the game ever had.
Why shouldn't MLB do the same?
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
Kristian Mabe
posted 8/08/08 @ 2:18 PM EST
i totally agree. they retired jackie's because he was the first black in baseball but babe was the first to change baseball. it's very hard to come from a school whose parents gave up on them and be obeise and become a major league ball player. (Continued…)
Wow!
posted 8/21/08 @ 3:16 PM EST
So should the NBA retire Michael Jordan's name too? He's the greatest basketball player that ever lived. He changed the game forever. While we're at it Wilt Chamberlain and Kareem Abdul Jabar force the league into adding and changing rules. (Continued…)
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