YEAR: 1932 & 1933

SIGNIFICANCE: Babe Ruth made his legendary “called shot” and pitched a CG and also hit a HR in his final pitching appearance

Exactly 88 and 89 years ago, Babe Ruth further cemented his name in baseball history and folklore. In 1932, Ruth came up to bat in Game 3 of the 1932 World Series between the Yankees and the Chicago Cubs. In the box score, it simply reads that Ruth hit a solo home run off Cubs starter Charlie Root. But what happened during this at bat is considered one of the most iconic moments in American sports. During the AB, the Cubs’ bench kept yelling and heckling at Ruth, forcing the Sultan of Swat, in classic Babe fashion, to gesture and scream back at them. Root had a clearly rattled Ruth on an 0-2 count. Ruth prompted to raise two fingers and point them towards center field, calling his shot. The very next pitch, Ruth hit it out to that same location he had pointed to seconds ago. The very next AB, Lou Gehrig would hit another home run, giving the legendary duo two dingers each.

The very next year, Ruth made his last career pitching appearance of his career. Ruth had made just four starts between 1920 and 1932, due to the Yankees using him solely as a hitter. Prior to his trade to the Yankees in 1919, Ruth had an 89-46 W-L record with a 2.19 ERA, as an insanely good pitcher. Fast forward to 1933, and Ruth is making his fifth pitching appearance as a Yankee, fascinating enough against the Red Sox. The 38-year-old Ruth pitched the whole nine innings and allowed five runs on 12 hits. In addition, Ruth also hit a home run to deep right field in this game off Bob Kline in the fifth inning. The Yankees won the game 6-5. Ruth finished his pitching career 94-46, 2.28 ERA in more than 1200 innings pitched. Less than a year later, Ruth would officially announce his retirement.