Past Players

 

George Herman "Babe" Ruth

 

 

 

           George Herman Ruth, Jr. was born on February 6, 1895 in Baltimore, Maryland. His baseball career began when he played on his high school team. When he was 17 years old, he hit 60 home runs in about 200 games. George never considered a career in baseball until he was offered one by the owner and manager of the Baltimore Orioles, Jack Dunn, in 1914. On July 10, 1914 the Babe was traded to the Boston Red Sox due to financial issues. The Red Sox did not treat him well, though. He was a pitcher but he liked to get his swings in at batting practice. Once, he did this and the next day found all his bats sawed in half.
          Despite his troubles with the team, he quickly established himself as a pitcher and hitter. He hit his first home run on May 6, 1915 when he was only 20 years old. The owner of the Red Sox was having financial troubles and traded Babe Ruth to the Yankees for a reported $125,000 and Red Sox fans have never forgiven since. George went on to hit a total of 714 home runs in addition to 15 in World Series. Obviously, Babe Ruth was a great player and one of the best to come out of Yankee history. He, unfortunately, lost his battle with cancer on August 16, 1948.

 

 

 

 

 

Joseph Paul DiMaggio

 

 

 

           Joseph Paul DiMaggio was born on November 25, 1914. When he was about ten years old he began playing sandlot ball, taking time off school. He quit school in tenth grade. Later, Joe signed up with  an amateur team for Sunset Produce where he hit an astonishing .632. Joe got signed to a minor league team and in 1935 got drafted to the Yankees. The Yankees gave the Seals his minor league team) five players and $25,000 for DiMaggio. Joe soon made other teams sorry he was not their center fielder, batting .323 in his rookie season of 1936. He was American League MVP twice and an all-star 11 times.
          During his 13 seasons with the Yankees, his most spectacular achievement was his record 56-game hitting streak in 1941. DiMaggio was elected into the Hall of Fame in 1955.

 

 

 

 

 

Mickey Charles Mantle

 
          Born on October 20, 1931, Mickey Mantle was the eldest of his twin brothers. Mantle was a star athlete all around. He played baseball, basketball, and was a high school football star. Playing baseball, though, is what paid off. He was the greatest switch-hitter who ever lived. One of the most memorable things he has ever done was the race against Roger Marris to beat Babe Ruth's home run total of 60, from 1927. Marris was the one to beat Babe's record, but that didn't mean the end of Mickey's career. He went on to win three MVP awards.

 

 

 

 

           He led the team in home runs three times on his way to his total of 536. This amount is also the most home runs ever held by a switch-hitter. In his 18 years with the Yankees, Mantle led them to the World Series 12 times. "The Mick" was inducted into the Hall of Fames in 1974 and definitely deserves it.

 

 

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