Rumor and legend has it that one man once pointed to the center field wall before an at-bat essentially calling that he was going to hit a home run. The man was Babe Ruth of the Yankees and it happened in Game Three of the 1932 World Series.
Ruth called his shot in the fifth inning against Chicago
Cubs pitcher Charlie Root and did so while leading the Yankees to a 7-5
victory. I can’t think of another man, even in legend, that called his shot and
actually hit one in a game let alone a World Series game so I guess that’s just
part of what makes the Great Bambino special.
Here is a little nugget of personal information from me as
well while we are on the subject. One time one of my teammates in Little League
had an older brother who told us he would give us a $20 bill if we called a
home run and hit one. Me being me, greedy, called the shot and promptly took a
fastball to the calf. Even in Little League pitchers didn’t take kindly to
calling your shot. That was as close as I ever got to being Babe Ruth and boy
it hurt.
Was I pitching that game?
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like something I would do in a heartbeat! Of course, it wouldn't hurt much at about 80+/- mph...mostly (-) mph!