|
 |
|
BABE RUTH |
ON THIS DATE (July
8, 1918)
...
Babe Ruth's 10th inning smash
into the right field bleachers, drove Amos Strunk
home with the winning and only run in the first game of today's
doubleheader against the Cleveland Indians, giving the Sox a 1-0
walk-off win.
Under any other conditions, it would've been his 12th homer of the season, and longest ever hit at Fenway Park, but all the Babe was able to get was a triple, on
a blow which
almost went over the right field bleachers,
because Strunk was on first base at the time. Babe seemed perfectly
satisfied inasmuch as it won the ballgame.
He got two hits in the
first game, but went hitless in the second game.
Under 1918 rules the homer was a
triple because the game ended
when the winning run crossed the
plate (the rule was changed in
1920, and if it had been in
place in 1918, the "Babe" would
have hit 715 career home runs
instead of 714) ... The ball
landed near the top of the
right field bleachers and might
have been further than Ted
Williams' record clout in 1946
... but we'll never know. |
