Scored 1002 runs (1st in AL)
Allowed 623 earned runs (fewest in AL)
.969 Fielding (3rd) 190 errors (4th)
Team BA .286 (2nd), 160 HR (2nd).
Four men 100 RBI
Six Yankees have at least 10 home runs.
1976 Cincinnati Reds 102-60 (.630)
Joe Morgan HOF
Ken Griffey near HOF, father of soontobe HOF
Johnny Bench HOF
Pete Rose HOF shouldbewouldbecouldbeHOF
Tony Perez HOF
1st in NL in runs(857), Batting (.280), On-Base (.357), Slugging (.424), HR(141), 2B(271), 3B(63), Stolen Bases (210), Walks
Game 6 Cin 3-2(11) NY is 4-2
Riverfront Stadium, 1976
2B: B.Ruth (1), S.Byrd (1)
3B: T.Lazzeri (1)
HR: B.Ruth (4)
RBI: B.Ruth (9), B.Dickey (1)
2B: T.Perez (1), D.Concepcion (1), B.Bailey (1),
D.Driessen (1)
HR: G.Foster (1)
RBI: G.Foster (1), B.Bailey 2 (2)
SB: K.Griffey Sr. (3)
“How do you like that? Ruth blasts one and our fans cheer him…” Murmured George Foster.
“Hell, I cheered him too!” Piped Pete Rose. “It’s Babe Friggin Ruth for crying out loud!”
10 Games NY is 8-2
PLAYER... BA/SA… HR…RBI
Chapman….310/.667 4 10
Ruth……….350/.800 5 13
Gehrig……..419/.767 4 8
Lazzeri…….146/.268 0 5
Dickey……..415/.439 0 6
Griffey… .178/.200 0 3
Morgan… .467/.867 4 8
Foster… .209/.442 3 10
Perez … .293/.512 1 7
Game 12 NY 21-0 9-3
NY - 4 3 0 3 2 0 0 0 9 - 21 23 0
Cin - 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 5 1
Red Ruffing wins to go to 2-0 with a 1.48 ERA (24 inn.)
Holds Cincy to five singles
Ruth hits 2 HR and drives in 7. He now has seven homers and 21 RBI in 12 games. Joe Sewell plates six.
Game 15 Cin 9-8 NY is 9-6
Cincinnati wins 3 in a row, 4 of 5.
Ruth hits three out of Riverfront Stadium and drives home six. He now has 11 HR, 29 HR, is batting .440 and slugging 1.051.
But Ken Griffey and Johnny Bench homer. Cesar Geronimo doubles and triples. Joe Morgan triples and steals his 5th base. Five Reds drives home runs to edge the Yankees.
Game 105 at BP
Riverfront Stadium, 1976
“You looked like a kid yesterday, Babe…” Joe Morgan grinned. “Legging out that ground ball you hit to me! What are you, thirty-five?” Then Ruth grinned.
“Thirty-seven, pal. You know, when I was running out that dribbler, I forgot all about my legs. But after I beat it out, turning around to walk back to first… my legs said, ‘What the hell was that!” Then the Babe nodded out toward second base. “Of course, Joe, with you playing me out in right field like you do, I oughta beat out a hit once in a while. If I were younger, I might bunt on you.”
“You can bunt on us all day, Babe.” Morgan answered. “Me and my teammates will take up a collection.”
Babe laughed. Joe continued. “Besides, I’m not playing that deep to retire you. I’m playing that deep because I have a family to think about. You’re dangerous.”
“So are you, Joe. I never seen such a short, compact swing. “You’re like Jackie Robinson and Lou Gehrig rolled into one.”
“Wow, Babe. That’s very heady stuff. Thanks!”
“Nah! No kidding. You’re way up there with the greats. Speaking of Robbie… would you like to visit Ebbets Field?”
“You kidding?” Answered Morgan.
“Nope. Who is your favorite player?”
“Growing up? Willie Mays. Watched him growing up in the bay area.”
“You don’t say!” Barked the Babe. “We played the ’54 Giants! We beat ‘em, but Willie played great. Lead all of us in total bases… damn near got 400. Hit .340-something… just like in ’54… made catch after catch… throw after throw… just like in ’54. You wanna check out the Polo Grounds too?”
“Yeah… of course, I would! You can do that?”
“Why not. Tell your outfielders to get in shape. You think the Stadium has a big outfield? Hoo boy!”
Morgan and Ruth both laughed.
“Who’s the best you ever saw, Babe?” Joe asked.
“Geez! That’s a tough one. Willie’s gotta be near the top. Shoeless Joe. Cobb… yeah, he could be an SOB, but… but no kidding, Joe… you could definitely be on the team… any team… based on how you’re beating us.”
“Thanks again, Babe. Coming from a 37-year-old who still loves the game enough to run out ground balls the way you do… that means everything.”
“You nailed it right on the head, kid. Love this game. Always have. Always will.”
Game 105 Cin 5-2 NY is 50-55
Yanks 3-11 since going 47-44.
HR: B.Ruth (46)
RBI: B.Ruth (135)
3B: J.Morgan (6)
HR: J.Morgan (26), G.Foster (25)
RBI: J.Morgan 3 (105), G.Foster 2 (145)
Game 130 at Batting Practice
Yankee Stadium 1932
“Well Joe… you guys about have this thing wrapped up. Have you decided about playing at Ebbets? And the Polo Grounds?” Queried the Babe.
“Sure!” Answered Joe Morgan. “Both. Any other suggestions, Babe?”
“Yeah… how about Crosley Field. That’s where the Reds played in my day.”
“I”d just as soon as play there all the time. I have nothing good to say about Astroturf.”
“Yeah, that stuff is crazy, Joe. A real killer on the knees and ankles!”
“I gotta say, Babe, the fact that we’re beating you… you’re taking it well.”
“Listen Joe... I hate losing. Absolutely hate it. If we played you again, I still think we could beat you. But once the game is in the books, you can’t go back and play it again. Crying about it is a waste of time too. Remember when I legged out that ground ball to 2nd?
“Yep! Sure do, Babe.”
“You dig as hard as you can. As long as you do that, you should walk away satisfied. Nobody wins ‘em all!”
“Amen, Babe!”
“By the way, I’d like to meet that Foster guy. Does he know he’s got a shot at Hack Wilson’s 190 RBI’s?”
“I don’t know, Babe. I’ll tell him. And I’ll tell him you wanna meet him. By the way… it’s 191 RBIs for Wilson. They double-checked the record book.”
“No kidding!” Babe grinned broadly. “Maybe I’ll get them to check my stuff! I’ll creep up on Aaron and Bonds.”
“You know about those guys, Babe?” Morgan asked.
“Hell, we played ‘em! Our 1921 gang played the 2002 Giants. Then our 1923 bunch played the 2001 bunch!”
“How’d you guys do?” Joe Morgan was intrigued.
“We won both. But both seasons were very close. Barry didn’t hit that many homers though. Our pitchers walked him all the time… 200 a year. Ridiculous!”
“What about you?” Asked Joe.
“Same thing! Felt like I was walking two, three times a game! Funny thing, Joe… the 2001 Giants gave us hell. Barry said they didn’t win that year. But their line-up was loaded!”
“I remember.”
“If you beat us, Joe, try playing our ’27 team. Or even our ’21 team. I was in my prime in ’21. I’ll show you some ball playing!”
“Babe! You got 51 homers!” Morgan laughed. “That is ballplaying!”
Game 131 at BP
Crosley Field, Cincinnati.
“This place is beautiful, Babe.” Said Joe Morgan. “Love that scoreboard in left-center.”“You’ll like the power alleys too, Joe. And the grass.”
“Amen!” Came a chorus of Reds, including Foster, Griffey, Geronimo and others.
Game 132 at BP:
Crosley Field, Cincinnati.
“Babe, I’d like you to meet George Foster.” Said Joe Morgan. “George Foster, say hello to George Herman.”
The two Georges shook hands. The Babe grinned.
“George, I’d like you to meet someone!” The Babe whistled and waved to Lou Gehrig, who was warming up near 1st base. Gehrig slowly trotted over behind the batting cage.
“Lou. Meet the guy who’s gonna beat Hack Wilson. George Foster!” Foster and Gehrig shook hands.
“It’s an honor, Lou.”
“The honor’s mine. Do you know you passed me yesterday?”
“How so?” Asked Foster.
“You were tied with me for 6th place all time when you started the day.”
“Lou knocked in 174 in 1930.” Babe interjected. “Wow!” Replied Foster.
“When you hit that 2 run homer, you passed my 175 from 1927. You passed me and Jimmie Foxx.”
“I am honored,” replied George.
Game 151 Batting Practice
Yanks 21-38 since going 47-44. They are 68-82.
Wrigley Field, Chicago
“The bench jockeying was fierce Joe.” The Babe said quietly. “They called me ‘Nigger…’”
“Really…” Joe answered, a bit disquieted.
“Yeah. I got that a lot. Some guys were vicious. And I think it hurt them more than it hurt me.”
“I can believe that.” Morgan nodded.
The season is long since decided, and is winding down. Thirty-seven-year-old Babe Ruth and 32-year old Joe Morgan are standing behind the Wrigley Field cage watching BP before game 151. Morgan had asked the Babe about the 1932 World Series against the Cubs. So the Babe had arranged to have the final four games held at the historic ballpark – in 1932. Now the two all-time greats chat.
“Ben Chapman… he was a Hall Of Fame talent. He could do it all. Actually, Joe, he played like you. Steal bases, hit homers, .300- hitter, good fielder… he could do it all. But I think he let that crap ruin his career.”
“What about you, Babe?” Joe asked.
Babe smiled. “See that scoreboard out in center field?” “Yep.”
“That ball I hit in ’32 went right past it… just to the right.” Babe winked. “And I owe that to those bastards on the Chicago bench.” For the first time both Morgan and Ruth grinned.
“What about it Babe? Did you call it?”
“It’s all right there in the papers.”
“C’mon Babe!”Joe insisted.
“I’ll tell you just what I did. I pointed to the pitcher, Root. I said ‘I’m gonna knock the next pitch right down your throat!’” Ruth winked again. “Guess I got under it a bit.” Joe and the Babe both laughed.
Game 151 NY 10-6 69-82
Yanks 22-38 since going 47-44
Wrigley Field, Chicago
2B: E.Combs (1), B.Chapman (1), L.Gehrig (1),
T.Lazzeri (1)
HR: B.Ruth (55), L.Gehrig (36)
RBI: E.Combs 2 (2), B.Chapman (111),
B.Ruth 3 (167), L.Gehrig 3 (166)
2B: K.Griffey Sr. (1), J.Morgan (1), D.Concepcion (1)
HR: G.Foster (30)
RBI: G.Foster 3 (202), T.Perez (160),
J.Bench 2 (2)
Ruth’s home run traveled approximately 512 feet, leaving the park to the right of the scoreboard.
Game 152 Batting Practice
Yanks 22-38 since going 47-44. They are 69-82.
Wrigley Field, Chicago
George Foster and Joe Morgan watch as the aging Bambino launches several BP tosses into the Wrigley Field bleachers… and a couple over them. Then Babe comes out to join them as Lou Gehrig takes his hacks.
“This is still the best part of the day for me,” Ruth wiped his brow and grinned broadly. “This is why I show up.”
“This is why we played as kids, Babe.” Joe replied.
“George…” Ruth was still breathing hard. “You went over 200 RBI’s. That’s amazing, pal.”
“You went over that scoreboard yesterday, George!!”
Foster grinned. “That’s amazing.”
“You know, I had a teammate named George Foster?”
“No kidding?” Foster queried.
“Yep… everyone called him Rube… just like the Negro Leaguer. And just like the Negro Leaguer, George was a great pitcher. He was our Ace on the ’15 Red Sox… the World Champion Red Sox.”
“You were pretty good yourself that year, Babe.” Said Joe Morgan.
“We had a staff!” The Babe mused. “I won 18 games. And I didn’t get to start in the World Series!”
“Damn!” Exclaimed George Foster. “Why not?”
“Partly because of that damn George Foster!” Foster. Morgan and Ruth all laughed. “Seriously, Rube won 20, won 2 more in the Series. And he went 4 for 8.”
“Did you ever hit against the Black Rube Foster, Babe?” Asked Joe.
“Nah… he was before my time. He was a manager by the time I was a rookie. I did hit against Cannonball Redding and Smoky Joe Williams. And of course, there was Satch.”
“You hit against Satch?” Foster asked excitedly.
“Nah…” Ruth grinned. Foster looked dejected. “I mostly missed.” They all grinned. “I homered off of him once. But he was tough. Remember, he was in his twenties. He had it going!”
“Who was the fastest?” Morgan asked.
“That’s a tough one. Redding was the toughest to hit because he pitched inside. Pushed you off the plate. Then again, I was older when I faced Satch. And Williams was in his forties when he faced me.”
Game 152 Cin 13-11 NY is 69-83
Yanks 22-39 since going 47-44
Wrigley Field, Chicago
PLAYER …….POS… AB H 2B 3B HR TB
Babe Ruth…….RF… 5.....4... 0... 0... 4... 16
Lou Gehrig…....1B … 5... 5... 0... 0... 2.... 11
HR: B.Chapman (1),
B.Ruth 4 (59), L.Gehrig 2 (38)
RBI: B.Chapman (1),
B.Ruth 7 (174), L.Gehrig 2 (168), F.Crosetti (1)
HR: K.Griffey Sr. (10)
RBI: P.Rose 2 (2), K.Griffey Sr. 3 (79), G.Foster (203), T.Perez (161), J.Bench (1), D.Concepcion 4 (4),
G.Nolan (1)
1st: Ruth grounds out to Perez at 1B, unassisted.
The Reds score 5 in the bottom of the first to take the lead, 5-0.
3rd: Ruth hits a 390 foot HR into the right-center field bleachers. Red Ruffing scores ahead of the Babe to make the score 6-3, Cincinnati.
6th: The Babe leads off, and rockets a drive down the right that clears the 353 foot fence and Sheffield Avenue behind it. Ruth’s 2nd HR makes it Reds 8, Yanks 4. Lou Gehrig follows immediately with a blast to right-center, which clangs against a bleacher seat 414 feet away. Reds now lead 8-5.
7th: “Try to get on ahead of me, Ben!” Ruth says to Chapman as both men loosen up in the on-deck circle. Chapman grins and walks to the plate to lead off. Gary Nolan fires a fast-ball, and Ben Chapman lines a home-run to left field. He circles the bases and shakes Ruth’s hand at the plate. “Sorry, Babe!” Chapman yells over the roaring, 39,000-plus crowd. Ruth grins back. Then, after Sparky Anderson relieves Gary Nolan with Pedro Borbon, the Babe swings at a two-strike waste pitch, two feet outside an inches off the ground. The Babe’s 3rd HR soars to the left of the huge CF scoreboard, leaves Wrigley Field, and bounces approximately 550 feet away. In the dugout, Ben Chapman shakes his head… Holy crap!” Ruth’s 3rd home run closes the gap to 9-7.
9th inning: Cincinnati has the game in hand, 13-7. With one out, Will McEnaney walks Ben Chapman. Sparky Anderson shakes his head and comes out to remove him in favor of Pat Darcy. Darcy takes the ball and immediately fires a brushback fast-ball at the Bambino. Bambino, who of course disdains batting helmets, hits the dirt. The fans boo heavily. Ruth gets up slowly. Through the crescendo of boos, the Babe’s face is creased by a grin. He quietly says to catcher Johnny Bench… “You’re boy shoulda hit me.” Johnny grinned back. “Go easy on him Babe.” Ruth steps back into the batter’s box and digs in…six inches closer to the plate. And he stares right at Darcy. Darcy throws a change-up, which drops toward the Babe’s shoe-tops… low and inside. Ruth steps back and golfs the pitch. The Babe’s 4th home run soars majestically toward Sheffield Avenue, clearing the bleachers and disappearing from view. As Ruth trots past 2nd, Joe Morgan swats him on the rump with his glove. Ruth comes around third and hears a whistle from the pitching mound. The Babe glances up and Darcy tips his cap ever so slightly. Ruth returns the salute and dents home plate. Bench swats him on the shoulder with his catcher’s mitt as the Babe goes by.
While the Chicago throng is still cheering, Lou Gehrig hits Darcy’s first offering over the RF wall. Lou’s 2nd HR makes the score 13-11. And makes a suddenly nervous Sparky Anderson relieve Darcy with Rawly Eastwick.
“That was the best I’ve ever seen, Babe. And the best I ever hope to see.” Joe Morgan says quietly.
“Thanks, Joe.” Ruth grinned. “But you guys still won. And by the way, your hero, Willie… he hit four in a game in real life. In sixty or sixty-one, sometime around there.”
“Yeah, but I was able to witness this one. You and Gehrig both. What did you have…?”
“Twenty-seven total bases!” Sparky Anderson interjected, having just walked up behind the batting cage. “I could never hit. But I can count with anybody. Lou had 11. And this colossus had six-teen!”
“Hello, Sparky.” Said Ruth.
“Babe, do you know that Sparky’s real name is George?”
“Sunovabee!” Ruth grinned as the two Georges shook hands. Anderson repeated the number, shaking his head.
“Twenty-seven total bases! That’s three singles apiece for the whole starting line-up. Babe, it was an honor to be here and see it… and be a part of it.”
“Thanks, George!” Ruth and Anderson both grinned.
“The most amazing thing… at least two of those homers came on pitches nowhere near the plate. Darcy’s… that was a great pitch!”
“Yes it was.” Nodded the Babe. “If I could explain how I’d hit it…”
“You hit it because you’re Babe-friggin-Ruth!” Interjected Sparky Anderson. Ruth grinned.
“Sometimes that helps.” Joked Ruth.
1976 Cincinnati Reds beat 1932 New York Yankees 83-71!
N. Y..........…BA/SA……HR…RBI
Chapman….308/.491 17 112
Ruth……….330/.660 59 176
Gehrig…… .365/.631 38 169
Lazzeri…....307/.498 21 124
Dickey……..318/.452 16 136
Cin. ..........…BA/SA……HR…RBI
Griffey…… .305/.444 10 80
Morgan…....370/.684 32 146
Foster……. .311/.560 30 204
Perez…….. .264/.541 36 166
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