The 1923 World Series was the first one Babe Ruth won as an exclusive positioned player! And right now, the watch from that series is going to be auctioned!
The Babe was coming off back-to-back Fall Classic setbacks in 1921 and 1922 to the rival Giants. In the 1915 World Series, The Babe appeared in just one game, but the Boston Red Sox won it anway. The next year, it was just a single mound appearance. Again, a Red Sox World Series win. It was a little better in 1918, as he appeared in 3 games, including the clincher as a defensive replacement. Boston won, but they would not win another World Series for 86 years!
That's because it was off to New York for Babe Ruth, where a pair of losses in the early 1920s must have put a littler damper on The Bambino. Was this bad timing? 1923 would be different. And Ruth made sure of it.
It was the third straight Subway Series.
Ruth got a triple and scored a run in game 1, but like the previous World Series, the Yankees came up short by a single run.
However, in game 2 against the Giant's Hugh McQuillan, Ruth helped the Yankees tie the Series. After the Yankees' Aaron Ward and the Giants' Irish Meusel traded home runs in the 2nd inning, it was Ruth up to the plate to lead off the top of the 4th. The Babe would take McQuillan deep to right on a tremendous blast. 2-1, Yankees.
Great plays from great players inspire. And the Yankees were inspired as they tacked on another run that inning to make it a 3-1, Yankee lead in this Fall Classic.
Ruth was not done. The very next inning, he came to bat against Giants' reliever Jack Bentley. Again, Ruth went deep to right. Another big blast. The Yankees went on to win, 4-2 and square the series at a win apiece.
In game 3, however, the Giants' Art Neft shutout the Yankees, 1-0. Neft, a clutch Fall Classic performer of his time (Think Bob Gibson), tamed the Yankees on just 6 hits and 3 walks. Art was careful with Ruth in this game, however. He walked him twice after Ruth connected for a first-inning single! The Babe was putting fear into the Giants in this series. In any event, the Giants were back up, 2 games to 1.
But again, the Yankees tied it. In game 4, the Bronx Bombers used a 6-run uprising in the top of the 2nd to put the game out of reach, right there. Babe Ruth, for the second straight game, had just a hit and two walks (plus he fanned twice), but he scored two runs. The Yankees won this game handily, 8-4. Series tied at 2.
In game 5, once again the Yankees scored 8 times, but this time the Giants only scored a single tally. For the third straight game, The Babe had just 1 hit. But for the second straight game, he scored 2 runs. The Yankees were now just one win away from a World Series crown!
Neft tried to extend the series to a 7th game. And he almost did that. Keeping the Yankee hitters off-balance with some good stuff, he took a 4-1 Giant lead into the top of the 8th. But guess how the Bronx Bombers' got that one run? Why, a Babe Ruth home run, of course!
Neft was humming along with a 2-hitter though 7 innings. But in the 8th, the Bombers scored 5 times off Neft and reliever Rosy Ryan. Ruth was not a part of this (in fact, he fanned against Ryan) but the Yankees now had a 6-4 lead. There was no further scoring from either New York team.
Babe Ruth had played in all 6 games of the 1923 World Series. He played right field except for some time at first in game 3. In the 6 games he batted .368, hit 3 home runs (tops in the tournament), scored 8 runs (tops) and walked 8 times (first). And those three home runs were very timely, which is symbolic of his watch from his first New York triumph going on the block right now!
The Babe was coming off back-to-back Fall Classic setbacks in 1921 and 1922 to the rival Giants. In the 1915 World Series, The Babe appeared in just one game, but the Boston Red Sox won it anway. The next year, it was just a single mound appearance. Again, a Red Sox World Series win. It was a little better in 1918, as he appeared in 3 games, including the clincher as a defensive replacement. Boston won, but they would not win another World Series for 86 years!
That's because it was off to New York for Babe Ruth, where a pair of losses in the early 1920s must have put a littler damper on The Bambino. Was this bad timing? 1923 would be different. And Ruth made sure of it.
It was the third straight Subway Series.
Ruth got a triple and scored a run in game 1, but like the previous World Series, the Yankees came up short by a single run.
However, in game 2 against the Giant's Hugh McQuillan, Ruth helped the Yankees tie the Series. After the Yankees' Aaron Ward and the Giants' Irish Meusel traded home runs in the 2nd inning, it was Ruth up to the plate to lead off the top of the 4th. The Babe would take McQuillan deep to right on a tremendous blast. 2-1, Yankees.
Great plays from great players inspire. And the Yankees were inspired as they tacked on another run that inning to make it a 3-1, Yankee lead in this Fall Classic.
Ruth was not done. The very next inning, he came to bat against Giants' reliever Jack Bentley. Again, Ruth went deep to right. Another big blast. The Yankees went on to win, 4-2 and square the series at a win apiece.
In game 3, however, the Giants' Art Neft shutout the Yankees, 1-0. Neft, a clutch Fall Classic performer of his time (Think Bob Gibson), tamed the Yankees on just 6 hits and 3 walks. Art was careful with Ruth in this game, however. He walked him twice after Ruth connected for a first-inning single! The Babe was putting fear into the Giants in this series. In any event, the Giants were back up, 2 games to 1.
But again, the Yankees tied it. In game 4, the Bronx Bombers used a 6-run uprising in the top of the 2nd to put the game out of reach, right there. Babe Ruth, for the second straight game, had just a hit and two walks (plus he fanned twice), but he scored two runs. The Yankees won this game handily, 8-4. Series tied at 2.
In game 5, once again the Yankees scored 8 times, but this time the Giants only scored a single tally. For the third straight game, The Babe had just 1 hit. But for the second straight game, he scored 2 runs. The Yankees were now just one win away from a World Series crown!
Neft tried to extend the series to a 7th game. And he almost did that. Keeping the Yankee hitters off-balance with some good stuff, he took a 4-1 Giant lead into the top of the 8th. But guess how the Bronx Bombers' got that one run? Why, a Babe Ruth home run, of course!
Neft was humming along with a 2-hitter though 7 innings. But in the 8th, the Bombers scored 5 times off Neft and reliever Rosy Ryan. Ruth was not a part of this (in fact, he fanned against Ryan) but the Yankees now had a 6-4 lead. There was no further scoring from either New York team.
Babe Ruth had played in all 6 games of the 1923 World Series. He played right field except for some time at first in game 3. In the 6 games he batted .368, hit 3 home runs (tops in the tournament), scored 8 runs (tops) and walked 8 times (first). And those three home runs were very timely, which is symbolic of his watch from his first New York triumph going on the block right now!
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