Lessons from Babe Ruth’s Failure

Anyone who is a baseball fan knows who Babe Ruth was. The American baseball player was one of the greatest during his time. That is why the bat he swung about a century ago was available on an online auction block for hundreds of thousands of dollars. He’s known to have had 714 home runs during his career that spanned 22 seasons. But what most people don’t know is that Babe Ruth didn’t only experience success — he also went face-to-face with failure.

If you want to learn more about Babe Ruth and his successes and failures, all you have to do is read this article. It will go in-depth about the baseball player’s life and how he was able to become as successful as he was.

Babe Ruth’s Early Life

Babe Ruth was born as George Herman Ruth, Jr. in Baltimore, Maryland. He was born in 1895 to George Herman Ruth, Sr. and Katherine Ruth (née Schamberger). Both parents had German ancestry, and their grandparents were from Hanover and Prussia. Babe Ruth’s father went through several jobs. He worked as a streetcar operator and a lighting salesman, until he joined a Frederick Street family-owned business. It was a combination saloon and grocery store, and Ruth’s father worked as a counterman.

Little George Ruth came into this world in his maternal grandfather’s house. His grandfather was a trade unionist and a German immigrant. Ruth also had seven siblings. Out of all of them, only one was able to survive- his sister Mamie.

Not everything about Ruth’s childhood is known. He ended up going to an orphanage and reformatory known as the St. Mary’s Industrial School for Boys. In a 1999 account given by Julia Ruth Stevens, we learn that little Ruth became a delinquent. The lack of supervision he had as a child didn’t help the situation.

Ruth even admitted as an adult that when he was a child, he barely went to school. He used to run the streets and drink beer without his father knowing. People have said that the authorities at the time didn’t let Ruth stay with his father because of a violent incident that happened at his father’s saloon. They didn’t consider the environment to be a suitable and safe one for a child so young. Ruth ended up spending 12 years at St. Mary’s. The records there show he was marked as “incorrigible”.

The children at St. Mary’s got the academic education they needed, but they also had to learn different work skills. When the residents at St. Mary’s turned 12, they were expected to help with the school’s operation. That’s how Ruth turned into a carpenter and shirtmaker. Apparently, he was actually very good at it.

Sometimes, Ruth would be either sent to St. James’s Home or briefly back to his family, but he was always returned to St. Mary’s. As a result, he rarely saw his family. His mother also passed away when the boy was only 12 years old. He was at least allowed to go to the funeral.

The exact moment Babe Ruth started playing baseball is not known, but some people say that he used to play street ball. During those games, he would break Baltimore’s windows with his long hits. According to them, this is also why he ended up at St. Mary’s. Another account said that Ruth ended up joining a baseball team during his first day at St. Mary’s.

Apparently, Brother Herman, the athletic director of the school, told Ruth to join the team. He became a catcher, which was odd considering it’s rare for left-handers to have this position. Not only that, he also played shortstop and third base. He played every position with gloves and mitts that were made for right-handed players, too. Brother Matthias Boutlier, the Prefect of Discipline of the school, was the one who encouraged Ruth to keep going. Brother Boutlier was a strong individual, but also a fair one, which earned him a lot of respect. Ruth personal style was similar to his teacher’s, and Ruth always praised him.

Babe Ruth’s Success and Failure

As a professional player, Babe Ruth was known for having 714 home runs. He broke some of the most important slugging records in baseball, which included the highest slugging percentage for a season, most total bases in a season, and most years leading a league in home runs.

He had 2,873 hits, 2,174 runs, and 506 doubles, as well as 2,214 RBIs, a 474 on-base percentage, and a 342 batting percentage. His 714 home runs left a mark on baseball that remained until 1974. He was called the King of Home Runs.

But he wasn’t always successful. While this may be hard to imagine, Ruth also dealt with failure. Although he had many hits, he also had many strikeouts. To be specific, he had 1,330 strikeouts. So, he basically had more strikeouts than home runs. Ruth’s strikeouts were usually due to his desire to only hit home runs.

Meanwhile, other players were able to use bunts and base hits to help their teams. In contrast, the only value Ruth ever brought was walking or hitting a home run. The little things that the team needed in order to win were never provided by Ruth. His strikeout record remained like that until it was exceeded by Mickey Mantle.

Also, later on Ruth was considered to be a bad role model because he promoted cigarette and alcohol use to children. He kept saying that these things were what allowed him to be so successful in baseball. Ruth said that other people should do this if they wanted to turn into successful players like him.

“A batter was supposed to protect the plate, get a piece of the ball, as in the cognate game of cricket,” said sportswriter Robert Creamer. “In Ruth’s case, however, a strikeout was only a momentary, if melodramatic, setback. Protecting the plate declined in importance, along with the sacrifice and the steal.”

What can we Learn From Babe Ruth?

Ruth shows us that all it takes for you to become a role model for others and be successful is to always go for what you want. Despite having so many strikeouts and being known as the king of strikeouts, Ruth is, to this day, still praised for his 714 home runs.

He also shows us that a hard upbringing will not affect your ability to reach your dreams. Despite rarely getting support from his father, Ruth was able to keep fighting for his goals, and he worked hard until he turned into the successful baseball player that everybody knows. His early struggles did not destroy him. He overcame them and became a professional baseball player with a lot of fans.

Babe Ruth also gives us a good example of acknowledging mistakes. After realizing what he’d done when he encouraged others to have unhealthy habits, he stopped smoking and drinking in public. Although Ruth was still doing these things privately, he didn’t want children to follow him. He became a good role model instead.

Final Thoughts

Babe Ruth was undoubtedly one of the most respected baseball players, and he was loved and praised for the 714 home runs he had during his career. He grew up having a hard life. He had a lot of strikeouts in life, both metaphorically and literally,, but he is still known as a successful player who turned his dream into reality.