Ruth is one of the greatest sports heroes of American culture[1] and has been named the greatest baseball player in history in various surveys and rankings,[2] and his home run hitting prowess and charismatic personality made him a larger than life figure in the "Roaring Twenties".[3] He was the first player to hit 60 home runs in one season (1927), a record which stood for 34 years until broken by Roger Maris in 1961. Ruth's lifetime total of 714 home runs at his retirement in 1935 was a record for 39 years, until broken by Hank Aaron in 1974. Unlike many power hitters, Ruth also hit for average: his .342 lifetime batting is tenth highest in baseball history, and in one season (1923) he hit .393, a Yankee record. His .690 career slugging percentage and 1.164 career on-base plus slugging (OPS) remain the major league records.[3]
Ruth dominated in the era in which he played. He led the league in home runs during a season twelve times, slugging percentage thirteen times, OPS thirteen times, runs scored eight times, and runs batted in (RBI) six times. Each of those totals represents a modern record (and also an all-time record, except for RBIs).[4] At the time of his retirement, his 714 home runs were not only the record, but that total was 336 more than the next player, Lou Gehrig.[5] He also finished with the most career walks (2062)[6], most career extra base hits (1356)[7], and he is still the only player to have a season with at least 200 hits and 150 walks[8]. In 1936, Ruth became one of the first five players elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. In 1969, he was named baseball's Greatest Player Ever in a ballot commemorating the 100th anniversary of professional baseball. In 1998, The Sporting News ranked Ruth Number 1 on the list of "Baseball's 100 Greatest Players." In 1999, baseball fans named Ruth to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team.[3]
Originally Posted by TheNext44
