On July 11, 1914, a raw, nineteen-year-old left-handed pitcher named George Herman “Babe” Ruth quietly stepped onto the mound at Fenway Park to make his Major League debut for the Boston Red Sox. Long before he became the legendary, home-run-hitting “Sultan of Swat,” Ruth was a highly touted pitching prodigy purchased from the minor-league Baltimore Orioles. In his debut performance, he pitched seven strong innings, striking out one batter and giving up just two runs to secure a 4-3 victory over the Cleveland Naps.
Ironically, Ruth’s historic debut gave absolutely no indication of the offensive revolution he would later spark. In his very first major league at-bat, he struck out swinging against Cleveland pitcher Willie Mitchell. It would take a few more seasons for the Red Sox to fully realize that Ruth’s true destiny lay not in preventing runs on the mound, but in completely shattering baseball records with his bat.
