Today marks another great anniversary milestone in the history of the Babe.
As mentioned in a post from last year, http://www.baberuthcentral.com/?p=2940, Babe Ruth hit his first home run in a professional game as a member of the minor league Providence Grays on September 5th, 1914. Then, on May 6th, 1915, 20-year old Ruth hit his first home run in a Major League baseball game. Ruth was pitching for the Red Sox and his opponent was fittingly the New York Yankees with Jack Warhop on the mound. Warhop was nicknamed the “Crab,” for his unorthodox submarine pitching delivery. In the third inning at the Polo Grounds, Ruth launched the first pitch off Warhop into the second tier of the right field grandstand for a home run. The round tripper came on his 18th time at bat in the major leagues.
Wilmot Griffin, writer for the New York Evening Journal, summarized the moment: “Mr. Warhop of the Yankees looked reproachfully at the opposing pitcher who was so unclubby as to do a thing like that to one of his own trade. But Ruthless Ruth seemed to think that all was fair in the matter of fattening a batting average.”
