George Herman Ruth was born on February 6th, 1895. George’s dad was an owner of a saloon that had quite a reputation in the city of Baltimore. It should come as no surprise that George would become a delinquent. The family’s apartment was above the saloon, so it didn’t take much for the environment downstairs to trickle upstairs.
George would skip school, sneak into the bar after hours and drink, and run the streets. While this sounds like the behavior of a rebellious teenager, George was only seven years old. After a violent incident in the bar, city authorities declared this to be an unsafe place in which to raise George. His dad immediately straightened out his life, sold the bar, and moved his family to a quaint and quiet place in a suburban neighborhood.
Well, that’s what dad should have done. Instead, dad shipped his son off to the St. Mary’s Industrial School for Boys, a reformatory, penal institution, and orphanage. With the label “incorrigible” placed on his school records, George would remain here for the next 12 years.
While at St. Mary’s, the Catholic brothers taught George how to play baseball. This seemed to intrigue him, and he acclimated to the sport very quickly. He was known for powerful hitting as well as his pitching and fielding abilities. As he got older, he got better.
How he transitioned into the Major Leagues cannot be substantiated. But, in 1914, he was picked up by the Boston Red Sox. In 1920, he played the bulk of his career for the New York Yankees. George had never shaken the licentious lifestyle. Now, with money in his pocket, he could live with all the sinful vices he
wanted. This began to deteriorate him to the point that in 1934, he was in such bad condition that he couldn’t field or run anymore. Still, he could knock it out of the park on occasion.
George is traded to the Braves. This struggling ball club couldn’t get people to attend and George was essentially used as bait. Fans would come to see him, spend the money, and help the Braves build their franchise. George was also made Vice President of the organization. This, though, would be his final year as a player. On this day in 1935, George retired.
George is better known by other names. The Bambino. The Sultan of Swat. The name most people think is his real first name is the one he is known for: Babe. He played 22 seasons, 10 World Series with three of those a win, had 714 home runs, made two appearances in the All Star games, and had many awards including MVPs. Babe was one of the first five inductees to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Babe Ruth held the record for home runs for nearly 39 years until Hank Aaron broke the record on April 8, 1974. Aaron would go on to hit 755 homers. His record held for 33 years until Barry Bonds broke the record on August 7, 2007. Ultimately, Bonds would hit 762 home runs, a record that has yet to be broken.
Many devotional thoughts come from this. Let me just share three.
First, records are made to be broken. It’s doubtful that anyone will ever hold a record forever. It’s just a matter of time before someone comes along and does even better than you. As Christians, we aren’t trying to achieve any records and we aren’t supposed to be trying to be better than anyone else or outdo anyone else. Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians 9:24-27, “Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. (25) And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. (26) I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: (27) But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.”
Second, we all must retire sometime. We cannot keep going forever. We just have to finish well. 2 Timothy 4:6-8 says, “For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. (7) I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: (8) Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.” Here’s the thing – we don’t really know when we are finished. That means we have to be working hard, fighting the good fight, and keeping the faith all the time.
Finally, Babe Ruth’s life started out poor and in a bad environment. His life improved by going to a religious institution. His life situation improved even more when he entered the major leagues and started pulling down better money than he had ever had in his life. And, yet this didn’t change his life. Contrary to what the world wants us to think, environment, opportunity, and money doesn’t automatically equal a better life.
Babe needed Jesus, not baseball. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” Jesus changes hearts and lives. And Jesus is the change all of us need.
Has Jesus changed you?
Images are taken from https://pixabay.com/, https://www.pexels.com/, or https://unsplash.com/images or created in Windows Copilot. According to the websites, they are Royalty Free and free to be used for our purposes.
