Babe Ruth and baseball go together like bacon and eggs. For over 22 seasons “The Bambino” achieved many Major League Baseball hitting and pitching records. He hit 714 home runs, batted in 2,213 runs and twice won 23 games as a pitcher. Most of his illustrious career was spent with the New York Yankees.
Even though he was well past his prime, he loved the game and wanted to continue playing. The Yankees traded him to the Boston Braves in 1935, a team in Boston with that name at the time.
Babe Ruth played one of his last games for the Boston Braves against the Reds in Cincinnati. The great Ruth was no longer as agile as he had once been. He fumbled the ball and threw badly, and in one inning alone his errors were responsible for most of the five runs scored by Cincinnati.
As the Babe walked off the field after the third out and headed toward the dugout, a crescendo of yelling and booing reached his ears. Just then a boy jumped over the railing onto the playing field. With tears streaming down his face, he threw his arms around the legs of his hero.
Ruth didn’t hesitate for one second. He picked up the boy, hugged him, and set him down on his feet, patting his head gently. The noise from the stands came to an abrupt halt. Suddenly there was no more booing. In fact, a hush fell over the entire park.
In those brief moments, the fans saw two heroes: Babe Ruth, who in spite of his dismal day on the field could still care about a little boy and the small lad, who cared about the feelings of another human being. Both had melted the hearts of the crowd.
Ruth must have felt defeated at that moment, but it was a tender and moving act for him to pick that boy up. Life can deal us some pretty difficult blows, many of which we inflict upon ourselves, but if we love Jesus we’ll find a way to shake ’em off and help those around us. And maybe, just maybe, people will notice for once, stop their booing, and their hearts will be changed.
Thanks to Ted Engstrom for sharing this story. Thanks to Pixabay for the photo.
I’m searching for life experiences like this today. I watched a few minutes of the Final Four of the College Women’s Basketball Tournament. I was delighted to see Caitlin Clark reach down and pick up members of the OPPOSING team who had fallen on the court. They were not her enemy, just players on the other team. I cannot remember seeing this in men’s sports. Hopefully what Caitlin learned at Dowling Catholic High School in West Des Moines, Iowa will stay with her. As she says, “We get to live our faith every day!”
Surely Babe Ruth was over the hill and his glory days were behind him. Maybe his performance that day deserved all the boos that the crowd in Cincinnati gave him. It took a young boy to go beyond all the booing in the stands to recognize someone really special who was still able to be on the playing field.
He went and gave Babe Ruth what he needed as a human being as his great career was ending – a hug. And “The Bambino” amidst all the booing gave the lad what he needed most – a hug. The end result with the crowd in the stadium — suddenly there was no more booing. The Babe and the boy had melted their hearts.
Oh, do I miss that in our world today! I see great people and little people go out of their way to care, truly care about others. But where are the hearts that melt anymore? How come the booing never stops today on TV and in so many human hearts all around us?
What are YOU doing today to stop the booing of some really fine people of character who truly care about others and are trying to make this world a better world?
THE MORE YOU STUDY THE LIFE OF JESUS, THE MORE YOU WILL BE IMPRESSED WITH HIS ABSOLUTE, GENUINE LOVE FOR ALL OTHERS.
This is a strong Message we all need to hear and to share today: www.TreatsfortheSoul.org. Do share my Podcast.
