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Red Sox Round Table: One moment in team history that you would change

By Brendan Mizgala

BOSTON, MA - APRIL 9: The facade is displayed as the Major League Baseball season is postponed due the coronavirus pandemic on April 9, 2020 at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA - APRIL 9: The facade is displayed as the Major League Baseball season is postponed due the coronavirus pandemic on April 9, 2020 at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images) /
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WASHINGTON, D.C. – 1919: Babe Ruth poses outside the dugout for a photo, before a game in what looks like Griffith Stadium in Washington in 1919. (Photo by Mark Rucker/Transcendental Graphics/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, D.C. – 1919: Babe Ruth poses outside the dugout for a photo, before a game in what looks like Griffith Stadium in Washington in 1919. (Photo by Mark Rucker/Transcendental Graphics/Getty Images) /

Red Sox sell Babe Ruth

The Red Sox won three championships with Babe Ruth, who was primarily a starting pitcher in those days. His prolific power started to emerge in his final years with the franchise as his plate appearances increased but it wasn’t until the Yankees converted him to an everyday position player that his bat began shattering the record books.

Red Sox owner Harry Frazee wanted to wash his hands of Ruth due to concerns about his temper as well as his bad habits of smoking and drinking which showed he wasn’t taking great care of his conditioning. He claimed the money from selling his superstar would be reinvested into the team to improve the depth of the roster but in reality, Frazee needed the money to finance one of his Broadway plays.

So Ruth was sold to the Yankees for $100,000 (a significant sum in those days) and the rest is history. The Yankees piled up championships as Ruth established himself as arguably the greatest player in MLB history while the Red Sox suffered through an 86-year drought that would be blamed on the Curse of the Bambino.

-BSI Site Expert, Sean Penney

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