Red Sox: Babe Ruth predicted Ted Williams would break home run record

Babe Ruth thought Red Sox star Ted Williams would break his record

Babe Ruth was the original home run king, pulling Major League Baseball out of the dead-ball era with his powerful swing. The Sultan of Swat was the all-time leader in home runs at the time he retired in 1935, a record that would stand for nearly four decades. Ruth also set the single-season record with 60 home runs in 1927. While it would be over thirty years before anyone topped that mark in a season, Ruth believed that Boston Red Sox star Ted Williams was capable of breaking his record.

Alex Speier shared a snippet from an old Boston Globe article from April of 1947 in which Ruth remarked that the Splendid Splinter could potentially smash 60+ homers in a season.

"“He’s a great natural hitter,” said Ruth. “I wouldn’t be surprised if Ted beats my mark. Sure, somebody will one of these days.”"

Williams had won the AL MVP award the previous year when he hit .342 with a 1.164 OPS. His 38 home runs were a career-high at that point. While that total fell well short of 60, Ruth recognized the incredible upside of Ted’s bat.

While he never ended up hitting more than 43 homers in a season, Williams was a remarkably consistent force throughout his 19 seasons. He finished his career with 521 home runs, which is currently tied for 20th on the all-time list. That’s despite missing three years of his prime while serving in the military during World War II, plus the better part of two more seasons when he fought in the Korean War during the early 1950s. Williams would have easily topped 600 home runs to crack the top-10 in MLB history if his commitment to the military hadn’t pulled him away from baseball during his peak.

Ruth praised his power potential but couldn’t help critiquing the approach at the plate from the pull-happy Williams.

"“Williams will find his batting average a lot better if he hits to left field,” said Ruth. “There’s no trick to it. A batter of his ability could be taught in a week.”"

To some extent, Ruth raised a fair point. Fenway Park is tailored for left-handed hitters to use the opposite field where they can pepper the Green Monster. The ball doesn’t need to carry nearly as far to clear the towering wall in left field compared to the spacious dimensions in right.

On the other hand, Williams is probably the last player in baseball history who needed batting advice. This is a guy who hit .406 earlier in that decade. Williams already had a pair of batting titles on his resume at that point and would go on to win another that season. He finished his career with a .344 average and six batting titles.

Fenway is a more difficult park for a left-handed pull hitter but Williams had plenty of power to thrive in that environment. The infamous red seat in right field marking the longest home run ever hit at Fenway still remains as evidence of his mighty swing.

Ruth’s single-season home run record stood until 1961 when Yankees outfielder Roger Maris hit 61. Maris captured his second of consecutive MVP awards that year but his peak was fairly short. He topped 30 homers in only two other seasons and never topped 40 again.

The all-time home run record of 714 would be broken by Hank Aaron, who retired with 755 in 1976. That record would stand until Barry Bonds reached 762 in 2007, although many will put an asterisk next to that PED-fueled achievement.

Williams never quite reached Ruth’s level in the power department but he arguably surpassed him for the title of the greatest hitter who ever lived. Considering Ruth was primarily a pitcher during his tenure with the Red Sox, Teddy Ballgame is undoubtedly the greatest hitter in franchise history.