Baseball and The Babe
Now that the gates have officially closed at Yankee Stadium, fans may be craving a little nostalgia from the good old days of baseball. Julia Ruth Stevens, who threw the last “first” pitch at Yankee Stadium Sunday night in the house her father built, might just have the remedy.
Although she admits to being a Red Sox fan, Ruth Stevens published a book in 2008 filled with photographs and memories of the Babe, especially his time spent in pinstripes. The book titled Babe Ruth: Remembering the Bambino in Stories, Photos & Memorabilia is a pricey $35.00, but captures why this one man from Baltimore became a worldwide legend. Sure she mentions all of the records he set, broke and how he is still considered the greatest player ever to swing a bat, but she also writes about his humble beginnings and how he was simply a great dad.
One chapter in the book, Ruth Stevens describes her father’s special breakfast we would fix, just for her. She describes how the Babe would wake her up early in the morning before he would go hunting or fishing. He would butter bread and fry an egg in a whole, cut in the middle of the bread, and top it off with a slice bologna.
Ruth Stevens really balances the legend of her father and showing how he was just an ordinary man who had a great passion. Considering the state of baseball today, with the million dollar salaries, steroid use or human growth hormone, expensive ticket prices, and “misremembering” clubhouse conversations, it is refreshing to look back on why baseball is an American pastime.
Although I am not a Yankee’s fan, I can remember the first time I went to a game at the Stadium. My older brother and I had tickets in the bleachers. We sat in the furthest row from home plate, and in the furthest section of right field. We had the worst possible seats in Ruth’s house. There was not one person behind us and we both just laughed about it and looked around and saw the perfect view of all the devoted fans in the entire stadium. My brother gave me nudge and told me to shut up, so he could have a “moment” at Yankee Stadium.
September 24th, 2008 at 9:03 pm
Breakfast is the great equalizer. It makes us all human.
Having grown up a Red Sox fan and therefore a Yankees hater, this trivia about Ruth’s daughter is probably the most interesting thing to come out of the stadium-burying nostalgia-fest of the past week.