“Babe Ruth Saves Baseball!” by Frank Murphy, illustrated by Richard Walz
Random House, New York, 2005, 48 pages, Grades 2-4.

Spring is a happy time of the year. The snow has melted, the grass begins to turn green, and hope fills most hearts.

For millions of people, it also means that Opening Day is close at hand. Opening Day is the beginning of baseball season in the major leagues. Though the season traditionally starts in Cincinnati, recent first games have been played in many different ballparks.

April is also the time to remember all the great stars of the past. Older adults can often vividly remember their first baseball game. They recall long home runs and exploits from the past. But no one conjures up more dramatic memories than the first man to ever hit 60 home runs. This great player was none other than the Great Bambino himself, Babe Ruth.

So many stories abound about the Babe that it is hard to know where to start. In 1914, a strong young pitcher named Babe Ruth came up with the Boston Red Sox. Early in his career, Babe is in tremendous shape. He is a pitcher at the beginning of his career, and his rocket arm helps the Red Sox dominate the American League.

But his manager is surprised when Babe begins hitting long home runs. This simply wasn’t the way baseball was played at the time. Hitters were supposed to hit behind the runners and move them along the base paths. This type of play is sometimes called small ball. Now crushing a fastball 100 feet over the center field fence for a home run is quite different. This is known as long ball. No one had ever so consistently pounded the baseball like Babe Ruth. His enormous home runs, sometimes called “taters,” were avidly followed across the nation.

Two things then happen at the end of the 1919 season. First, the World Series is thrown by the Chicago White Sox. The 1919 Chicago team will be referred to as the Black Sox after this awful event.

Second, Babe Ruth is sold by the Red Sox to the New York Yankees. Much to Boston’s sorrow and New York’s delight, Ruth begins leading the Yankees from one World Series Championship to another. So many people begin following the Yankees, that Yankee Stadium is built.

Next, Ruth begins hitting so many home runs that he becomes a national hero. But the Great Bambino has something else that draws people to him like a magnet.

What about Ruth fascinates the entire nation?

As the years pass, his rock hard physique changes. When does it change? Does being in shape or not being in shape seem to have any effect on his play? How does the size of his waistline make him even more attractive?

Why are children so drawn to the great Yankee outfielder? Why do people forget the Black Sox scandal after seeing Ruth crush a towering home run?

To find out the answers to these questions, go to the library and check out this interesting early reader, “Babe Ruth Saves Baseball,” by Frank Murphy.

This book is part of an early educational series entitled “Step into Reading.” This series is written to help primary school students’ move from picture books into chapter books. It uses an easy to understand vocabulary, and is written in an interesting and lively manner. The illustrations are enjoyable, and draw early readers into the story.

You can’t help but love the Babe after reading this book. I hope you go to the library and check out this pleasurable title. I like it and think you will as well. Play Ball!

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