Babe Ruth was the greatest baseball player of all time!

We will use Greatest as this defintion: Remarkable or outstanding in magnitude, degree, or extent: Larger in size than others of the same kind. Superior in quality or character; noble: Of outstanding significance or importance. Lets just look at His stats: In the early days of baseball through the first two decades of the 20th Century, very few homeruns were ever hit. So much so, that the concept of a homerun was considered an oddity and was actually not very appreciated by fans or baseball critics. When Babe entered the majors, however, he changed all that. When he became a full-time batter and started slugging the ball out of the park, homeruns became a regular part of the game and fans started paying attention. For quite a while, Babe was the only one that hit them on any kind of consistent basis. The homerun statistics that Babe amassed over the course of his career put his amazing slugging abilities into perspective: Babe Ruth led the American League in homeruns for 12 seasons – 1918-1921, 1923-1924, and 1926-1931. In 1927, the year that Babe set his single-season record of 60 homeruns, he individually accounted for 14% of all homeruns hit in the American League that year. In order for someone to equal that percentage today, they would need to hit approximately 340 homeruns in a season! After the Red Sox sold Babe Ruth to the Yankees in 1920, the Babe single-handedly out-homered the entire Red Sox team for 10 of the next 12 seasons. Babe is the only player to ever hit 3 homeruns in a World Series game on two separate occasions — Game 4 of the 1926 World Series and Game 4 of the 1928 World Series. Babe's single-season homerun mark of 60 lasted for 34 years, until Roger Maris broke it in 1961 by hitting 61 homers that season. Babe's career homerun record of 714 lasted for 39 years until Hank Aaron hit 715 in 1974. As time has passed, the homerun became a baseball standard and most of the Babe's homerun stats have been broken, but his abilities as a hitter went far beyond this one stat. Unlike the Babe, most homerun hitters tend to lack the entire package of hitting strength (for homeruns) and hitting consistency (Hits, Batting Average and Runs): Batting Average (.342 career): In the Top 3 in the AL for 6 seasons. Tenth highest career Batting Average. Runs (2,174 career): #1 in the AL for 8 seasons. Third on the career Runs leader board behind Rickey Henderson and Ty Cobb. RBIs – Runs Batted In (2,213 career): # 1 for 6 seasons; in the Top 3 for 11 seasons. Second only to Hank Aaron in career RBIs. On-Base % – Percent of times a player reaches base when at bat (.474 career): #1 in on-base % in the AL for 10 seasons. Second only to Ted Williams in career On-Base %. Slugging % – Total bases reached per at bat (.690 career): #1 in the AL for 13 seasons. Remains #1 today in career Slugging %. OPS – On-Base Plus Slugging (1.164 career): #1 in the AL for 13 seasons. Remains #1 today in career OPS. Total Bases (5,793 career): #1 in the AL for 6 seasons; in the Top 3 for 11 seasons. Fifth on the career Total Bases list. Bases on Balls (2,062 career): #1 in the AL for 11 seasons. Third on the career Bases on Balls list. Runs Created* (2,756 career): #1 in the AL for 9 seasons. Remains #1 today in the career total Runs Created. . http://www.baberuthcentral.com... ERA – Earned Run Average (2.28 career): #1 in ERA in the American League (AL) in 1916. 15th overall for career ERA. Wins (65 career): Top 3 in the AL in 2 of his 5 full seasons as a pitcher. Won the most games of any left-handed pitcher in the Majors from 1915-17. Win/Loss% (.671 career): 12th on the list for best career win/loss percentage. Strikeouts: Top 5 in the AL in 2 of his 5 full seasons as a pitcher. Shutouts: #1 in the AL in 1916. In Babe Ruth's 1916 season as a pitcher, his record was 23 Wins and 170 Strikeouts, with a 1.75 ERA, 9 Shutouts and 23 Complete Games – a very impressive mark for even the best pitchers in baseball. To give some perspective, Roger Clemens, who is considered to be one of the best pitchers today and throughout baseball history, has earned himself a record 7 Cy Young Awards. In what has been considered the best season of his career to date, Clemens had the following record: 24 Wins, 238 Strikeouts, a 2.48 ERA, 1 Shutout and 10 Complete Games. Ruth's impact on American culture still commands attention. Top performers in other sports are often referred to as "The Babe Ruth of ______. " He is widely regarded as one of the greatest baseball players in history. Many polls place him as the number one player of all time. . http://en.wikipedia.org... What's also interesting to note is that he still seems to have that status and effect on people today — nearly 60 years after his passing. There were so many reasons to love the Babe. How could you not? He represented every working person's dream. From growing up on the streets of Baltimore to ultimately being the biggest celebrity in America, he lived the ultimate rags-to-riches story. He gave everyone hope and inspiration. Many fans acknowledge Babe Ruth as being a saving grace for baseball after the 1919 Black Sox Scandal. As one reporter wrote, "This new fan didn't know where first base was, but he had heard of Babe Ruth and wanted to see him hit a home run. When the Babe hit one, the fan went back the next day and knew not only where first base was, but second base as well. " Through it all, Babe was always personable and friendly with others, which made him more relevant for the "everyday Joe. " Although overly confident at times, Babe usually never let his fame and fortune get to his head. There are many personal accounts of the Babe's generosity towards others, as well numerous interactions with fans regardless of who they were or what walk of life they came from. The World's First Celebrity Athlete Babe Ruth's Effect on Children Ruth's Illness & Passing -The Country Mourns Babe Ruth's Effect on American Culture