1927 and the Rise of Modern America by Charles Shindo

Author:Charles Shindo
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: University Press of Kansas
Published: 2015-05-21T00:00:00+00:00

the babe and modern celebrity

In the 1920s, while professional boxing gained respectability and college football gained a national audience, professional baseball attempted to regain the respectability and audience it had lost after the 1919 “Black Sox scandal,” in which baseball commissioner Judge Ken esaw Mountain Landis banned from professional baseball eight members of the Chicago White Sox for participating in a scheme to fix the World Series. Not only did professional baseball come under the iron fist of the baseball commissioner, but it also changed from a game focused on pitching and defense to one that highlighted the crowd-pleasing attraction of hitters, especially home-run hitters. Owners increased the possibility of hits by, among other things, eliminating trick pitches, such as spitballs, and using cleaner, more frequently replaced balls during the game. These changes allowed more players to hit the ball, making the game more exciting for spectators and much more profitable for owners. In addition, owners increased their profits by enlarging the capacity of their fields by building stands in the outfield, thus making in-the-stands home runs much more possible and likely. As a result, overall batting averages increased in the 1920s, as did the number of home runs, hits, and runs batted in and pitchers’ earned-run averages. Baseball won back its audience and their respect by making the game more entertaining and dynamic.76

Much of that lost respectability returned in 1927 with the incredible run of the New York Yankees, who won 110 games that season and swept the World Series against the Pittsburgh Pirates. H. I. Phillips, writing in the “gee whiz” style popularized by Grantland Rice, claimed the 1927 Yankees to be “a team out of folklore and mythology.” He described the roster as having “magicians, miracle men, jinns, a Beowulf and a couple of Thors on it.”77 The press dubbed the team “Murderers’ Row” for its punishment of the baseball and its opponents. In strictly statistical terms (another popular method of judgment in the 1920s) the team lived up to much of its praise. The American League’s top four pitchers in winning percentages were all on the Yankee roster (Waite Hoyt, Urban Shocker, Wilcy Moore, and Herb Pennock), as were the league’s top hitters. Earl Combs led the league in base hits (231) and triples (23). Tony Lazzeri amassed the third-most home runs in the league (18) and the third-most stolen bases (22). Lou Gehrig led the league in runs batted in (175), total bases (447), and doubles (52) and was second in base hits (218), triples (18), bases on balls (109), and home runs (47). Babe Ruth was second in runs batted in (164) and total bases (417) and led the league in slugging percentage (with a slugging average of .772), runs scored (158), and home runs (60, breaking his previous record of 59, set in 1921). Many still consider the 1927 New York Yankees the best team in baseball history, but as impressive as the players were as a team, no member of the “Row,” or of professional baseball, was as well known and popular as Babe Ruth.

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