A Day with the Babe

Today, April 27^th, is Babe Ruth Day.  No, it isn’t his birthday, and it’s not the anniversary of his death.  It is the second to last time that the Bambino visited the House that Ruth Built.  On this day in 1947, Babe Ruth was honored by the Yankees, less than a year after he was diagnosed with throat cancer.  He addressed the crowd, many of whom were members of youth baseball leagues.

This past weekend, I was able to go to the Babe Ruth Museum, just a few blocks from Camden Yards.  Seeing the small accommodations of where this giant personality began was humbling.  His famous words highlighted one wall of the Sports Legends Museum, also in Baltimore outside of Camden Yards.  He said, “I swing big, with everything I got.  I hit big or I miss big.  I like to live as big as I can.”

I visited the Babe’s gravesite on my lunch hour today.  It is a beautiful spring day in Westchester, New York – sunny, warm and breezy.  I expected to see other fans there, but I found myself alone.

As I stood there looking at the monument that marked his grave, I wondered if anyone else realized that today was Babe Ruth Day.  Why didn’t I see any other fans while I was there?

I would have liked to have met the Babe.  I would have liked to have known who he was as a player and as a person.  I guess I came as close as I ever could by spending some time with him today.