This Week in Baseball History: 12/20 – 12/26

This week in baseball history featured arguably the worst trade in baseball history and the beginning of free agency in Major League Baseball.

December 26, 1919:

On this date, the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees agreed in principle to a trade that would send star pitcher George Herman “Babe” Ruth to the Yankees in exchange for $100,000 and a $300,000 loan for the reconstruction of Fenway Park

In his time with the Red Sox, Ruth was an intimidating presence on the mound. In his five years with the Sox, he pitched his way to a 2.19 ERA and a record of 89-46. He compiled 17 shutouts in his time on the bump and he completed an incredible 105 of his 143 games started.

Babe Ruth and the teams he played with in Boston enjoyed a great amount of success. In his six seasons in Boston, they appeared in three World Series, claiming the title in all three. Ruth pitched a game in the 1916 Series and two in the 1918 Fall Classic. He would win all three games he took the hill. Towards the end of his time with the Red Sox, the Babe voiced his discontent with being just a pitcher. He wanted to play the field, and most importantly hit.

He got his wish in the 1918 and 1919 seasons when he was used as an outfielder by the team. In that time, he posted a .312 batting average with .614 slugging percentage and 40 long balls. Before long, the Red Sox were tired of Ruth and his incessant badgering to play the field consistently. Ruth wanted out of Boston and Boston wanted Ruth out. They both got their wish when the Yankees agreed to purchase him.

At the age of 25, Babe Ruth began his march into legend with the Yankees. In eight out of his first ten seasons with the Yankees he would lead the league in runs scored and home runs. His power came with a price, as he led the league in strikeouts multiple times in the same time period, with a career high of 93 in the 1923 season.

In his long tenure with the Yankees, Ruth only secured one league MVP award. Despite this, there was no doubt that Babe Ruth was the best offensive player in the league when he was in his prime. Often, he would hit more home runs himself than other teams hit as a whole. His 1927 season was arguably his best. In that summer, he batted .356 with 158 runs scored and 60 home runs, a league record at the time.

In his 15 seasons with the Yankees, the Sultan of Swat would bat .349 with 1,959 total runs scored and 1,978 RBIs. Along with this, he slammed 659 of his legendary 714 home runs in the Yankee pinstripes. Over half of his seasons with the Yankees culminated with a trip to the World Series. He and the Bronx Bombers made eight appearances in the World Series between 1919 and 1934. They would win five of those contests with Babe Ruth contributing heavily at the plate in each series.

Babe would finish his career as a player-manager with the Boston Braves at the age of 40 in which he only appeared in 28 games and accomplished no batting feats of note.

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In his career, Babe Ruth established a number of records. Many of which have been overcome by other players following his retirement. His single season home run record seemed insurmountable until Roger Maris did so in 1961. His home run record seemed unreachable as well until Hank Aaron exceeded it. Regardless of his records, broken or not, Babe Ruth was the first true superstar of baseball and he will never be forgotten in the game. He saved the league following the 1919 Chicago Black Sox scandal and went on to be one of the greatest ambassadors of the sport.

December 23, 1975:

On this day in baseball history, the age of free agency began, forever changing landscape of baseball.

Prior to the decision of MLB arbitrator Peter Seitz, if a player did not re-sign with his team in the final year of his contract, he would be granted a one-year contract in which he could re-sign or be traded. Dave McNally and Andy Messersmith challenged this idea. They believed that since they did not sign with their respective teams, they had the ability to sign with any team they desired.

Dave McNally was a left handed pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles before he became one of the first ever true free agents in baseball history. In his 12 years with the O’s, he pitched his way to a 181-113 overall record and an ERA of 3.18. In the 1975-76 offseason in which he declared free agency, McNally signed with the Montreal Expos. His single year with the Expos was incredibly below par for him; he only had a 3-6 record and he retired from baseball following the 1976 season.

Andy Messersmith was a pitcher as well but threw from the other side of his body. Prior to the offseason of 1975-76, Messersmith was a part of the Los Angeles Dodgers. In his final season with them, he put up a 19-14 record with a league-leading 40 games started and 19 complete games. Andy made his debut with the California Angels in 1968. In the winter of 1972 he was traded to the Dodgers. When he challenged the ownership of the Dodgers and became a free agent in 1975, he signed with the Atlanta Braves. In his two years with the team, he had a 16-15 record, lackluster results for him.

The actions of McNally and Messersmith set in motion the biggest wave to go through the league since the lowering of the mound prior to the 1969 season. They enabled players to be in charge of their own destinies and play where they wanted to play, rather than waiting on their team to trade them when it would only benefit them. It can be concluded that they are in some way responsible for the mammoth contacts that baseball has seen in the past ten years.

Next: Cardinals sign Mike Leake

For better or for worse, free agency has become the norm of baseball and most professional sports in America and it allows freedom to players that would not be known without it. In the opinion of many, it has made baseball more of a business rather than a sport, as it encourages players to go to whatever team will give them the most money. But in reality, it allows players to play wherever they want and be happy where they are. Baseball is a human game and free agency allows the players to live their dreams.