New York Yankees championship series begins with 1928 and Babe Ruth

Seasons have Been and Always Will be Rollercoasters

The preseason did not go well for the ’28 Yankees. Regression and injury hinted at bad things to come. This increased hopes in the American League for a new AL and World Series Champion.

These were buoyed by the fact that no team had ever won the WS in back-to-back years.

None of that could be blamed on the Babe’s preparation, though. The fine prose by Paul Adomites and Saul Wisnia makes that clear.

As a side note, one of the joys of researching a piece like this is getting a chance to read great writers who have touched on this topic before. So, even though their writing makes a mockery of mine, I cannot but quote them liberally in their honor and yours, the reader.

Here is the first of many.

"As had now become his regular off-season routine, Babe Ruth put himself under the brutal supervision of Artie McGovern for grueling daily workouts to get himself in shape for the 1928 baseball season. McGovern claimed, “Ruth is physically five to 10 years younger than he was two years ago [when they first began the workouts].” The Babe still indulged himself, but now in new pastimes like bridge, fox hunting (he could sweat off five pounds in one day on the horses), and the saxophone. It is known that he mastered one song; whether he ever learned a second is unknown."

Ruth’s efforts paid off, and the hopes of the rest of the league looked lost early, however. The Yankees got out of the gate quickly and looked like they might never stop.