Babe Ruth as your 2010 Left-fielder
Posted On Wednesday, January 6, 2010 at at 4:48 AM by Francis Isberto
The Yankees has a hole in left field. 4th outfielder and reserve Brett Gardner is the projected left fielder for 2010 but he is not that consistent. Johnny Damon is an option and is known to deliver in clutch situations but can the Yankees afford his contract demands.
What if the Yankees has "supernatural powers" and rose Hall of Famer Babe Ruth from the dead. Having Babe Ruth back to the team will bring great wonders.
Having Babe Ruth will solve the Yankees problem in left field. Babe Ruth can fill the spot in left or play right field (he is known as a right fielder) and move Nick Swisher to left.
Babe is known as a power hitter. He hit 59 home runs in 1921 and 60 in 1927. Imagine having a slugger who can hit 50+ homers in one season. That would definitely place Ruth as the Yankees no. 3 hitter moving Mark Teixiera to the 5th hole behind Alex Rodriguez. Here is the possible line-up in 2010:
Nick Johnson = 2nd
Babe Ruth = 3rd
Alex Rodriguez = 4th
Mark Teixeira = 5th
Curtis Granderson = 6h
Jorge Posada = 7th
Robinson Cano = 8th
Nick Swisher = 9th
The top of the order have guys that have a high on-base percentage which will clog up the bases. The heart of the order are monstrous with Babe who can hit 50+ homers and A-Rod and Tex with 30-40+ homers. The bottom of the line-up are still a threat where all of them can hit 20+ home runs. There are no holes in the line-up. All of them are productive hitters which will be a nightmare to opposing teams.
Salary wise, Babe Ruth is even cheaper than Damon. Ruth would only demand $ 20,000 ($212,733 in current dollar terms). That's even lower than the minimum salary. Reserve infielder Ramiro Pena in fact has a higher salary ($400,000). That's really a bargain for the Yankees and definitely a big factor to their cost-cutting plan.
If somebody gets injured in the rotation Babe Ruth can also fill in as a starting pitcher. Babe have played as a starting pitcher during his stint with the Boston Red Sox. He once had an ERA of 1.75 and is suited to compose a shut-out game.
Or the Yankees can put back young studs like Joba and Phil Hughes back in the bullpen and insert Babe Ruth as their no. 5 starter.
Babe Ruth is a 7 time World Series champion. He won 3 as pitcher with the Red Sox and won 4 as a slugger with the Yankees. Only Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera and Andy Pettitte are the only Yankee active players that has 4 World Series title under there belts (Jorge Posada has 3).
That means Babe Ruth is proven to perform and excel in the spotlight. He is not a Hall of Famer for nothing.
You just wonder how will the Red Sox react when they will face "again" the guy they sold to the Yankees. It will be a revival of the "Curse of the Bambino" where the Red Sox failed to win a World Series for a span of 86 years. If the belief is true that will be good news for the Yankees as they have eliminate their arch-rival from winning a World Series for 8-9 decades.
Having the "Babe", the "Bambino" or the "Sultan of Swat" will not only make the Yankees a better team but they will be heavily favorites to win the World Series.
If only Babe Ruth was alive.......
