Just when you think we’ve seen all the great Babe Ruth cards, I ran across this 1917 Ruth card. This is not like most Ruth cards however. This is purely a pitcher’s card. Aside from eleven pinch hit appearances, the Babe was tasked to hurl from the mound for the Red Sox.
The 1917 season was among Ruth’s two best season with the arm along with 1916 (see Ruth’s 1916 card here). In 326 2/3 innings, he went 24-13 with a 2.01 ERA for the Sawx. Interestingly, he led the league with 35 complete games. Seriously, would YOU pinch hit for him?
| Split | W | L | W-L% | ERA | G | GS | GF | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1917 Totals | 24 | 13 | .649 | 2.01 | 41 | 38 | 3 | 35 | 6 | 2 | 326.2 | 245 | 91 | 73 | 2 | 112 | 137 |
When it came to the bat, the Babe did show some inkling of what was to come in the future. In 123 at bats, Ruth batted .325 and 14 rbis. That included 11 extra base hits and two homeruns.
Here are his hitting stats for 1917:
| Split | G | GS | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1917 Totals | 52 | 38 | 142 | 123 | 14 | 40 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 14 | 0 | 12 | 19 | .325 | .385 | .472 |
Card breakdown
Who wouldn’t want this card in their rotation? Ruth is graded as an AY. His grade A is pretty much a default if you go by his win total or by his ERA.
His APBA hitting card is no 1921 Ruth card as he has three 0s. However, he sports a 15-7 and a 64-9 to replicate his .325 average.
Rumor has it Ruth was a smart baserunner so it makes sense he is rated as a Fast baserunner.
I mentioned Ruth’s 1916 card. This 1917 card is slightly downgraded from Ruth’s 1917 A&CY grade. That said, Ruth had a miniscule 1.75 ERA that year and it would have been hard to deny him an A&C.
Wow…and only 2 HR allowed in 650.1 IP!
There is NO DEBATE who is the best baseball player of all time. Please tell me of another all-time great hitter that won 20 game twice, led the league in shutouts and ERA? Name another 20 game winning pitcher who also in their Career hit 700 homeruns and knocked in 2000 runs and led the league in slugging 10 times.
There have been better pitchers (though not thousands) and there have possibly been better hitters (not many at all) but nobody had a career where they did BOTH at such a high level.