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The Year Babe Ruth Hit 104 Home Runs: Recrowning Baseball's Greatest Slugger | 
 enlarge | Author: Bill Jenkinson
Publisher: Carroll & Graf
Category: Book
List Price: $16.95
Buy New: $5.99
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Avg. Customer Rating:  17 reviews
Sales Rank: 83228
Format: Bargain Price
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 432
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 8.9 x 6 x 1.1
Dewey Decimal Number: 796.357092
ASIN: B0017U1IV2
Publication Date: January 19, 2007
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Product Description
In an unprecedented look at Babe Ruth’s amazing batting power, sure to inspire debate among baseball fans of every stripe, one of the country's most respected and trusted baseball historians reveals the amazing conclusions of more than twenty years of research. Jenkinson takes readers through Ruth's 1921 season, in which his pattern of battled balls would have accounted for more than 100 home runs in today's ballparks and under today's rules. Yet, 1921 is just tip of the iceberg, for Jenkinson's research reveals that during an era of mammoth field dimensions Ruth hit more 450-plus-feet shots than anybody in history, and the conclusions one can draw are mind boggling.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 12 more reviews...
 Exhaustive Treatise June 11, 2008
The author did a incredible amount of research on the subject. His documentation of Ruth's power is amazing. He compares Ruth's production to the modern home run sluggers Bonds and McGuire. An interesting section discusses todays baseball enviornment with that of Ruth's era. Quite significant are the dimensions of those ballparks with what we have today as well as the ground rules that often turned what today would be a home run into a double or triple back then. Todays players enjoy the lifestyle comforts of planes and airconditioning that were not available then. Exercise,diet and physical conditioning are much more advanced now. Ruth played over 800 exhibition games in his day. Though the book can be tedious at times the message is clear. Ruth was the greatest slugger of all time. It makes you wish you could have seen one of those massive drives.
Meticulous Research Makes For Authoritative Reference March 30, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Its great to be able to read a book that has taken so many , many hours of labor and yielded so much useful information.
After reading the detailed analyses and descriptions in this book it is hard to argue the conclusion that Babe Ruth hit the ball harder and farther than anyone else-- with his much-too-heavy bat reducing bat speed and no weight training, much less artificial enhancements ala MC Quire and Bonds. Even on steroids, the latter two cannot touch the Bambino for 450 foot + shots. Its not even close. And consider Babe routinely bombed 400 --475 + footers that were fly outs in the huge old fields of the 20s and 30s--
So the truth actually transcscends the myth-- Ruth was better than his legend.
With some aerobic work and strength training, modern medical care, a lighter bat, modern day fields and the DH rule...
Eye-opening Analysis February 4, 2008
This was not, strictly speaking, a biography. Nonetheless, I found it gave me a fresh perspective on not only Babe Ruth's career, but also the man. Mr. Jenkinson has exhaustively analysed Babe Ruth's career and, incredibly, tracked down each of his home runs, including to the extent possible those hit in exhibition games. The book's title comes from his simple and convincing assertion that outfield dimensions have shrunk to the extent that the Babe would have had 104 home runs in 1921 had outfields been the size of today's ball parks, plus a handful from rule changes. Interesting enough, but for me the great joy of the book comes from Mr. Jenkinson's efforts to account for other changes in the conditions under which Ruth played.
The most interesting of these was the extent to which the Babe devoted himself to his role as a public icon. Yes, he was a man who saw no reason to curb his various appetites. But in Mr. Jenkinson's study he was also a man who gave himself to his fans to a degree we cannot fathom today. Taking nothing away from the most unselfish of today's stars, they could not touch the Babe's dedication to serving the fans even if they wanted to. Constant travel to exhibition games, even during the season, barnstorming to small towns around the country (or Hawaii or even Japan) during the off-season, and endless autographs were only the tip of the iceberg. The Babe was swamped by children everywhere he went, Gulliver sometimes literally toppled to the crowd by the Lilliputians -- and always apparently returning their love ten-fold.
The other aspect of Ruth's career that is so helpfully illuminated by Mr. Jenkinson is his history of ailments, or rather the history of inadequate medical care and poor training regimens provided by the Yankees. Although it is impossible to prove in the same way as his home run analysis, Mr. Jenkinson makes a persuasive case that Ruth was terribly ill-served throughout his career and probably had his career somewhat shortened as a result.
A Triumph of Scholarship February 3, 2008
Bill Jenkinson has written one of the most fascinating historical reviews of sport that I have ever read, and a must for anyone interested in the history of baseball in general and home runs in particular.
Through obsessive original research, many years of study, and a steadfast focus on what Ruth did on the field rather than off, Jenkinson actually enhances the legend of Ruth in a remarkable manner.
It's possible to quibble with some of his conclusions, and there is an overwrought quality to some of his writing, but it is scarely possible to read this book objectively and come to any conclusion other than that Babe Ruth was a monumental power hitter who remains unmatched to this day.
This is not a book for those looking for special insight into Ruth's character, personality, and the broader context of his times, but perhaps that's the point- it's fascination comes through Jenkinson's obsessive focus on what Ruth actually did on the diamond rather than off, in particular the length of Ruth's longest home runs.
This book is like salted peanuts- tough to put down.
 the stats and stories are the best parts January 22, 2008
I have a great amount of respect for what Bill Jenkinson has done hear, spending over 25 years of his life doing very, very difficult research. Bill researched most of this book the old-fashioned way, going to libraries and tracking down the people who lived during the life and times of Babe Ruth. It's really a remarkable achievement that he deserves to be praised for.
My favorite parts of the book are the later chapters, in which Jenkinson takes a more of a stance on the issues: How did race play a role, equipment issues, rule changes, etc. This is where the true marvel of this book is finally realized. Simply put, that Babe Ruth was the greatest baseball player ever. PERIOD. No arguments (even from a Red Sox fan. Well...maybe Ted Williams... :)
The first-hand recollections really stand out, as do Jenkinson's journeys to find the facts. His conclusions (which I won't share here) are astounding, and only add to the legend.
My only negative, which unfortunately for me was a big one, is that the first 100+ pages really drag. It's a lot of day-by-day accounts of Ruth's batting performances, which after a few seasons of reading, is pretty tedious. I liked some of it, moreso when there were stories included within the sections. Obviously, some people will like this section, I however, did not. It'd be safe to say that I enjoyed the story sections, and Jenkinson's theories/facts/conclusions much more.
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