Coordinates	37°46′45.48″N122°25′9.12″N
Current season	2011 Major League Baseball season
Logo	Major League Baseball.svg
Pixels	250px
Sport	Baseball
Founded	1869
Ceo	Bud Selig
Teams	30
Champion	San Francisco Giants (6th title)
Most champs	New York Yankees (27 titles)
Country	(29 teams) (1 team)
Continent	North America
Tv	FoxTBSESPNMLB Network
Website	MLB.com }}

Major League Baseball (MLB) is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League. The two leagues merged in 2000 into a single MLB organization led by the Commissioner of Baseball after 100 years as separate legal entities.

MLB constitutes one of the major professional sports leagues of the United States and Canada. It is composed of 30 teams — 29 in the United States and one in Canada. With the International Baseball Federation, MLB also manages the World Baseball Classic.

MLB organizational structure

MLB is governed by the Major League Baseball Constitution that has undergone several incarnations since 1876 with the most recent revisions being made in 2005. Under the direction of the Commissioner of Baseball (currently Bud Selig), Major League Baseball hires and maintains the sport's umpiring crews, and negotiates marketing, labor, and television contracts. As is the case for most of the sports leagues in the United States and Canada, the "closed shop" aspect of MLB effectively prevents the yearly promotion and relegation of teams into and out of Major League Baseball because of their performance. Major League Baseball maintains a unique, controlling relationship over the sport, including most aspects of minor league baseball. This is due in large part to a 1922 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Federal Baseball Club v. National League, which held that baseball is not interstate commerce and therefore not subject to federal antitrust law. This ruling has been weakened only slightly in subsequent years.

Executives

The chief executive of MLB is the commissioner. MLB has five executive vice-presidents in charge of the following areas: baseball operations, business, labor relations and human resources, finance, and administration (whose vice-president is MLB's Chief Information Officer).

Multimedia and production

The multimedia branch of MLB is New York–based MLB Advanced Media, which oversees MLB.com and each of the thirty teams' websites. Its charter states that MLB Advanced Media holds editorial independence from the League, but it is under the same ownership group and revenue-sharing plan. MLB Productions is a similarly structured wing of the league, focusing on video and traditional broadcast media.

League organization

Major League Baseball is divided into the American League (14 teams) and the National League (16 teams). Currently, each league is further subdivided into three divisions – labeled East, Central, and West. The three-division structure dates back to 1994, one season after the National League expanded to 14 teams. From 1969 through 1993 each league consisted of an East and West division. Before 1997, the two leagues met on the field only during the World Series and the All-Star Game: regular-season interleague play was introduced in 1997.

In March 1995, two new franchises—the Arizona Diamondbacks and Tampa Bay Devil Rays—were awarded by Major League Baseball, to begin play in 1998. This addition would bring the total number of franchises to 30. In early 1997, Major League Baseball decided to assign one new team to each league: Tampa Bay joined the American League and Arizona joined the National League. The original plan was to have an odd number of teams in each league (15 per league, with 5 in each division). Interleague play, introduced in 1997, would have had to be extended throughout the entire season to allow every team to play every day. It was unclear though if interleague play would continue after the 1998 season, as it had to be approved by the players' union. For this and other reasons, it was decided that both leagues should continue to have an even number of teams; one existing club would have to switch leagues. The Milwaukee Brewers agreed in November 1997 to move from the American League to the National League, thereby making the National League a 16-team league.

The two leagues were once totally separate rival corporate entities, but that distinction has all but disappeared. In 1903, the two leagues began to meet in an end-of-year championship series called the World Series. In 1920, the weak National Commission, which had been created to manage relationships between the two leagues, was replaced with the much more powerful Commissioner of Baseball, who had the power to make decisions for all of professional baseball unilaterally. In 2000, the American and National Leagues were dissolved as legal entities, and Major League Baseball became a single league de jure, although it had operated as a de facto single entity for many years.

The same rules and regulations are played between the two leagues with one exception: the American League operates under the Designated Hitter Rule, while the National League does not. This difference in rules between leagues is unique to MLB; the other sports leagues of the US including the NFL, NBA, NHL each have all teams playing under the same rules.

History

Differing definitions of MLB's founding year

For its founding year, Major League Baseball (the current official organization) uses 1869—the year the first professional team, the Cincinnati Red Stockings, was established—and held official celebrations for its 100th anniversary in 1969 and its 125th anniversary in 1994, both of which were commemorated with league-wide shoulder patches. The modern Chicago Cubs and Atlanta Braves franchises trace their histories back to the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players in the early 1870s. The National League in 1876 is often pointed to as the beginning of Major League Baseball.

Founding

The first attempt at a national major league was the short-lived National Association, which existed from 1871 to 1875. Two current major league franchises, the Atlanta Braves and the Chicago Cubs, can trace their origins to the National Association.

Currently, there are two major leagues: the National League (founded in 1876) and the American League (founded in 1901).

Other Leagues

Several other defunct leagues are officially considered to be major, and their statistics and records are included with those of the two current major leagues. These include the Union Association (1884), the American Association (1882–1891, not to be confused with later minor leagues of the same name), the Players League (1890) and the Federal League (1914–1915). In the late 1950s, a serious attempt was made to establish a third major league, the Continental League, but that league never played.

Several Negro League players have been enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame. However, the Negro Leagues are not officially considered major, primarily because the statistical record is incomplete.

Japanese professional baseball, divided into the Pacific League and the Central League, are not officially considered major leagues. No Japanese players have been inducted into the Hall of Fame; however, Sadaharu Oh is famous on both sides of the Pacific for holding the all-time unofficial world record for career home runs: 868.

Rise

In the 1860s, aided by the Civil War, "New York"-style baseball expanded into a national game and baseball's first governing body, The National Association of Base Ball Players, was formed. The NABBP existed as an amateur league for twelve years. By 1867, more than 400 clubs were members, although most of the strongest clubs remained those based in the northeastern part of the country.

In 1870, a schism developed between professional and amateur ballplayers, after the 1869 founding of the first professional baseball team, the Cincinnati Red Stockings. The NABBP split into two groups. The National Association of Professional Base Ball Players was formed in 1871. Some consider it to have been the first major league. Its amateur counterpart disappeared after only a few years.

In 1876, the National League of Professional Base Ball Clubs—which still exists—was established, after the National Association proved ineffective. The emphasis was now on "clubs" rather than "players". Clubs could now enforce player contracts, preventing players from jumping to higher-paying clubs. For their part, clubs were required to play the full schedule of games, instead of forfeiting scheduled games when the club was no longer in the running for the league championship, which happened frequently under the National Association. A concerted effort was made to curb gambling on games which was leaving the validity of results in doubt.

The early years of the National League were tumultuous, with threats from rival leagues and a rebellion by players against the hated "reserve clause", which restricted the free movement of players between clubs. Competitive leagues formed regularly, and also disbanded regularly. The most successful was the American Association (1881–1891), sometimes called the "beer and whiskey league" for its tolerance of the sale of alcoholic beverages to spectators. For several years, the National League and American Association champions met in a postseason championship series—the first attempt at a World Series.

The Union Association survived for only one season (1884), as did the Players League (1890). Both leagues are considered major leagues by many baseball researchers because of the perceived high caliber of play (for a brief time anyway) and the number of star players featured. However, some researchers have disputed the major-league status of the Union Association, pointing out that franchises came and went and contending that the St. Louis club, which was deliberately "stacked" by the league's president (who owned that club), was the only club that was anywhere close to major-league caliber. There were dozens of leagues, large and small, at this time. What made the National League "major" was its dominant position in the major cities, particularly New York City. The large cities offered baseball teams national media distribution systems and fan bases that could generate revenues, enabling teams to hire the best players in the country.

The resulting bidding war for players led to widespread contract-breaking and legal disputes. One of the most famous involved star second baseman Napoleon Lajoie, who in 1901 went across town in Philadelphia from the National League Phillies to the American League Athletics. Barred by a court injunction from playing baseball in the state of Pennsylvania the following year, Lajoie was traded to the Cleveland team, where he played and managed for many years.

The war between the American and National leagues caused shock waves throughout the baseball world. At a meeting at the Leland Hotel in Chicago in 1901, the other baseball leagues negotiated a plan to maintain their independence. On September 5, 1901, Patrick T. Powers, president of the Eastern League, announced the formation of the second National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues, the NAPBL or "NA" for short.

Ban Johnson had other designs for the NA. While the NA continues to this day (known as "Minor League Baseball"), he saw it as a tool to end threats from smaller rivals who might some day want to expand in other territories and threaten his league's dominance.

After 1902, the three leagues—the NL, the AL, and the NAPBL—signed a new National Agreement. The new agreement tied independent contracts to the reserve-clause national league contracts. Baseball players became a commodity. The agreement also set up a formal classification system for independent minor leagues that regulated the dollar value of contracts, the forerunner of the system refined by Branch Rickey that is still used today.

It also gave the NA great power. Many independents walked away from the 1901 meeting. The deal with the NA punished those other indies who had not joined the NA and submitted to the will of the 'majors.' The NA also agreed to the deal to prevent more pilfering of players with little or no compensation for the players' development. Several leagues, seeing the writing on the wall, eventually joined the NA, which grew in size over the next several years.

Dead-ball era

At this time the games tended to be low scoring, dominated by such pitchers as Walter Johnson, Cy Young, Christy Mathewson, Mordecai Brown, and Grover Cleveland Alexander, to the extent that the period 1900–1919 is commonly called the "dead-ball era". The term also accurately describes the condition of the "baseball". A baseball cost three dollars, a hefty sum then, equal to $}} today (in inflation-adjusted US dollars). Club owners were therefore reluctant to spend much money on new balls, if not necessary. It was not unusual for a single baseball to last an entire game, by the end of which, the ball would be dark with grass, mud, and tobacco stains, and misshapen from contact with the bat. Balls were replaced only if they were hit into the crowd and lost, and many clubs employed security guards solely to retrieve balls hit into the stands.

Home runs were thus rare, and "small ball"—singles, bunts, stolen bases, the hit-and-run play, and other tactics—dominated the strategies of the time. Hitting methods, like the Baltimore Chop, were used to increase the number of infield singles.

The foul strike rule was a major rule change that, in just a few years, sent baseball from a high-scoring game to one where scoring runs became a struggle. Prior to this rule, foul balls were not counted as strikes: a batter could foul off any number of pitches with no strikes counted against him; this gave an enormous advantage to the batter. In 1901, the National League adopted the foul strike rule, and the American League followed suit in 1903.

The World War II era

On January 14, 1942, Major League Baseball Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis wrote a letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt regarding the continuation of baseball during the war, called the Green Light Letter. In this letter, the commissioner pleaded for the continuation of baseball in hopes for a start of a new major league season. President Roosevelt responds "I honestly feel that it would be best for the country to keep baseball going. There will be fewer people unemployed and everybody will work longer hours and harder than ever before. And that means that they ought to have a chance for recreation and for taking their minds off their work even more than before."

With the approval of President Roosevelt, Major League Baseball began its spring training in 1942 with little repercussions. Although some men were being pulled away from the baseball fields and sent to the battlefield, baseball continued to field teams.

Breaking the color barrier

In the mid-1940s, Branch Rickey, president and general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, selected player Jackie Robinson from a list of promising Negro leagues players. After obtaining a commitment from Robinson to "turn the other cheek" to any racial antagonism directed at him, Rickey agreed to sign him to a contract for $600 a month. In what was later referred to as "The Noble Experiment", Robinson was the first black baseball player in the International League since the 1880s, joining the Dodgers' farm club, the Montreal Royals, for the 1946 season.

The following year, the Dodgers called Robinson up to the major leagues. On April 15, 1947, Robinson made his major league debut at Ebbets Field before a crowd of 26,623 spectators, including more than 14,000 black patrons. Black baseball fans began flocking to see the Dodgers when they came to town, abandoning their Negro league teams which they had followed exclusively. Robinson's promotion met a generally positive, although mixed, reception among newspapers and white major league players. Manager Leo Durocher informed his team, "I do not care if the guy is yellow or black... I'm the manager of this team, and I say he plays. What's more, I say he can make us all rich. And if any of you cannot use the money, I will see that you are all traded." After a strike threat by some players, National League President Ford Frick and Baseball Commissioner Happy Chandler let it be known that any striking players would be suspended. Robinson received significant encouragement from several major league players, including Dodgers teammate Pee Wee Reese who said, "You can hate a man for many reasons. Color is not one of them."

That year, Robinson earned the inaugural Major League Baseball Rookie of the Year Award (separate National League and American League rookie of the year honors were awarded until 1949).[128]

The next year, racial pressure on Robinson eased, as a number of other black players entered the major leagues. Larry Doby and Satchel Paige were signed by the Cleveland Indians, and the Dodgers added three other black players besides Robinson.

Expanding west, south and north

For half a century, from 1903 to 1953, the two major leagues consisted of two eight team leagues. The 16 teams were located in just ten cities, all in the northeastern and midwestern United States: New York City had three teams and Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia and St. Louis each had two teams. St. Louis was the southernmost and westernmost city with a major league team. The longest possible road trip, from Boston to St. Louis, took about 24 hours by railroad. The era of expansion and realignment began in 1953 when the National League's Boston Braves became the Milwaukee Braves. In 1954, the St. Louis Browns became the Baltimore Orioles. In 1955, the Philadelphia Athletics became the Kansas City Athletics. These were three of the least successful major league franchises, even though the Braves were usually an above-.500 team, and they and the Browns had each won a league championship during the 1940s. These three moves were not controversial. The next pair of franchise moves is still controversial.

Baseball experts consider the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers' boss Walter O'Malley to be "perhaps the most influential owner of baseball's early expansion era." Before the 1958 Major League Baseball season, he moved the Brooklyn Dodgers to Los Angeles. When O'Malley moved the Dodgers from Brooklyn, the story transcended the world of sport and he found himself on the cover of TIME magazine. The cover art for the issue was created by sports cartoonist Willard Mullin, long noted for his caricature of the "Brooklyn Bum" that personified the team. O'Malley was also influential in persuading the rival New York Giants to move west, to become the San Francisco Giants. The Giants were already suffering from slumping attendance records at their aging ballpark, the Polo Grounds. Had the Dodgers moved out west alone, the St. Louis Cardinals— away— would have been the closest National League team. The joint move would make West Coast road trips economical for visiting teams. O'Malley invited San Francisco Mayor George Christopher to New York to meet with Giants owner Horace Stoneham. Stoneham was considering moving the Giants to Minnesota, but he was convinced to join O'Malley on the West Coast at the end of the 1957 campaign. The meetings occurred during the 1957 season and against the wishes of Commissioner of Baseball Ford Frick. The dual moves broke the hearts of New York's National League fans but ultimately were successful for both franchises—and for Major League Baseball. The move was an immediate success as well, because the Dodgers set a major-league, single-game attendance record in their first home appearance with 78,672 fans.

In 1961, the "first" Washington Senators franchise moved to Minneapolis-St. Paul to become the Minnesota Twins. Two new teams were added to the American League at the same time: the Los Angeles Angels (who soon moved from downtown L.A. to nearby Anaheim) and a new "second" Washington Senators franchise. The National League followed suit by adding the Houston Astros and the New York Mets in 1962. The Astros (known as the "Colt. 45s" during their first three seasons) became the first southern major league franchise since the Louisville Colonels folded in 1899. The Mets established a reputation for futility by going 40–120 during their first season of play in the nation's media capital— and by playing only a little better in subsequent campaigns— but in their eighth season (1969) the Mets became the first of the 1960s expansion teams to win a World Series.

In 1966, Major League Baseball moved to the "Deep South" when the Braves moved to Atlanta. In 1968, the Kansas City Athletics moved west to become the Oakland Athletics.

In 1969, the two major leagues added two teams each. The American League added the Seattle Pilots (who became the Milwaukee Brewers after one disastrous season in Seattle) and the Kansas City Royals. The National League added the first Canadian franchise, the Montreal Expos as well as the San Diego Padres.

In 1972, the Washington Senators moved to Dallas-Fort Worth to become the Texas Rangers. In 1977, baseball added a second Canadian team, the Toronto Blue Jays, as well as the Seattle Mariners. This marked the end of the expansion era: no new teams were added and no teams moved until the 1990s. In 1993, the National League added the Florida Marlins in Miami and the Colorado Rockies in Denver. In 1998, the Milwaukee Brewers switched leagues by joining the National League and two new teams were added: the National League's Arizona Diamondbacks in Phoenix and the American League's Tampa Bay Devil Rays in St. Petersburg, Florida.

After the 2001 season, the team owners voted in favor of contraction. The Montreal Expos and the Minnesota Twins were expected to be the two teams which would cease to exist. Thanks to lawsuits from various parties, this plan was first delayed and finally killed for good in June 2002. The Twins ironically finished in first place in 2002.

The Expos became the first franchise in over three decades to move when they became the Washington Nationals in 2005. This move left Canada with just one team, but it also returned baseball to the United States capital city after a 33-year absence. This franchise shift, like many previous ones, involved baseball's return to a city which had been previously abandoned. Although there are a number of cities which permanently lost major league baseball in the 19th century, since 1901 only Montreal has lost its major league team without eventually getting another one. (This is not counting the short-lived Federal League. However, the two established leagues have only passed over two Federal League markets— Buffalo and Indianapolis.)

Pitching dominance and rules changes

By the late 1960s, the balance between pitching and hitting had swung in favor of the pitchers. In 1968—later nicknamed "the year of the pitcher"—Boston Red Sox player Carl Yastrzemski won the American League batting title with an average of just .301, the lowest in history. Detroit Tigers pitcher Denny McLain won 31 games, making him the first pitcher to win 30 games in a season since Dizzy Dean in 1934. St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Bob Gibson achieved an equally remarkable feat by allowing an ERA of just 1.12.

Following these pitching performances, in December 1968 the rules committee voted to reduce the strike zone from knees to shoulders to top of knees to armpits and lower the pitcher's mound from 15 to 10 inches, beginning in the 1969 season.

In 1973 the American League, which had been suffering from much lower attendance than the National League, sought to increase scoring even further by initiating the designated hitter (DH) rule.

Power age

Routinely in the late 1990s and early 2000s, baseball players hit 40 or 50 home runs in a season, a feat that was considered rare even in the 1980s. It has become apparent since that at least some of this power surge was a result of players using steroids and other performance enhancing drugs. Many modern baseball theorists believe that the need of pitchers to combat the rise in power could lead to a pitching revolution at some point. New pitches, such as the mysterious gyroball, could shift the balance of power back to the defensive side. A pitching revolution would not be unprecedented; several pitches have changed the game of baseball, including the slider in the '50s and '60s and the split-fingered fastball in the '70s to '90s. Since the 1990s, the changeup has made a resurgence, being thrown masterfully by pitchers such as Trevor Hoffman, Greg Maddux, Jamie Moyer, Tom Glavine, Johan Santana, Pedro Martinez and Tim Lincecum. Recently, pitchers such as Lincecum, Jonathan Sanchez, and Ubaldo Jimenez have been throwing changeups with a split-finger grip, creating a dropping movement, dubbed the "split change."

MLB uniforms

A baseball uniform is a type of uniform worn by baseball players, and by some non-playing personnel, such as field managers and coaches. It is worn to indicate the person's role in the game and — through the use of logos, colors, and numbers — to identify the teams and their players, managers, and coaches.

The New York Knickerbockers were the first baseball team to use uniforms, taking the field on April 4, 1849, in pants made of blue wool, white flannel shirts (jerseys) and straw hats. The practice of wearing a uniform soon spread, and by 1900, all major league teams had adopted them. By 1882, most uniforms included stockings, which covered the leg from foot to knee, and had different colors that reflected the different baseball positions. In the late 1880s, the Detroit Wolverines and Washington Nationals of the National League and the Brooklyn Bridegrooms of the American Association were the first to wear striped uniforms.

Caps, or other types of headgear with eyeshades, have been a part of baseball uniforms from the beginning. Baseball teams often wore full-brimmed straw hats or no cap at all since there was no official rule regarding headgear. Completing the baseball uniform are cleats and stockings, both of which have also been around for a long time.

By the end of the 19th century, teams began the practice of having two different uniforms, one for when they played at home in their own baseball stadium and a different one for when they played away (on the road) at the other team's ballpark. It became common to wear white pants with a white color vest at home and gray pants with a gray or solid color vest when away. Most teams also have one or more alternate uniforms, usually consisting of the primary or secondary team color on the vest instead of the usual white or gray. Teams on occasion will also wear throwback uniforms.

Traditionally home uniforms have displayed the team name on the front, while away uniforms have displayed the name of the city (or state) that the team is from. There are many exceptions to that rule, however.

Season structure

Spring training

Spring training is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to audition for roster and position spots, and gives existing team players practice time prior to competitive play. Spring training has always attracted fan attention, drawing crowds who travel to the warmer climates to enjoy the weather and watch their favorite teams play, and spring training usually coincides with spring break for many college students. Autograph seekers also find greater access to players during Spring Training.

Spring training typically lasts almost two months, starting in mid February and running until just before the season opening day (and often right at the end of spring training, some teams will play spring training games on the same day other teams have opening day of the season), traditionally the first week of April. Pitchers and catchers report to spring training first because pitchers benefit from a longer training period due to the exhaustive nature of the position. A week or two later, the position players arrive and team practice begins.

Regular Season

The current MLB regular season consists of 162 games per team, which typically begins on the first Sunday in April and ends on the first Sunday in October. Each team's schedule is organized typically into 3-game series, with occasional 2- or 4-game series, and the rare 5-game series. Postponed games or continuations of suspended games can result in an ad hoc 1-game or 5-game series. A team's series are organized into homestands and road trips that group multiple series together. Teams generally play games six days per week, commonly having Monday or Thursday as an off day. Frequently, games are scheduled at night, but during the vacation months of June, July, and August, more day games are played. Sunday games are generally played during the afternoon, allowing teams to travel to their next destination prior to a Monday night game.

In one weekend in mid-May and in the last two thirds of June, teams participate in interleague play, allowing fans to see infrequent team matchups between teams in different leagues. Use of the DH rule is determined by the home team's league rules.

Over the course of a season, teams compete for one of the four playoff berths in their league. They can win one of these berths by either winning their division, or by capturing a wild card spot. In many seasons, post-season teams are not determined until the very end of the season, while in other years, a post-season team can be decided as early as August.

Infrequently, after the conclusion of the 162-game season, an additional tie-breaking game (or games) may be needed to determine postseason participation.

All-Star Game

In early July — just after the midway point of the season — a three-day break is taken and the Major League Baseball All-Star Game is held. The All-Star game features a team of players from the National League (NL) — led by the manager of the previous NL World Series team — and a team of players from the American League (AL), similarly managed, in an exhibition game. From 1959 to 1961, two games were held, one in July and one in August. The designated-hitter rule was used in the All-Star game for the first time in 1989. Following games used a DH when the game was played in an AL ballpark. Starting in 2010, the DH rule will be in effect regardless of venue.

The 2002 contest in Milwaukee controversially ended in an 11-inning tie. Since 2003, the league which wins the All-Star game gets home-field advantage in the World Series: the league champion hosts the first two games at its own ballpark as well as the last two (if necessary.) 2010 marked the first time that a National League champion benefited from this rule. The National League did, however, manage to win three out of the seven World Series played between 2003 and 2009.

The first All-Star Game was held as part of the 1933 World's Fair in Chicago, Illinois, and was the brainchild of Arch Ward, then sports editor for The Chicago Tribune. Initially intended to be a one-time event, its great success resulted in making the game an annual one. Ward's contribution was recognized by Major League Baseball in 1962 with the creation of the "Arch Ward Trophy", given to the All-Star Game's most valuable player each year. (In 2002, this was renamed the Ted Williams Most Valuable Player Award.)

Beginning in 1947, the eight position players in each team's starting lineup have been voted into the game by fans. The fan voting was discontinued after a 1957 ballot-box-stuffing scandal in Cincinnati: seven of the eight slots originally went to Reds players, two of whom were subsequently removed from the lineup to make room for Willie Mays and Hank Aaron. Fan voting was reinstated in 1970 and has continued ever since, including Internet voting in recent years.

From the first All-Star Game, players have worn their regular team uniforms, with one exception: In the first game, the National League players wore uniforms made for the game, with the lettering "National League" across the front of the shirt.

Post-season

style="background:silver;" colspan="5"	World Series Records
!Rank	!Team	!World Serieswon	!LastSerieswon	!Leaguepennantswon
1st		27	2009	40
	2nd	style="background:#acf;"	St. Louis Cardinals (NL)		10		2006		17
3rd		9	1989	14
		7	2007	12
		6	2010	18
	6	1988	18
		5	1990	9
	5	1979	7
9th		4	1984	10
		3	1995	9
	3	1983	7
	3	1991		6
style="background:#fbd;"	Chicago White Sox (AL)	3	2005		5
		2	1908	10
	2	2008	7
	2	1948	5
	2	1986	4
	2	1993	2
	2	2003	2
		0		2
	0		1 [AL]
	0		1
	0		1
	0		1
style="background:#fbd;"	0		1
	0		0
	0		0

When the regular season ends after the first Sunday in October (or the last Sunday in September), eight teams enter the post-season playoffs. Six teams are division champions; the remaining two "wild-card" spots are filled by the team in each league that has the best record but is not a division champion (best second-place team). Three rounds of series of games are played to determine the champion:

# American League Division Series and National League Division Series, each a best-of-five-games series. # American League Championship Series and National League Championship Series, each a best-of-seven-games series played between the surviving teams from the ALDS and NLDS. The league champions are informally referred to as the American and National League pennant winners. # World Series, a best-of-seven-games series played between the pennant winners of each league.

Within each league, the division winners are the #1, No.2 and No.3 seeds, based on win–loss records. The wild-card team is the fourth seed—regardless of its record—and is paired with the highest seed outside of its own division in the first round of the playoffs, while the remaining two division champions play each other. In the first two rounds, the better-seeded team has home-field advantage, regardless of record. The team belonging to the league that won the mid-season All-Star Game receives home-field advantage in the World Series.

Because each postseason series is split between the two teams' home fields, home-field advantage theoretically does not play a significant role unless the series goes to its maximum number of games, in which case the final game takes place on the field of the team holding the advantage. Home-field advantage, however, can play a role, if the team with home-field advantage wins the first two games (at home), thereby gaining some momentum for the rest of the Series.

Use of the DH rule in the World Series is determined by the home team's league rules.

International play

Since 1986, a team of Major League Baseball All-Stars has made a biennial end-of-the-season tour of Japan, playing exhibition games against the Nippon Professional Baseball All-Stars in the MLB Japan All-Star Series. Starting in 1992 and continuing intermittently, several Major League Baseball teams have played exhibition games against Japanese teams.

In 2008, Major League Baseball played the MLB China Series in the People's Republic of China. It was a series of two spring-training games played by the San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers. The games were an effort to popularize baseball in China.

MLB steroid policy

The original steroid policy provided for a 10-game suspension for a first positive test, a 30-game suspension for a second positive test, a 60-game suspension for a third positive test, a one year suspension for a fourth positive test, and a penalty at the commissioner’s discretion for a fifth positive test. Players were tested at least once per year, with the chance that several players could be tested many times per year.

A former Senate Majority Leader, federal prosecutor, and ex-chairman of The Walt Disney Company, George Mitchell was appointed by Commissioner of Baseball Bud Selig on March 30, 2006 to investigate the use of performance-enhancing drugs in MLB. Mitchell was appointed during a time of controversy over the 2006 book Game of Shadows by San Francisco Chronicle investigative reporters Lance Williams and Mark Fainaru-Wada, which chronicles alleged extensive use of performance enhancers, including several different types of steroids and growth hormone by baseball superstars Barry Bonds, Gary Sheffield, and Jason Giambi. The appointment was made after several influential members of the U.S. Congress made negative comments about both the effectiveness and honesty of MLB's drug policies and Commissioner Selig.

According to the report, after mandatory random testing began in 2004, HGH Treatment for Athletic Enhancement became popular among players, as HGH is not detectable in tests, though the Mitchell report was careful to point out that HGH is likely a placebo with no performance enhancing effects. Also, at least one player from each of the thirty Major League Baseball teams was involved in the alleged violations.

On December 12, 2007, the day before the report was to be released, Bud Selig said, regarding his decision to commission the report, "I haven't seen the report yet, but I'm proud I did it."

According to ESPN, some people questioned whether Mitchell being a director of the Boston Red Sox created a conflict of interest, especially because no "prime [Sox] players were in the report." Mitchell described his role with the team as that of a "consultant". Despite the lack of "prime" Boston players, the report had named several prominent Yankees who were parts of World Series clubs. This made some people feel that there was a conflict of interest on Mitchell's part, due to the fierce rivalry between the two teams. Cleveland Indians pitcher Paul Byrd, along with his teammates, felt the timing of publicizing Byrd's alleged use was suspicious, as the information was leaked prior to the deciding Game 7 of the 2007 American League Championship Series between the Indians and the Red Sox. Former U.S. prosecutor John M. Dowd also brought up allegations of Mitchell's conflict of interest. Dowd, who had defended Senator John McCain of Arizona during the Keating Five investigation in the late 1980s, cited how he took exception to Mitchell's scolding of McCain and others for having a conflict of interest with their actions in the case and how the baseball investigation would be a "burden" for him when Mitchell was named to lead it. After the investigation, Dowd later told the Baltimore Sun that he was convinced the former Senator has done a good job. The Los Angeles Times reported that Mitchell acknowledged that his "tight relationship with Major League Baseball left him open to criticism". Mitchell responded to the concerns by stating that readers who examined the report closely "will not find any evidence of bias, of special treatment of the Red Sox".

The current MLB drug policy provides for a 50-game suspension for a first positive test, a 100-game suspension for a second positive test, and a lifetime suspension for a third positive test.

Since the opening of the 2009 season, Major League Baseball and its fans have been rocked by the steroid allegations against Alex Rodriguez and David Ortiz and the positive test result and 50-game suspension of Manny Ramirez, three of baseball's biggest stars. In early April of 2011, Manny Ramirez retired from baseball rather than face a 100 game suspension for his second positive steroid test.

Major League Baseball in media

Blackout policy

Major League Baseball has several blackout rules. A local broadcaster has priority to televise games of the team in their market over national broadcasters. For example, at one time TBS showed many Atlanta Braves games nationally and internationally in Canada. Fox Sports Net (FSN) also shows many games in other areas. If the Braves played a team that FSN or another local broadcaster showed, the local station will have the broadcast rights for its own local market, while TBS would have been blacked out in the same market during the game. A market that has a local team playing in a weekday ESPN or ESPN2 game and is shown on a local station will see ESPNews, or, in the past, another game scheduled on ESPN or ESPN2 at the same time (if ESPN or ESPN2 operates a regional coverage broadcasting and operates a game choice), or will be subject to an alternative programming feed. MLB's streaming Internet video service is also subject to the same blackout rules.

MLB on television

It was announced on July 11, 2006 that Fox Sports will remain with MLB through 2013 and broadcast Fox Saturday Baseball throughout the entire season, rather than the previous May to September format. Fox will also hold rights to the All-Star Game each season. Fox will also alternate League Championship Series broadcasts, broadcasting the American League Championship Series in odd-numbered years and the National League Championship Series in even-numbered years as part of the new contract. Fox will continue to broadcast all games of the World Series, which will begin on a Wednesday evening rather than the current Saturday evening format.

ESPN will continue to broadcast Major League Baseball through 2013 as well, beginning with national Opening Day coverage. ESPN will continue to broadcast Sunday Night Baseball, Monday Night Baseball, Wednesday Night Baseball, and Baseball Tonight. ESPN also has rights to the Home Run Derby at the All-Star Game each July.

TBS will air Sunday afternoon regular season games (non-exclusive) nationally from 2008 to 2013. In 2007, TBS began its exclusive rights to any tiebreaker games that determine division or wild card champions at the end of each regular season in the event of a tie with one playoff spot remaining and exclusive coverage of the Division Series round of the playoffs. TBS carries the League Championship Series that are not included under Fox's television agreement; TBS shows the National League Championship Series in odd-numbered years and the American League Championship Series in even-numbered years as part of the new contract through 2013.

In January 2009, MLB launched MLB Network, which aired 26 live games that year.

In Canada, all Toronto Blue Jays games are broadcast nationwide over Rogers Sportsnet.

MLB on radio

ESPN Radio holds national broadcast rights and broadcasts Sunday Night Baseball weekly throughout the season in addition to all playoff games. The rights to the World Series are exclusive to ESPN.

In addition, each team employs its own announcers, who broadcast during the regular season. Most teams operate regional networks to cover their fan base; some of these supposedly regional networks (such as the New York Yankees Radio Network) have a national reach with affiliates located across the United States.

Major League Baseball has an exclusive rights deal with XM Satellite Radio, which includes the channel MLB Home Plate and live play-by-play of all games.

Internet

All games are available through MLB.tv from MLB.com. (Blackout rules apply)

International broadcasting

ESPN America televises a large number of games in Europe.

ESPN Deportes televises a large number of Major League Baseball games in Spanish and Portuguese, which air throughout Latin America. Five previously screened MLB on Sunday and Wednesday in the United Kingdom, (including the All-Star Game and the postseason games, but not including Spring Training) usually starting at 1 am BST. It was most recently presented by Johnny Gould and Josh Chetwynd as "MLB on Five". Their coverage began on the channel's opening night in 1997, but for financial reasons, the decision was made not to pick up MLB for the 2009 season. As of June 2009, no decision has been made by Five about the 2010 season. As of July 2009, no free-to-view channel in the UK shows MLB.

ESPN America and ESPN UK show live and recorded games several times a week — it is available with Sky Digital and (on a subscriber-basis) Virgin Media in the UK.

Rogers Sportsnet televises Toronto Blue Jays games in Canada as well as numerous other regular season Major League Baseball games, the All-Star Game, most playoff games, and the World Series.

TSN carries ESPN Sunday Night Baseball in Canada.

MLB Network.

In Australia, MLB games are regularly shown on ESPN Australia (subscription), Fox Sports (subscription) and One HD (free-to-air).

Digital+ broadcasts several matches (mostly delayed) a week in Spain.

Current major league franchises

; Notes

See also

Baseball Assistance Team (B.A.T.)

List of MLB awards

List of MLB retired numbers

List of MLB spring-training stadiums

List of MLB stadiums

"Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities" (RBI) (ages 13-18)

National all-stars tournament (ages 16-18)

Negro league baseball

List of professional sports leagues

Major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada

List of professional sports teams in the United States and Canada

List of American and Canadian cities by number of major professional sports franchises

List of Major League Baseball players from Puerto Rico

List of Major League Baseball players from the United States Virgin Islands

List of countries with their first Major League Baseball player

Australian Baseball League

References

Further reading

External links

Category:Organizations established in 1869 Category:Monopolies Category:Professional sports leagues Category:Baseball governing bodies in the United States

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Coordinates	37°46′45.48″N122°25′9.12″N
name	Brian Wilson
alt	Brian Wilson performing in January 2007
landscape	yes
background	solo_singer
birth name	Brian Douglas Wilson
birth date	June 20, 1942
birth place	Inglewood, California, U.S.
death date
genre	Rock, pop, psychedelic rock, surf rock, experimental rock, baroque pop, art rock
occupation	Songwriter, bassist, pianist, vocalist, producer, composer, organist, arranger
instrument	Vocals, bass, piano, organ, synthesizers
years active	1961–present
label	Capitol/EMI RecordsSire/Reprise/Warner Bros. RecordsBrother/Reprise/Warner Bros. RecordsGiant/Warner Bros. RecordsCaribou/CBS RecordsNonesuch/Elektra RecordsWalt Disney Records
associated acts	The Beach Boys The Four Freshmen Jan and Dean Van Dyke Parks
url
notable instruments	Fender Precision BassBaldwin HT2R Theater Organ }}

Brian Douglas Wilson (born June 20, 1942) is an American musician, best known as the leader and chief songwriter of the group The Beach Boys. Within the band, Wilson played bass and keyboards, also providing part-time lead vocals and, more often, backing vocals, harmonizing in falsetto with the group. Besides being the primary composer in The Beach Boys, he also functioned as the band's main producer and arranger. Wilson was responsible for writing and soon produced most of the Beach Boys earliest and most successful music including more than two dozen Top 40 hits and a large portion of the songs on most of the bands 60's albums — many of which were co-written in part with cousin Mike Love.

In the mid-60's Wilson started to use his increasingly creative ambitions to compose music such as Pet Sounds which is considered one of the greatest albums of all time and the hit single "Good Vibrations". During this point in time his music was considered to rival that of "Lennon/McCartney". The intended follow up to Pet Sounds, Smile was cancelled due to various reasons including his deteriorating mental health and Wilson's life was derailed following years of drug abuse and mental illness. Wilson's contributions to The Beach Boys eventually became less and less as the years went by and his erratic behaviour led to tensions with the band. After years of treatment and recuperation he began a solo career in 1988 with Brian Wilson, the same year that he and The Beach Boys were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Since then he has managed to fight his personal demons and tour for the first time in decades with a new band and release acclaimed albums such as a reworked version of Smile, That Lucky Old Sun, and Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin.

Wilson has received a lot of well deserved recognition in the last 20 years for his music in the Beach Boys particularly the album Pet Sounds and many of his songs which are often considered some of the best music ever written. In 2008, Rolling Stone magazine published a list of the "100 Greatest Singers of All Time", and ranked Wilson number 52. Wilson also won a Grammy Award in 2005 for "Mrs. O'Leary's Cow (Fire)" as Best Rock Instrumental. He is also an occasional actor and voice actor, having appeared in television shows, films, and other artists' music videos. Though no longer a part of The Beach Boys touring band, Brian Wilson remains a member of the Beach Boys corporation, Brother Records Incorporated.

Life and career

Early years

Wilson was born on June 20, 1942 at Centinela Hospital in Inglewood, California. He was the eldest of three boys; his younger brothers were Dennis and Carl. When Brian was two, the Wilson family moved from Inglewood to 3701 West 119th Street in nearby Hawthorne, California, a town in the greater Los Angeles urban area about five miles inland from the Pacific Ocean. He spent his entire subsequent childhood years in this middle-class family home.

Brian Wilson's father Murry Wilson told of Brian's unusual musical abilities prior to his first birthday, observing that the baby could repeat the melody from "When the Caissons Go Rolling Along" after only a few verses had been sung by the father. Murry stated, "He was very clever and quick. I just fell in love with him."

At about age two, Brian heard George Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue", which had an enormous emotional impact on him. A few years later Brian was discovered to have extremely diminished hearing in his right ear. The exact cause of this hearing loss is unclear, though theories range from Brian's simply being born partially deaf, to a blow to the head from Brian's father, or a neighborhood bully, being to blame.

While father Murry was ostensibly a reasonable provider, he was often abusive. But Murry, a minor musician and songwriter, also encouraged his children in this field in numerous ways. At an early age, Brian was given six weeks of lessons on a "toy accordion", and at seven and eight sang solos in church with a choir behind him. By most accounts a natural leader by the time he began attending Hawthorne High School, Brian was on the football team as a quarterback, played baseball and was a cross-country runner in his senior year. However, most of his energy was directed toward music. He sang with various students at school functions and with his family and friends at home. Brian taught his two brothers harmony parts that all three would then practice when they were supposed to be asleep. He also played piano obsessively after school, deconstructing the harmonies of The Four Freshmen by listening to short segments of their songs on a phonograph, then working to recreate the blended sounds note by note on the keyboard. Brian received a Wollensak tape recorder on his sixteenth birthday, allowing him to experiment with recording songs and early group vocals.

First steps: Carl and the Passions

Wilson's surviving home tapes document his initial efforts singing with various buddies and family, including a song that would later be recorded in the studio by The Beach Boys, "Sloop John B", as well as "Bermuda Shorts" and a hymn titled "Good News". In his senior year at Hawthorne High, in addition to his classroom music studies, he would gather at lunchtime to sing with friends like Keith Lent and Bruce Griffin. Brian and Lent worked on a revised version of the tune "Hully Gully" to support the campaign of a classmate named Carol Hess who was running for senior class president. When performed for a full high school gathering, Brian's revised arrangement received a warm round of applause from the student audience.

Enlisting his cousin and often-time singing partner Mike Love, and Wilson's reluctant youngest brother Carl Wilson, Brian's next public performance featured more ambitious arrangements at a fall arts program at his high school. To entice Carl into the group, Wilson named the newly-formed membership "Carl and the Passions". The performance featured tunes by Dion and the Belmonts and The Four Freshmen ("It's a Blue World"), the latter of which proved difficult for the ensemble to carry off. However, the event was notable for the impression it made on another musician and classmate of Brian's who was in the audience that night, Al Jardine, later to join the three Wilson brothers and Mike Love in The Beach Boys.

Initial compositions and the Pendletones

Brian enrolled at El Camino Community College in Los Angeles, majoring in psychology, in September 1960. However, he continued his music studies at the college as well. At some point in the year 1961 Brian wrote his first all-original melody, loosely based on a Dion and the Belmonts version of "When You Wish Upon a Star". Brian's tune would eventually be known as "Surfer Girl". Brian has commented that he wrote the melody in his car, then later at home finished the bridge and harmonies. Although an early demo of the song was recorded in Feb. 1962 at World-Pacific Studios, it was not re-recorded and released until 1963, when it became a top ten hit.

Brian and his brothers Carl and Dennis Wilson along with Mike Love and Al Jardine first gelled as a music group in the summer of 1961, initially named the Pendletones. After being prodded by Dennis to write a song about the local water sports craze, Brian and Mike Love together created what would become the first single for the band, "Surfin'". Over Labor Day weekend 1961, Brian took advantage of the fact that his parents were in Mexico City for a couple days and intended to use the emergency money they had left for the boys to rent an amp, a microphone, and a stand-up bass. As it turned out, the money they had left was not enough to cover musical expenses, so Al Jardine appealed to his mother, Virginia for assistance. When she heard the group perform, she was suitably impressed and handed over $300 to help out. Al promptly took Brian to the music store where he was able to rent a stand-up bass. After two days of rehearsing in the Wilson's music room, Brian's parents returned home from their trip. Murry was irate, until Brian convinced him to listen to what they'd been up to. His father was convinced that the boys did indeed have something worth pursuing. He quickly proclaimed himself the group's manager and the band embarked on serious rehearsals for a proper studio session. Recorded by Hite and Dorinda Morgan and released on the small Candix label, "Surfin'" became a top local hit in Los Angeles and reached number seventy-five on the national Billboard sales charts.

Dennis later described the first time Brian heard their song on the radio as the three Wilson brothers (and soon-to-be-band member David Marks) drove in Brian's 1957 Ford in the rain: "Nothing will ever top the expression on Brian's face, ever ... THAT was the all-time moment."

However, the Pendletones were no more. Without the band's knowledge or permission, Candix Records had changed their name to The Beach Boys.

First performances and the quest for a major label

Brian Wilson and his bandmates, following a set by Ike and Tina Turner, performed their first major live show at The Ritchie Valens Memorial Dance on New Year's Eve, 1961. Three days previously, Brian's father had bought him an electric bass and amplifier; Brian had learned to play the instrument in that short period of time, with Al Jardine moving to rhythm guitar.

Looking for a followup single for their radio hit, Brian and Mike wrote "Surfin' Safari", and attempts were made to record a usable take at World Pacific, including overdubs, on February 8, 1962, along with several other tunes including an early version of "Surfer Girl". Only a few days later, discouraged about the band's financial prospects, and objecting to adding some Chubby Checker songs to The Beach Boys live setlist, Al Jardine abruptly left the group.

Murry Wilson had become The Beach Boys manager, and when Candix Records ran into money problems and sold the group's master recordings to another label, Murry terminated the contract. Brian, worried about The Beach Boys' future, asked his father to help his group make more recordings. But Murry and Hite Morgan (who at this point was their music publisher) were turned down by a number of Los Angeles record companies.

As "Surfin'" faded from the charts, Brian, who had forged a songwriting partnership with Gary Usher, created several new tunes, including a car song, "409", that Usher had helped write. Recruiting Carl and Dennis' friend, thirteen-year-old neighbor David Marks, who had been playing electric guitar (and practicing with Carl) for years, Brian and the revamped Beach Boys cut new tracks on April 19 at Western Recorders including an updated "Surfin' Safari" and "409". These tunes convinced Capitol Records to release the demos as a single; they became a double-sided national hit.

The Beach Boys and first success with Capitol Records

After signing with Capitol Records in mid-1962, Brian Wilson wrote or co-wrote a series of hit singles including the aforementioned "Surfin' Safari", "Surfin' USA", "Shut Down", "Little Deuce Coupe", "Be True to Your School", "In My Room", "Fun, Fun, Fun", "I Get Around", "Dance, Dance, Dance", "Help Me Rhonda", "California Girls" and "Good Vibrations". These songs and their accompanying albums were internationally popular, making The Beach Boys one of the biggest acts of their time.

Recording sessions for the band's first album took place in Capitol's basement studios (in the famous tower building) in August 1962, but early on Brian lobbied for a different place to cut Beach Boy tracks. The large rooms were built to record the big orchestras and ensembles of the 50s, not small rock groups. At Brian's insistence, Capitol agreed to let The Beach Boys pay for their own outside recording sessions, which Capitol would own all the rights to, and in return the band would receive a higher royalty rate on their record sales. Additionally, although it was very rare at the time for rock and roll band members to have a say in the process of making their records, during the taping of their first LP Brian fought for, and won, the right to be totally in charge of the production- though his first acknowledged liner notes production credit did not come until the band's third album Surfer Girl, in 1963.

January 1963 saw the recording of the first top-ten (cresting at #3 in the United States) Beach Boys single, "Surfin' USA", which began their long run of highly successful recording efforts at Hollywood's Western Recorders on Sunset Boulevard. It was during the sessions for this single that Brian made the production decision from that point on to use doubletracking on the group's vocals, resulting in a deeper and more resonant sound.

The tune, adapted from (and eventually entirely credited to) Chuck Berry, is widely seen as emblematic of the early 60s American rock cultural experience. The Surfin' USA album was also a big hit in the United States, reaching number two on the national sales charts by early July, 1963. Brian and his group had become a top-rank recording and touring music band.

Early era as writer/producer

Brian was first credited as The Beach Boys' producer on the Surfer Girl album, recorded in June and July 1963 and released in September 1963. This LP reached #7 on the national charts on the strength of songs like the ballad "In My Room", later released as a single; "Catch a Wave"; and "Little Deuce Coupe", which was released as a double-sided single with the album's title track, both top-15 hits.

He also began working with other artists in this period. On July 20, 1963, "Surf City", which he had co-written with Jan and Dean, was the first surfing song to reach the pinnacle of the sales charts. While Brian was excited and happy, his father (and still-manager) Murry and Capitol Records were less than thrilled. Indeed, openly enraged by Brian's chart-topping effort for what he saw as a rival band, Murry went so far as to order his oldest son to sever any further efforts with Jan and Dean.

Brian's other non-Beach Boy work in this period included tracks by The Honeys, Sharon Marie, The Timers, and The Survivors. Feeling that surfing songs had become limiting, Brian decided to produce a set of largely car-oriented tunes for The Beach Boys' fourth album Little Deuce Coupe, which was released in October 1963, only three weeks after the Surfer Girl LP. The departure of guitarist David Marks from the band that month meant that Brian was forced to resume touring with The Beach Boys, for a time reducing his availability in the recording studio.

Artistic growth

Brian became known for his unique use of vocal harmonies, his trademark style of lyrics and incessant studio perfectionism. Early influences on his music included not only the previously mentioned Four Freshmen and Chuck Berry, but also the work of record producer Phil Spector, the latter of whom obsessed Wilson for years. He later considered The Beatles to be his chief rivals, and they in turn would cite his work as a major influence. Wilson also produced records for other artists, but to much lesser success, with the exception of Jan and Dean, for whom Wilson co-wrote several hit songs. Following a nervous breakdown onboard a flight from L.A. to Houston in 1964, Wilson stopped performing live with the Beach Boys in an effort to concentrate solely on songwriting and studio production. Glen Campbell was called in as his temporary stand-in for live performances,|}} As he began work on the new project, Pet Sounds, Wilson formed a temporary songwriting partnership with lyricist Tony Asher. Wilson, who had recorded the album's instrumentation with The Wrecking Crew, then gathered with The Beach Boys to record vocal overdubs, following their return from a tour of Japan. Upon hearing what Wilson had created for the first time in 1965, the group, particularly Mike Love, was somewhat critical of their leader's music,

During the Pet Sounds sessions, Wilson had been working on another song, which was held back from inclusion on the record as he felt that it was not sufficiently complete. The song, "Good Vibrations", set a new standard for musicians, and what could be achieved in the recording studio. Recorded in multiple sessions and in numerous studios, the song eventually cost $50,000 to record within a six month period. In October 1966, the song was released as a single, giving The Beach Boys their third U.S. number-one hit—alongside "I Get Around" and "Help Me, Rhonda"—and it sold over a million copies.

Smile, group tension and Brother Records

With the surprising success of "Good Vibrations", Capitol Records had no choice but to back Wilson up for his next project, originally called Dumb Angel Soon after, Smile was abandoned, and Wilson would not return to complete it until 2004, when it was released as a Brian Wilson album of the same name. Van Dyke Parks later noted, "...Brian had a nervous collapse. What broke his heart was Sgt. Pepper." Writing for The Guardian in December 1999, Will Hodgkinson summarized the main reasons for the eventual demise of Wilson's ambitious project;

:[A] combination of factors, including litigations against the record company and increasing animosity between Wilson and the rest of the band, meant that in May 1967 Wilson pulled the plug on the record... [Mike] Love had already dismissed "Good Vibrations "as "avant-garde shit" and objected to the way Wilson, Parks and a group of highly skilled session musicians were creating music way beyond his understanding... By March 1967, the bad feeling got too much for Parks and, having no desire to break up The Beach Boys, he walked out.

Following the cancellation of Smile, The Beach Boys relocated to a recording studio within the confines of Brian Wilson's mansion, where the hastily compiled Smiley Smile album was assembled, along with a number of future Beach Boys records. This marked the end of Wilson's leadership within the band, and has been seen to be "the moment when the Beach Boys first started slipping from the vanguard to nostalgia."

Mental illness

Psychologically overwhelmed by the cancellation of Smile, and the birth of his first child Carnie Wilson in 1968, Wilson began having a diminished creative role with The Beach Boys. Until about 1970 he remained the group's principal songwriter, but increasingly production reins were handed to younger brother Carl. Carl Wilson mostly oversaw the albums Smiley Smile, Wild Honey, and Friends (a personal favorite of Brian's), which only performed modestly on the charts. After that, Brian Wilson all but stopped writing songs and was frequently seen partying in the company of songwriter Tandyn Almer and Three Dog Night singer Danny Hutton. It was during this period that he was introduced to cocaine. The 1969 album 20/20 was made mostly without Wilson's participation, although the Wilson/Love-authored "Do It Again" was a major hit, topping the charts in the UK.

Wilson spent the majority of the following three years in his bedroom sleeping, taking drugs, and overeating. During this time, his voice deteriorated significantly as a result of chain smoking, drug ingestion and neglect. Many of his "new" contributions to Beach Boys albums were remnants of Smile (e.g., "Cabinessence", "Surf's Up"), and those that were genuinely new reflected his depression and growing detachment from the world ("'Til I Die", the EP "Mount Vernon and Fairway"). Reportedly, Warner Bros. Records was so desperate for material from Wilson that the single "We Got Love" (co-written by Ricky Fataar, Blondie Chaplin, and Love) was scrapped from the Holland album in favor of "Sail On, Sailor", a song mostly written by committee (including Chaplin, Almer and Parks) that happened to draw its initial germ from a Wilson chord sequence.

In 1975, Wilson's wife and family enlisted the services of controversial therapist Eugene Landy in a bid to help Wilson, and hopefully help revive the group's ailing profile. Wilson did not stay under Landy's care for long, but during this short period, the doctor managed to help him into a more productive, social frame of mind. The new album 15 Big Ones, consisting of oldies and some new songs was released in 1976 and Wilson began to regularly appear live on stage with the band. A Love-orchestrated publicity campaign announced that "Brian is Back". He was also deemed to be well enough to do a solo performance on Saturday Night Live in November 1976. In 1977, the cult favorite Love You was released, consisting almost entirely of new material written and performed by Wilson. He continues to say it is his favorite Beach Boys album.

By 1982, Eugene Landy was once more called into action, and a more radical program was undertaken to try to restore Wilson to health. This involved firing him from The Beach Boys, isolating him from his family on Hawaii, and putting him onto a rigorous diet and health regimen. This, coupled with long, extreme counseling sessions, continued to bring Wilson back to reality. He lost a tremendous amount of weight, was certainly healthier and more conversant than previously, but he was also under a strict level of control by Landy. Wilson's recovery continued as he joined the band on stage in Live Aid in 1985, and recorded the album The Beach Boys with the group.

Dr. Landy provided a Svengali-like environment for Wilson, controlling his every movement in his life, including his musical direction. Landy's misconduct would eventually lead to the loss of his psychologist license, as well as a court-ordered removal and restraining order from Wilson.

Some years later, during his second marriage, Wilson was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder, bipolar type which supposedly caused him to hear voices in his head. By 1989 the rumor was that Brian either had a stroke or had abused too many drugs and was permanently "fried". a neurological condition marked by involuntary, repetitive movements, that develops in about 20% of patients treated with antipsychotic drugs for a long period of time. Wilson's drug regimen has now been reduced to a mild combination of antidepressants, and he has resumed recording and performing.

The effects of Brian Wilson's mental illness on his parenting skills were discussed by Wilson's daughter Wendy during her appearance in an episode of the British reality television program Supernanny. Wilson's daughter Carnie and granddaughter Lola also made an appearance on the episode.

Solo career

Wilson launched a career as a solo artist in 1988 with limited success. It is possible that his efforts in this regard were both encouraged and hampered by Landy's influence. Partly due to the control that Landy exercised on his life, Wilson stopped working with The Beach Boys on a regular basis after the release of The Beach Boys in 1985. He had been signed to a solo record deal with Sire Records by label boss Seymour Stein.

Wilson's first solo album, Brian Wilson, released in 1988, was favorably reviewed in the music press, but sold poorly. A memoir, Wouldn't It Be Nice - My Own Story, was released in 1990, in which he spoke about his troubled relationship with his abusive father Murry, his internal disputes with the Beach Boys, and his "lost years" of mental illness. Although it was written following interviews with Brian and others and released with Brian's name as co-author, Landy was largely responsible for the direction of the book, in conjunction with People magazine writer Todd Gold. The book describes Landy in terms that could be called messianic. In a later lawsuit over the book, instigated by several family members including his brother Carl and mother Audree, Wilson testified in court that he hadn't even read the final manuscript. As a result, the book was taken out of press some years later. A second solo album made for Sire under the aegis of Landy, entitled Sweet Insanity, was never released after being rejected by the record label. Landy's illegal use of psychotropic drugs on Wilson and his influence over Wilson's financial affairs was legally ended by Carl Wilson and other members of the Wilson family. A court appointed conservator was appointed to oversee Wilson's financial and legal affairs.

In 1995, Wilson married Melinda Ledbetter, a car saleswoman and former model he met several years earlier while still under the care of Eugene Landy. The couple adopted five children: two girls, Daria Rose and Delanie Rae, in 1998; a boy, Dylan, in 2004; a boy, Dash Tristan; and a girl, Dakota Rose, in 2010 in 2009. Wilson has two daughters from his first marriage to Marilyn Rovell: Carnie Wilson and Wendy Wilson, who would go on to musical success of their own in the early 1990s as two-thirds of Wilson Phillips.

Also in 1995, he released two albums, albeit neither containing any new original Wilson material, almost simultaneously. The first, the soundtrack to Don Was's documentary I Just Wasn't Made for These Times, consists of re-recorded versions of songs from his Beach Boys and solo catalogue produced by Was, along with a 1976-vintage demo recording. The second, Orange Crate Art, saw Wilson as lead vocalist, multitracked many times over, on an album of songs produced, arranged and (mostly) written by Van Dyke Parks, and was released as a duo album under both men's names.

His final release as part of the group was on the 1996 album Stars and Stripes Vol. 1, a group collaboration with select country music artists singing the lead vocals. After considerable mental recovery, he mended his relationship with his daughters Carnie and Wendy and the three of them released an album in 1997 titled The Wilsons.

In 1996 Wilson sang backup on Belinda Carlisle's "California."

Wilson released a second solo album of mostly new material, Imagination, in 1998. Following this, he received extensive vocal coaching to improve his voice, and learned to cope with his stage fright and started to play live for the first time in decades, going on to play the whole Pet Sounds album live on his tours of the United States, United Kingdom, and Europe.

A new studio album, Gettin' in Over My Head, was released on June 22, 2004. It featured collaborations with Elton John, Paul McCartney, Eric Clapton, and Wilson's deceased brother Carl. Clapton played on the track "City Blues." The album was almost entirely composed of re-recordings of unreleased material, and received mixed reviews.

Brian Wilson has recently contributed a cover of Buddy Holly's "Listen To Me" for the upcoming tribute album, Listen to Me: Buddy Holly to be released on September 6th, 2011.

Smile resurrected

With the improvements in his mental health, Wilson found himself able to contemplate returning to the Smile project. Aided by musician and long time fan Darian Sahanaja of The Wondermints, and lyricist Van Dyke Parks, Brian painstakingly worked throughout 2003 to release the album. In February 2004, 37 years after it was conceived, Wilson debuted the newly completed Smile at the Royal Festival Hall in London and throughout a subsequent UK tour.

The debut performance at the RFH was a defining moment for Brian. The documentary DVD of the event shows Brian preparing for the big day and, right up to show time, expressing doubts over the concept of putting this legendary work before the public. After an opening set of Beach Boys classics, he climbed back on stage for a rousing performance of the album. A 10-minute standing ovation followed the concert; the DVD shows a sprinkling of rock luminaries in the crowd, such as Roger Daltrey, Paul Weller, Sir George Martin and Sir Paul McCartney (although neither Martin nor McCartney attended the opening night, contrary to what the DVD implies).

Smile was then recorded through April to June and released in September, to wide critical acclaim. The release hit #13 on the Billboard chart. The 2004 recording featured his backup/touring band, including Beach Boys guitarist Jeff Foskett, members of the Wondermints and backup singer Taylor Mills. In this version, "Good Vibrations" features Tony Asher's original lyrics in the verses, instead of Mike Love's lyrics from the released 1966 version.

Wilson won his only Grammy Award in 2005 for the track "Mrs. O'Leary's Cow (Fire)" as Best Rock Instrumental. In 2004 Smile was taken on the road for a thorough tour of Australia, New Zealand and Europe. In December 2005, he also released What I Really Want for Christmas for Arista Records. The release hit #200 on the Billboard chart, though sales were modest. Wilson's remake of the classic "Deck The Halls" became a surprise Top 10 Adult Contemporary hit.

Though no longer a part of The Beach Boys touring band, Brian Wilson remains a member of the Beach Boys corporation, Brother Records Incorporated.

Post-Smile to That Lucky Old Sun

thumb|Brian Wilson and his group performing In Europe in 2005.In February 2005, Wilson had a cameo in the TV series Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century as Daffy Duck's spiritual surfing advisor. He also appeared in the 2005 holiday episode of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, performing "Deck the Halls" for a group of children with xeroderma pigmentosum (hypersensitivity to sunlight) at Walt Disney World Resort. On July 2, 2005, Wilson performed for the Live 8 concert in Berlin, Germany.

In September 2005, Wilson arranged a charity drive to aid victims of Hurricane Katrina, wherein people who donated $100 or more would receive a personal phone call from Wilson. According to the website, over $250K was raised. In November 2005, former bandmate Mike Love sued Wilson over "shamelessly misappropriating... Love's songs, likeness, and the Beach Boys trademark, as well as the 'Smile' album itself" in the promotion of Smile. The lawsuit was ultimately thrown out of court on grounds that it was meritless.

On November 1, 2006, Wilson kicked off a small but highly anticipated tour celebrating the 40th anniversary of Pet Sounds. He was joined by Al Jardine.

Wilson released a new album That Lucky Old Sun on September 2, 2008. The piece originally debuted in a series of September 2007 concerts at London's Royal Festival Hall, and in January 2008 at Sydney's State Theatre while headlining the Sydney Festival. Wilson describes the piece as "consisting of five 'rounds', with interspersed spoken word". A series of US and UK concerts led up to its release.

On September 30, 2008, Seattle's Light in the Attic Records released A World of Peace Must Come, a collaboration between Wilson and Stephen Kalinich, originally recorded in 1969, but later lost in Kalinich's closet.

Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin (2009–present)

In summer 2009, Wilson was approached by the Gershwin estate to record an album of covers of classic Gershwin songs, and to complete two piano pieces left unfinished by Gershwin at his death. The album, Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin, was released on August 17, 2010 on Disney's Pearl label. Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin hit #1 on the Billboard Jazz Chart. Wilson signed a two-record deal with Disney; the second album will be a collection of classic Disney movie songs.

Biographical Movie

The Tree of Life producer Bill Pohlad and veteran television writer/producer John Wells (E.R., The West Wing) have teamed to develop a drama based on Wilson's personal and professional story. They've acquired life rights from Wilson and his wife, Melinda, and hired Oren Moverman, the Oscar-nominated screenwriter behind the offbeat Bob Dylan film I'm Not There, to write a script.

Awards and recognitions

Wilson and the Beach Boys were inducted into the Rock Hall of Fame in January 1988, alongside The Beatles and Bob Dylan.

In 2000, Wilson was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Paul McCartney introduced Brian, referring to him as "one of the great American geniuses."

In March 2001, TNT and Radio City Music Hall hosted "An All-Star Tribute to Brian Wilson." This event featured performances and appearances by Elton John, Billy Joel, Chazz Palminteri host, David Crosby, Dennis Hopper, Paul Simon, Carly Simon, The Go-Go's, Cameron Crowe, Sir George Martin, Vince Gill, Brian's daughters Carnie & Wendy Wilson along with Chynna Phillips (Wilson Phillips), Jimmy Webb, Darius Rucker, Matthew Sweet, Ann and Nancy Wilson of (Heart), The Boys Choir of Harlem, and others.

Pet Sounds has been ranked as one of the most influential records in popular music, and has been ranked #1 on several music magazines' lists of the greatest albums of all time. It is ranked #2 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

On May 10, 2004, Wilson was honored as a BMI Icon at the 52nd annual BMI Pop Awards. He was saluted for his "unique and indelible influence on generations of music makers."

A 2005 concert, "Musicares: A Tribute to Brian Wilson," was held in Wilson's honor, during which he was named MusiCares Person of the Year. Performers included Jeff Beck, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Earth Wind & Fire, Barenaked Ladies, and The Backstreet Boys, among others.

On May 20, 2005, Wilson and the five other original-era Beach Boys were honored with the unveiling of the Beach Boys Historic Landmark on the former site of the Wilson family home in Hawthorne, California.

In 2005, Wilson won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance for Mrs. O'Leary's Cow.

In November 2006, Wilson was inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame by Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour. Wilson performed "God Only Knows" and "Good Vibrations" at the ceremony.

On December 2, 2007, the Kennedy Center Honors committee recognized Wilson for a lifetime of contributions to American culture through the performing arts in music.

May 20, 2011, Wilson received the UCLA George and Ira Gershwin Award at UCLA Spring Sing.

Discography

Brian Wilson (July 12, 1988)

I Just Wasn't Made for These Times (August 15, 1995)

Orange Crate Art (with Van Dyke Parks) (October 24, 1995)

Imagination (June 16, 1998)

Live at the Roxy Theatre (June, 2000)

Pet Sounds Live (June 11, 2002)

Gettin' in Over My Head (June 22, 2004)

Smile (September 28, 2004)

What I Really Want for Christmas (October 18, 2005)

That Lucky Old Sun (September 2, 2008)

Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin (August 17, 2010)

In The Key Of Disney (October 25, 2011)

Additional Appearances:

The Wilsons (1997)

See also

List of songs by Brian Wilson

Beach Boys Historic Landmark

A Tribute To Brian Wilson - Radio City Music Hall (March 29, 2001)

Notes

References

Badman, Keith. The Beach Boys: The Definitive Diary of America's Greatest Band on Stage and in the Studio (Backstreet Books, 2004). ISBN 0-87930-818-4.

Carlin, Peter Ames. Catch a Wave: The Rise, Fall and Redemption of the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson (Rodale Inc., 2006). ISBN 13 978-1-59486-749-1.

Leaf, David. The Beach Boys and the California Myth (Kingsport Press, 1978). ISBN 0-89471-412-0.

Lambert, Philip. Inside the Music of Brian Wilson: the songs, sounds and influences of the Beach Boys' founding genius (Continuum International Publishing Group Inc., 2007). ISBN 13 978 0 8264 1877 7.

Stebbins, Jon. The Lost Beach Boy (Virgin Books Ltd, 2007). ISBN 978-1-8522-7391-0.

External links

Official site

2004 Larry King Transcript where they speak about Wilson's mental illness

The Guardian (June 1, 2002)">"After the wipe out" by Ginny Dougary in The Guardian (June 1, 2002)

"Four Decades Later, Wilson's 'Smile' Hits London" Audio review at NPR (February 25, 2004)

SMiLE Timeline

Brian Wilson Pictures from 2007 Consumer Electronics Show performance

January 2009 Interview with L.A. Record

This list of "outside productions" by members of the Beach Boys includes records Brian produced and-or wrote for other artists throughout his career

Cabin Essence, Web Page for Brian Wilson

Brian Wilson's Wave by Peter Ames Carlin, American Heritage, August/September 2004.

Category:American composers Category:American record producers Category:American rock bass guitarists Category:Grammy Award winners Category:MusiCares Person of the Year Honorees Category:Kennedy Center honorees Category:Sire Records artists Category:Capitol Records artists Category:Nonesuch Records artists Category:Musicians from California Category:People from the Greater Los Angeles Area Category:People with bipolar disorder Category:Songwriters Hall of Fame inductees Category:The Beach Boys members Category:1942 births Category:Songwriters from California Category:Living people Category:People with schizophrenia Category:American people of Swedish descent

cs:Brian Wilson da:Brian Wilson de:Brian Wilson es:Brian Wilson fr:Brian Wilson is:Brian Wilson it:Brian Wilson he:בריאן וילסון hu:Brian Wilson nl:Brian Wilson ja:ブライアン・ウィルソン no:Brian Wilson nn:Brian Wilson pl:Brian Wilson pt:Brian Wilson ru:Уилсон, Брайан simple:Brian Wilson fi:Brian Wilson sv:Brian Wilson uk:Вілсон Браян Дуґлас

Coordinates	37°46′45.48″N122°25′9.12″N
name	Roy Halladay
width	270
position	Starting pitcher
team	Philadelphia Phillies
number	34
bats	Right
birth date	May 14, 1977
birth place	Denver, Colorado
throws	Right
debutdate	September 20
debutyear	1998
debutteam	Toronto Blue Jays
statyear	August 1, 2011
stat1label	Win–loss record
stat1value	184–91
stat2label	Earned run average
stat2value	3.26
stat3label	Strikeouts
stat3value	1,896
stat4label	Complete games
stat4value	65
stat5label	Shutouts
stat5value	19
teams	Toronto Blue Jays (–) Philadelphia Phillies (–present)
Highlights	8× All-Star (, , , , , , , ) AL Cy Young Award () NL Cy Young Award () Pitched a perfect game on May 29, 2010 Pitched a postseason no-hitter on October 6, 2010 }}

Harry Leroy "Roy" Halladay III (born May 14, 1977), nicknamed "Doc", is a Major League Baseball starting pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies. His nickname, coined by the late Toronto Blue Jays announcer Tom Cheek, is a reference to Wild West gunslinger "Doc" Holliday.

He was the Blue Jays' first draft selection in the 1995 Major League Baseball Draft, the 17th pick overall, and played for the team from 1998 through 2009, after which he was traded to Philadelphia. Halladay is known for his ability to effectively pitch deep into games, and is currently the active major league leader in complete games with 63, including 19 shutouts.

On May 29, 2010, Halladay pitched the 20th perfect game in MLB history, beating the Florida Marlins by a score of 1–0. On October 6, 2010, in his first post-season start, Halladay threw the second no-hitter in MLB postseason history (Don Larsen's perfect game in the 1956 World Series being the first) against the Cincinnati Reds in Game 1 of the 2010 NLDS. It was his second no-hitter of the year (following the May 29 perfect game), making Halladay the fifth pitcher in major league history (and the first since Nolan Ryan in 1973) to throw multiple no-hitters in the same season. Halladay has won 2 Cy Young Awards, in 2003 and 2010.

Early life

Born in Denver, Colorado, he grew up in the suburb of Arvada; his father was a pilot for a food-processing company, while his mother was a homemaker. From an early age, Halladay loved baseball, trying every position on the field until, by age 14, his success on the pitcher’s mound attracted the attention of major league scouts. By the age of 13, he had begun training with legendary Colorado baseball guru Bus Campbell, who had helped almost every promising pitcher from the Denver area, including Goose Gossage and Brad Lidge. In 1995, after graduating from Arvada West High School, he was selected by the Toronto Blue Jays in the amateur draft, in the first round, as the 17th overall pick. He was promoted to the major-league club as a September call-up in 1998.

Career

Toronto Blue Jays (1998–2009)

1998–2001

In his second career start, against the Detroit Tigers on September 27, 1998, Halladay had what would have been the third no-hitter ever pitched on the final day of a regular season broken up with two outs in the ninth. The feat would have joined the combined no-hitter by four Oakland Athletics pitchers (Vida Blue, Glenn Abbott, Paul Lindblad and Rollie Fingers) in 1975 and Mike Witt's perfect game in 1984. The bid was broken up by a Bobby Higginson solo home run. The home run was the only hit Halladay would allow in a 2–1 Blue Jays victory, as he recorded his first major league win. The game was completed in 1 hour 45 minutes.

During the season, Halladay sported a 10.64 earned run average (ERA) in 19 games, 13 of which he started, making his 2000 season the worst in history for any pitcher with at least 50 innings pitched. At the beginning of the season, Halladay was optioned to Class A Dunedin Blue Jays to rebuild his delivery.

Halladay's fastball was clocked up to , but it had little movement, and his pitches were up in the strike zone, which was ultimately the reason why his 2000 season was so unsuccessful. He worked with former Blue Jays pitching coach Mel Queen. The problem, Queen realized, was Halladay’s total reliance on his strength—his attempt to overpower batters with straight-ahead pitches. Within two weeks, Halladay had altered his arm angle for a more deceptive delivery, and added pitches that sank and careened. Instead of throwing over the top, he chose to use a three-quarters delivery (the middle point between throwing overhand and sidearm). Originally a fastball pitcher, he became reliant on keeping his pitches low across the plate, regardless of the type of pitch thrown. The adjustments proved successful. After a month and a half, he was promoted to class AA Tennessee, and a month later, to class AAA Syracuse. By mid-season, he was back in the Blue Jays’ rotation. He posted a 5–3 win–loss record with a 3.19 ERA for the Blue Jays in 16 starts in 2001.

2002–2006

In , Halladay had a breakout season, finishing with a 19–7 record, while posting a 2.93 ERA with 168 strikeouts in 239.1 innings. Halladay was named to the American League All-Star team. His 19 wins were the most by a Blue Jay since David Wells won 20 in 2000.

Halladay continued his success in the season, posting a 22–7 record with a 3.25 ERA in 266.0 innings. He also recorded 204 strikeouts and only 32 walks, good for a remarkable 6.38 strikeouts per walk ratio. Halladay pitched the first extra-inning shutout in the major leagues since Jack Morris in Game 7 of the 1991 World Series, leading the Blue Jays to victory over the Tigers on September 6. He pitched 10 innings and had not allowed a hit until Kevin Witt doubled with two outs in the top of the eighth. Halladay won the American League Cy Young Award, while being once again named an All-Star and leading the Blue Jays to a surprising 86 victories. He was named by his peers as the Players Choice Awards AL Outstanding Pitcher. He was also named the Sporting News AL Pitcher of the Year and the Baseball Prospectus Internet Baseball Awards AL Cy Young award winner.

In , Halladay was placed on the disabled list twice due to right shoulder problems. In just 133.0 innings, he went 8–8 with a 4.20 ERA. He walked 39 batters, seven more than he had walked in 2003 when he had pitched twice as many innings. He later revealed that he had been injured throughout the entire season with a "tired throwing arm", which he believed was from intense workouts in preseason.

The season began successfully for Halladay, as he proved to be one of the best pitchers in the American League by going 12–4 with a 2.41 ERA in 19 starts. A favorite to win his second Cy Young award within three years, he was selected to his third All-Star team and was slated to be the starting pitcher for the American League at the All-Star Game in Detroit. However, on July 8, Halladay's leg was broken by a line drive off the bat of Texas Rangers left fielder Kevin Mench. As a result, he was replaced in the All-Star Game by Matt Clement of the Boston Red Sox, while Mark Buehrle of the Chicago White Sox was named the starting pitcher for the American League. Despite rehabilitation of his leg, Halladay would sit out the remainder of the season.

On March 16, , Halladay signed a 40 million, three year contract extension that would last through .

During 2006, Halladay finished near the top of the MLB in wins with 16. He was named to the American League All-Star Team as a reserve on July 3, 2006, along with four of his Blue Jays teammates. It marked the second-most appearances in club history, and Halladay's fourth as an All-Star. Although Halladay's strikeout total was lower in 2006 than in previous seasons, his groundball-to-flyball ratio, complete games, and innings pitched were all among the American League leaders.

2007–2009

Halladay was the American League pitcher of the month in April 2007, going 4–0, highlighted by a 10-inning complete game win over the Detroit Tigers. However, he pitched poorly in his two starts in May, and on May 11 was placed on the disabled list and underwent an appendectomy. He returned to the rotation in his usual form on May 31 against the Chicago White Sox. Halladay went 7 innings, giving up just six hits and allowing no runs on his way to his 100th career win. 2007 also saw Halladay hit his first career RBI. Against the LA Dodgers on June 10, his ground ball single to center field allowed John McDonald to score. He shut out the Seattle Mariners on July 22, allowing only three hits.

In 2008, for the sixth consecutive year, Halladay was Toronto's opening-day starter, improving his own club record. He lost 3–2 in a pitcher's duel with New York's Chien-Ming Wang. His first win of the season came in his next start against Boston, when he outpitched Josh Beckett in his season debut. In his third start, Halladay pitched a complete game against the Texas Rangers, in a 4–1 win. Three of his nine complete game efforts resulted in losses due to Toronto's underachieving offense early in the season. In fact, those three complete game losses came in three consecutive starts. On June 20 against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Halladay was struck in the temple by a line-drive off the bat of Nyjer Morgan. The ball caromed off Halladay's head and was caught by third baseman Scott Rolen, ending the inning. Halladay was able to walk back to the dugout, but was taken out of the game for safety concerns. Although he was given a clean bill of health for his next start, it was later suggested by television commentators that Halladay may have in fact suffered a temporary lapse in recognition of what happened on the play. Halladay pitched his 10th career shutout against the Seattle Mariners on June 30. He limited them to four hits in his sixth complete game of the season. The shutout tied him with the Cardinals' Mark Mulder for 10th among active pitchers. On July 11, 2008, Halladay pitched his 7th complete game and second shutout of the season against the New York Yankees, allowing 0 runs on 2 hits for his 38th career complete game. Halladay was named to the American League All-Star Team as a reserve. He pitched in the fourth inning, yielding only one hit and striking out Lance Berkman. In his last start of the season, he fittingly pitched a complete game against the Yankees to win his 20th game of the year. In so doing, he became the first pitcher to win five games against the Yankees in a single season since Luis Tiant in 1974. In addition, he led the AL with a 1.05 WHIP. Halladay finished second in the 2008 American League Cy Young Award voting, behind Cliff Lee of the Indians. He also led the AL with 9 complete games, and struck out a career-high 206 batters (two more than his 2003 season) as well as posted a 2.78 ERA (the second-best of his career) that was second only to Cliff Lee's 2.54 ERA. Halladay also became just the fourth pitcher in major league history to post two seasons of 200 strikeouts and fewer than 40 walks. He was presented the George Gross/Toronto Sun Sportsperson of the Year award.

On April 6, 2009, Halladay made his team-record seventh straight Opening Day start for Toronto, defeating the Detroit Tigers. Halladay then also won his next two starts, on the road against the Cleveland Indians and the Minnesota Twins. Halladay would lose his next game to the Rangers giving up 5 earned runs over 8 innings only to go on and win his next 6 games to bring his record up to 8–1 with a 2.75 ERA. With season-ending injuries to planned 2009 Jays' starters Dustin McGowan and Shawn Marcum, and with #2 starter Jesse Litsch on the disabled list early in the season, Halladay led a staff of young, mostly inexperienced starters. Halladay was named the AL Player of the Week for the period ending May 17. Doc was 2–0 with a 1.13 ERA over 16.0 innings in his two starts the week prior. In a game against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim on June 2, Halladay struck out 14 batters and threw 133 pitches, both career highs.

On June 12, he left the game early because of a strained hip adductor muscle, commonly referred to as a pulled groin, and was placed on the 15-day disabled list on June 17. On July 5, 2009, he was selected to represent Toronto at the 2009 All Star Game. On July 14, 2009, he started the All Star game representing the American League pitching 2 innings giving up 3 runs, 1 of which was unearned.

In 2009 he was named #7 on the Sporting News' list of the 50 greatest current players in baseball. A panel of 100 baseball people, many of them members of the Baseball Hall of Fame and winners of major baseball awards, was polled to arrive at the list.

As of the conclusion of his start on September 20, 2009, Halladay was tied for the second-longest streak in the American League that season with a 24-inning scoreless streak. Halladay finished the season with a 17–10 record, giving him a career win percentage of .660, good enough for 18th all-time.

In December 2009, Sports Illustrated named Halladay as one of the five pitchers in the starting rotation of its MLB All-Decade Team.

Philadelphia Phillies (2010–present)

On December 15, Halladay was traded from the Blue Jays to the Philadelphia Phillies for minor league prospects Travis D'Arnaud, Kyle Drabek, and Michael Taylor. He agreed to a contract extension worth US$60 million that includes a US$20 million vesting option for a fourth season.

2010

On Opening Day, Halladay pitched seven innings while giving up a run against the Washington Nationals in his first game with the Phillies. He had nine strikeouts and allowed six hits. He also drove in his second career RBI and earned his first win of the season. He followed this start with a complete game on April 11 against the Houston Astros, giving up one unearned run while striking out eight and not giving up any walks in the Phillies' 2–1 victory.

Halladay pitched his first shutout in the National League, against the Atlanta Braves on April 21, becoming the first pitcher to reach four wins in the 2010 season. On May 1, Halladay pitched his second shutout of the season, limiting the New York Mets to three hits and striking out six.

On September 21, Halladay became the first Phillies pitcher to win 20 games in a season since Steve Carlton accomplished it in 1982. He was the first right-handed Phillies pitcher to accomplish the feat since Robin Roberts in 1955. One week later, on September 27, he completed his 21st victory, helping the Phillies clinch their fourth consecutive National League East title.

Halladay was named by his peers as the Players Choice Awards NL Outstanding Pitcher. He was also unanimously chosen as the recipient of the 2010 National League Cy Young Award, becoming the first Phillie to win the award since Steve Bedrosian in 1987 and only the fifth pitcher in MLB history to win the award in both leagues, joining Gaylord Perry, Pedro Martínez, Randy Johnson and Roger Clemens. He was likewise selected as the Sporting News NL Pitcher of the Year, the USA Today NL Cy Young, and the Baseball Prospectus Internet Baseball Awards NL Cy Young. He also was named the MLB "This Year in Baseball Awards" Starting Pitcher of the Year. Baseball America named him its Major League Player of the Year (including all positions in both leagues). MLB named him its "MLB Clutch Performer of the Year". He was given the Heart & Hustle Award by the Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association. He was also named Pro Athlete of the Year by both the Sporting News and the Philadelphia Sports Writers Association and Sportsperson of the Year by the Philadelphia Daily News. The Philadelphia chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America presented him the "Steve Carlton Most Valuable Pitcher" and "Dallas Green Special Achievement" awards.

In innings pitched, Halladay finished the 2010 regular season with a 21–10 record and a 2.44 ERA, setting a career high with 219 strikeouts while issuing just 30 walks. He led the National league in wins, innings pitched, with 9 complete games including 4 shutouts. He became just the seventh pitcher in the history of Major League baseball to pitch 250 or more innings with 30 or fewer walks, the first pitcher to do so since Grover Cleveland Alexander in 1923 with the Chicago Cubs.

Perfect game

On May 29, Halladay pitched the 20th perfect game in MLB history, against the Florida Marlins in Miami, retiring all 27 batters, including 11 strikeouts, no hits, no runs, no walks, and no errors. This was the first time in the modern era that two pitchers (Dallas Braden of the Oakland A's and Halladay) had thrown perfect games in the same month and that multiple perfect games had been achieved in the same season. When Halladay's former manager, Cito Gaston, called to congratulate him, Halladay was unable to take the call because he was busy with the post-game media frenzy. On August 24, 2010, to commemorate his perfect game, Halladay presented around 60 Swiss-made Baume and Mercier watches he had purchased to everyone in the clubhouse. The watches were presented in brown boxes that bore the inscription: "We did it together. Thanks, Roy Halladay." Additionally, the back of each watch was engraved with the date of the game, the line score, and the individual recipient's name.

Postseason no-hitter

On October 6, 2010, in his first postseason appearance, Halladay pitched a no-hitter (his second of the season), against the Cincinnati Reds in the first game of the National League Division Series. He became the second player ever to pitch a no-hitter in the postseason, joining Don Larsen of the 1956 New York Yankees, who pitched a perfect game in the World Series. He also became the first pitcher since Nolan Ryan in 1973 to throw two no-hitters in a season, as well as the seventh pitcher to hurl both a perfect game and a regular no-hitter in his career, joining Cy Young, Addie Joss, Jim Bunning, Sandy Koufax, Randy Johnson and Mark Buehrle. Halladay allowed just one walk to right fielder Jay Bruce with two outs in the fifth inning, and faced just one batter above the minimum 27. This also marked the first time in Major League history that a pitcher threw a perfect game and a no-hitter in the same season.

2011

On April 24, 2011, Halladay struck out 14 and allowed just 5 hits in the game as his team swept the San Diego Padres in all four games. Halladay took a two-hitter into the ninth before allowing three straight singles. He allowed just one run and won, 3–1.

In May, Halladay was named the 2011 winner of the John Wanamaker Athletic Award, by the Philadelphia Sports Congress, based on his 2010 season.

On July 12, Halladay was the NL starting pitcher in the All-Star Game.

Approach to pitching

Halladay's uniqueness is characterized by his ability to throw the hard two-seam sinking fastball ranging in the low 90s with pinpoint control. In addition, he throws a four-seam fastball in the low 90s, a curveball in the high 70s, a cut fastball from 90–92 mph which he had modified the grip for in 2007 at the suggestion of former catcher Sal Fasano. The change-up is one pitch that Halladay had problem commanding in the past, which he had used very rarely. But since joining the Phillies in 2010, Halladay started throwing a change-up pitch that is really a version of the split-finger fastball that he uses as a strikeout pitch with the help of pitching coach Rich Dubee.

In spite of his reputation as a ground ball pitcher who works at an efficient pace, Halladay's strikeout totals have increased steadily in recent years as a result of his fastball velocity and his willingness to use his curveball and change-up in strikeout counts. Halladay's efficiency and durability are reflected in his total innings pitched every year, also due to his ability to strike out hitters in addition to induce ground ball outs to escape jams. He usually leads the league in innings pitched and complete games, while ranking among the leaders in WHIP and ERA.

Prior to and during each start, Halladay has a distinct trademark in which he goes into a complete "isolation mode", immersing himself in complete concentration and in more or less his own words: To plan every pitch he would pitch while on the mound. During this time, he does not talk to anyone except the manager or the pitching coach. He will not even reply to a "hello" or wave from a teammate or spectator, nor talk to the media until he has been relieved or he completes a game.

Personal life

Halladay is married to his wife Brandy and they have two children. He and his wife Brandy were raised as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, although they are now non-practicing. While he was a member of the Toronto Blue Jays, Halladay and his wife invited children and their families from the Hospital for Sick Children into "Doc's Box" at Rogers Centre during Blue Jays games. As part of his contract with the Blue Jays, he also donated US$100,000 each year to the Jays Care Foundation.

He was the Blue Jays' nominee numerous times for the Roberto Clemente Award for his work with underprivileged children. For the same reason, he was also the Blue Jays' nominee in 2008 for the Players Choice Awards Marvin Miller Man of the Year Award.

During the offseason, Halladay and his family live in Odessa, Florida.

Halladay was announced by 2K Sports as the cover athlete for Major League Baseball 2K11.

References

External links

Roy Halladay, Perfect Game: May 29, 2010. Philadelphia Phillies official website

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Category:Major League Baseball pitchers who have pitched a perfect game Category:Cy Young Award winners Category:American League wins champions Category:American League All-Stars Category:National League All-Stars Category:Major League Baseball pitchers Category:Philadelphia Phillies players Category:Toronto Blue Jays players Category:Dunedin Blue Jays players Category:Gulf Coast Blue Jays players Category:Knoxville Smokies players Category:Syracuse SkyChiefs players Category:Tennessee Smokies players Category:American Latter Day Saints Category:Baseball players from Colorado Category:People from Denver, Colorado Category:1977 births Category:Living people

de:Roy Halladay es:Roy Halladay fr:Roy Halladay ko:로이 할러데이 la:Roy Halladay lv:Rojs Heladejs ja:ロイ・ハラデイ simple:Roy Halladay fi:Roy Halladay zh:洛伊·哈勒戴

Coordinates	37°46′45.48″N122°25′9.12″N
Name	Babe Ruth
Width	256
Position	Outfielder / Pitcher
Bats	Left
Throws	Left
Birth date	February 06, 1895
Birth place	Baltimore, Maryland
Death date	August 16, 1948
Death place	New York, New York
Debutdate	July 11
Debutyear	1914
Debutteam	Boston Red Sox
Finaldate	May 30
Finalyear	1935
Finalteam	Boston Braves
Stat1label	Batting average
Stat1value	.342
Stat2label	Home runs
Stat2value	714
Stat3label	Hits
Stat3value	2,873
Stat4label	Runs batted in
Stat4value	2,217
Stat5label	Win–loss record
Stat5value	94–46
Stat6label	Earned run average
Stat6value	2.28
Teams	Boston Red Sox (–) New York Yankees (–) Boston Braves ()
Highlights	2× All-Star selection (1933, 1934) 7× World Series champion (, , , , , , ) 1923 AL MVP New York Yankees #3 retired Major League Baseball All-Century Team Ranks in the top 10 of numerous career statistics MLB Records .690 career slugging % 1.164 career OPS
Hofdate
Hofvote	95.13% }}

George Herman Ruth, Jr. (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948), best known as "Babe" Ruth and nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Sultan of Swat", was an American Major League baseball player from 1914–1935. Ruth originally broke into the major leagues with the Boston Red Sox as a starting pitcher, but after he was sold to the New York Yankees in 1919, he converted to a full-time right fielder and subsequently became one of the league's most prolific hitters. Ruth was a mainstay in the Yankees' lineup that won seven pennants and four World Series titles during his tenure with the team. After a short stint with the Boston Braves in 1935, Ruth retired. In 1936, Ruth became one of the first five players elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Ruth has since become regarded as one of the greatest sports heroes in American culture. He has been named the greatest baseball player in history in various surveys and rankings, and his home run hitting prowess and charismatic personality made him a larger than life figure in the "Roaring Twenties". Off the field he was famous for his charity, but also was noted for his often reckless lifestyle. Ruth is credited with changing baseball itself. The popularity of the game exploded in the 1920s, largely due to his influence. Ruth ushered in the "live-ball era", as his big swing led to escalating home run totals that not only excited fans, but helped baseball evolve from a low-scoring, speed-dominated game to a high-scoring power game.

In 1998, The Sporting News ranked Ruth number one on the list of "Baseball's 100 Greatest Players". In 1999, baseball fans named Ruth to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team. In 1969, he was named baseball's Greatest Player Ever in a ballot commemorating the 100th anniversary of professional baseball. In 1993, the Associated Press reported that Muhammad Ali was tied with Babe Ruth as the most recognized athletes, out of over 800 dead or alive athletes, in America. The study found that over 97% of Americans over 12 years of age identified both Ali and Ruth. According to ESPN, he was the first true American sports celebrity superstar whose fame transcended baseball. In a 1999 ESPN poll, he was ranked as the third-greatest US athlete of the century, behind Michael Jordan and Muhammad Ali.

Ruth was the first player to hit 60 home runs in one season (1927), setting the season record which stood until broken by Roger Maris in 1961. Ruth's lifetime total of runs at his retirement in 1935 was a record, until first surpassed by Hank Aaron in 1974. Unlike many power hitters, Ruth also hit for average: his .342 lifetime batting is tenth highest in baseball history, and in one season (1923) he hit .393, a Yankee record. His .690 career slugging percentage and 1.164 career on-base plus slugging (OPS) remain the Major League records. Ruth dominated the era in which he played. He led the league in home runs during a season twelve times, slugging percentage and OPS thirteen times each, runs scored eight times, and runs batted in (RBIs) six times. Each of those totals represents a modern record (as well as the all-time record, except for RBIs).

Early years

Ruth was born at 216 Emory Street in Pigtown, a rough neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland. Ruth's German-American parents, Kate Schamberger-Ruth and George Herman Ruth, Sr., owned a succession of saloons and sold lightning rods. Only one of Ruth's seven siblings, his sister Mamie, survived past infancy.

Not much is known about Ruth's early childhood. His mother was constantly ill (she later died of tuberculosis while Ruth was still a teenager). Ruth later described his early life as "rough". When he was seven years old, his father sent him to St. Mary's Industrial School for Boys, a reformatory and orphanage, and signed custody over to the Catholic missionaries who ran the school (the site of St. Mary's was occupied by Cardinal Gibbons School). Ruth remained at St. Mary's for the next 12 years, only visiting with his family for special occasions. Brother Matthias Boutlier, the Head of Discipline at St. Mary's, first introduced Ruth to the game of baseball. He became a father figure in Ruth's life, teaching him how to read and write, and worked with Ruth on hitting, fielding and as his skills progressed, pitching. During his time in St. Mary's, Ruth was also taught tailoring, where he became a qualified shirtmaker and was a part of both the school band and the drama club.

Baltimore Orioles

In 1913, St. Mary's Industrial School was playing a game against Mount St. Mary's University (then college) in Emmitsburg, Maryland. That day, the game was attended by Joe Engel, a former Mount St. Mary's student who was now a pitcher for the Washington Senators. Impressed with Ruth's pitching abilities, Engel, along with a teacher at St. Mary's, Brother Gilbert, brought Ruth to the attention of Jack Dunn, owner and manager of the then minor-league Baltimore Orioles. After watching Ruth pitch in a workout for half an hour, Dunn signed Ruth to a contract for $250 ($}} in current dollar terms) a month on February 14, 1914. Since Ruth was only 19 years old, Dunn had to become Ruth's legal guardian as well; at that time, the age of majority was 25. When the other players on the Orioles caught sight of Ruth, they nicknamed him "Jack's newest babe". The reference stayed with Ruth the rest of his life, and he was most commonly referred to as Babe Ruth from then on. "Babe" was not a unique nickname (see e.g., Babe Adams). His teammates eschewed the public nickname "Babe", and instead called him "George"; or "Jidge" (a nickname for George); or "The Big Fellow"; or just "Bam".

On July 7, 1914, Dunn offered to trade Ruth, along with Ernie Shore and Ben Egan, to Connie Mack of the Philadelphia Athletics. Dunn asked $10,000 ($}} in current dollar terms) for the trio, but Mack refused the offer. The Cincinnati Reds, who had an agreement with the Orioles, also passed on Ruth. Instead, the team elected to take George Twombley and Claud Derrick. Two days later, on July 9, Dunn sold the trio to Joe Lannin and the Boston Red Sox. The amount of money exchanged in the transaction is disputed.

Major League career

Red Sox Years

Ruth appeared in five games for the Red Sox in 1914, pitching in four of them. He picked up the victory in his major league debut on July 11. The Red Sox had many star players in 1914, so Ruth was soon optioned to the minor league Providence Grays of Providence, Rhode Island for most of the remaining season. Behind Ruth and Carl Mays, the Grays won the International League pennant. Shortly after the season, in which he'd finished with a 2–1 record, Ruth proposed to Helen Woodford, a waitress whom he had met in Boston. They were married in Ellicott City, Maryland, on October 17, 1914.

During spring training in 1915, Ruth secured a spot in the Red Sox starting rotation. He joined a pitching staff that included Rube Foster, Dutch Leonard, and Smokey Joe Wood. Ruth won 18 games, lost eight, and helped himself by hitting .315. He also hit his first four home runs. The Red Sox won 101 games that year on their way to a victory in the World Series. Ruth did not pitch in the series, and grounded out in his only at-bat.

In 1916, after a slightly shaky spring, he went 23–12, with a 1.75 ERA and nine shutouts, both of which led the league. On June 27, he struck out ten Philadelphia A's, a career high. On July 11, he started both games of a doubleheader, but the feat was not what it seemed; he only pitched one-third of an inning in the opener because the scheduled starter, Foster, had trouble getting loose. Ruth then pitched a complete-game victory in the nightcap. Ruth had unusual success against Washington Senators star pitcher Walter Johnson, beating him four times in 1916 alone, by scores of 5–1, 1–0, 1–0 in 13 innings, and 2–1. Johnson finally outlasted Ruth for an extra-inning 4–3 victory on September 12; in the years to come, Ruth would hit ten home runs off Johnson, including the only two Johnson would allow in 1918–1919. Ruth's nine shutouts in 1916 set an AL record for left-handers which would remain unmatched until Ron Guidry tied it in 1978.

Despite a weak offense, hurt by the sale of Tris Speaker to the Indians, the Red Sox made it to the World Series. They defeated the Brooklyn Robins four games to one. This time Ruth made a major contribution, pitching a 14-inning complete-game victory in Game Two.

Ruth went 24–13 with a 2.01 ERA and six shutouts in 1917, and hit .325, but the Sox finished second, nine games behind the Chicago White Sox. On June 23 against the Washington Senators, after walking the leadoff hitter, Ruth erupted in anger, was ejected, and threw a punch at the umpire, which would result in a ten-game suspension. Ernie Shore came into the game in relief, the baserunner was out stealing, and Shore retired all twenty-six batters he faced, for which he was credited with a perfect game until the 1990s. Ruth's outburst was an example of self-discipline problems that plagued Ruth throughout his career, and is regarded as the primary reason (other than financial) that then-owner Harry Frazee was willing to sell him to the Yankees two years later.

The left-hander was pitching a no-hitter in a 0–0 game against the Detroit Tigers on July 11, before a single deflected off his glove in the eighth inning. Boston finally pushed across a run in the ninth, and Ruth held onto his 1–0 victory by striking out Ty Cobb. In 1942, Ruth called this game his greatest thrill on the field.

In 1918, Ruth pitched in 20 games, posting a 13–7 record with a 2.22 ERA. He was mostly used as an outfielder, and hit a league-leading eleven home runs. His statistics were curtailed slightly when he walked off the team in July following an argument with Boston's manager.

Ruth threw a 1–0 shutout in the opener of the 1918 World Series, then won Game Four in what would be his final World Series appearance as a pitcher. Ruth won both his starts, allowing two runs (both earned) in seventeen innings for an ERA of 1.06. Ruth extended his World Series consecutive scoreless inning streak to 29⅔ innings, a record that would last until Whitey Ford broke it in 1961.

Emergence as a hitter

In the years 1915–1917, Ruth had been used in just 44 games in which he had not pitched. After the 1917 season, in which he hit .325, albeit with limited at bats, teammate Harry Hooper suggested that Ruth might be more valuable in the lineup as an everyday player.

In 1918, he began playing in the outfield more and pitching less, making 75 hitting-only appearances. Former teammate Tris Speaker speculated that the move would shorten Ruth's career, though Ruth himself wanted to hit more and pitch less. In 1918, Ruth batted .300 and led the A.L. in home runs with eleven despite having only 317 at-bats, well below the total for an everyday player.

During the 1919 season, Ruth pitched in only 17 of his 130 games. He also set his first single-season home run record that year with 29 (passing Ned Williamson's 27 in 1884), including a game-winning homer on a September "Babe Ruth Day" promotion. It was Babe Ruth's last season with the Red Sox.

Sold to New York

On December 26, 1919, Frazee sold Ruth to the New York Yankees. Popular legend has it that Frazee sold Ruth and several other of his best players to finance a Broadway play, No, No, Nanette (which, though it actually didn't debut until 1925, did have origins in a December 1919 play, My Lady Friends). The truth is not so simple, as Frazee had another financial concern: Babe Ruth.

After the 1919 season, Ruth demanded a raise to $20,000 ($}} in current dollar terms)—double his previous salary. However, Frazee refused, and Ruth responded by letting it be known he wouldn't play until he got his raise, suggesting that he may retire to undertake other profitable ventures.

Frazee finally lost patience with Ruth, and decided to trade him. However, he was effectively limited to two trading partners—the Chicago White Sox and the then-moribund Yankees. The other five clubs rejected his deals out of hand under pressure from American League president Ban Johnson, who never liked Frazee and was actively trying to remove him from ownership of the Red Sox. The White Sox offered Shoeless Joe Jackson $60,000 ($}} in current dollar terms), but Yankees owners Jacob Ruppert and Tillinghast L'Hommedieu Huston offered an all-cash deal—$100,000 ($}} in current dollar terms).

Frazee, Ruppert and Huston quickly agreed to a deal. In exchange for Ruth, the Red Sox would get $125,000 ($}} million in current dollar terms) in cash and three $25,000 ($}} in current dollar terms) notes payable every year at 6 percent interest. Ruppert and Huston also loaned Frazee $300,000 ($}} million in current dollar terms), with the mortgage on Fenway Park as collateral. The deal was contingent on Ruth signing a new contract, which was quickly agreed to, and Ruth officially became property of the Yankees on December 26. The deal was announced ten days later.

In the January 6, 1920 edition of The Boston Globe, Frazee described the transaction: : "I should have preferred to take players in exchange for Ruth, but no club could have given me the equivalent in men without wrecking itself, and so the deal had to be made on a cash basis. No other club could afford to give me the amount the Yankees have paid for him, and I don't mind saying I think they are taking a gamble. With this money the Boston club can now go into the market and buy other players and have a stronger and better team in all respects than we would have had if Ruth had remained with us."

However, the January 6, 1920 The New York Times was more prescient: : "The short right field wall at the Polo Grounds should prove an easy target for Ruth next season and, playing seventy-seven games at home, it would not be surprising if Ruth surpassed his home run record of twenty-nine circuit clouts next Summer."

The Yankee Years

1920–1925

After moving to the Yankees, Ruth's transition from a pitcher to a power-hitting outfielder became complete. In his fifteen year Yankee career, consisting of over 2,000 games, Ruth re-wrote the record books in terms of his hitting achievements, while making only five widely-scattered token appearances on the mound, winning all of them.

In 1920, his first year with the Yankees, Ruth hit 54 home runs and batted .376. His .847 slugging average was a Major League record until 2001. Aside from the Yankees, only the Philadelphia Phillies managed to hit more home runs as a team than Ruth did as an individual, slugging 64 in hitter-friendly Baker Bowl.

In 1921, Ruth improved to arguably the best year of his career, hitting 59 home runs, batting .378 and slugging .846 (the highest with 500+ at-bats in an MLB season) while leading the Yankees to their first league championship. On July 18, 1921, Babe Ruth hit career home run #139, breaking Roger Connor's record of 138 in just the eighth year of his career. (This was not recognized at the time, as Connor's correct career total was not accurately documented until the 1970s. Even if the record had been celebrated, it would have been on an earlier date, as Connor's total was at one time thought to be only 131.)

Ruth's name quickly became synonymous with the home run, as he led the transformation of baseball strategy from the "inside game" to the "power game", and because of the style and manner in which he hit them. His ability to drive a significant number of his home runs in the 450–500 foot range and beyond resulted in the lasting adjective "Ruthian", to describe any long home run hit by any player. Probably his deepest hit in official game play (and perhaps the longest home run by any player), occurred on July 18, at Detroit's Navin Field, in which he hit one to straightaway center, over the wall of the then-single-deck bleachers, and to the intersection, some from home plate.

As impressive as Ruth's 1921 numbers were, they could have been more so under modern conditions. Bill Jenkinson's 2006 book, The Year Babe Ruth Hit 104 Home Runs, attempts to examine each of Ruth's 714 career home runs, plus several hundred long inside-the-park drives and "fair-foul" balls. Until 1931 in the AL, balls that hit the foul pole were considered ground-rule doubles, and balls that went over the wall in fair territory but hooked foul were ruled foul. Many fields, including Ruth's home Polo Grounds, had exceptionally deep center fields—in the Polo Grounds' case, nearly five hundred feet. The author concluded that Ruth would have been credited with 104 home runs in 1921, if modern rules and field dimensions were in place. However, these claims ignore the extreme short distances down the left and right field lines, which were 279 and 258 feet respectively. In addition, the 21 foot overhang in left field often intercepted fly balls which would otherwise have been catchable and turned them into home runs. In either case, Ruth set major league records in total bases (457), extra base hits (119) and times on base (379), all of which stand to this day.

The Yankees had high expectations when they met the New York Giants in the 1921 World Series, and the Yankees won the first two games with Ruth in the lineup. However, Ruth badly scraped his elbow during Game 2, sliding into third base (he had walked and stolen both second and third). After the game, he was told by the team physician not to play the rest of the series. Although he did play in Games 3, 4 and 5, and pinch-hit in Game 8 of the best-of-9 Series, his productivity was diminished, and the Yankees lost the series. Ruth hit .316, drove in five runs and hit his first World Series home run. (Although the Yankees won the fifth game, Ruth wrenched his knee and did not return to the Series until the eighth [last] game.)

Ruth's appearance in the 1921 World Series also led to a problem and triggered another disciplinary action. After the series, Ruth played in a barnstorming tour. A rule then in force prohibited World Series participants from playing in exhibition games during the off-season, the purpose of which was to prevent Series participants from "restaging" the Series and undermining its value. Baseball Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis suspended Ruth for the first six weeks of the 1922 season. Landis had made his point about adhering to the letter of the rules, but he also recognized that the rule was no longer needed, and rescinded it.

Despite his suspension, Ruth started his 1922 season on May 20 as the Yankees' new on-field captain. But five days later, he was ejected from a game for throwing dirt on an umpire, and then climbed into the stands to confront a heckler; Ruth was subsequently stripped of the captaincy. In his shortened season, Ruth appeared in 110 games, batted .315, with 35 home runs and drove in 99 runs, but compared to his previous two dominating seasons, the 1922 season was a disappointment for Ruth. Despite Ruth's off-year, Yankees managed to win the pennant to face the New York Giants for the second straight year in the World Series. In the series, Giants manager John McGraw instructed his pitchers to throw Ruth nothing but curveballs, and Ruth never adjusted. Ruth had just two hits in seventeen at-bats, and the Yankees lost to the Giants for the second straight year by 4–0 (with one tie game).

In 1923, the Yankees moved from the Polo Grounds, where they had sublet from the Giants, to their new Yankee Stadium, which was quickly dubbed "The House That Ruth Built". Ruth hit the stadium's first home run on the way to a Yankees victory over the Red Sox. Ruth finished the 1923 season with a career-high .393 batting average and major-league leading 41 home runs. For the third straight year, the Yankees faced the Giants in the World Series. Rebounding from his struggles in the previous two World Series, Ruth dominated the 1923 World Series. He batted .368, walked eight times, scored eight runs, hit three home runs and slugged 1.000 during the series, as the Yankees won their first World Series title, four games to two.

thumb|Ruth after being knocked unconscious from running into a wall at Griffith Stadium on July 5, 1924. On July 5, 1924, Ruth was knocked unconscious after running into a wall during a game at Griffith Stadium against the Washington Senators. Despite evident pain and a bruised pelvic bone, Ruth insisted on staying in the game and hit a double in his next at-bat. Ruth narrowly missed winning the Triple Crown in 1924. He hit .378 for his only American League batting title, led the major leagues with 46 home runs, and batted in 121 runs to finish second to Goose Goslin's 129. Ruth's on-base percentage was .513, the fourth of five years in which his OBP exceeded .500. However, the Yankees finished second, two games behind the Washington Senators, who went on to win their only World Series while based in D.C. During that same year, Ruth served in the New York national Guard 104th Field Artillery.

During spring training in 1925 Ruth's ailment was dubbed "the bellyache heard round the world," when one writer wrote that Ruth's illness was caused by binging on hot dogs and soda pop before a game. Venereal disease and alcohol poisoning (caused by tainted liquor, a major health problem during the Prohibition) have also been speculated to be the causes of his illness. However, the exact nature of his ailment has never been confirmed and remains a mystery. Playing just 98 games, Ruth had what would be his worst season as a Yankee as he finished the season with a .290 average and 25 home runs. The Yankees team finished next to last in the American League with a 69–85 mark, their last season with a losing record until 1965.

1926–1928

Babe Ruth performed at a much higher level during 1926, batting .372 with 47 home runs and 146 RBIs. The Yankees won the AL pennant and advanced to the World Series, where they were defeated by Rogers Hornsby and the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games. In Game 4, he hit three home runs, the first time any player achieved this in a World Series game. Despite his batting heroics, he is also remembered for a costly baserunning blunder. Ruth had a reputation as a good but overaggressive baserunner (he had 123 stolen bases, including ten steals of home, but only a 51% career percentage). With two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning of the decisive seventh game, with the Yankees trailing 3–2, Ruth tried to steal second base. However, he was thrown out by ten feet, ending the game and the Series. Barrow later called this the only on-field boner Ruth ever made in his career.

This remains the only time that the final out of a World Series was a "caught stealing." The 1926 series was also known for Ruth's promise to Johnny Sylvester, a seriously ill 11-year old, that he would hit a home run on his behalf.

Ruth was the leader of the famous 1927 Yankees, also known as Murderer's Row because of the strength of its hitting lineup. The team won a then AL-record 110 games, a mark for a 154-game season surpassed by the 1954 Cleveland Indians (the 2001 Seattle Mariners now hold the record with 116 wins, though they played eight more games), took the AL pennant by 19 games, and swept the Pittsburgh Pirates in the World Series.

With the race long since decided, the nation's attention turned to Ruth's pursuit of his own home run mark of 59. Early in the season, Ruth expressed doubts about his chances: "I don't suppose I'll ever break that 1921 record. To do that, you've got to start early, and the pitchers have got to pitch to you. I don't start early, and the pitchers haven't really pitched to me in four seasons. I get more bad balls to hit than any other six men...and fewer good ones." Ruth was also being challenged for his slugger's crown by teammate Lou Gehrig, who nudged ahead of Ruth's total in midseason, prompting the New York World-Telegram to anoint Gehrig the favorite. But Ruth caught Gehrig (who would finish with 47), and then had a remarkable last leg of the season, hitting 17 home runs in September. His 60th came on September 30, in the Yankees' next-to-last game. Ruth was exultant, shouting after the game, "Sixty, count 'em, sixty! Let's see some son-of-a-bitch match that!" In later years, he would give Gehrig some credit: "Pitchers began pitching to me because if they passed me they still had Lou to contend with." In addition to his career-high 60 home runs, Ruth batted .356, drove in 164 runs and slugged .772.

The following season started off well for the Yankees, who led the AL by 13 games in July. But the Yankees were soon plagued by some key injuries, erratic pitching and inconsistent play. The Philadelphia Athletics, rebuilding after some lean years, erased the Yankees' big lead and even took over first place briefly in early September. The Yankees, however, took over first place for good when they beat the A's three out of four games in a pivotal series at Yankee Stadium later that month.

Ruth's play in 1928 mirrored his team's performance. He got off to a hot start and on August 1, he had 42 home runs. This put him ahead of his 60 home run pace from the previous season. But Ruth was hobbled by a bad ankle the latter part of the season, and he hit just twelve home runs in the last two months of the regular season. His batting average also fell to .323, well below his career average. Nevertheless, he ended the season with 54 home runs, which would be the fourth (and last) time he hit 50 home runs in a season.

The Yankees had a 1928 World Series rematch with the St. Louis Cardinals, who had upset them in the 1926 series. The Cardinals had the same core players as the 1926 team, except for Rogers Hornsby, who was traded for Frankie Frisch after the 1926 season. Ruth batted .625 (the second highest average in World Series history), including another three-home run game (in game 4), Gehrig batted .545, and the Yankees demolished the Cardinals in four games. The Yankees thus became the first major league team to sweep their opponents in consecutive World Series.

Decline and end with Yankees

In 1929, the Yankees failed to make the World Series for the first time in four years, and it would be another three years before they returned. Although the Yankees had slipped, Ruth led or tied for the league lead in home runs each year during 1929–1931. At one point during the 1930 season, as a stunt, Ruth was called upon to pitch for the first time since 1921, and he pitched a complete-game victory. (He had often pitched in exhibitions in the intervening years).

Also in 1929, the Yankees became the first team to use uniform numbers regularly (the Cleveland Indians had used them briefly in 1916). Since Ruth normally batted third in the order (ahead of Gehrig), he was assigned number 3 (to Gehrig's 4). The Yankees retired Ruth's number on June 13, 1948; however, it was kept in circulation prior to that.

In 1930, which was not a pennant year for the Yankees, Ruth was asked by a reporter what he thought of his yearly salary of $80,000 ($}} million in current dollar terms) being more than President Hoover's $75,000. His response: "I know, but I had a better year than Hoover." That quote has also been rendered as, "How many home runs did he hit last year?" (Ruth had supported Al Smith in the 1928 Presidential election, and snubbed an appearance with president Hoover.) Three years later, Ruth would make a public appearance with the ex-President at a Stanford – USC football game.

In the 1932 season, the Yankees went 107–47 and won the pennant under manager Joe McCarthy, as Ruth hit .341, with 41 home runs and 137 RBIs.

The Yankees faced Gabby Hartnett's Chicago Cubs in the 1932 World Series. The Yankees swept the Cubs and batted .313 as a team. During Game 3 of the series, after having already homered, Ruth hit what has now become known as Babe Ruth's Called Shot. During the at-bat, Ruth supposedly gestured to the deepest part of the park in center-field, predicting a home run. The ball he hit traveled past the flagpole to the right of the scoreboard and ended up in temporary bleachers just outside Wrigley Field's outer wall. The center field corner was 440 feet away, and at age 37, Ruth had hit a straightaway center home run that was perhaps a 490 foot blow. It was Ruth's last Series homer (and his last Series hit), and it became one of the legendary moments of baseball history.

Ruth remained productive in 1933, as he batted .301, with 34 home runs, 103 RBIs, and a league-leading 114 walks. Elected to play in the first All-Star game, he hit the first home run in the game's history on July 6, 1933, at Comiskey Park in Chicago. His two-run home run helped the AL to a 4–2 victory over the NL, and Ruth made a fine catch in the game. Film footage of his All-Star game home run revealed the 38-year-old Ruth had become noticeably overweight.

Late in the 1933 season, he was called upon to pitch in one game and pitched a complete game victory, his final appearance as a pitcher. For the most part, his Yankee pitching appearances (five in fifteen years) were widely-advertised attempts to boost attendance. Despite unremarkable pitching numbers, Ruth had a 5–0 record in those five games, raising his career totals to 94–46.

In 1934, Babe Ruth recorded a .288 average, 22 home runs, and made the All-Star team for the second consecutive year. During the game, Ruth was the first of five consecutive strikeout victims (all of whom were future Hall of Fame players) of Giants pitcher Carl Hubbell, perhaps the most famous pitching feat in All-Star game history. In what turned out to be his last game at Yankee Stadium, only about 2,000 fans attended. By this time, Ruth had reached a personal milestone of 700 home runs and was about ready to retire.

After the 1934 season, Ruth went on a baseball barnstorming tour in the Far East. Players such as Jimmie Foxx, Lefty Gomez, Earl Averill, Charlie Gehringer, and Lou Gehrig were among fourteen players who played a series of 22 games, with many of the games played in Japan. Ruth was popular in Japan, as baseball had been popular in Japan for decades. Riding in a motorcade, Ruth was greeted by thousands of cheering Japanese. The tour was considered a great success for further increasing the popularity of baseball in Japan, and in 1936 Japan organized its first professional baseball league.

Sold to the Braves

By this time, Ruth knew he had little left as a player. His heart was set on managing the Yankees, and he made no secret of his desire to replace McCarthy. However, Ruppert would not consider dumping McCarthy. The slugger and manager had never got along and Ruth's managerial ambitions further chilled their relations. Just before the 1934 season, Ruppert offered to make Ruth manager of the Yankees' top minor-league team, the Newark Bears. However, Ruth's wife, Claire Merritt Hodgson and business manager advised him to reject the offer.

After the 1934 season, the only teams that seriously considered hiring Ruth were the Philadelphia Athletics and Detroit Tigers. A's owner/manager Connie Mack gave some thought to stepping down as manager in favor of Ruth, but later dropped the idea, saying that Ruth's wife would be running the team in a month if Ruth ever took over. Ruth was in serious negotiations with Tigers owner Frank Navin, but missed a scheduled interview in late 1934. Meanwhile, Ruppert negotiated with other major-league clubs, seeking one that would take Ruth either as a manager or player.

Boston Braves owner Emil Fuchs finally agreed to take Ruth. Even though the Braves had fielded fairly competitive teams in the last three seasons, Fuchs was sinking in debt and couldn't afford the rent on Braves Field. Fuchs thought Ruth was just what the Braves needed, both on and off the field.

After a series of phone calls, letters and meetings, the Yankees traded Ruth to the Braves on February 26, 1935. It was announced that in addition to remaining as a player, Ruth would become team vice president and would be consulted on all club transactions. He was also made assistant manager to Braves skipper Bill McKechnie. In a long letter to Ruth a few days before the press conference, Fuchs promised Ruth a share in the Braves' profits, with the possibility of becoming co-owner of the team. Fuchs also raised the possibility of Ruth becoming the Braves' manager, perhaps as early as 1936.

Amid much media hoopla, Ruth played his first home game in Boston in over 16 years. Before an opening-day crowd of over 25,000, Ruth accounted for all of the Braves' runs in a 4–2 defeat of the New York Giants. The Braves had long played second fiddle to the Red Sox in Boston, but Ruth's arrival spiked interest in the Braves to levels not seen since their stunning win in the 1914 World Series.

That win proved to be the only time the Braves were over .500 that year. By May 20, they were 7–17, and their season was effectively over. While Ruth could still hit, he could do little else, and soon stopped hitting as well. His conditioning had deteriorated so much that he could do little more than trot around the bases. His fielding was dreadful; at one point, three of the Braves' pitchers threatened not to take the mound if Ruth was in the lineup. Ruth was also annoyed that McKechnie ignored most of his managerial advice (McKechnie later said that Ruth's presence made enforcing discipline nearly impossible). He soon discovered that he was vice president and assistant manager in name only, and Fuchs' promise of a share of team profits was also hot air. In fact, Fuchs expected Ruth to invest some of his money in the team.

On May 25, at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh, Ruth went 4-for-4, drove in 6 runs and hit 3 home runs in an 11–7 loss to the Pirates. These were the last three home runs of his career. His last home run cleared the roof at the old Forbes Field—he became the first player to accomplish that feat. Five days later, in Philadelphia, Ruth played in his last Major League game. He struck out in the first inning and, while playing the field in the same inning, hurt his knee and left the game. In the 1948 film The Babe Ruth Story there was a more dramatic recounting of Ruth's last game. The Braves were depicted as winning the game against the Pirates and learning he had been fired for walking off the field during the game, while still in the locker room.

Two days after that, Ruth summoned reporters to the locker room after a game against the Giants and announced he was retiring. He had wanted to retire as early as May 12, but Fuchs persuaded him to stay on because the Braves hadn't played in every National League park yet. That season, he hit just .181 with six home runs in 72 at-bats. The Braves season went as badly as Ruth's short season. They finished 38–115, the fourth-worst record in Major League history, just a few percentage points fewer than the infamous 1962 New York Mets.

Personal life

Ruth married Helen Woodford in 1914. Owing to his infidelities, they were reportedly separated around 1926. Helen died in a fire in Watertown, Massachusetts on January 11, 1929 in a house owned by Edward Kinder, a dentist whom she had been living with as "Mrs. Kinder". Kinder identified her body as being that of his wife, then went into hiding after Helen's true identity was revealed; Ruth himself had to get authorities to issue a new death certificate in her legal name, Margaret Helen Woodford Ruth.

Ruth had two daughters. Dorothy Ruth was adopted by Babe and Helen. Decades later, she wrote a book, My Dad, the Babe, claiming that she was Ruth's biological child by a girlfriend named Juanita Jennings.

Ruth adopted Julia Hodgson when he married her mother, actress and model Claire Merritt Hodgson. Julia currently resides in Arizona, and threw out the ceremonial first pitch before the final game in the original Yankee Stadium on September 21, 2008.

Ruth and Claire regularly wintered in Florida, frequently playing golf during the off-season and while the Yankees were spring training in Tampa, Florida. After retirement, he had a winter beachfront home in Treasure Island, Florida, near St. Petersburg.

Radio and films

Ruth made many forays into various popular media. He was heard often on radio in the 1930s and 1940s, both as a guest and on his own programs with various titles: The Adventures of Babe Ruth was a 15-minute Blue Network show heard three times a week from April 16 to July 13, 1934. Three years later, he was on CBS twice a week in Here's Babe Ruth which was broadcast from April 14 to July 9, 1937. That same year he portrayed himself in "Alibi Ike" on Lux Radio Theater. His Baseball Quiz was first heard Saturdays on NBC June 5 to July 10, 1943 and then later that year from August 28 to November 20 on NBC, followed by another NBC run from July 8 to October 21, 1944.

His film roles included a cameo appearance as himself in the Harold Lloyd film Speedy (1928). His first film appearance occurred in 1920, in the silent movie Headin' Home. He made numerous other film appearances in the silent era, usually either playing himself or playing a ballplayer similar to himself.

Ruth's voice was said by some biographers to be similar to that of film star Clark Gable, although that was obviously not evident in the silent film era. He had an appropriate role as himself in Pride of the Yankees (1942), the story of his ill-fated teammate Lou Gehrig. Ruth had three scenes in the film, including one in which he appeared with a straw hat. He said, "If I see anyone touch it, I'll knock his teeth in!" The teammates convinced young Gehrig (Gary Cooper) to chew up the hat; he got away with it. In the second scene, the players go to a restaurant, where Babe sees a side of beef cooking and jokes, "Well, I'll have one of those..." and, the dramatic scene near the end, where Gehrig makes his speech at Yankee Stadium ending with "I consider myself the luckiest man..."

Retirement and post-playing days

In 1936, Ruth was one of the first five players elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Two years later, Larry MacPhail, the Brooklyn Dodgers general manager, offered him a first base coaching job in June. Ruth took the job but quit at the end of the season. The coaching position was his last job in Major League Baseball. His baseball career finally came to an end in 1943. In a charity game at Yankee Stadium, he pinch hit and drew a walk. In 1947, he became director of the American Legion's youth baseball program.

Baby Ruth candy bar controversy

For decades, the Baby Ruth candy bar was believed to be named after Babe Ruth and some sports marketing practitioners used this example of one of the first forms of sports marketing. However, while the name of the candy bar sounds nearly identical to the Babe's name, the Curtiss Candy Company has steadfastly claimed that Baby Ruth was named after President Grover Cleveland's daughter, Ruth Cleveland. Nonetheless, the bar first appeared in 1921, as Babe Ruth's fame was on the rise and long after Cleveland had left the White House and 15 years after his daughter had died. The company failed to negotiate an endorsement deal with Ruth, and many saw the company's story about the origin of the name of the bar as merely a ploy to avoid having to pay the baseball player any royalties. Ironically, Curtiss successfully shut down a rival bar that was approved by, and named for, Ruth, on the grounds that the names were too similar in the case of George H. Ruth Candy Co. v. Curtiss Candy Co, 49 F.2d 1033 (1931). Sports marketing experts now believe that the Curtiss Candy Company employed the first successful use of an ambush sports marketing campaign, capitalizing on the Babe's name, fame, and popularity.

The New York Times supports the evidence of the ambush marketing campaign when it wrote "For 85 years, Babe Ruth, the slugger, and Baby Ruth, the candy bar, have lived parallel lives in which it has been widely assumed that the latter was named for the former. The confection's creator, the Curtiss Candy Company, never admitted to what looks like an obvious connection – especially since Ruth hit 54 home runs the year before the first Baby Ruth was devoured. Had it done so, Curtiss would have had to compensate Ruth. Instead, it eventually insisted the inspiration was "Baby Ruth" Cleveland, the daughter of President Grover Cleveland. But it is an odd connection that makes one wonder at the marketing savvy of Otto Schnering, the company's founder."

Thus, in 1995, a company representing the Ruth estate brought the Baby Ruth candy bar into sponsorship officialdom when it licensed the Babe's name and likeness for use in a Baby Ruth marketing campaign. On page 34 of the spring, 2007, edition of the Chicago Cubs game program, there is a full-page ad showing a partially-unwrapped Baby Ruth in front of the Wrigley ivy, with the caption, "The official candy bar of Major League Baseball, and proud sponsor of the Chicago Cubs." Continuing the baseball-oriented theme, during the summer and post-season of the 2007 season, a TV ad for the candy bar showed an entire stadium (played by Dodger Stadium) filled with people munching Baby Ruths, and thus having to hum rather than singing along with "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" during the seventh-inning stretch.

Illness

In 1946, he began experiencing severe pain over his left eye. In November 1946, a visit to French Hospital in New York revealed Ruth had a malignant tumor in his neck that had encircled his left carotid artery. He received post-operative radiation therapy. Before leaving the hospital in February 1947, he lost approximately .

Around this time, developments in chemotherapy offered some hope. Teropterin, a folic acid derivative, was developed by Dr. Brian Hutchings of the Lederle Laboratories. It had been shown to cause significant remissions in children with leukemia. Ruth was administered this new drug in June 1947. He was suffering from headaches, hoarseness and had difficulty swallowing. He agreed to use this new medicine but did not want to know any details about it. All the while he was receiving this experimental medication, he did not know it was for cancer. On June 29, 1947, he began receiving injections and he responded with dramatic improvement. He gained over and had resolution of his headaches. On September 6, 1947, his case was presented anonymously at the 4th Annual Internal cancer Research Congress in St. Louis. Teropterin ended up being a precursor for methotrexate, a now commonly used chemotherapeutic agent.

It is now known that Ruth suffered from nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPCA), a relatively rare tumor located in the back of the nose near the eustachian tube. Contemporary management for NPCA includes concurrent chemotherapy and radiation therapy.

On April 27, 1947, the Yankees held a ceremony at Yankee Stadium. Despite his health problems, Ruth was able to attend "Babe Ruth Day". Ruth spoke to a capacity crowd of more than 60,000, including many American Legion youth baseball players. Although lacking a specific memorable comment like Gehrig's "Luckiest man" speech, Ruth spoke from the heart, of his enthusiasm for the game of baseball and in support of the youth playing the game. (Babe Ruth speaking at Yankee Stadium)

Later, Ruth started the Babe Ruth Foundation, a charity for disadvantaged children. Another Babe Ruth Day held at Yankee Stadium in September 1947 helped to raise money for this charity.

After the cancer returned, Ruth attended the 25th anniversary celebration of the opening of Yankee Stadium on June 13, 1948. He was reunited with old teammates from the 1923 Yankee team and posed for photographs. The photo of Ruth taken from behind, using a bat as a cane, standing apart from the other players, and facing "Ruthville" (right field) became one of baseball's most famous and widely circulated photographs. The photo won the Pulitzer Prize.

Death

Shortly after he attended the Yankee Stadium anniversary event, Ruth was back in the hospital. He received hundreds of well-wishing letters and messages. This included a phone call from President Harry Truman. Claire helped him respond to the letters.

On July 26, 1948, Ruth attended the premiere of the film The Babe Ruth Story, a biopic about his own life. William Bendix portrayed Ruth. Shortly thereafter, Ruth returned to the hospital for the final time. He was barely able to speak. Ruth's condition gradually became worse, and in his last days, scores of reporters and photographers hovered around the hospital. Only a few visitors were allowed to see him, one of whom was National League president and future Commissioner of Baseball, Ford Frick. "Ruth was so thin it was unbelievable. He had been such a big man and his arms were just skinny little bones, and his face was so haggard," Frick said years later.

On August 16, the day after Frick's visit, Babe Ruth died at age 53 due to pneumonia. An autopsy showed the cancer Ruth died from began in the nose and mouth and spread widely throughout his body from there. His body lay in repose in Yankee Stadium. His funeral was two days later at St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York. Ruth was then buried in the Cemetery of the Gate of Heaven in Hawthorne, New York. At his death, the New York Times called Babe Ruth, "a figure unprecedented in American life. A born showman off the field and a marvelous performer on it, he had an amazing flair for doing the spectacular at the most dramatic moment."

Legacy

Ruth's impact on American culture still commands attention. Top performers in other sports are often referred to as "The Babe Ruth of ______." He is widely regarded as one of the greatest baseball players in history. Many polls place him as the number one player of all time.

Ruth was mentioned in the poem "Line-Up for Yesterday" by Ogden Nash:

Films have been made featuring Ruth, or a Ruth-like figure ("The Whammer" in The Natural, for example).

During World War II, Japanese soldiers would yell in English, "To hell with Babe Ruth", in order to anger American soldiers. An episode of Hawaii Five-O would be named "To Hell With Babe Ruth" because of that.

As a sidelight to his prominent role in changing the game to the power game, the frequency and popularity of Ruth's home runs eventually led to a rule change pertaining to those hit in sudden-death mode (bottom of the ninth or later inning). Prior to 1931, as soon as the first necessary run to win the game scored, the play was over, and the batter was credited only with the number of bases needed to drive in the winning run. Thus, if the score was 3–2 with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth, and the batter smacked an "over the fence home run", the game would end at 4–3, with the batter only allowed a double, and the runners officially stopped on 2nd and 3rd (since they weren't needed to win the game). The new rule allowed the entire play to complete, justified on the grounds that the ball was dead and that all runners could freely advance, thus granting the full allotment of HR and RBI to the batter, as we know it today. Several players lost home runs that way, including Ruth. As noted in the inaugural edition of The Baseball Encyclopedia (MacMillan, 1969), Ruth's career total would have been changed to 715 if historians during the 1960s had been successful in pursuing this matter. Major League Baseball elected not to retrofit the records to the modern rules, and Ruth's total stayed at 714.

Another rules change that affected Ruth was the method used by umpires to judge potential home runs when the batted ball left the field near a foul pole. Before 1931, i.e. through most of Ruth's most productive years, the umpire called the play based on the ball's final resting place "when last seen". Thus, if a ball went over the fence fair, and curved behind the foul pole, it was ruled foul. Beginning in 1931 and continuing to the present day, the rule was changed to require the umpire to judge based on the point where the ball cleared the fence. Jenkinson's book (p. 374–375) lists 78 foul balls near the foul pole in Ruth's career, claiming that at least 50 of them were likely to have been home runs under the modern rule.

Ruth's 1919 contract that sent him from Boston to New York was sold at auction for $996,000 at Sotheby's on June 10, 2005. The most valuable memorabilia item relating to Ruth was his 1923 bat which he used to hit the first home run at Yankee Stadium on April 18, 1923. Ruth's heavy Louisville Slugger solid ash wood bat sold for $1.26 million at a Sotheby's auction in December 2004, making it the third most valuable baseball memorabilia item, behind Mark McGwire's 70th home run ball and the famous 1909 Honus Wagner baseball card.

Career batting statistics

Taken from Retrosheet.

2,174

G	! AB	! R	! H	! HR	! RBI	! BB	! SO	! Avg.	! OBP	! SLG
2,503	8,399	|	2,873	714	2,213	2,062	1,330	.342	.473	.690

All-time ranks

3rd on all-time home run list with 714

10th on all-time batting average list with .342

2nd on all-time RBI list with 2,217

1st on all-time slugging % with 0.690

2nd on all-time on-base % list with .474

1st on all-time OPS with 1.164

4th on all-time runs list with 2,174

6th on all-time total bases list with 5,793

3rd on all-time bases on balls list with 2,062

Career pitching statistics

2.28

Win (baseball)	W	Loss (baseball)>L	Earned run average>ERA	Games played>G	Games started>GS	Complete game>CG	Shutout>SHO	Save (baseball)>SV	Innings pitched>IP	Hit (baseball)>H	Run (baseball)>R	Earned run>ER	Home run>HR	Hit by pitch>HBP	Base on balls>BB	Strikeout>SO	Winning percentage>WPct	Walks plus hits per inning pitched>WHIP	Batting average>AVG	Bases on balls per 9 innings pitched>BB/9	Strikeouts per 9 innings pitched>K/9
94	46	|	163	148	107	17	4	1,221.1	974	400	309	10	29	441	488	.671	1.16	.220	3.25	3.60

Ruth was 89–46 with the Red Sox and was 5–0 with the Yankees overall. Ruth is 11th for career won-loss at 67.1%.

See also

Babe Ruth Award

Babe Ruth League

Curse of the Bambino

DHL Hometown Heroes

List of Major League Baseball Home Run Records

List of Major League Baseball RBI Records

References and notes

External links

BabeRuth.com – Official site

baberuthmuseum.com Ruth Museum

In March 2011, the VOA Special English service of the Voice of America broadcast a 15-minute program on Babe Ruth. A transcript and MP3 of the program, intended for English learners, can be found at Babe Ruth,1895-1948: America’s Greatest Baseball Player

Images

Babe Ruth: Rare and Unpublished - slideshow by Life magazine

Babe Ruth: Totally Random Trivia - slideshow by Life magazine

Further reading

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Category:1895 births Category:1948 deaths Category:500 home run club Category:American League All-Stars Category:American League batting champions Category:American League ERA champions Category:American League home run champions Category:American League RBI champions Category:American people of German descent Category:American Roman Catholics Category:Baseball players from Maryland Category:Boston Braves players Category:Boston Red Sox players Category:Brooklyn Dodgers coaches Category:Burials at Gate of Heaven Cemetery Category:Cancer deaths in New York Category:Deaths from esophageal cancer Category:Major League Baseball first base coaches Category:Major League Baseball left fielders Category:Major League Baseball pitchers Category:Major League Baseball players with retired numbers Category:Major League Baseball right fielders Category:National Baseball Hall of Fame inductees Category:New York Yankees players Category:Sportspeople from Baltimore, Maryland Category:Vaudeville performers Category:Baltimore Orioles (IL) players Category:Providence Grays (minor league) players

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