“I value my religion, because like a batting average, it sets a standard by which I can measure myself”

When most people think of Babe Ruth they picture a man with a larger-than-life reputation – a great baseball player with a reckless appetite for drinking and womanizing. While that reputation is well-deserved it does not accurately portray the complexities of the man and his lifelong struggles to live up to his Christian ideals.

Babe Ruth Portrait – 1920

Ruth was a born into a rough section of Baltimore in 1895; his mother died when he was a twelve and his father, who operated a saloon, didn’t have much time for the son who quickly became a tobacco-chewing, beer-drinking, swearing delinquent. Too much for his father to handle, Ruth was sent to the St Mary’s Industrial School for Boys, a reformatory and orphanage that was run by the Xaverian Christian Brothers.

It was there that Ruth received his formal education and learned the basics of the carpentry and shirt-making trades. The school’s Prefect of Discipline, Brother Matthias, who was greatly respected by the boys for his strength and fairness, tutored Ruth on the mechanics of throwing and hitting a baseball.

Ruth still got into trouble often while at the school, but he benefited from the strict discipline and moral teachings of the Catholic tradition as he remarked in later years that the biggest life lesson he took away from his time at the school was that “God was Boss“.

Ruth went on to have a legendary career and is regarded by many as the greatest baseball player of all time, setting numerous records that stood for many years. During the height of his fame, Ruth was treated as a hero and he used his money and fame to live a life of excess food, drink, and women.

He admitted to straying often during his life, but he was grateful for the religious tradition he learned as a boy which he felt always brought him back to the right path. He would attend Sunday Mass after being out carousing all night; he was an active member of the Knights of Columbus; he would visit schools, orphanages, and hospitals throughout his life; he would donate generously at fundraisers; he refused to divorce his wife and looked after her even when they were separated; and he often returned to St Mary’s to help the school and Brother Matthias.

There are some important principles that I find admirable about the way Babe Ruth approached life that can be instructive for us as we try to be our best – one day at a time.

1. Ruth never abandoned his Catholic faith and throughout his life he used the foundation of his faith as the “standard” by which he measured himself. Although he was idolized as a baseball god, he never forgot that God was the true boss. Likewise, I think that we all need a standard by which to measure ourselves. Those of us who have been raised within a religious tradition should be grateful for the moral virtues instilled in us that help direct our path and protect us from becoming selfish, self-absorbed people.
2. Ruth was not a perfect man. His faults were many – but he was not blind to them because of the moral standards that were ingrained in him. Like Ruth I think it is healthy for us to make an honest inventory of our own faults and weaknesses and acknowledge them so that we can work on correcting them.
3. Great baseball players in general, and Babe Ruth in particular, do not let past failures prevent future success. Even the greatest baseball players fail 2 out of every 3 times they step into the batter box. Elite batters have the gift of forgetting the last unsuccessful at-bat because they know that dwelling on it will rob them of the full mental concentration they need to make the most of their present opportunity. That is a lesson for all of us to be easy on ourselves during those times that we fail. Dwelling on past failures can perpetuate self-defeating behaviors and prevent us from living fully in the moment. It is good to desire perfection, but we should keep in mind that Christian tradition teaches us that God forgives us when we fail and that many of the greatest Biblical characters were reformed sinners.
4. Who knows what would have become of Babe Ruth if Brother Matthias had never taken the time to instruct him on the art of playing baseball. Small acts we do can have great consequences, both good and bad, in the lives of those we interact with each day. Ruth never forgot Brother Mathias for all that he did for him and he went out of his way throughout his life to be a positive role model to all the kids he encountered. We can each make a difference in someone’s life who is more unfortunate than us. We would do well to ask ourselves often ‘Who are you feeding with your life today?’.

So, a tip of my cap to the Babe for all the life lessons. I wish you had remained with the Red Sox throughout your career, but I am not going to dwell on that past failure…