VOICE ONE:
Sometimes, Babe Ruth got into trouble on the baseball field. He often arrived late. He got angry often. He hit a baseball umpire. He had many disputes with the chief baseball official.
In nineteen twenty-one, the Yankees' manager suspended Ruth from playing. The next year, Ruth did the worst thing a baseball player could do. He left the field during a game to chase a fan who said something he did not like. He had to pay five thousand dollars for violating the rules.
VOICE TWO:
Babe Ruth also got into trouble off the baseball field. He was a very large man who liked to have a good time. He ate too much. He drank too much alcohol. He played cards and lost money. He went to nightclubs. He drove his car too fast.
Some people were unhappy about the way he acted. In nineteen twenty-two, New York State Senator Jimmy Walker appealed to Babe Ruth at a dinner of the baseball writers association. Mister Walker asked the great baseball star to be a better example to the children of America. Babe Ruth stood up with tears running down his face. He promised he would be a better person. He kept his promise. He was never in trouble again.
VOICE ONE:
Yet Babe Ruth continued to eat too much. In nineteen twenty-five, he was returning on a train from baseball spring training in the South. He became hungry. He stopped at a train station. He reportedly ate twelve hot dog sandwiches. He drank eight bottles of soft drink.
Ruth developed severe stomach problems. He was taken to a hospital in New York. Babe Ruth was so sick that doctors had to operate on him. He was in the hospital for seven weeks. Many Americans worried about him until he got well.
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VOICE TWO:
Babe Ruth loved children. In nineteen twenty-six, a child named Johnny Sylvester lay in a hospital bed. He was very weak after an operation. His doctor thought that a visit from Johnny's hero might help the boy get better. So Babe Ruth came to the hospital. He wrote his name on a baseball and gave it to Johnny. He promised to hit a home run that afternoon for the boy. Babe Ruth kept his promise. In fact, he hit three home runs that day.
VOICE ONE:
There are many stories about Babe Ruth and his life. Experts do not agree about which ones are true. The most famous story about him concerns the nineteen thirty-two World Series championship game. The Yankees were playing the Chicago Cubs in Chicago. Ruth was at bat getting ready to hit. The Cubs and their fans were trying to make Ruth angry. They insulted him. Ruth swung his bat and missed the first pitch. The crowd laughed at him. Ruth swung and missed the second pitch. The crowd made more noises. Then Ruth pointed his bat at the seats past the center field of the ball park. He showed the crowd where he would hit the next ball. And that was exactly where he hit the ball out of the park.
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VOICE TWO:
Ruth stopped playing baseball in nineteen thirty-five. The next year he was one of the first five players to be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. After he retired as a player, he wanted to be manager of a baseball team. But no such position was offered to him.
Ruth died in nineteen forty-eight of throat cancer. He was fifty-three years old.
Babe Ruth is buried near New York City. People still come to visit his burial place. They leave things there: A Yankees baseball hat. A small American flag. A baseball. Americans leave these things to show that they have not forgotten the Babe.
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VOICE ONE:
This Special English program was written by Shelley Gollust. It was produced by Lawan Davis. I'm Shirley Griffith.
VOICE TWO:
And I'm Doug Johnson. Listen again next week for another people in American program on the Voice of America.
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