The Passion of Baseball

Texas Rangers manager Ron Washington shows why perseverance means everything - Anaheim Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim | Examiner.com

2010-10-08T22:28:00.000-07:00

Texas Rangers manager Ron Washington shows why perseverance means everything - Anaheim Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Examiner.com

Los Angeles Angels change affiliates in California League - Anaheim Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim | Examiner.com

2010-10-02T17:54:00.000-07:00

Los Angeles Angels change affiliates in California League - Anaheim Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim | Examiner.com

Baseball Hall of Famer Johnny Bench lifts spirits at local Palm Springs hospital - Palm Springs Sports | Examiner.com

2010-09-30T08:40:00.000-07:00

Baseball Hall of Famer Johnny Bench lifts spirits at local Palm Springs hospital - Palm Springs Sports | Examiner.com

Los Angeles Angels: Abreu Achieves Historic Mark in Sunday’s Loss to White Sox - Anaheim Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim | Examiner.com

2010-09-27T10:59:00.000-07:00

Los Angeles Angels: Abreu Achieves Historic Mark in Sunday’s Loss to White Sox - Anaheim Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim | Examiner.com

Los Angeles Angels: Several reasons to avoid signing Cliff Lee and Jayson Werth - Anaheim Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim | Examiner.com

2010-09-26T13:16:00.000-07:00

Los Angeles Angels: Several reasons to avoid signing Cliff Lee and Jayson Werth - Anaheim Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim | Examiner.com

Los Angeles Angels to unveil plans for 50th birthday celebration - Anaheim Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim | Examiner.com

2010-09-23T08:22:00.000-07:00

Los Angeles Angels to unveil plans for 50th birthday celebration - Anaheim Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim | Examiner.com

Los Angeles Angels pitcher Ervin Santana goes for 17th win tonight - Anaheim Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim | Examiner.com

2010-09-21T17:03:00.000-07:00

Los Angeles Angels pitcher Ervin Santana goes for 17th win tonight - Anaheim Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim | Examiner.com

Los Angeles Angels manager Mike Scioscia proposes changes to MLB schedule - Anaheim Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim | Examiner.com

2010-09-14T16:26:00.000-07:00

Los Angeles Angels manager Mike Scioscia proposes changes to MLB schedule - Anaheim Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Examiner.com

Lost Season: A Look at Los Angeles Angels for 2011, Part 4 - Anaheim Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim | Examiner.com

2010-09-14T16:16:00.000-07:00

Lost Season: A Look at Los Angeles Angels for 2011, Part 4 - Anaheim Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Examiner.com

September Is Proving Ground For Los Angeles Angels' Scott Kazmir - Anaheim Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim | Examiner.com

2010-09-10T10:18:00.000-07:00

September Is Proving Ground For Los Angeles Angels' Scott Kazmir - Anaheim Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Examiner.com

Lost Season: A Look at Los Angeles Angels for 2011, Part 3 - Anaheim Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim | Examiner.com

2010-09-09T07:40:00.000-07:00

Lost Season: A Look at Los Angeles Angels for 2011, Part 3 - Anaheim Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Examiner.com

Los Angeles Angels Call Up Prospects Mark Trumbo and Hank Conger - Anaheim Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim | Examiner.com

2010-09-07T12:04:00.000-07:00

Los Angeles Angels Call Up Prospects Mark Trumbo and Hank Conger - Anaheim Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Examiner.com

Lost Season: A Look at Los Angeles Angels for 2011, Part 2 - Anaheim Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim | Examiner.com

2010-09-07T07:59:00.000-07:00

Lost Season: A Look at Los Angeles Angels for 2011, Part 2 - Anaheim Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Examiner.com

Lost Season: A Look at Los Angeles Angels for 2011, Part 1 - Anaheim Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim | Examiner.com

2010-09-06T09:08:00.000-07:00

Lost Season: A Look at Los Angeles Angels for 2011, Part 1 - Anaheim Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Examiner.com

Angels turn power back on, defeat Athletics 7-4 - Anaheim Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim | Examiner.com

2010-09-06T08:48:00.000-07:00

Angels turn power back on, defeat Athletics 7-4 - Anaheim Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Examiner.com

Angels receive pitcher Loek Van Mil to complete Fuentes deal - Anaheim Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim | Examiner.com

2010-09-01T15:12:00.000-07:00

Angels receive pitcher Loek Van Mil to complete Fuentes deal - Anaheim Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Examiner.com

Baltimore Orioles break out brooms, sweep Los Angeles Angels

2010-08-29T16:50:00.000-07:00

Orioles starting pitcher Jeremy Guthrie stymies Angels hitters, giving Orioles weekend sweep.

Photo: Harry How/Getty Images

The Los Angeles Angels can't get the Baltimore Orioles out of town fast enough. The Orioles are wishing they could stay for an extended period of time.

Orioles starting pitcher Jeremy Guthrie allowed just four hits over eight and 1/3 innings and Matt Wieters supplied the only offense needed with a sacrifice fly in the seventh inning, giving the Orioles a 1-0 victory, sweeping the season series over the Angels for the first time in history.

The Angels' offense was anemic all weekend long, scoring just one run and making Orioles' starters all look like Cy Young candidates.

Angels starter Jered Weaver (11-10) certainly did his part, pitching eight innings, allowing only five hits and one run. Victimized once again by lack of run support, Weaver could only watch as Guthrie mowed down his teammates one by one.

Each Baltimore starter lasted at least eight innings, and Angel hitters managed only 16 hits throughout the three-game series.

Guthrie (8-13) was spectacular from the start, keeping Angel hitters off balance with an array of pitches. He escaped a jam in the bottom of the sixth. After allowing a walk to Jeff Mathis, Peter Bourjos sacrificed Mathis to second, and Reggie Willits reached on a bunt single, moving Mathis to third.

Guthrie worked out of it, getting Howie Kendrick to ground into a double play, ending the inning, and the threat.

Guthrie started the ninth by retiring Peter Bourjos on a fly ball to left. Willits, who had the only success against Guthrie all afternoon, blooped a double into short right-center. Howie Kendrick followed with a single, moving Willits to third.

Guthrie's afternoon was done, as Mike Gonzalez was called in to face Bobby Abreu. Abreu struck out, and manager Buck Showalter then called on new closer Koji Uehara to face Torii Hunter. Uehara got Hunter to fly out to right, and the sweep was on.

Uehara closed out his second game of the series, and the Orioles are now 16-11 for the month of August, giving them their only winning month since June, 2008, and their first winning August since 1997.

For the Angels, manager Mike Scioscia must now ponder what he'll be doing in October, as the Angels appear destined to miss the playoffs for the first time since 2006.

Looking for more? Click here to read other excellent articles about your Angels by fellow Examiner William Martinez.

Listless Angels shut out by Millwood, Orioles

2010-08-29T16:47:00.000-07:00

The Angels are now 34-31 at home this season at Angels Stadium

Baltimore Orioles' pitcher Kevin Millwood has suffered through a nightmarish season, yet he still takes the ball every fifth day and gives his best effort. On Saturday night, against the Los Angeles Angels, Millwood's best effort turned into into his best start of the season.

Millwood scattered six hits over eight innings, and No. 9 hitter Josh Bell slammed a two-run homer, giving the Orioles a 5-0 victory over the suddenly punchless Angels.

Millwood (3-14), who earned his first victory in over two months, could have easily finished the game, having only thrown 110 pitches. Instead, at the request of O's manager Buck Showalter, he gave way to Jimmy Johnson, who pitched a scoreless ninth. Johnson, who last pitched on April 30, was activated from the 60-day disabled list on Friday night after being sidelined due to inflammation in his right elbow.

“I know Kevin probably as well as anybody here, and I feel so good for him because I know how much he cares,” Showalter said.

“I think he could have finished that game. I mean, 110 pitches doesn’t come into play on a cool night. But it was a perfect spot for J.J. to get broken in a little bit, and I appreciate the professionalism of Kevin after I explained to him what we were trying to do.”

Millwood worked out of jams in both the fifth and seventh innings, when the Angels put runners on the corners. In the fifth, Milwood induced a double-play grounder to end it, and in the seventh, after Mike Napoli doubled and moved to third on an Erick Aybar single, Millwood retired both Bobby Wilson and Peter Bourjos on popups to escape the threat.

Angels' starter Scott Kazmir (8-12) was able to match Millwood through the first four innings, however in the fifth, after giving up an infield single to Cesar Izturis, Josh Bell smacked his third major league homer to break the scoreless tie.

The victory was the O's fifth straight against the Angels this season, and they'll have a chance to sweep the season series on Sunday afternoon, something neither team has done against each other in 50 years.

For the Angels, they can only scratch their heads and wonder.

Los Angeles Angels playoff hopes still alive, but fading quickly

2010-08-26T12:11:00.000-07:00

The Los Angeles Angels' hopes of making playoffs in 2010 are fading quickly.

Photo: Los Angeles Angels/MLB

The month of August has not been kind to the Los Angeles Angels. Heading into their weekend series with the Baltimore Orioles, the Angels are 10-12 for the month, and losers of seven of their last 10 games.

Traditionally, August is the "make or break" month for teams who are still in contention for the postseason. After the July 31 trade deadline, in which those same teams look to bolster their rosters in order to improve their playoff chances, they use August as the month to make their push and decide their fate.

After starting the month 6-4 and sweeping the Kansas City Royals in a three-game series, the Angels have since gone 4-8, failing to win any series and falling further back in the NL West standings to the division-leading Texas Rangers.

While a number of factors contributed to the dismal month thus far, one that clearly sticks out is their bullpen.

With the fourth worst bullpen ERA in the American League at 4.29, Angels' relievers have struggled. RP Francisco Rodriguez failed on two occasions to hold leads in the Orioles' sweep of the Angels in early August, and normally reliable Kevin Jepsen failed to hold a lead in Boston on August 18.

In the early to mid 2000's, the Angels bullpen was the cream of the crop in the American League, with the best ERA out of the bullpen from 2002-04. Manager Mike Scioscia was masterful in pulling the right strings to protect late inning leads, and had the talent to pull it off.

Those days are apparently gone, as evidenced by the team's current struggles.

Another major culprit has been the bottom of the Angels' batting order. Combined, the Nos. 8 & 9 hitters in the lineup are hitting a paltry .211 for the season, a full .033 below the league average.

While these spots in the batting order in the American League are typically reserved for players less adept at the plate, fairly automatic outs are certainly not what the Angels had in mind for players manning these slots in the batting order.

For the Angels to have any hope of postseason glory in 2010, these two important aspects of their game must improve dramatically, and if recent performance is used as an indicator, their hopes will turn into despair.

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This day in sports, August 21: First ever Little League World Series

2010-08-21T21:00:00.000-07:00

The Little League World Series, held each year in Williamsport, PA, has gained worldwide popularity.

Photo: Ruhrfisch/Creative Commons license

Little League Baseball, originally founded in 1939 in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, organized the first ever Little League World Series tournament on August 21, 1947.

Originally called the National Little League Tournament, the Little League World Series (LLWS) was restricted to teams from the United States until the mid-1950's, when international teams were allowed to compete as well.

The first team to win the Little League World Series was an all-star team from the home site in Williamsport, PA, which has been home to the LLWS since its inception. The local nine defeated an all-star team from Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, 16-7.

Since the early days of the LLWS, it has grown both in popularity and size, with the current format of eight qualifying teams from the U.S. along with eight qualifying teams from different regions of the world.

Each state in the United States crowns a champion team based on sectional and district qualifying, and the winner of each state tournament is designated to move on to one of eight regional tournaments. Each regional tournament winner then advances on to the LLWS.

Other countries and world regions have their own way of crowning champions to move on to the LLWS. Canada's LLWS representative is determined through sectional and provincial qualifiers, while other countries have adopted similar tournament policies.

Once the 16 qualifying teams have been established, they are divided into two separate brackets: The United States bracket and the International bracket. The teams then move on to compete round robin within their brackets, with the top two finishers in each bracket moving on to play each other to determine the right to play in the LLWS finals.

Overall, the United States has won 32 LLWS titles, and Taiwan is second overall with 17 titles.

This year's World Series got underway yesterday, and the title game is expected to be played on Sunday, August 29.

Pedroia Back on DL, Stick Fork In Sox, They Could Be Done

2010-08-20T15:19:00.000-07:00

Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia's latest setback a blow to Sox playoff chances.

Photo: Courtesy Keith Allison via Creative Commons license

And the hits just keep comin'. The Boston Red Sox announced that second baseman Dustin Pedroia will go back on the disabled list to rest his sore left foot.

Pedroia, who originally went on the DL with the injury on June 26, had just been activated from the DL this past Tuesday. It quickly became apparent that he was still dealing with significant pain, and after consulting with team physician Dr. Thomas Gill, the decision was made to place Pedroia back on the DL and take time to rest the foot.

The Sox called up infielder Yamaico Navarro, 22, to replace Pedroia. Navarro had been hitting .283 in sixteen games with Pawtucket, Boston's Triple-A affiliate.

This announcement comes on the heels of yesterday's news regarding catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia. Saltalamacchia has an as yet undetermined infection, and was replaced on the roster by catcher Dusty Brown.

No word on a timetable for the return of either player at this point.

With six weeks left in the regular season, the Red Sox will now be hard-pressed to catch the Tampa Bay Rays and New York Yankees in the American League East. The Sox are currently 6 1/2 games behind the Yankees and 5 1/2 games behind Tampa for the lone Wild Card playoff spot.

This day in sports, August 20: Philadelphia Phillies set dubious record of 23 straight losses

2010-08-20T12:36:00.000-07:00

Phillies Hall of Fame pitcher Robin Roberts was a member of the infamous '61 Phillies squad.

Photo: Courtesy cliff1066 via Creative Commons license

Ignominy is a terrible thing. Waking up and wondering whether or not you're going to lose another game today is a horrible way to start the day. The 1961 Philadelphia Phillies collectively harbored those same thoughts. On August 20, 1961, the Phillies lost their 23rd consecutive game, a modern baseball record.

The Phillies had enjoyed a rare rise to prominence a decade earlier, culminating with the famous "Whiz Kids" winning the National League pennant on the final day of the 1950 regular season. Hopes quickly faded after that, as key members of that team either retired or were traded, plunging the Phillies back to the familiar state of mediocrity.

In 1961, the Phillies were predicted to once again be near or at the bottom of the National League standings. They did not disappoint, plodding through the early months of the season hovering at the bottom of the standings. On July 29, they lost to the San Francisco Giants, 4-3, their record 30-65 at the time.

The Phillies continued losing. And losing. And losing. They were swept in successive fashion by the Cincinnati Reds, St. Louis Cardinals, Pittsburgh Pirates, the Pirates again, and the Chicago Cubs.

On August 20,1961, facing the Milwaukee Braves, the Phillies dropped the first game of a scheduled double-header, losing to eventual Hall of Fame pitcher Warren Spahn. In the second game, the Phillies trotted pitcher John Buzhardt to the mound.

Buzhardt had been the last pitcher to win a game for the Phillies, beating the Giants 4-3 on July 28. On this day Buzhardt had good stuff, and the Phillies struck early, seizing the lead in the fourth inning on a Wes Covington 2-run homer. The Phillies added one more run in the sixth, and then put it away with four more runs in the top of the eighth. Buzhardt went on to complete the game, finally putting the Phillies back in the win column, 7-4.

After the game, during the plane ride back to Philadelphia, the Phillies were told that a crowd was waiting for them at the airport to greet them. Sure enough, when the plane landed, there were over 2,000 fans waiting for them, including a 300-piece band, to greet the victorious Phillies.

"We were hesitant to get off the plane," then Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Tony Taylor recalled. "But it was a good feeling. The band lifted (manager) Gene Mauch on their shoulders."

The 1988 Baltimore Orioles made a run at the record, losing 20 straight. But no team has come close since, assuring the 1961 Philadelphia Phillies the distinction of the all-time record for futility.

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This Day In Sports, August 19: Giants Announce Move to San Francisco

2010-08-19T15:43:00.000-07:00

Candlestick Park became home to the San Francisco Giants in 1960.
Courtesy of moppet65535 via Creative Commons license

In the early 1950's, the baseball New York Giants were the talk of the town. Bobby Thompson's "shot heard round the world" electrified the fan base, and a young rookie by the name of Wilie Mays was starting to generate buzz.

Following the 1954 World Series, in which the Giants swept the Cleveland Indians, the following three seasons saw the team's overall play drop off dramatically. A third place finish in 1955, followed by sub .500 seasons in '56 and '57, saw the Giants' attendance drop off dramatically.

Giants owner Horace Stoneham was looking for a new stadium to replace the crumbling Polo Grounds. Stoneham became to think about moving the team outside of the New York area.

Stoneham fielded an offer from the Minneapolis/St. Paul area to move the team to Metropolitan Stadium, home of the Giants' top farm team, the Minneapolis Millers.

Then, San Francisco came calling. Mayor George Christopher approached Stoneham about moving cross-country. Stoneham entered into negotiations with San Francisco city officials. At the same time, Brooklyn Dodgers' owner Walter O'Malley was in negotiations with Los Angeles city officials about moving the team out of Brooklyn.

O'Malley was told that he would be unable to move the team unless another team moved to California at the same time.

O'Malley approached long-time rival Stoneham, and the two agreed to move their teams at the same time, creating a void in which the era of National League baseball in New York ended.

On August 19, 1957. Stoneham announced in a press conference that the Giants would be playing their home games in the city of San Francisco starting in 1958.

Two shareholders of the Giants were opposed to the deal, Joan Whitney Payson and M. Donald Grant. Ironically, Payson and Grant partnered to bring National League baseball back to New York, founding the New York Mets in 1962.

The famous "NY" script on the Giants' hats, along with the orange trim on their uniforms, was adopted by the New York Mets upon their inception.

The Giants moved into their new permanent home, Candlestick Park, in 1960, and remained there until 2000, when they moved into Pacific Bell Park (later called AT&T Park).

This day in sports, August 17: Lou Gehrig sets new all-time consecutive games played record

2010-08-19T11:13:00.000-07:00

Yankees' legend Lou Gehrig's Hall of Fame replica statue sits outside of Yankee Stadium.

Courtesy autiscy/Creative Commons license

On June 1, 1925, then New York Yankees' manager Miller Huggins made a decision. He replaced aging first baseman Wally Pipp with a younger option: sweet swinging, slick fielding Henry Louis "Lou" Gehrig.

Gehrig took the field for the Yankees that day for the first time as their regular first baseman, and did not leave the field for the next 14 seasons.

Each and every day, Gehrig was penciled into the lineup, and eight seasons later, on August 17, 1933, Gehrig extended his consecutive game playing streak to 1,308, topping the previous mark held by former Yankee shortstop Everett Scott, set in 1925, ironically the same season in which Gehrig started his streak.

Gehrig went on to extend his steak until April 30, 1939. By then, it was very clear that something was wrong with him. Lacking his normal strength, balls he hit that normally would have been home runs turned into short pop flies. He had a hard time picking up his feet, shuffling most of the time.

In the first weeks of the 1939 season, Gehrig managed only four hits, and teammates were congratulating him for literally stumbling into an average play.

On April 30th, Gehrig took himself out of the game, and following a day off, on May 2nd, Gehrig told manager Joe McCarthy that he was benching himself, stating that he was no longer useful to the team.

Gehrig's consecutive game streak ended at 2,130, a record that stood until Baltimore Orioles' shortstop/third baseman Cal Ripken, Jr. surpassed the 56-year-old record when he played in his 2,131st consecutive game on September 6, 1995 between the Orioles and the California Angels in front of a sold-out crowd at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.

During Gehrig's streak, he persevered through a broken thumb, a broken toe, back spasms and a bout of lumbago. Later in his career it was revealed that Gehrig's hands had endured 17 different fractures that had "healed" while he continued to play.

During his incredible streak, Gehrig became the most feared right-handed hitter in the game. He was selected to each of the first seven All-Star games and he won the American League's Most Valuable Player award in 1927 and 1936. He was also a Triple Crown winner in 1934, leading the American League in batting average, home runs, and RBIs.

Gehrig, ended his career with a lifetime .342 batting average, 475 home runs, 1,995 RBI's and was the first player in the American League ever to hit four home runs in one game, accomplishing the feat in 1932.

Several weeks after he pulled himself from the lineup, doctors at the Mayo Clinic diagnosed Gehrig with a very rare form of degenerative disease: amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), which is now called Lou Gehrig's disease. His baseball career was over, and he was fighting for his life.

On July 4, 1939, the New York Yankees held a recognition day to honor Lou Gehrig. During his speech, Gehrig told the sold out crowd that he was "the luckiest man on the face of the earth."

By the time Gehrig was done speaking, there was not a dry eye in the house, and even Babe Ruth, who had not spoken to Gehrig since 1934, came over to him, put his arm around Gehrig's shoulder, and offered words of encouragement. Gehrig was elected to the Hall of Fame later that same year.

On June 2, 1941, Gehrig finally succumbed to his disease, and the entire world mourned the passing of the man who forever became known as "The Iron Horse."

This day in sports, August 16: Baseball's home run king is dead

2010-08-16T14:57:00.000-07:00

Babe Ruth transformed the game of baseball, ushering in the "live ball era".

Photo: Photo courtesy of majorvols/Creative Common License

He single-handedly changed the way the game of baseball was played. He set records that remain in place until this day. His superstar status transcended the game of baseball. And, on this day, August 16, 1948, the world mourned the death of baseball's greatest hero, George Herman "Babe" Ruth, Jr.

Nicknamed "The Babe" early on in his baseball career, Ruth's early success in baseball came as a left-handed pitcher. Originally signed in 1914 by the then minor-league Baltimore Orioles, Ruth quickly made it to the major leagues, sold to the Boston Red Sox in July, 1914.

Ruth had an 89-46 record during his career as a pitcher for the Boston Red Sox, participating in three World Series, winning both his starts in the 1918 World Series, and setting a record with a consecutive scoreless inning streak of 29? innings, a record that stood until Whitey Ford broke it in 1961.

Ruth was also famous for another historic pitching event.

On June 23, 1917 against the Washington Senators, after walking the leadoff hitter, Ruth exploded in anger, and threw a punch at the umpire, which resulted 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.

During his time with the Red Sox, Ruth also flashed his skills as a hitter, leading the league in 1918 with eleven home runs, and again with 29 homers in 1919. By 1919, he was regarded more for his power hitting than for his pitching prowess.

In December, 1919, Harry Frazee, then owner of the Boston Red Sox, sold Babe Ruth to the American League rival New York Yankees for $125,000 and three notes for $25,000, to be paid in the subsequent three years.

This act forever marked Frazee's legacy as a pariah in the eyes of the vast majority of Boston fans.

For the following 14 seasons, Ruth turned the then-mediocre Yankees into perennial American League pennant favorites, and would lead the Yankees to the first four of their 27 World Series titles.

In 1927, Ruth set the all-time single season home run record with 60, a record that stood until fellow Yankee Roger Maris eclipsed it in 1961 with 61.

Ruth was traded by the Yankees to the Boston Braves in February, 1935. Ruth would only appear in 28 games that season, hitting his last home run on May 25 (he hit three that day). He officially retired from baseball two days later.

Ruth set all-time records that still stand today. First in all-time slugging percentage (.690), OPS (1.164), single season home run leader (12 times), and single season RBI leader (six times).

The year after Ruth's retirement in 1936, he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, becoming one of the first five players to achieve that honor.

In Ruth's post-playing days, he remained close to the game, becoming director of the American Legion's youth baseball program in 1947.

In November, 1946, it was discovered that Ruth had a malignant tumor in his neck. Although he attacked the disease with relish, and was briefly proclaimed cancer-free for a short period of time, the cancer returned.

On August 16, 1948, Ruth passed away. The official cause of death was pneumonia, however it was later learned that he indeed had nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPCA), which ultimately led to his death.

Ruth's impact on baseball still commands attention today. He is still regarded in many circles as the greatest player who ever lived, and is still one of the most recognizable names in all of sports.

The sport of baseball owes much of its success today to George Herman "Babe" Ruth, Jr.

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