Don’t Paint Ruth as a Babe in the Woods

Jim Murray [Dec. 14] must be getting hard up for material. He has written a column whining about ballplayers who make a lot of money. How truly original! Why did he try to get Babe Ruth to take his side? Here are some things the Babe really did say, according to “Baseball’s Greatest Quotations.”

“Ballplayers should get all they can in the way of salary from their bosses, and there should be no ceiling on salaries.”

“A man ought to get all he can earn. A man who knows he’s making money for other people ought to get some of the profit he brings in. Don’t make any difference if it’s baseball or a bank or a vaudeville show. It’s business, I tell you. There ain’t no sentiment to it. Forget that stuff.”

“I don’t give a damn about any actors. What good will John Barrymore do you with the bases loaded and two down in a tight ballgame? Either I get the money or I don’t play.” (He said this to Red Sox owner Harry Frazee, who had said Babe was asking for more than Barrymore.)

This constant harping on “greedy, overpaid, mercenary ballplayers” is getting really old. I suggest two new topics: Speculation on how much good Jim Murray will do you with the bases loaded and two out in a tight ballgame; and how much money sportswriters were making in Babe Ruth’s day versus what they make today. Surely Murray’s not being paid more than Grantland Rice or Ring Lardner, right?

KRISTI HALE

Garden Grove