More books have been written, movies made and words spoken to describe Babe Ruth than any sports figure in American history. But, after all that, perhaps the most eloquent and vivid picture of the man and athlete is painted by a former player, Joe Cascarella, who provides a narration that is both profound and intimate.
Mr. Cascarella, who is now 87 and has lived in Baltimore for more than 50 years, pitched against Ruth and is the only surviving member of the 1934 major league all-star team that toured the Far East with him and such other magic names as Jimmie Foxx, Charley Gehringer, Lefty Gomez, Lou Gehrig and Connie Mack -- all Hall of Fame members-to-be.
As a rookie with the Philadelphia A's, Cascarella won 12 games in 1934 with a bad team, but Ruth saw enough of him to say, Why, that little Italian can bend a curve around a lamppost."
Listening to Mr. Cascarella, a literate individual of depth, culture and sophistication, is a captivating experience, maybe the next best thing to seeing the Babe swing a bat.
In his assessment of Ruth, he began by issuing a disclaimer. "He's as close to a fairy tale as any human being who ever lived. In talking about him, you're frustrated because it's difficult to offer a portrayal befitting the immensity of the man."
But then Mr. Cascarella, this gentleman of background and refinement, the antithesis of Ruth, begins his report. It's doubtful if what he has to say has ever been expressed with more elegance and precision. The attention given to Ruth's 100th birthday tomorrow in his hometown of Baltimore and around the country does not surprise Mr. Cascarella. You ask why?
"Well, there will never be a man to fascinate the American public like Babe Ruth," he answers. "The Babe mesmerized me. If people knew he was in a restaurant or a hotel lobby they would come in off the street to see him. On the trip to Japan, over a million spectators were waiting when we got off the ship to welcome us, but it was because of Ruth. He was astonishing."
Mr. Cascarella puts Ruth ahead of any athlete you can name, including Jim Thorpe, Muhammad Ali, John Unitas, Michael Jordan, Bobby Jones, Joe DiMaggio or Jackie Robinson, when it comes to popularity and recognition. He adds:
"The Babe was oblivious to the fact he was grotesque in build. And he was too adolescent to understand his own importance. This was the charm of the fellow. When he walked to the plate the pitcher was nothing more than a puppet to him. The suspense in the ballpark was like the last act in a great mystery play.
"When the Babe had a bat in his hands, the pitcher was never a challenge. It was as if he could hit any time he wanted. In other phases of the game, running, fielding and throwing, he could perform with the finesse of a ballet dancer. To see him slide into a base was a thing of beauty."
On the post-season trip to Japan and China in 1934, which was Ruth's last year with the New York Yankees, Mr. Cascarella sat at the Ruth table with the Babe, his wife and daughter in the dining room aboard ship. "Babe liked to hear me order from the menu and do a little routine with the waiter that was double-talk," he remembers. "When I'd do it he'd roar. He was always very nice to me."
What about his intellect? "Well, he couldn't be described as a scholar and neither could he be called dumb or stupid. And I don't think you'd ask him to go to a tea party at Buckingham Palace. He just never outgrew being a boy."
Ruth appeared to have a hitch in his batting stroke as he began the swing, but Mr. Cascarella disagrees. "That's just the way he started the bat. As an athlete, he had grace. His vision was terrific. I don't care how hard the pitcher threw, the Babe got the bat out in front. He always seemed to be moving into the ball and was never defensive."
In the one year that Cascarella faced Ruth's Yankees, he won two games in relief and remembered getting Ruth out on an overhand curve that he popped high into the air on opening day in Philadelphia. "As you know, you never give a left-handed hitter a curve ball from the side. You better get on top."
In the Orient, where the U.S. team won virtually all the games, Cascarella went out to pitch and thought the stands were cheering for him. "Then I turned to the outfield and it was the Babe the Japanese were saluting. They were screaming like banshees in the wilderness. I'm not sure, but I believe that happened in Kobe, where they had the earthquake last month."
Mr. Cascarella's conversation turns to the way Ruth could run as well as hit. "If you ever saw him steal a base you'd know what I mean. There was this sense of grace. He could have stolen a lot with his speed but the Yankees didn't want him to because of a risk he could get hurt."
No doubt, Ruth was the complete player, having won 94 games as a pitcher before becoming an outfielder and creating a .342 lifetime average and powering 714 home runs in 22 seasons. As a personality and performer he had no baseball equal. His deeds live in perpetuity.
John Steadman is a sports columnist for The Evening Sun.